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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/32627-8.txt b/32627-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..eb045fd --- /dev/null +++ b/32627-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17396 @@ +The Project Gutenberg eBook, Area Handbook for Bulgaria, by Eugene K. +Keefe, Violeta D. Baluyut, William Giloane, Anne K. Long, James M. Moore, +and Neda A. Walpole + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Area Handbook for Bulgaria + + +Author: Eugene K. Keefe, Violeta D. Baluyut, William Giloane, Anne K. +Long, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole + + + +Release Date: May 31, 2010 [eBook #32627] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AREA HANDBOOK FOR BULGARIA*** + + +E-text prepared by Barbara Kosker, Juliet Sutherland, and Project +Gutenberg the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original maps and charts. + See 32627-h.htm or 32627-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32627/32627-h/32627-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32627/32627-h.zip) + + +Transcriber's note: + + In the footnotes to Table 20, two subsrcipted numbers are + represented as _{2} and _{5}. + + + + + +AREA HANDBOOK FOR BULGARIA + +_Coauthors_ + +Eugene K. Keefe + +Violeta D. Baluyut +William Giloane +Anne K. Long +James M. Moore, Jr. +Neda A. Walpole + + + + + + +Research completed August 1973 + +First Edition +Published 1974 + +DA Pam 550-168 + +Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data + +Keefe, Eugene K. +Area handbook for Bulgaria. + +"DA Pam 550-168." +"One of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area Studies (FAS) +of the American University." + +Bibliography: p. 301-316 +Supt. of Docs. no.: D 101.22:550-168 +1. Bulgaria. I. American University, Washington, D.C. Foreign Area +Studies. II. Title. + +DR90.K4 914.977 03'3 74-600028 + +For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing +Office +Washington, D.C. 20402--Price $5.55 + + + + +FOREWORD + + +This volume is one of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area +Studies (FAS) of The American University, designed to be useful to +military and other personnel who need a convenient compilation of basic +facts about the social, economic, political, and military institutions +and practices of various countries. The emphasis is on objective +description of the nation's present society and the kinds of possible or +probable changes that might be expected in the future. The handbook +seeks to present as full and as balanced an integrated exposition as +limitations on space and research time permit. It was compiled from +information available in openly published material. An extensive +bibliography is provided to permit recourse to other published sources +for more detailed information. There has been no attempt to express any +specific point of view or to make policy recommendations. The contents +of the handbook represent the work of the authors and FAS and do not +represent the official view of the United States government. + +An effort has been made to make the handbook as comprehensive as +possible. It can be expected, however, that the material, +interpretations, and conclusions are subject to modification in the +light of new information and developments. Such corrections, additions, +and suggestions for factual, interpretive, or other change as readers +may have will be welcomed for use in future revisions. Comments may be +addressed to: + + The Director + Foreign Area Studies + The American University + 5010 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. + Washington, D.C. 20016 + + + + +PREFACE + + +Although many changes have swept across the Eastern European communist +countries, Bulgaria through the years has remained a bastion of +consistency. It is a loyal military ally of the Soviet Union as a member +of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact), and its economy is +inextricably linked to the Soviet Union through bilateral agreements as +well as through membership in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance +(COMECON). Of the six Eastern European members of the Warsaw Pact, +Bulgaria shares with the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) the +distinction of not having contiguous borders with the Soviet Union. It +is, however, important geographically because it anchors the +southeastern sector of the alliance and borders two member states of the +North Atlantic Treaty Organization--Greece and Turkey. + +The authors of the _Area Handbook for Bulgaria_ have attempted to +describe, comprehensively and objectively, the workings of the economic, +political, social, and military systems dominant in the country in the +early 1970s as those systems have developed in the post-World War II +period. Despite the concentration on the communist era, important +historical factors are referred to wherever necessary for understanding +the modern scene, and a historical chapter is included to provide the +proper setting for the modern state. + +The spelling of place names conforms to the transliteration system used +by the United States Board on Geographic Names. The use of +abbreviations, acronyms, and foreign terms has been held to a minimum. +The one abbreviation that necessarily appears throughout the work is BKP +for Bulgarian Communist Party (Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya). All +tons are metric unless otherwise stated. A glossary is appended for +convenience, but all unfamiliar terms are explained on first use in the +text. + + + + +COUNTRY SUMMARY + + +1. COUNTRY: People's Republic of Bulgaria. Proclaimed by the communist +party in the 1947 Constitution. Formerly, Kingdom of Bulgaria. + +2. SIZE AND LOCATION: Area 42,800 square miles. Located in eastern part +of Balkan Peninsula on Black Sea south of Danube River. Borders Romania, +Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey. + +3. TOPOGRAPHY: Mountains predominate in west and in ranges that run west +to east across the central and southern regions. Lower and more level +areas south of Danube River and between the mountain ranges permit +extensive cultivation. + +4. CLIMATE: Transitional between Eastern European continental and +Mediterranean. Northern regions have hot summers, cold winters; south is +more moderate but has hot, dry summers. + +5. POPULATION: About 8.7 million in 1973; density 203 persons per square +mile. Growth rate 0.7 percent annually. + +6. ETHNIC GROUPS AND LANGUAGES: 85 percent of population is Bulgar. +Persons of Turkish, Macedonian, Greek, Romanian, and other origins are +guaranteed the right to use their languages and to preserve their +cultural heritage, but Bulgarian, the official language, is spoken by +the entire population. + +7. RELIGION: 90 percent of population adheres to the Eastern Orthodox +faith. There are some 750,000 Moslems, 26,000 Protestants, 32,000 Roman +Catholics, and 3,000 to 7,000 Jews. Freedom of religion guaranteed, but +practice strictly controlled by state. + +8. GOVERNMENT: National Assembly is unicameral legislature. Council of +Ministers, performing governmental administrative functions, is +responsible to State Council, the supreme executive body. Real power +vested in communist party's first secretary, Politburo, Secretariat, and +Central Committee. + +9. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: Administration is by people's councils at +district (_okrug_) and township or borough (_obshtina_) levels. There +are twenty-eight districts, including one composed only of metropolitan +Sofia. Districts subdivided into about 1,150 townships and boroughs. + +10. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the Warsaw Treaty +Organization (Warsaw Pact); the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance +(COMECON); and the United Nations (UN), including several UN specialized +agencies. + +11. JUSTICE: Three-level court system headed by Supreme Court. Military +and special courts responsible directly to Supreme Court. Judiciary +administered by Ministry of Justice within Council of Ministers. + +12. COMMUNICATIONS: Mass media are state owned and regulated. Little +latitude given subject matter produced locally; imports of foreign films +and publications are restricted. + +13. EDUCATION: Free and compulsory until age fifteen. Priority on +scientific, technological, and vocational curricula. Marxism-Leninism +stressed in all curricula. + +14. ECONOMY: Production, growth, and development programmed in five-year +plans, drawn up and monitored by party. The 1971-75 plan, dependent on +financial and technical aid from Soviet Union, recognizes need to raise +standard of living; improvement is conditional upon rising productivity. + +15. LABOR: Work force numbers about 4.4 million. About 27 percent (1.2 +million) of the total are in state and collective industries; 25 percent +(1.1 million) work full time on agroindustrial complexes. Skilled +workers in short supply. + +16. AGRICULTURE: Approximately 53 percent of land is agricultural, 69 +percent of which is cultivated. All but small mountain farms are +organized into 170 agroindustrial complexes. Grains predominate on +plains south of Danube River; irrigated Thracian Plain produces more +diversified crops. Livestock production inadequate for domestic needs +and exports. + +17. INDUSTRY: Virtually all state owned. Rapid expansion encouraged by +state, increasingly slowed by inadequate raw material resources and +skilled labor. Emphasis in early 1970s on improving unsatisfactory +productivity levels and quality of industrial products. + +18. FINANCE: Nonconvertible lev (see Glossary) has officially declared +values ranging from 0.59 to 1.65 leva per US$1; unofficial rates in +early 1973 were substantially higher. Banking system consists of +Bulgarian National Bank and subordinated Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank +and the State Savings Bank. + +19. FOREIGN TRADE: State monopoly administered by Ministry of Foreign +Trade, Ministry of Finance, and the state banks. Bulk of trade is with +Soviet Union and other COMECON countries. + +20. RAILROADS: Operational network totals about 2,620 miles, most of it +standard gauge. System carried bulk of long-distance domestic cargo and +passenger traffic. + +21. ROADS: Total mileage about 21,000, but less than one-half has +asphalt or other paved surface. Highway vehicles carry increasing +traffic, preponderance of short-haul cargo and passengers. + +22. INLAND WATERWAYS: Lower course of Danube River accommodates +2,500-ton vessels. Black Sea and ocean commerce increasing rapidly. + +23. CIVIL AVIATION: State-owned Balkan-Bulgarian Airlines (BALKAN) +connects Sofia with about a dozen cities on internal routes and almost +twice as many foreign capitals. + +24. ARMED FORCES: Bulgarian People's Army is subordinate to Ministry of +National Defense. Ground forces have 80 percent of its personnel; air +and naval forces, included in the army, have only about 15 and 5 +percent, respectively, of total strength. + +25. SECURITY: Ministry of Internal Affairs controls police and security +organizations, except Border Troops, which are part of army. Party and +mass organizations apply pressures on behalf of public order and in +defense of the system. + + + + +BULGARIA + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + Page + + FOREWORD iii + + PREFACE v + + COUNTRY SUMMARY vii + + SECTION I. SOCIAL + + Chapter 1. General Character of the Society 1 + + 2. Historical Setting 9 + Early History--Turkish Rule--The Rise of Nationalism + --Liberation and Its Aftermath--World War I--The + Interwar Years--World War II--The Communist State + + 3. Physical Environment and Population 37 + Natural Features--Boundaries and Political + Subdivisions--Settlement Patterns--Population-- + Transportation + + 4. Social System 65 + Ethnic and Religious Composition--The Family--Social + Stratification--Other Social Groups + + 5. Living Conditions 79 + Health--Personal Income and Expenditures--Housing-- + Social Benefits--Work and Leisure + + 6. Education 93 + History of Education--Communist Educational Policies + --Educational Reforms--Literacy--The Educational + System--Teacher Training--Other Education + + 7. Artistic and Intellectual Expression 123 + The Arts and Sciences under Communism--Literature-- + Theater--Films--Music--Folk Arts--Painting and + Sculpture--Architecture --Scholarship and Science + + + SECTION II. POLITICAL + + 8. Governmental System 137 + Constitutional Evolution--Structure and Function + of the Government--Judicial Procedure--The Electoral + Procedure + + 9. Political Dynamics 153 + Major Political Developments, 1965-71--The Bulgarian + Communist Party--The Bulgarian Agrarian Union--Mass + Organizations + + 10. Foreign Relations 171 + Determinants of Foreign Policy--Conduct of Foreign + Affairs--International Relations--Membership in + Regional and International Organizations + + 11. Mass Communications 183 + Background--Objectives of Mass Communications-- + Freedom of Information--Administration of the Mass + Communications System--Themes of the Media--The + Press--Radio--Television--Publishing--Libraries--Films + + + SECTION III. ECONOMIC + + 12. Character and Structure of the Economy 203 + Organization--Structure and Growth--Labor--Investment + --Budget--Banking and Currency--Foreign Trade + + 13. Agriculture 225 + Climate and Soils--Land Use--Organization--Planning + and Management--Labor and Wages--Investment and + Mechanization--Marketing--Production + + 14. Industry 249 + Organization and Structure--Fuels and Power--Raw + Materials--Investment--Labor--Production + + + SECTION IV. NATIONAL SECURITY + + 15. Public Order and Security 269 + Internal Security--Civil Defense--Public Order-- + Crime and Justice + + 16. Armed Forces 287 + Historical Background--Governmental and Party + Control Over the Armed Forces--Organization and + Mission--Foreign Military Relations--Manpower, + Training, and Support--The Military Establishment + and the National Economy + + BIBLIOGRAPHY 301 + + GLOSSARY 317 + + INDEX 319 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + Figure Page + + 1 Bulgaria xiv + + 2 Topography of Bulgaria 39 + + 3 Political Subdivisions of Bulgaria, 1973 51 + + 4 Communications Systems of Bulgaria, 1973 60 + + 5 The Bulgarian School System, 1973 111 + + 6 Bulgaria, Structure of Government, 1973 144 + + 7 Bulgaria, Organization of the Council of Ministers, 1973 146 + + + + +LIST OF TABLES + + Table Page + + 1 Bulgaria, Population by Age and Sex, 1973 Estimate 39 + + 2 Use of Transportation Facilities in Bulgaria, 1960 and + 1970 61 + + 3 Bulgaria, Percentage Distribution of Household Expenditures + by Population Group, 1962 and 1971 85 + + 4 Bulgaria, Actual and Desired Annual Consumption Levels 87 + + 5 Bulgaria, Percentage of Housing Units Equipped with + Various Amenities, December 1965 89 + + 6 Number of Schools in Bulgaria, Selected Years, 1938-70 101 + + 7 Number of Students in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, + 1938-70 101 + + 8 Number of Teachers in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, + 1938-70 102 + + 9 Number and Proportion of Students in Various Bulgarian + University Faculties, Selected Years, 1939-71 114 + + 10 Bulgaria, Newspaper Circulation by Frequency of Issue, + 1971 192 + + 11 Bulgaria, Circulation of Newspapers and Periodicals, + Selected Years, 1939-71 193 + + 12 Bulgaria, Number of Radio Stations and Subscribers, + Selected Years, 1939-71 194 + + 13 Bulgaria, Book and Pamphlet Publication, 1971 198 + + 14 Libraries in Bulgaria, 1971 200 + + 15 Bulgaria, Films Produced and Translated, Selected Years, + 1939-71 201 + + 16 Bulgaria, Production of Major Crops, Annual Average, + Selected Years, 1958-60 to 1966-70, and 1970 242 + + 17 Bulgaria, Livestock Numbers, Selected Years, 1948-72 244 + + 18 Bulgaria, Production of Meat, Selected Years, 1948-71 247 + + 19 Bulgaria, Production of Milk, Eggs and Wool, Selected + Years, 1960-71 247 + + 20 Output of Selected Industrial Products in Bulgaria, + Selected Years, 1960-71 266 + + + + +[Illustration: _Figure 1. Bulgaria_] + + + + +SECTION I. SOCIAL + +CHAPTER 1 + +GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SOCIETY + + +In mid-1973 Bulgaria was under the complete control of the Bulgarian +Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary) as it had been since the latter days +of World War II. As that war came to a close, the Kingdom of Bulgaria +was occupied by the Soviet army and was governed by a coalition under +the communist-dominated Fatherland Front. By 1947 the monarchy had been +deposed, a new constitution had been promulgated, and the country had +become the People's Republic of Bulgaria under the BKP. Todor Zhivkov, +who became first secretary of the party in 1954, retained that position +in 1973 and, with nineteen years' tenure, was senior in length of +service among the top leaders of the Soviet-aligned, communist countries +of Eastern Europe. Zhivkov, who weathered several years of intraparty +struggles after assuming the secretaryship, has led an apparently stable +regime since an abortive coup d'etat failed to dislodge him in 1965. The +hallmark of Zhivkov's leadership has been his intense loyalty to the +leaders of the Soviet Union. + +Zhivkov's critics accuse him of what they call subservience to the +Soviet Union, stating that he relies on Soviet backing to remain in +power. His supporters, on the other hand, commend him for his loyalty to +the Soviet Union, pointing out the historical affinity between the +Bulgarians and the Russians that dates back to the nineteenth-century +Russian role in the liberation of Bulgaria from 500 years of Turkish +rule. Whether he should be condemned or praised for it, the fact is that +Zhivkov has guided his ship of state in very close conformity with +directions first taken by the Soviet Union. + +Bulgaria, motivated mainly by irredentism, fought on the German side +during both world wars. The lands that Bulgaria coveted and pressed +ancient claims for were Macedonia (which had become part of Yugoslavia) +and parts of Thrace (which had become Greek territory). Its claims to +these lands date back to the glorious days of Bulgarian kingdoms in the +Middle Ages, when its territory stretched from the Black Sea in the east +to the Adriatic Sea in the west and from the Carpathian Mountains in the +north to the Aegean Sea in the south. Five hundred years of Turkish rule +failed to erase the Bulgarian ideas of territorial grandeur. + +The 1877-78 Russo-Turkish war that liberated Bulgaria ended in the +Treaty of San Stefano, which reestablished a Bulgarian kingdom using the +ancient boundaries; but the treaty was never put into effect because the +European powers feared a large Russian client-state in the Balkans. +Meeting in the Congress of Berlin in 1878, the powers nullified the +Treaty of San Stefano and decreed Bulgarian boundaries that drastically +reduced the size of the newly liberated country. Bulgaria seethed with +irredentism and fought wars over the so-called lost territories until +World War II, from which it emerged with a communist-dominated coalition +government but confined to almost the same boundaries. After the +Communists took complete control, irredentism was overshadowed by +Marxist ideas of internationalism; but the dream of a greater Bulgaria +did not die, and irredentist opinions were commonly expressed until +1972, when they were muted, probably on the insistence of the Soviet +Union. + +The original Bulgars were of an Asian tribe that moved into the Balkan +Peninsula as conquerors during the seventh century A.D. The occupants of +the area at the time were mostly Slavs who had been migrating to that +region for more than a century, absorbing former inhabitants as they +settled. Within about two centuries of their conquest, the Bulgars also +had been completely absorbed by the much more numerous Slavs, leaving +only their name to mark the land they had conquered. From the ninth +century A.D. on, Bulgarian history is the story of this amalgamated +nation of Bulgar-Slavs who enjoyed two different epochs of independent +glory under medieval Bulgarian kingdoms but who also suffered invasion +and defeat and, eventually, 500 years of domination by Ottoman Turks. In +1878 Turkish rule was finally ended, and a truncated Bulgaria reappeared +on the map of Europe. After five centuries of foreign domination, +Bulgaria was backward, underdeveloped, and poor. + +The descendants of the Bulgar-Slavs made up the majority of the +approximately 8.7 million people living in Bulgaria in 1973. The largest +minority group, which numbered about 0.7 million people, was Turkish. +The few Greeks, Romanians, Armenians, and Jews in the population +collectively accounted for only about 1 percent of the total. These +modern Bulgarians live in a country that is almost rectangular in shape +and covers roughly 42,800 square miles of the lower Balkan Peninsula. +Their country is bounded on the east by the Black Sea, on the south by +Greece and the part of Turkey that is in Europe, on the west by +Yugoslavia, and on the north by Romania. + +The most prominent communist leader of Bulgaria was Georgi Dimitrov, a +native-born Bulgarian who had lived in exile during most of the period +between the two world wars and had become a Soviet citizen in 1935. +Dimitrov was prominent in the international communist movement and, +while resident in Moscow, had served as secretary general of the +Comintern (Communist International), founded under Lenin's guidance in +1919. Dimitrov returned to his homeland in late 1945, resumed his +Bulgarian citizenship, and took over the leadership of the BKP and the +government. He was instrumental in developing the 1947 Constitution +(usually referred to as the Dimitrov Constitution) and set about +remaking his country's economic, political, and social structures in the +Soviet image. Nationalization of all means of production, +collectivization of agriculture, and an ambitious program of +industrialization all commenced under Dimitrov. + +Dimitrov died in 1949 but, before he died, his programs were well under +way, the Moscow-oriented BKP was in complete control, and the country +was firmly in the Soviet orbit. Several years later, even though the +term _satellite_ was no longer used to describe the Eastern European +countries aligned with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria was considered to be +the most rigidly loyal of all former Soviet satellites. Shortly after +the death of Dimitrov, the top position of leadership was secured by +Vulko Chervenkov who, over the next few years, earned a reputation as +Bulgaria's version of Stalin. After Stalin died, Chervenkov's power base +eroded to the point that he was forced to give up the top party post in +favor of Zhivkov; Chervenkov retained the top position in the +government, however, and remained on the scene as an opposing locus of +political power. The intraparty factional strife that ensued lasted into +the 1960s, but Zhivkov, who had established a close relationship with +Soviet party leader Nikita Khrushchev, eventually overcame the +opposition and stabilized his regime. Zhivkov also managed to establish +close relations with the Soviet leaders who ousted Khrushchev and has +apparently maintained good rapport with Leonid Brezhnev, the general +secretary of the Soviet party. + +The BKP in 1973 was structured very much like the Communist Party of the +Soviet Union. The structure is pyramidal in form, the general membership +making up the base and the office of first secretary occupying the apex. +Between the two extremes the most important bodies from bottom to top +are the Party Congress, the Central Committee, the Secretariat, and the +Politburo. The Party Congress is a large gathering of delegates, +representing the rank and file, that meets every five years, +theoretically, to make party policy, amend party statutes if necessary, +and determine the party program for the ensuing five-year period. +Actually the congress is a large, unwieldy body (over 1,500 delegates at +the 1971 congress), which meets to demonstrate solidarity rather than to +make policy. The congress, by party statute, elects the Central +Committee, which is a permanently sitting body that acts in the name of +the congress during the long intervals when the larger body is not in +session. The so-called election of the Central Committee is, in fact, a +ratification of preselected members. The same holds true for the +election of the Politburo and the Secretariat by the Central +Committee--in effect, the Politburo has already determined its own +membership and that of the Secretariat, and the election process by the +Central Committee is unanimous confirmation rather than election, +making the Politburo a self-perpetuating body. + +The Politburo for policymaking and the Secretariat for policy +implementation are the true centers of power in the overall +party-government system. The Central Committee is an operating body and +is made up of important members of the party, although they rank below +the small group that has reached the top echelons of the structure. It +is the interlocking of various party and government positions that +really concentrates power in the hands of a few individuals and permits +the ultimate leader, Zhivkov, to control the entire apparatus. Zhivkov +himself is an example of the interlocking in that, since 1971, he has +been the first secretary of the party and a member of the Politburo at +the same time that he was the president of the governmental State +Council. Only one other individual in 1973 combined membership in the +party's most prestigious bodies--Politburo and Secretariat--with +membership in the government's leading body--the State Council. Two +other party secretaries were candidate (nonvoting) members of the +Politburo, but they did not concurrently hold any high government +office. + +The government established under the Dimitrov Constitution, as changed +by the Constitution of 1971, is the instrument through which the party +administers the country. The central government consists, essentially, +of the National Assembly, the State Council, and the Council of +Ministers. The unicameral National Assembly is described in the +constitution as "a supreme body of state power," whereas the State +Council is described as "a supreme constantly functioning body of state +power." In practice, if one or the other were to be described as the +single supreme body of state power, it would be the State Council, the +membership of which in 1973 included seven (out of twenty-four) members +or candidate members of the party Politburo and the operations of which, +during its first two years of existence, have stamped it with the mark +of supreme authority. + +The role of the National Assembly as a legislative body is circumscribed +by the infrequency of its meetings. The assembly is popularly elected +from a single list of nominees at five-year intervals, but it is +required to meet only three times annually. The sessions of the assembly +are usually so brief that it functions as an after-the-fact approving +body rather than as a legislature. The development and initiation of new +legislation, therefore, is handled outside of the actual legislature, +primarily by the State Council and the Council of Ministers. + +At its first session after general elections the National Assembly +elects the State Council, but it would be highly unlikely if not +impossible for the assembly to refuse to elect the complete slate of +nominees that has been preselected by the party hierarchy. The election +of the State Council, therefore, as is the case with various party +elections, is a unanimous vote of approval rather than a true election. +The State Council is the true center of the government. When it was +created by the 1971 Constitution, Zhivkov chose to relinquish his +governmental post as chairman of the Council of Ministers (the +country's premier) and assume the position of president of the State +Council, leaving no doubt about where real governmental power lay. The +State Council, in effect, is a collective executive body that, because +the National Assembly meets so infrequently, also becomes a major +initiator of legislation. + +The Council of Ministers, also elected by the National Assembly in the +same manner as the State Council, functions as the administrative arm of +the government. Here again, party influence is pervasive. In 1973 the +chairman of the council (premier) and four deputy chairmen were +concurrently members of the party Politburo, the minister of internal +affairs was a candidate member of the Politburo, and most other +ministers were members of the Central Committee. + +Matters of state--such as defense, foreign affairs, education, and +welfare--usually associated with the central government of any country +are handled by individual ministries and are overseen by the Council of +Ministers. In addition to such affairs of state, however, various +ministries, as well as the council itself, are charged with +administering the country's entire economy, as is the case in other +communist-ruled states. In mid-1973 eleven ministries out of a total of +twenty-two dealt exclusively with economic matters. In addition, the +State Planning Committee, the chairman of which holds ministerial rank, +is of great importance in the overall economic structure. + +The economic ministries control virtually every aspect of the country's +economy. The goals of nationalization of all industry and +collectivization of agriculture were achieved early in the communist +era, and the efforts of the party-government ever since have been toward +increased efficiency. In Bulgaria the quest for greater production has +led to ever greater centralization of control. In the early 1970s this +quest has brought about the reorganization of industry wherein +industrial enterprises have been grouped into huge trusts at the same +time that collective and state farms have been similarly grouped into +so-called agroindustrial complexes. + +The consolidation of agriculture into extremely large complexes, begun +in 1970, was intended to raise productivity through concentration of +effort, specialization of production, and increased control by the +central government. The reorganization is a long-range program that is +expected to be completed by 1980, at which time authorities predict that +farm incomes will have risen to equal industrial incomes and, because +agricultural enterprises will be run just like factories, the social +differences between peasants and workers will have been eliminated. By +1973 results of the reorganization that had already occurred were mixed, +and it was still too early to assess the long-range value of the +agroindustrial complexes. + +In the industrial sector the consolidation of various enterprises into +trusts was undertaken in the early 1970s for the same reasons that the +agroindustrial complexes were formed, that is, greater efficiency +through concentration, specialization, and increased control. Bulgarian +industrial growth since World War II had been remarkable, considering +particularly the inadequate base of skilled labor and natural resources +in a country that had been predominantly agricultural. Bulgaria's need +for raw materials, machinery, and technological assistance during its +long period of industrialization and the Soviet Union's willingness to +supply them accounted in large measure for the extremely close economic +ties between the two countries. Because the growth rate had begun to +slow toward the end of the 1960s, the BKP decided to try a massive +reorganization of the economic structure as a remedy for the situation. + +In addition to the political and economic systems of the country, the +social system has been a major concern of the party and government ever +since the BKP took power. Social restructuring has resulted in a system +wherein the party elite occupies the highest level. This group is small +and represents the apex of the social pyramid. The next level down, +which is much broader, includes lesser party functionaries, +professionals, administrators and managers, technicians, and all +white-collar workers. The next level is made up of blue-collar +industrial workers, who constitute the largest group in the society. At +the bottom of the structure are the peasants. There are, of course, +gradations of power, privilege, and prestige within all of the social +groupings. The society has been very mobile since World War II with +rapid upward mobility based mainly on the expanding economy, +industrialization, and modernization. Toward the end of the 1960s, as +the economic growth rate slowed, so also did the social mobility, and +there was evidence that social groups were stabilizing. + +Education has been the key to upward mobility and, since coming to +power, the Communists have given preference in educational opportunity +to formerly underprivileged groups. At the beginning of the 1970s, +however, the percentage of students of worker and peasant origin +enrolled in institutions of higher learning was far below the percentage +of workers and peasants in the population. Students from the lower +income groups have not competed favorably against those from more +advantaged backgrounds and, although upward mobility is not blocked, it +has been becoming more difficult. Membership in the BKP remains +important for persons desiring to move upward in the social structure. + +For the leadership the importance of education lies in the fact that it +is the best means for orienting the people in the official ideology as +well as for training the professionals, technicians, and skilled workers +needed to run the country. The ideological indoctrination is pervasive +throughout the entire school system, but the concurrent goal of meeting +the needs of the economy has suffered because the system of higher +education has not expanded rapidly enough to absorb most secondary +school graduates who are desirous and capable of pursuing higher +studies. Many educational reforms have been enacted over the years, but +they have been cautious and limited and have not attacked the major +problem of providing much greater funding for higher education. + +In the cultural sphere the party and government have promoted pride in +the ancient Bulgarian heritage but have regulated art, music, and +literature in order to bring about conformity with the Soviet-developed +doctrine of Socialist Realism. Throughout the communist era there have +been periods of freeze and thaw in the controls imposed on artists and +intellectuals, but the periods of greatest restriction in later years +have not equaled the severity of the Stalinist times. In the 1960s and +early 1970s control has been exercised primarily through publishers, art +galleries, theaters, and other outlets. Artists and intellectuals know +that their work must pass through state-owned outlets if it is to be +seen or heard; therefore, they exercise self-censorship to ensure +acceptability. Other means of control are the professional unions that +all artists, writers, and actors must join if their work is to be +exhibited or published. The unions are run by the BKP and, in effect, +become instruments through which the party promotes its cultural +policies. For some artists conformity with ideological goals leads to +upward social mobility, and some enjoy privileges and life-styles that +are usually reserved for the ruling elite. + +For control of the general population the government relies on the +regular police, court, and penal systems, which are supplemented by +state security police, paramilitary police auxiliaries, and militarized +border guards. The regular police forces, the auxiliaries, and the state +security police are all under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of +Internal Affairs, whereas the border guards are subordinated to the army +and are regulated by the Ministry of National Defense. Courts and penal +institutions are under the Ministry of Justice. + +Also as means of control, the government sanctions and the party +operates a number of mass organizations that affect or influence the +lives of most people in the country. The Fatherland Front is a large +umbrella organization that includes all other groups as well as +individual members. The other mass organizations include trade unions, +youth groups, athletic societies, and similar interest groups. Other +than these officially sanctioned groups, there are no organizations +permitted and, because the party retains control through the leadership +positions, all organized activity in the country comes under BKP +supervision. Such organizations also serve as upward channels of +information through which the party hierarchy is able to keep in touch +with popular opinion. + +Militarily, Bulgaria in 1973 maintained about 160,000 men in its armed +forces, which are committed to the Soviet-dominated alliance known as +the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact). Ground forces constitute +the great bulk of the so-called Bulgarian People's Army, but it also +includes a small air and air defense force, a small naval force, and the +border guards. All of the armed forces are under the supervision of the +Ministry of National Defense, but top-level policymaking is a +prerogative of the BKP. The party maintains great influence in the armed +forces through the officer corps, 85 percent of which is made up of +party members. Those officers who are not party members usually belong +to the communist youth organization. Many career noncommissioned +officers are also party members and, for the conscript in the ranks, +political indoctrination is as regular as his military training. + + + + +CHAPTER 2 + +HISTORICAL SETTING + + +The history of Bulgaria is marked by four interrelated motifs or themes. +The first motif is that of regional rivalry coupled with irredentism. +The second is Bulgaria's strategic significance for the leading powers +of Europe and the varying relationships with those powers. The third +theme is Bulgaria's constant conflict between loyalty to, and alliances +with, the East--particularly Russia and the Soviet Union--on the one +hand and to the West--particularly Italy and Germany--on the other. The +fourth major theme in Bulgarian history is the influence exerted by +Russia (and the Soviet Union) on the internal and external affairs of +Bulgaria. This influence was intermittent from the late nineteenth +century until World War II but was constant after that war. + +From its earliest history Bulgaria was in continual conflict with its +Balkan neighbors. The area that eventually became Bulgaria was the +object of regional disputes as early as the fourth century B.C. Later, +when that area was taken over by the Slavs in the sixth century A.D. and +the Bulgars in the seventh, a state evolved that proceeded to encroach +on the territory of the mighty Byzantine Empire itself. Despite +successful raids and conquests during the periods of the First Bulgarian +Kingdom and the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, Bulgaria was eventually +reduced to subject status by the Byzantines and later by the Ottoman +Turks. During Turkish rule the country was not only under constant +attack by neighbors but was also utilized by the Turks as a base for +Turkish expansion. When Bulgaria was finally liberated from the Turks by +the Russians, irredentism and regional rivalry became the prime focus of +its foreign policy. Macedonia, a much-valued land throughout Bulgarian +history, became the major object of Bulgaria's irredentist campaigns, +although eventually most of the land reverted to Serbia and was later +incorporated into Yugoslavia. Macedonia, in addition to Thrace, which +was valued because it provided access to the sea, was the primary motive +for Bulgaria's role not only in the two Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913 but +also in the two world wars. + +Bulgaria was not only struggling for power throughout its history; it +was also a pawn in the power struggles of the so-called great powers. +Before the Christian era the area was conquered first by Greece and +later by Rome and was influenced strongly by both of these early +cultures. Later, when the Slavs and Bulgars succeeded in forming a +united state, the country was still besieged by both Byzantium and +Rome. Although the Romans eventually lost their hold over Bulgaria, the +Byzantine Empire took both political and religious control of the +country for two centuries. When Bulgaria managed to reassert its +autonomy in the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, independence was +short lived, and the country again fell under alien control, this time +to the Ottoman Turks. The Turks dominated Bulgaria for five centuries, +until liberation by the Russians temporarily gave the country full +sovereignty. Before each of the two world wars of the twentieth century, +Bulgaria was actively courted by both sides as a potentially strategic +ally. Realizing Bulgaria's territorial aspirations, Germany played upon +Bulgarian irredentism in order to gain its collaboration in the wars, +and both times Bulgaria emerged on the losing side. When World War II +ended for Bulgaria in 1944, it fell under Soviet influence, where it has +remained ever since. + + +EARLY HISTORY + +The history of the country that became modern Bulgaria can be traced +back many hundreds of years before the time of Christ, predating by +fifteen or more centuries the arrival of the people known as Bulgars, +from whom the country ultimately took its name. The earliest people to +have a viable political organization in the area were the Thracians, +whose loosely organized tribes occupied and controlled much of the +Balkan Peninsula. Later, when their society began to disintegrate, the +Thracians fell under Greek influence and joined forces with Athens to +overrun neighboring Macedonia. In the fourth century B.C., however, +Philip of Macedon, competing with the Greeks in a power struggle over +Thrace, conquered Thrace and made the Thracians a subject people. + +This invasion was followed in the second century B.C. by a Roman +invasion of Macedonia and a subsequent conquest of Thrace. By the first +century A.D. the Romans totally dominated the area. Despite their strict +and unpopular military control over the population, under their tutelage +cities grew, roads were constructed, and mining and farming were +developed. + +In the third century A.D. a series of mass migrations into the Balkans +began; these migrations lasted for several centuries (see ch. 3). The +Goths came in four separate waves during the third century. In the +fourth century the Huns swept across the country, razing cities and +villages. They were followed in the fourth and fifth centuries by the +Visigoths and Ostrogoths who, like the Huns, continued to ravage the +country. These invasions culminated in the eventual conquest and +settlement by the relatively civilized Slavs in the sixth century. + +In A.D. 330 the Emperor Constantine established what was to be +considered a second Rome and named it Constantinople. In this period the +Roman Empire in the Balkans was split into two parts: in the east, +Thrace was once again under Greek domination, and the west was +dominated by the Romans. Constantinople was growing in power, and Greek +influence was eroding the political and cultural influence of the +Romans. By the mid-fourth century Rome and Constantinople were actively +struggling for domination over the Balkans. + +In the sixth century A.D. the Slavs crossed the Danube River and +occupied much of the Balkan Peninsula. Although the Byzantines built +fortresses to protect themselves, they were unable to hold the Slavs at +bay. Once the Slavs had taken over most of the Balkan Peninsula, they +succeeded in destroying the existing social system, rapidly replacing it +with their own. Soon the entire Thracian population became slavicized. + +In the seventh century A.D. the Bulgars in turn began to migrate into +the Balkans. They had come originally from central Asia and were said to +be related to the Huns. They were of the same stock as the Turks and +spoke a language similar to Turkish. Before migrating to the Balkans, +they had lived north of the Black Sea. Their social order was vastly +different from that of the Slavs, although eventually the Slavic system +became dominant. The Bulgars, unlike the Slavs who repudiated the +concept of kingship, were governed autocratically by khans. The Bulgars +were warriors who fought on horseback, and their customs and dress were +Asiatic. + +When the Bulgars overran what is now northeastern Bulgaria, they found +Slavic tribes already established and quickly made peace with them in +order to strengthen themselves against the Byzantines. As the Slavs were +far more numerous than the Bulgars, the latter were assimilated, and +within two centuries the Bulgars had been completely slavicized. The +Slavic language and culture were adopted, although the Bulgarian name +and political structure were retained. A Slav-Bulgarian state was formed +with the capital at Pliska. + +The First Bulgarian Kingdom lasted from A.D. 679 to A.D. 1018, when it +fell to Byzantium. During this period the social system resembled the +feudal system of Western Europe. The king, or tsar, was the leading +nobleman. As the political situation of the period varied, he was +alternately supported or opposed by the boyars (large landowners). The +great majority of the people were serfs. + +During the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. the Bulgarians consolidated +and further reinforced their power. By the ninth century they were so +powerful that they challenged the Byzantine Empire itself. Twice in this +period the Bulgarians controlled areas of Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia, +Romania, and even Russia. In a battle in 811 the Bulgars completely +devastated the Byzantine army that had invaded their country; killed the +Byzantine emperor, Nicephorus; and went on to lay siege to +Constantinople itself. The siege failed, but Bulgaria had established +itself as a power with which to be reckoned. + +During the ninth century A.D. Bulgaria once again became the focus of +Greek and Roman cultural and political rivalry. The dispute was finally +terminated when Bulgaria, under King Boris I, accepted Christianity +from Constantinople rather than from Rome. As early as 836 the Byzantine +Empire had sent two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, to convert the Slavs. +When the brothers were in Venice, they argued in favor of church +services and literature in the Slavic language, opposing the Roman +bishops who believed that only Hebrew, Greek, and Latin were suitable +languages for worship. This dialogue further exacerbated the tensions +between Byzantium and Rome. By 870 Boris made Orthodox Christianity the +official religion of the state. At this juncture Bulgaria fell under the +Byzantine sphere of influence, completing--for the moment--its break +with the Roman religion and culture. + +The influence of Cyril and Methodius upon the Bulgarian language and +culture is incalculable. They not only carried a new liturgical form to +Bulgaria but also devised a new alphabet known as Cyrillic. This new +alphabet soon replaced Latin and Greek as the only form of writing, and +on its base a new Slavic literature and culture grew up. + +When Bulgaria adopted Christianity from Byzantium, it also adopted +Byzantium's territorial ambitions. Under Tsar Simeon (A.D. 893-927), a +period known as the Golden Age, Bulgaria extended its territories from +the Black Sea in the east to the southern Carpathian Mountains in the +north, to the Sava River in the west, and to Macedonia in the southwest. +It was in this period that Bulgaria reached the peak of its territorial +expansion, penetrating deep into the Byzantine Empire. Macedonia and +Albania became Bulgaria's new frontiers; in 924 Serbia fell under +Bulgarian rule. With these victories Simeon claimed the title tsar of +all the Bulgarians and the Greeks. + +With the territorial expansion came a domestic flourishing in the arts +and an increase in trade. The arts and architecture of the period were +significant for their beauty and vitality. Preslav, then the capital +city, became the center of culture. Crafts, such as goldsmithing, +pottery, stonemasonry, and blacksmithing grew, and shops sprang up +everywhere. At the same time literature flourished, and education and +scholarship took on a new importance. Knowledge of Slavic literature +became widespread, and writers treated such varied topics as religion, +grammar, logic, and patriotism. + +By the end of the tenth century A.D., however, the First Bulgarian +Kingdom was beginning to decline. Internally, the local population was +weary from continual warring and from the oppression of feudalism. The +boyars continued to struggle against the king and his council for their +own autonomy. Because of the internal weakness of the country, +Bulgaria's neighbors began to encroach on her borders. The Magyars +(Hungarians) attacked from the northwest, seizing territory north of the +Danube River. The Byzantines in 967 formed an alliance with the prince +of Kiev in Russia and, because of this alliance, succeeded in invading +Bulgaria repeatedly. + +In the late tenth century there was a brief revival of Bulgarian power +under Samuel, when the Bulgarians succeeded in liberating the +northeastern sector of the country from Byzantine control and captured +southern Macedonia. But the revival was short lived. The Byzantine +emperor, Basil II, was determined to regain his lost land and once again +recaptured the northeastern sector. In 1014 Basil again invaded +Bulgaria; defeated Samuel's army; and, in an act of matchless cruelty, +blinded 14,000 Bulgarian soldiers. From 1018 until 1185 all of Bulgaria +was under Byzantine rule. + +The eleventh and twelfth centuries witnessed a period of extreme +hardship for the country. Byzantine domination was harsh and punitive. +Monetary taxes, which added to the already heavy burdens of the +peasantry, were levied in 1040. Bulgarian feudalism was replaced by +Byzantine feudalism. The Byzantine church itself was a vehicle of +oppression as it was later to become under Turkish rule; the church +owned entire estates and villages and the people who inhabited them. +There were a series of revolts during the eleventh century, but none +were successful in overthrowing Byzantine tyranny. During this period +the first and second crusades made their way through the Balkan +Peninsula, wreaking havoc among the local populations. + +The Second Bulgarian Kingdom was established in 1186 and lasted until +1396, when--like the First Bulgarian Kingdom--it was conquered by a +powerful enemy and neighbor. Ironically, history came full circle to +spell defeat for the Bulgarians. In the twelfth century, when the +Byzantine Empire was declining because of internal weakness, the +Bulgarians were able to free themselves from domination. In the +fourteenth century, when Bulgaria itself was weakened by domestic +strife, it was conquered by an enemy whose oppression was greater than +that of the Byzantine Empire: the Ottoman Turks. + +At the close of the twelfth century the internal situation in Bulgaria +was deteriorating. Taxes had been increased, and the burden borne by the +peasants became still heavier. The feudal lords openly began to proclaim +their independence from Byzantium, whose empire was by now steadily +declining. Bulgaria was surrounded by its enemies: the Ottoman Turks, +the Magyars, and the Normans. In 1183 the Magyars invaded, penetrating +as far as Sofia. Realizing the vulnerability of the Byzantine Empire, +the Bulgarians rebelled under the leadership of two brothers, Asen and +Peter. The brothers first liberated northeastern Bulgaria and then +proceeded into Thrace, where they were opposed by Isaac Angel, then +emperor of Byzantium. In 1187 a peace treaty was concluded in which +Byzantium conceded autonomy to Bulgaria. + +Despite the peace treaty, however, the Bulgarians continued to wage war +against the empire, hoping to regain northern Bulgaria and Macedonia--a +contested territory and bitterly disputed issue throughout Bulgarian +history. In 1201 the empire again concluded a peace treaty with the +Bulgarians, ceding all of northern Bulgaria and a large part of +Macedonia. Eventually, in 1207 Constantinople recognized the complete +independence of Bulgaria, and Bulgarian freedom was firmly established. + +This new-found independence, however, did not extend to the Bulgarian +church, which was still under the aegis of the empire. For that reason +Kaloyan, the Bulgarian ruler, negotiated with the Roman pope, Innocent +III, in order to ally the Bulgarian church with the church of Rome. The +motives of Rome and those of Kaloyan were similar: to isolate the +influence of Byzantium from Bulgaria. In 1204 Kaloyan was crowned king +by the papal nuncio in Turnovo. Although this union lasted only briefly, +it served the purpose for which it was designed, and Bulgaria was +effectively cut off from Byzantium. + +During the thirteenth century the Holy Roman Empire replaced the +Byzantine Empire on the borders of Bulgaria, and Byzantine aggression +was replaced by that of the Holy Roman Empire. When Rome declared war on +Bulgaria, the Bulgarians invaded Thrace, defeating the crusaders at +Adrianople in 1205. The reestablishment of the Bulgarian patriarchate in +1235 represented the end of the short-lived alliance between the +Bulgarian church and Rome. + +Under the reign of Ivan Asen II in the mid-thirteenth century peace was +again restored, and the country once more extended its territories. The +Bulgarians succeeded in capturing eastern Thrace, the Aegean coast, +Albania, and Macedonia. Bulgarian territory at this time was as great as +under the reign of Tsar Simeon; with these conquests Bulgaria became the +largest state in the Balkans. The country was now surrounded by three +seas--the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, and the Adriatic Sea--opening the +country's doors to foreign trade and culture. + +Again, as in the time of Simeon, the arts and cultural life of the +country flourished. Monasteries, churches, and fortresses were +constructed. Religious literature and art achieved a high level of +excellence, and secular works became popular. The first chronicle of +Bulgarian history was written, and an interest in history grew among the +people. The first Bulgarian coins were minted at this time. Trade, +particularly with Italy, increased greatly because of Bulgaria's free +access to the sea. Merchants and ambassadors came to Bulgaria from +abroad, lending their influence to Bulgaria's economic and cultural +life. + +By the second half of the thirteenth century, however, internal +conditions in the country had deteriorated. The feudal system, which had +been further consolidated during the thirteenth century, had exacerbated +the tensions of the peasants, and hostilities among the boyars +increased. The throne was contested between 1257 and 1277 and was +eventually taken forcibly by Ivailo, known as the swineherd tsar because +of his leadership of a peasant uprising in 1277. + +Meanwhile, Bulgaria's neighbors again sensed an opportune time to attack +because of the internal divisions in the country. The Byzantines +conquered several parts of Macedonia and Thrace, and the Hungarians and +Tatars invaded on another front. At one point the Hungarian king +declared himself king of Bulgaria. In 1242 there was a large-scale +Mongol invasion. Tatar raids went on continually between 1241 and 1300. +The country was totally fragmented; each separate area attempted to ally +itself with its former enemies, whether Russian, Hungarian, or Tatar, in +order to prevent widespread damage. + +By the fourteenth century the Turks began to envision the conquest of +Bulgaria. Internally the boyars continued to fight among themselves, and +externally the country was threatened alternately by Byzantium and by +Serbia. By the mid-fourteenth century all of Macedonia was under Serbian +control, and the Serbian tsar--much like the Hungarian king before +him--called himself the tsar of the Bulgars. The area of the country +retained by the Bulgars by this time was divided into three parts: the +last Bulgarian tsar maintained his capital at Turnovo in the central +highlands; the so-called Vidin Kingdom, ruled by the tsar's brother, +existed in the far northwest; and a principality of Dobrudzha was +established in the northeast. + +At the same time the Ottoman Turks were beginning to advance. Having +seized areas of Asia Minor, they proceeded to raid the Balkans from 1326 +to 1352. Under their leader, Murad I, they began to attack Thrace, +Macedonia, and parts of Bulgaria. By 1371 they were attacking +territories in northeastern Thrace. At this point they marched against +Sofia and, despite active resistance, succeeded in capturing it. Despite +an alliance with the Serbs, the Bulgarians were too weak to resist +further; in 1388 the Turks easily won a battle against the Serbs. The +fall of Turnovo was followed by the fall of Vidin and Dobrudzha. By 1396 +all of Bulgaria was under Turkish domination. + + +TURKISH RULE + +The Second Bulgarian Kingdom, like the first, had ended in total defeat, +and the darkest period in Bulgarian history began with the Turkish +conquest. Only the priests of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church--despite its +takeover by the Greeks--were able to preserve Bulgarian national +literature and culture to some degree. The Bulgarians once again were +subjected to foreign domination, only this time foreign rule lasted for +five centuries. Historians agree that Turkish rule was a death blow to +the creative forces that had been responsible for the development of the +country to that time. With Turkish domination the normal economic, +political, and social life of Bulgaria ground to a halt. + +The Ottoman Turks were at a far lower stage of social development than +either the Byzantine Empire, which preceded them in their occupation of +the Balkans, or the Balkan states themselves. The Turks lived an almost +nomadic life in primitive communal systems that were headed by tribal +chiefs. When the Turks occupied Bulgaria, they replaced the established +feudal system with their own more rudimentary and conservative +feudalism. Many boyars were executed or rendered powerless if they +failed to convert to Islam. The peasants were more completely under the +feudal yoke than they had ever been under Byzantine rule. The Turks +imposed heavy taxes and hard labor on the people of the conquered +country, whom they considered cattle. Young boys were taken from their +homes, proclaimed Muslims, and conscripted into the army. + +The Turks ruled Bulgaria by means of a sharply delineated administrative +system. Bulgaria as an entity did not exist for the Turks; the entire +Balkan Peninsula was known as Rumili (Rumelia) and was ruled for the +sultan by a _beylerbey_ (governor general) whose headquarters was +located in Sofia. Rumili was divided into _vilayetlar_ (sing., +_vilayet_), which were further subdivided into _sanjaklar_ (sing., +_sanjak_), each in turn ruled by lesser officials. Bulgaria itself was +divided into five _sanjaklar_: Kyustendil, Nikopol, Silistra, Sofia, and +Vidin. Although all land was considered to be the property of the +sultan, on the local level the land was distributed to feudal lords and +was tilled by non-Muslim serfs. + +A second vehicle for both administration and oppression that the Turks +employed--in addition to the land administrators--was the Greek Orthodox +Church. By 1394, before the final conquest, the See of Turnovo had been +subordinated to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, where it remained +until 1870. Greek bishops replaced Bulgarians, as Greek liturgy replaced +the Slavic. The patriarchate, in turn, was totally subordinate to the +sultan. The Greek clergy destroyed Bulgarian books and banned Slavic +liturgy. The Bulgarian language and all Slavic literature were +forbidden. Greek became the language in all schools. + +The hellenization of the Bulgarian church was used by the Turks as a +means to negate the nationalism of the people and thus dominate them. +The Turks attempted to some extent to convert the Bulgarians to Islam in +order to assimilate them more fully. Although many Bulgarians fled to +the mountains with the coming of the Turks, others stayed on and +accepted the Muslim faith, often for purely opportunistic purposes. +Those who did were generally placed in strategically significant +positions; frequently, as a reward for their conversion, they paid no +taxes to the state. The Bulgarian converts to Islam were called Pomaks +(see ch. 4). + +The plight of the peasants grew worse. Agricultural production dropped +as their exploitation continued. Although landowners were not persecuted +to the same degree as the peasantry, they were frequently displaced from +the land. Turkish cattle breeders entered the country to settle on their +lands. Lands were also taken to reward army commanders, provincial +governors, and knights in the service of the sultan. Still other lands +were given to immigrant Turkish peasants. The only food that was not +subject to requisition by the conquerors was pork, which was not allowed +in the Muslim diet. + +As the life of the Bulgarian countryside declined, so too did urban +life. Bulgarians were expelled from most urban centers and replaced by +Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Turks. By the end of the sixteenth century +two-thirds of Sofia's population was Turkish. Trade was virtually halted +for a time, and, when resumed, it also was dominated by Greeks, +Armenians, and Jews rather than Bulgarians. The towns themselves were in +a state of deterioration. The crafts had declined, economic life was +stagnant, and the Black Sea was closed to all foreign ships. + +As life within Bulgaria declined, the Turks began to perceive the +country as a springboard for further aggression against other +territories. Although Bulgarian hopes rose briefly when it appeared that +the Turks might be destroyed by their enemies, such hopes eventually +were dashed when the Turks emerged victorious throughout a period of two +centuries of conquest and aggression. + +In the early years of Turkish domination, the Turks waged continuous war +with Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia, and what remained of +the Byzantine Empire. Bulgarian hopes of liberation were fueled by the +Turkish defeat at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, when the Turkish army +was defeated by the Tatars. Resistance was eventually crushed, however, +and the Turks began to renew their conquests after capturing Salonica in +1430. In the Battle of Varna the Turks succeeded in capturing +Constantinople itself. + +After the defeat of Constantinople the Turks overran Serbia, Wallachia, +Bosnia, and Albania. Their conquests expanded to include Mesopotamia, +Syria, Arabia, and North Africa. In the sixteenth century Turkish +conquests continued under Suleiman the Magnificent, who succeeded in +capturing Serbia and Hungary in 1526. This triumphant expansion of the +Turkish state caused Bulgarian dreams to be destroyed, although sporadic +struggling within the country continued intermittently. + + +THE RISE OF NATIONALISM + +During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the first seeds of real +resistance to Turkish rule were planted in Bulgaria. On the foreign +front the Turks were constantly besieged by the Austrians and the +Russians. By 1683 the Austrian army succeeded in liberating Hungary and +Transylvania; they also were able to penetrate areas of Bulgaria and +Macedonia. These victories over the Turks again sparked Bulgarian hopes. + +During the same period the internal situation in Bulgaria continued to +signal the eventual decline of Turkish power and the rise of a Bulgarian +national spirit. Because of the increase in corruption and oppression by +the Turks, the Bulgarians began to rebel openly. In the 1590s, the +1680s, and the 1730s significant local uprisings took place. Although +these rebellions were not successful, they gave rise to the _haiduk_ +(forest outlaw) movement, which continued to carry out acts of rebellion +against the Turkish overlords. The people praised their acts of daring +and wrote folk songs detailing their adventures and exploits. In +addition to the revolutionaries the _chorbadzhi_ (squires), who were on +the whole a progressive force, were able to gain some concessions from +the Turks. + +In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries this latent nationalism grew +swiftly under the influence of outside forces penetrating the country. +The French Revolution--with its democratic ideals--had a widespread and +vital impact on Bulgarian national sentiment. Western concepts and +standards penetrated the country mainly by means of trade, an activity +that Bulgarian traders realized could only be expanded when Turkish rule +was terminated. In addition Bulgarian students studying in foreign +universities as well as Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries +brought back tales of Western life and ideals. At the same time, +currents of Russian revolutionary thought, as well as contact with +Polish refugees from the revolution of 1848, were sweeping Bulgaria. All +these factors coalesced and spurred the rising tide of nationalism +within the country. + +During this period of the so-called Bulgarian National Revival, a +cultural rebirth--which also stirred Bulgarian national sentiment--took +place on the national scene. In 1762 Father Paisi, a Macedonian monk, +wrote a treatise called _The Slav-Bulgarian History_ that appealed to +Bulgarians to recognize their national culture and to fight for their +own land and beliefs. Although the book was not published until after +his death, Father Paisi spread his credo by preaching his ideas in small +villages and towns. His message carried weight with many Bulgarians, and +his idealism promoted many to become politically active against their +Turkish oppressors. + +The Turks, during this period of growing Bulgarian nationalism, +attempted to recoup their losses by effecting some moderate reforms. +Although most of these acts came too late, they did succeed in enacting +administrative, social, and financial legislation that improved the lot +of the Bulgarians. Native leaders were consulted by their Turkish +overseers, and in one case a Bulgarian governor was appointed. +Provincial assemblies began to meet on a regular basis, and by 1876 it +was determined by the Turks that some degree of self-rule should be +granted the Bulgarians. + +The Turks were by this period in an inevitable decline. Although Turkish +rule extended over parts of three continents, the Turks continued to +expand their conquests. Military expenses became a staggering burden. +The Turkish economy was in an unfavorable position, and the Turks were +beginning to lose battles to increasingly well trained European armies. +The original Spartan life-style of the sultans and army officers was +becoming one of luxury and indulgence. All the signals for the fall of +the Turks were in evidence. + +As the movement toward national revolution grew up in the mid-nineteenth +century in Bulgaria, an ideological schism separated the movement into +two schools. The "moderates," led by a Bulgarian group in +Constantinople, favored negotiations with the Turks. The "radicals" felt +that such an approach would lead to inevitable failure. Although the +radicals turned to the West--France, Great Britain, Italy, and +Switzerland--for models of revolution and to Russia for practical +assistance in freeing Bulgaria from the Turks, in fact they hoped to +free the country from all foreign domination. Ironically, in light of +Bulgaria's later history, one radical leader wrote, "If Russia comes to +liberate, she will be met with great sympathy, but if she comes to rule, +she will find many enemies." + +The leaders of the radicals were Georgi Rakovsky and Vasil Levski. +Rakovsky continued for twenty-five years to organize armed detachments +along the borders of neighboring countries. Levski, for his part, +realized that a social revolution as well as a national revolution was +imperative for the true liberation of the Bulgarian people. He worked +sub rosa in Bulgarian villages and organized a network of committees for +the revolution, known as the Internal Secret Revolutionary Organization. +In 1873 he was captured by the Turks and hanged. + +By the early 1870s the seeds of revolution were sown as Bulgarians won +some political victories over their conquerors. In 1870, primarily +because of the activity of the Bulgarian priests, the Bulgarian Orthodox +Church was reestablished. Although the Bulgarian clergy was in large +part responsible for this action, it was probably tolerated by the Turks +because of their anger with the Greeks, who were then embroiled in a +revolt in Crete. In 1872 the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee +was formed in Bucharest; by 1875 this group became active in the +uprisings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, uprisings that were not easily +quelled by the Turks. + +As Bulgarian revolutionary sentiments grew, the Bulgarians turned to +Russia to help win freedom from the Turks. Although the motives of the +Russians and the Bulgarians were not identical, both wanted to rid the +Balkans of Turkish oppression. The Russians perceived the Ottoman Empire +as a very dangerous rival that they hoped to annihilate, thus gaining +control of Western European trade. The Bulgarians, although their +motives were also pragmatic, felt a deep sense of kinship with the +Russian people. The Russians, like the Bulgarians, were Slavs. Their +religion was identical. Even their language was similar. Thus, they +sensed a commonality not only of interests but also of cultures. + +The precursor to the liberation in 1878 was an unsuccessful uprising in +1876. The Bulgarians, at this point, were ill prepared for war, +politically and strategically. Thousands of Bulgarians were killed in +April of that year. Soon thereafter Turkish reprisals followed. Fifteen +thousand Bulgarians were massacred in Plovdiv alone. The savagery of +these reprisals was so brutal that Western public leaders spoke out in +protest. The governments of the West, however, fearing an increased +Russian penetration in the area, refused to act against the Turks. + +Although the revolution of 1876 had met with failure, it had succeeded +in loosening the Turkish grip on the country and in increasing the +feeling of the Russians that the time to attack was imminent. Finally, +after the Russo-Turkish war of 1877, the Russians invaded Bulgaria, +liquidating the Turkish army by March 1878. In these battles for +Bulgarian liberation, the Russians lost over 200,000 lives, a sacrifice +the Bulgarians never failed to recognize. + +The results of 1878 were mixed, and the outcome of the original peace +treaty was reversed within five months of its signing. Bulgaria became +an autonomous tributary of the Turkish sultan; complete independence was +not established until 1908. The original peace treaty, the Treaty of San +Stefano, signed on March 3, 1878, granted Bulgaria additional +territories, including Thrace and the much-valued Macedonia. This treaty +was reversed, primarily because of Western fear of Russian encroachment, +by the Congress of Berlin; the Treaty of Berlin, signed on July 13, +1878, unlike the Treaty of San Stefano, delimited Bulgarian territories. +The Bulgarians were forced to give Thrace and Macedonia back to the +Turks. Bulgaria itself was carved into two separate entities: the +principality of Bulgaria, including northern Bulgaria and Sofia, and +eastern Rumelia, or southern Bulgaria. + + +LIBERATION AND ITS AFTERMATH + +Although the 1877-78 war freed Bulgaria from Turkish rule, the outcome +of the Congress of Berlin once again denied to Bulgaria the land that it +perceived to be rightfully Bulgarian, thus setting the tone for an +irredentist foreign policy that lasted through World War II. Because the +West, particularly Great Britain, played a significant role in carving +up the Balkans, and Bulgaria in particular, in hopes of curbing Russian +power, many historians speculate that Bulgaria's alliances with Germany +in both World War I and World War II were products of irredentist +sentiment that grew out of the Treaty of Berlin. + +Bulgaria moved to recapture its lost territory only seven years after +the Treaty of Berlin. In 1885 it annexed eastern Rumelia--or southern +Bulgaria--by means of a military coup. The British were in favor of the +annexation as it represented an obstacle to Russian ambitions in the +Balkans; the Russians quite naturally were disturbed by the act. This +was the first in a series of Bulgarian moves designed to reestablish +earlier boundaries. + +The establishment of a Bulgarian government in 1878 was relatively +easily accomplished, and that government achieved a certain degree of +stability in the aftermath of Turkish rule. The Turnovo Constitution +(1879)--originally drafted by the Russians but rewritten by +Bulgarians--established an essentially advanced and democratic system. +It set up a unicameral parliament, which was to be elected on the basis +of universal suffrage; the parliament was to control the executive. The +monarchy, which lasted from the 1880s until World War II, was +established at this time under a Germany dynasty that was acceptable to +the European powers. Although the first prince was forced to abdicate by +the Russians, his successor established firm and advanced economic and +administrative institutions in the country. Eventually, because of a +crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country was able to declare itself +an independent kingdom in 1908. + +One historian has described the postliberation period as the "only +prolonged period of peaceful development" for Bulgaria. After the +liberation, land rose in value. Peasants were able to purchase land from +the Turks, and agricultural production rose markedly. Modern industry +grew up at a relatively rapid pace, although the country remained +primarily agrarian. The state began to take steps in education and +culture. All levels of education were expanded; students of higher +education studied both in Bulgaria and abroad; and illiteracy, which was +overwhelming at the period of liberation, was reduced to 76 percent by +1900 and to 54 percent by 1920. Science and the arts were actively +encouraged, and literature flourished once again. + +Financial burdens, however, escalated rapidly between 1886 and 1911. In +1911 the national debt was actually more than three times the size of +the national budget. At the same time, as industry increased, two +antagonistic groups developed: the urban middle class--composed of +merchants and white-collar workers--and the poor, who were generally +laborers or peasants. Working conditions in factories were nearly +intolerable, causing factory workers to interest themselves in the cause +of socialism, while on the farms the peasants began to organize a +movement known as the Bulgarian Agrarian Union (also called the Agrarian +Party), which was designed to offset the growing power of the urban +groups. In 1891 the Social Democratic Party was established; this party +later formed the base of the communist party in Bulgaria. + + +The Macedonian Issue + +By the early twentieth century the country was once again embroiled in +war; the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913 impeded economic and social +development in the country. Once again, as in the case of eastern +Rumelia, irredentism was the Bulgarian motive for war. Both eastern +Thrace and Macedonia, the lands ceded to Bulgaria by the Treaty of San +Stefano, were still under Turkish rule. The lands had not only large +Bulgarian populations but also strategic and economic significance. +Macedonia, more than Thrace, was of extreme importance to Bulgaria; +Bulgarians believed the population of Macedonia to be composed almost +exclusively of Bulgarians. The issue of Macedonia was, in fact, a focal +point around which Bulgarian political life revolved after 1878, because +that issue was seen by the Bulgarians as involving the territorial +integrity of their nation. + +Between the tenth and fourteenth centuries Macedonia was alternately +occupied by the Bulgarians, the Serbs, and the Turks. At the time of +liberation Macedonia was ceded to the Bulgarians by the Treaty of San +Stefano, only to be returned to the Turks by the Treaty of Berlin. In +1893 the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) was +founded. This terrorist organization, with the battle slogan "Liberty or +Death for Macedonia," fought a continual underground war of terrorism +against the Turks. In 1903 there was a major Macedonian uprising in +which two factions participated. Although the predominant faction +favored Bulgarian annexation of Macedonia, another group favored +complete autonomy for Macedonia. In 1908, when King Ferdinand proclaimed +Bulgaria completely independent, memories of the medieval Bulgarian +empire, which included Macedonia, were rekindled. + + +The Balkan Wars + +The tumultuous history of Macedonia set the stage for the two Balkan +wars. In 1912, at the onset of the First Balkan War, Serbia, Bulgaria, +Montenegro, and Greece formed an alliance to drive the Turks from +Europe. Turkey, who was at war with Italy at the time, was weak and +disunited. Macedonia and Thrace were hotbeds of internal disorder. In +October 1912 Turkey declared war on Serbia and Bulgaria, a move that was +countered by a Greek declaration of war on Turkey. In 1913 the +Bulgarians succeeded in capturing Adrianople, and the Greeks captured +Salonica, Crete, and Samos. Eventually, the Turks were badly defeated. +But the question of Macedonia remained. Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria all +laid claim to the land at the end of the first Balkan War. Eventually a +compromise was reached: the northern section went to Serbia and the +eastern section, to Bulgaria. + +Despite this compromise, the Serbs and Greeks remained wary of the +Bulgarians. In 1913 the Second Balkan War began, the Greeks, +Montenegrins, Serbs, and Romanians joining forces with their previous +enemy, the Turks, against their former ally, the Bulgarians. This +rivalry had been fostered by both Austria and Russia. Eventually, the +Bulgarians turned to the Russians for arbitration and finally signed a +mutual defense treaty with Russia. When the Romanians crossed into +Bulgaria, the Bulgarians--who were simultaneously fighting in Macedonia +and were therefore weakened by fighting on two fronts--were forced to +surrender. As a result of this loss, when the peace treaty of Bucharest +was signed in August 1913 and Macedonia was partitioned between Greece +and Serbia, Bulgaria managed to retain only a tiny fragment in the +eastern sector. + +Macedonia, however, remained an issue for Bulgaria. In World War I +Bulgaria succeeded in invading Macedonia. During the interwar period +Macedonia was divided between Greece, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia, +Yugoslavia retaining the largest portion of the land. In the 1923-34 +period Macedonian terrorism plagued the country and wreaked havoc on +Bulgarian political and social life. During World War II the Bulgarians +invaded both Greek Macedonia and Yugoslav Macedonia once again. Although +the Macedonians themselves were divided in their sentiments between +loyalties to Greeks, Yugoslavs, and Bulgarians, the land eventually +reverted to Yugoslavia during World War II. As an issue, however, it +still burns in the minds of the Bulgarians. The Macedonian question has +been aptly referred to as "that eternal Balkan sore spot of rival +nationalism." + + +WORLD WAR I + +As was the case in the Balkan wars, Bulgaria's primary motivation for +engagement in World War I was irredentism. Again the country was +determined to regain the two lands that had escaped her grasp in the +past: Macedonia and Thrace. Although Macedonia was prized for political +and social reasons, Thrace represented a strategically more significant +objective. In order to develop foreign trade, Bulgaria required an +outlet to the sea; Thrace represented that outlet. + +The domestic situation in the country before World War I was mixed. +Although Bulgaria's army had been demobilized at the end of the Second +Balkan War (1913) and economic conditions were rapidly improving, the +mood of the monarchy and the middle class was one of vindictiveness and +retaliation against those countries that had stripped Bulgaria of its +territories. The country became divided between those who wanted closer +relations with Russia and the Triple Entente and those who preferred an +alliance with the Central Powers. As the war neared, the struggle +between these camps intensified. + +Bulgaria, of all the Balkan states, was the only one to join the Central +Powers, led by Germany and Austria, in World War I. It was deeply ironic +that Bulgaria chose to side with her former enemy and oppressor, Turkey, +and against her former friend and protector, Russia. Again, the issue +for Bulgaria was the Macedonian question. Serbia and Greece, which had +triumphed over Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War, were allied with the +entente powers. Bulgaria chose to fight against these enemies in order +to regain Macedonia. Although the entente powers hoped to woo Bulgaria +to their side, they refused--because of Serb and Greek pressures--to +cede Macedonia to Bulgaria. The Central Powers, on the other hand, who +were already at war with Serbia, were willing to promise Macedonia to +the Bulgarians in exchange for their collaboration. + +In the early stages of the war Germany won victories in France and on +the eastern front. Although the government then ruling Bulgaria was +already inclined to join the Central Powers, these early successes made +German promises even more appealing. In August 1915 a secret treaty of +alliance was signed by Bulgaria and Germany, containing a clause that +promised Serbian, Greek, and Romanian territories to the Bulgarians. +Thus the quadripartite alliance was born, composed of Germany, +Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria. + +By September 1915 Bulgarian troops were mobilized and began to deploy +along the borders of Greece and Serbia. On October 1, 1915, Bulgaria +declared war on Serbia and, with the assistance of Austrian and German +troops, succeeded in defeating the Serbian army. At the same time the +Bulgarian army began to advance on Macedonia. There the local +population, a proportion of which was openly sympathetic to Bulgarian +aspirations, joined in the fighting on the side of the Bulgarians. +Although the Bulgarian army attempted to drive the entente forces from +southern Macedonia, it met with failure. This defeat was followed by a +period of prolonged trench warfare on the Balkan front. By 1916 Bulgaria +was also at war with Romania and, with the help of German and Austrian +units, managed a victory over the Romanians. + +While the war dragged on, the internal political situation was rapidly +deteriorating. The country was in a state of economic chaos, and the +living conditions of laborers and peasants continued to decline. Farm +production dropped quickly, resulting in famine and soaring prices. +These dire conditions gave a strong impetus to the growing antiwar +movement in the country. The movement was headed by the left-wing +Socialists, who attempted to correlate the antiwar movement with +socialist propaganda. The Russian Revolution of 1917 stirred some +elements of the Bulgarian population who, like the Russian people, felt +that their government failed to represent their interests and was +unresponsive to their needs. There were open revolts in the towns and +villages; underground activities were growing within the Bulgarian army +itself. + +By 1918 Bulgaria and the Central Powers were defeated, leaving Bulgaria +in a worse position than before the war. Hopes of regaining Thrace and +Macedonia were dashed, and the country was immeasurably weakened by +external fighting and internal division. The people were frustrated and +bitter. Although the war had stimulated Bulgaria's industry--there were +345 industrial enterprises in 1911 and 1,404 in 1924--it had been costly +in other respects. Bulgaria was forced to pay both reparations and +payments for the allied occupation that followed. Taxes rose, and the +value of the currency declined. As a result, King Ferdinand was forced +to abdicate in 1918, shortly before the armistice was signed. + +The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine was signed on November 27, 1919, ending +Bulgaria's role in the war and establishing her boundaries. Once more +Bulgaria had entered a war on the losing side, and once more its +irredentist ambitions had resulted in no territorial gains. At the end +of the war Bulgaria lost Thrace to Greece--thus failing in her attempts +to gain access to the sea--and a small area in the Rodopi (or Rhodope +Mountains) and a portion of its western frontier to Yugoslavia. As a +result of these losses, Bulgaria was left with a still greater sense of +frustration and hostility toward its Balkan neighbors. + + +THE INTERWAR YEARS + +The period between the first and second world wars was one of political +unrest and Macedonian terrorism. The country was in an almost untenable +economic situation at the close of the war: prices skyrocketed, people +died of starvation, and strikes were almost continuous. Out of this +situation two extreme political groups grew up. On the extreme Right was +a faction of the IMRO, which at that time demanded the annexation of +Greek and Yugoslav Macedonia. On the Left was the Bulgarian Agrarian +Union, the only party at the time more popular than the Communists. + +When Ferdinand was forced to abdicate, he was succeeded by his son, +Boris III. Real political power was, however, in the hands of Alexander +Stambolisky, the leader of the Bulgarian Agrarian Union. He led the +country as its prime minister from 1919 to 1923. When Stambolisky took +power, the peasants formed 80 percent of the population. Stambolisky and +the Bulgarian Agrarian Union were dedicated to improving the lot of +these people; in his words "to raising the standards both economic and +educational, of the desperately poor and depressed peasant class." + +Stambolisky, on behalf of the peasant populism movement, made several +sweeping reforms. He instituted various social reforms, spread +education, and built roads. His strong dislike of the commercial and +professional classes in the cities led him toward the objective of a +peasant republic. When in power he instituted tax and land reforms and +radically altered the legal system. His domestic policies were not +popular with all strata of society; his foreign policies were even less +popular. He favored reconciliation with Yugoslavia over the Macedonian +issue. In 1923 he was overthrown by a group composed of IMRO, military, +and other factions and was beheaded. + +The murder of Stambolisky was followed by a communist attempt to foment +revolution in the country. The leaders were Georgi Dimitrov and Vasil +Kalarov, later leading figures in the Bulgarian communist state. The +country was in a state of civil war, which was subsequently crushed by +the right-wing political factions of the country. Thousands of +Bulgarians were killed, and Dimitrov and Kalarov were exiled. In 1925 +the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary) was officially +outlawed. Although Boris continued as monarch, the country was ruled by +coalition governments and military dictatorships for a decade following +Stambolisky's death. + +From 1923 until the putsch of 1934 IMRO terrorism dominated the country. +Bulgaria's position toward Macedonia was clear and unequivocal: it +sought to annex Macedonia completely as it considered the land to be +Bulgarian and the people to be Bulgarians. In the Bulgarian sector of +Macedonia the Macedonians were given a high degree of latitude, some +Macedonians even holding high offices in Bulgaria. In the Yugoslavian +sectors of Macedonia, however, most Macedonians felt oppressed and +restricted. As a result of this mixed status and treatment, there was a +certain ambivalence in Macedonian sentiment, the IMRO terrorists +favoring complete independence and self-rule. Among Macedonian patriots, +two predominant factions grew up. The federalists favored an autonomous +Macedonia--which could, if necessary, be allied with Yugoslavia and +Bulgaria--and the Supremists sought to incorporate Macedonia within +Bulgaria, with aspirations of dominating the entire Balkan area. The +results of these divergent opinions were expressed in acts of violence +and terrorism that wreaked havoc in Bulgaria and eventually culminated +in federalist collaboration with the Ustashi--a group of Croat +separatists--and the murder of King Alexander of Yugoslavia. + +Macedonian terrorism was virtually ended by the putsch of 1934. The +government, the People's Bloc, which was a coalition of four parties +including the Bulgarian Agrarian Union was overthrown by the so-called +Zveno--or link--group. The Zveno group was headed by Kimon Georgiev and +was aided by the League of Reserve Officers. As soon as it seized power, +Zveno suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament. The king was +left with only nominal powers. Although the group did succeed for the +most part in ridding the country of Macedonian terrorism, its rule was +overtly authoritarian. By 1935 the king, with the aid of the military, +had regained his power and replaced the Zveno group with a more moderate +government. + +With the reestablishment of the monarchy, a royal dictatorship took +power and ruled over Bulgaria until 1943, when Boris died. There were at +this time no forces left to oppose the king, political parties were +negligible, and only a shadow parliament existed. Ironically, the +military, which had aided the Zveno in the overthrow of the king, now +was an instrument of his control. + +Foreign relations under Boris III before World War II were leading the +country again inevitably into a war that would bring it to total defeat. +In 1934, despite the suppression of IMRO by the newly formed government, +Romania, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey, as in the Second Balkan War, +were once again wary of Bulgaria's irredentist ambitions. In that year +the four powers signed the Balkan Pact, from which Bulgaria naturally +was excluded, in order to prevent Bulgarian encroachment in the area. +Although Bulgaria and Yugoslavia later established a rapprochement in +1937, the potential of a Bulgarian annexation of Macedonia was still +considered a threat by its neighbors. + +During the 1930s, while Bulgaria was viewed with suspicion by its +neighbors, it began to form new friendships with Germany and Italy. +Boris had married the daughter of King Victor Emanuel of Italy, a +country that had already become fascist, thus strengthening ties with +that country. At the same time, Bulgaria began to solidify its ties with +Germany, principally by means of trade. A new-founded prosperity was +based almost exclusively on German trade, an arrangement that eventually +weakened the country. Within a short period German agents were pouring +into the country. Thus, Bulgaria was on one side alienated from its +neighbors and on the other being drawn into the nazi-fascist camp. + + +WORLD WAR II + +Bulgaria's motives for entering World War II were once again based on +irredentism, coupled with almost total economic dependence on Germany. +Once more it hoped to regain the lands of Thrace and Macedonia, which +were lost after the Treaty of San Stefano was reversed by the Congress +of Berlin. The lesson of the two subsequent Balkan wars and World War I +had fallen on deaf ears. Bulgaria was still estranged from its Balkan +neighbors and once more was being courted by the former ally of World +War I, Germany. Germany, again realizing Bulgaria's territorial +aspirations, hoped to bribe the Bulgarian leadership with southern +Dobrudzha, which was eventually ceded to Bulgaria in 1940. + +In December 1941 Bulgaria placed herself squarely on the German side by +declaring war on Great Britain and the United States and joining the +Rome-Berlin Axis. This alignment, which derived primarily from +Bulgaria's irredentist policy, was given further force by dislike of the +British, who were held to blame by the Bulgarians for the loss of +Macedonia to Yugoslavia and Greece. + +Despite the declaration of war against Great Britain and the United +States, Bulgaria refused throughout World War II to declare war on the +Soviet Union. The Russians, unlike the British and Americans, were +popular with the Bulgarian people. They were still remembered for their +assistance to the Bulgarians in the past and were viewed by the people +as their liberators from Turkish rule. Not only did Bulgaria refuse to +declare war on its former liberator, but it also refused to make its +army available to Adolf Hitler for his eastern campaign. When Germany +declared war on Russia, Bulgaria continued to retain neutrality toward, +and to maintain diplomatic relations with, the Soviet Union. + +In the early stages of the war, before Bulgaria had declared war on the +Allies, it had already begun to regain some of the land lost during the +Balkan wars and World War I. Southern Dobrudzha, which had been ceded to +Romania in 1913, reverted to Bulgaria by August 1940. In the spring of +1941, supporting Germany against Yugoslavia and Greece, Bulgaria +regained Macedonia and part of Greek Thrace. When Bulgaria was rewarded +with these lands by the Nazis, Bulgarians perceived their gains as a +"historical national unification." By 1941 Yugoslavia was overrun, and +some of its territories were taken by Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria. +Italy received Montenegro, Hungary took part of northern Yugoslavia, and +Bulgaria gained, in addition to the much-prized Macedonia, the frontiers +of southeastern Serbia. The Bulgarians at this point were once again +approaching the frontiers that had been established by the Treaty of San +Stefano. + +Internally, the country was in relatively good condition during the +early stages of the war. The economy, based primarily on active trade +with the Germans, was booming. The Bulgarian people perceived the +fighting as essentially a "paper war" and were generally apathetic +regarding their role in the war. There was little suffering within +Bulgarian boundaries and little expression of hatred toward Bulgaria's +ostensible enemies. Despite Bulgaria's alliance with the Nazis and +Fascists, within the country Jews were for the most part protected +rather than persecuted. + +By 1943, however, the war began to change for the Bulgarians. Slowly the +Allies began to turn back German power. At this time Bulgaria was hit +frequently by British and United States air raids. Because of Bulgaria's +strategic significance and its declaration of war, albeit symbolic, +against Great Britain and the United States, Sofia and other major +Bulgarian cities became targets for American and British bombers. Sofia +was reduced to little more than rubble at one point, and over 30,000 +casualties were suffered by the Bulgarians. + +In 1943 Boris died and was succeeded by his six-year-old son, Simeon. In +fact, however, a three-man regency retained power, with Ivan Bagrianov +as premier. The regency was less actively pro-Axis in orientation than +was the late king; with its coming to power, thousands of political +prisoners were released from jail, and all persecution of Jews was +terminated. + +By 1944, when Germany and its allies were clearly losing the war, the +Bulgarian leaders sought to reverse the earlier decision of the king and +to seek peace with the Allies as well as with the Greek and Yugoslav +governments-in-exile. Despite sub rosa attempts to release itself from +agreements with the Axis, Bulgaria was unable to extricate itself from +the alliance. On August 22, 1944, the Bulgarian government publicly +announced that it was ready for a peace agreement with the Allies. + +The war was ended for Bulgaria when, on September 4, 1944, the Soviets, +after taking over Romania, entered Bulgaria. The exact sequence of +events has been interpreted differently by various historians. There are, +however, two major interpretations. One suggests that, once the Soviets +had occupied Romania and declared war on Bulgaria, Bulgaria--under a +hastily formed anti-Axis coalition government--immediately quit the pact +with the Axis and declared war on its former ally, Germany. The other +interpretation posits the theory that, on August 26, the Bulgarian +government had declared itself neutral, thus withdrawing from the war. +At this time it ordered German troops on its soil to disarm. When Soviet +troops arrived in Bulgaria, they found this so-called neutrality +unacceptable and insisted on a Bulgarian declaration of war against +Germany. This declaration was promptly carried out on the eve of the day +that it was requested. + +When the Soviets occupied the country in September 1944, the government +of the so-called Fatherland Front (Otechestven Front) seized power from +the existing government within five days of the occupation. On September +9, 1944, the Fatherland Front--under the leadership of Georgiev--officially +took control of the country on what was then termed an interim basis. On +October 28, 1944, an armistice was signed between Bulgaria and the Soviet +Union, which stated that all territories gained by Bulgaria since 1941 +would be surrendered. Only southern Dobrudzha, taken from Romania in 1940, +was to be retained. The agreement also established the Allied Control +Commission in Sofia under direct Soviet control. + +The results of the war for Bulgaria were mixed. In terms of financial +burdens Bulgaria's position was relatively favorable compared with that +of other countries on the losing side. In terms of territorial losses, +which resulted in a legacy of bitterness and continued irredentism, its +position was poor. As Bulgaria had suffered over 30,000 casualties in +the war, the Allies imposed relatively light peace terms. The Soviet +Union extracted no reparations from Bulgaria, despite the fact that +reparations were demanded from Germany, Hungary, and Romania. Yugoslavia +also canceled Bulgaria's debts. Overall war damages to the country +itself were generally moderate. + +In terms of losses, however, Bulgaria not only lost most of the +territories it had regained at the beginning of the war but also +ultimately lost its constitutional monarchy and became a Soviet +satellite. Although it was allowed to retain southern Dobrudzha, all the +territories that were of significance to Bulgaria's sense of nationhood +were gone. Macedonia reverted to Yugoslavia, and Thrace to Greece. The +Treaty of Paris, signed in February 1947, confirmed Bulgaria's pre-1941 +boundaries. Not only had Bulgaria lost these prized territories, but her +sovereignty as a nation was severely curtailed by the Soviet military +occupation. Both the armistice agreement of September 1944 and the +British-Soviet agreement of October of that year recognized Soviet +dominance in the country. Although this power over the country was not +expected by the Western powers to endure indefinitely, this illusion was +dispelled as Bulgaria soon succumbed completely to Soviet influence. + + +THE COMMUNIST STATE + +Growth of the Communist Party + +In 1891 the Social Democratic Party was founded; the Communist party was +eventually an offshoot of this movement. By 1903 the Social Democrats +had begun to split into what were known as the "broad" and "narrow" +factions. The broad faction retained the ideology of social democracy, +but the narrow faction became the Bulgarian counterpart of the Russian +Bolsheviks; its leader was Dimiter Blagoev, the so-called father of +Bulgarian communism. In 1919 the narrow faction split off from the +Second Socialist International and assumed the name Bulgarian Communist +Party (BKP). Although the party had great prestige abroad, it failed to +enjoy domestic popularity. The most popular party at the time--and that +favored by the peasant class, which was predominant in this +still-agrarian society--was the Bulgarian Agrarian Union. The BKP, on +the other hand, was composed almost exclusively of intellectuals and +students and held little appeal for the working and peasant classes. + +In 1923 there was an unsuccessful attempt by the Communists to bring the +country to revolution. When this uprising was quelled, the Communists +turned to terrorism in order to gain their goals, and in 1925 a plot to +assassinate King Boris was formulated. Once again the Communists met +with failure, as the king not only lived but grew more powerful. In the +last half of the 1920s the party faded from the scene, but by the early +1930s it was again revived and grew in popularity. + +During the late 1930s the party went underground as the king increased +his power. In 1939 the Communists reappeared and merged with the +left-wing Workers Party; in the 1939 elections the party doubled its +representation and took on an air of greater respectability. In 1941, +while the war was under way, the Communists realized that Bulgaria was +falling into the German camp. Although they were powerless to stop this +alliance, their activity in evoking pro-Soviet sentiment was successful +to the extent that--coupled with the basically favorable sentiments of +the Bulgarian people toward the Russians--it prevented the monarchy from +declaring war against the Soviet Union. + +Once the Germans began to invade the Soviet Union itself, the Bulgarian +Communists committed themselves to a policy of armed resistance, known +as the partisan movement. Historians dispute the extent of partisan +activity; some state that it did not become active until the Soviet +victory at Stalingrad in 1943, and others claim that the movement was +active from the onset of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. + +In 1942, on the initiative of Dimitrov, the Fatherland Front was +established. The organization was essentially a coalition, composed of +members of the Workers Party, the Bulgarian Agrarian Union, the Social +Democratic Party and the BKP. Its purpose was to overthrow Boris and rid +the country of the Germans, simultaneously forming a new government that +could more adequately meet the needs of the workers and the peasants. + +In 1943 the National Committee of the Fatherland Front was formed, and +this committee became the vehicle for the communist takeover in 1944. In +the same year the so-called National Liberation Army, composed of +partisans and certain units of the Bulgarian army who had joined forces +with them, was established. In the fall of 1944 there were approximately +18,000 people in the National Liberation Army, augmented by some 200,000 +people who sheltered and assisted them. + +Before 1944, however, the Communists were still not widely popular. The +apathy of a large portion of the population was due primarily to the +fact that the country had remained relatively untouched by the war; but, +as the country was not actually at war with the Soviet Union, little +rationale was provided to the Soviet-backed Communists in their attempts +to enlist the support of the partisans. The Bulgarian army and police +were active in hunting down the known Communists. All of these factors +precluded the possibility of the country becoming totally committed to +either the communist cause or armed resistance. By 1944, however, when +Soviet troops entered Romania, activity became widespread within +Bulgaria. In August 1944 Romania completely capitulated. By early +September the Soviet Union declared war on the Bulgarian government, an +act more symbolic than real, as Soviet armies met no Bulgarian +resistance. On September 9, 1944, the Fatherland Front was installed, +and the Communists were firmly entrenched in the country. + + +Development Since World War II + +At the time of the Fatherland Front takeover in Bulgaria the Soviets, +with the assistance of the partisans and units of the National +Liberation Army, occupied many Bulgarian towns and cities. It is said +that they were received by the people with gifts of bread and salt, a +traditional Bulgarian gift of welcome (see ch. 7). At the same time, on +the political front, the Soviets and their Bulgarian collaborators took +over the key ministries in the capital city and arrested members of the +government. + +The Fatherland Front--a coalition composed at that time of Communists, +members of the left wing of the Bulgarian Agrarian Union, members of the +left wing of the Social Democratic Party, and the Zveno group--was led +by Georgiev as the new premier. Dimitrov and Kalarov returned from +Moscow, where they had been in exile since 1925, to assist the new +government in its takeover. The Communists proceeded to rid the +coalition of certain opposing elements within its ranks. Nikolai Petkov +of the Peasant Union and Kosta Lulchev of the Social Democratic Party +were temporarily retired from the coalition. Large-scale purges were +initiated against German collaborators and sympathizers; many thousands +were either executed or imprisoned by the Communists. + +When plans for elections were made in 1945, both Great Britain and the +United States made a strong bid for the holding of popular elections. +Their hopes were temporarily defeated when, on November 18, 1945, +communist-controlled elections were held. The Fatherland Front won a +decided victory, eventually resulting in Georgiev's formal installation +as premier. His tenure in office was brief, and he was quickly succeeded +by Dimitrov. At this point Great Britain and the United States +protested, insisting that the Communists broaden their governmental +base. Thus, although the two leading figures of the BKP, Dimitrov and +Kalarov, were installed eventually as premier and president, +respectively, Petkov and Lulchev were allowed to take over control of +the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice, two vital +organs of the government. + +By 1946, however, the Communists had whittled down all opposition. In +July 1946 control over the army had been transferred from noncommunist +members of the ostensible coalition government to exclusively communist +control. At this time 2,000 so-called reactionary army officers were +dismissed. A plebiscite held in September abolished the monarchy, +declared Bulgaria a republic, and gave all power to Dimitrov as premier. +He officially took the title on November 4, 1946, and held it until his +death in 1949. When Dimitrov took power, any opposition that remained +was quickly eliminated. Once the United States had ratified the +Bulgarian Peace Treaty--a moment for which the Communists waited +anxiously in order to rid themselves of all Western control over +Bulgarian affairs of state--Petkov was summarily arrested and executed. +His party, the Peasant Union, had been dissolved one month before his +death. + +On December 4, 1947, a new constitution was adopted. It was called, +after the premier, the Dimitrov Constitution and was modeled on the +Soviet Constitution of 1936 (see ch. 8). One historian claims that, at +its first drafting, it closely resembled the Turnovo Constitution of the +late 1800s but was later amended to parallel more closely the +constitution of the Soviet Union. The Dimitrov Constitution created the +National Assembly as a legislative body. In fact, however, laws were +proposed by the Council of Ministers and passed pro forma by the +National Assembly. The constitution was approved by the National +Assembly in 1947. It defined collective ownership of production, stated +that the regime held the power to nationalize any and all enterprises, +and declared that private property was subject to restrictions and +expropriation by the state. + +By 1948 the small forces that continued to oppose the Communists were +finally eliminated. Many opposition Socialists and their leader, +Lulchev, were arrested, and the Socialist Party was abolished. The only +remaining Socialist party--the Fatherland Front Socialists--was forced +to merge with the Communists in August 1948. Thus, absolute communist +control was achieved within four years of the seizure of power. + +Bulgaria underwent a series of rapid changes in the early years as a +communist state. Agricultural collectivization--initiated in 1946--was +begun in the form of cooperative farming. By the end of 1947 +nationalization of banks, industry, and mines was well under way. +Nationalization was not a new phenomenon for the country, as railroads, +ports, and mines had been under state control since 1878, but it was +greatly extended by the Communists (see ch. 13; ch. 14). + +Religion was viewed by the Communists as a means for manipulating and +indoctrinating the people, much as it had been during the periods of +Byzantine and Turkish rule. Since its founding in the ninth century, the +Bulgarian Orthodox Church had claimed most of the population as members. +The Communists perceived a dual purpose in their cooptation of this +institution. On the one hand, by patronizing the Bulgarian church, they +believed that they would receive support from its members. On the other +hand, they sought to unify the churches by placing the Bulgarian +Orthodox Church under close control of the Russian Orthodox Church. +Therefore, the regime reestablished the Bulgarian patriarchate; the +patriarch, in turn, required all church members to support governmental +policies. + +Minority religions were treated as separate entities, although all of +them had to register with the Committee for Religious Affairs, a body +attached to the Council of Ministers. The leadership of all churches was +considered responsible ultimately to the state. The churches became +financially dependent upon the government as all church funds were in +the hands of the bureaucracy. A certain percentage of Muslims--who +constituted the largest minority religion--were expelled from the +country. Those Muslims who remained were organized into small +communities, and their religious leader, the grand mufti, was allowed to +retain his position as long as he remained subservient to the state. + +As far as other minority religions were concerned, their churches were, +for the most part, closed, and their leaders were either harassed or +executed. Roman Catholic churches were closed, the church hierarchy was +abolished, and in 1952 forty leading Catholics were tried and sentenced +to death. The Protestants were allowed slightly more latitude. Although +all Protestant schools were immediately closed, five Protestant +denominations were allowed to merge into the United Evangelical Church. +In 1949, however, fifteen Protestant pastors were executed. Some Jews +were allowed to emigrate to Israel in the early period of communist +rule, but in Bulgaria the grand rabbi, like the Moslem grand mufti, was +rendered completely subordinate to the state. + +In 1949 Dimitrov died and was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Vulko +Chervenkov, known as the Stalin of Bulgaria, who controlled the +government from 1950 until 1956. His was a one-man rule, patterned +completely on the rule of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. He was both +the premier and the First Secretary for the six years of his rule. There +was an increase in industrial production under Chervenkov. Production +plans, however, appeared to be conceived more in the light of Soviet +five-year plans than with regard to Bulgaria's economic needs. +Agriculture was almost completely collectivized, although production +goals were not achieved, and the standard of living declined appreciably +under Chervenkov's rule. + +In foreign policy Bulgaria under Chervenkov continued to follow the +Soviet example. International communism dominated all Bulgaria's foreign +policies. In the early 1950s Bulgaria supported the abortive communist +uprising in Greece. Chervenkov attempted to rid the country of all +Western influence and severed diplomatic relations with the United +States in 1950. After Chervenkov's term relations were reestablished in +1960 and promoted from legation to embassy status in 1966. Again, +following the example of the Soviet Union, which was then on strained +terms with the nationalistic Yugoslavs, Chervenkov purged 100,000 +nationalists from the party and executed Traicho Kostov, the deputy +premier, on the grounds that he was a Titoist. Because of Bulgaria's +antisocial behavior in the world community, the country was excluded +from the United Nations until 1955. + +Although Stalin died in 1953, Chervenkov retained his office as premier +until 1956 but held only nominal powers. He was ultimately purged in +1962. Chervenkov, in the post-Stalin period, was openly charged with +supporting the personality cult policies of Stalin. After Stalin's death +there was a degree of political relaxation under a policy known as the +New Course. Police terrorism abated, and there was greater freedom of +movement in the society as a whole. Travel abroad was tolerated to a +greater degree, and an increased interest in the welfare of the people +was manifested. The government actively courted the peasants in order to +win them over to its policy of collectivization. The working classes, +office workers, and even artisans were given more latitude by the +government. On the foreign front, following the example of Nikita +Khrushchev, who sought reconciliation with Tito, and despite Bulgaria's +reluctance over the still-fiery Macedonian issue, Bulgaria made some +efforts at reconciliation with Yugoslavia. In order to establish better +relations both with the Yugoslavs and with the Bulgarian nationalists, +Kostov was posthumously rehabilitated in 1956. + +In 1954 Chervenkov gave up his title as first secretary of the party, +thus setting a new precedent for separation of party and state posts and +dispelling the concept of one-man rule. Although Chervenkov retained his +title as premier temporarily, Todor Zhivkov became the first secretary. +Shortly thereafter, Chervenkov was replaced as premier by Anton Yugov. +As Zhivkov, despite his backing by Khrushchev, was not firmly in control +of the party, his takeover was followed by widespread purges. + +Zhivkov's rule, like that of his predecessor, emulated the Soviet model. +Unlike Chervenkov, however, Zhivkov based his government on the +principle of collective leadership. In the early years of his rule he +based his foreign policy on allegiance to the Soviet Union. He strongly +supported the Soviets in their border conflicts with the People's +Republic of China (PRC). Bulgaria, despite basic sentiments concerning +Macedonia, still attempted to renew its friendship with Yugoslavia, +again following the Khrushchev example. + +In 1962 Zhivkov purged the party of both Chervenkov and Yugov and made +himself premier as well as first secretary, thus reestablishing the +principle of unity of rule (see ch. 9). At the same time, this move +increased Zhivkov's control over the party. Internal problems continued +to plague the Zhivkov government. There were, in the 1960s, severe +shortages of food, housing, and consumer goods. + +Bulgaria's foreign policy under Zhivkov, however, continued on an even, +strongly Soviet, keel. Bulgaria's foreign policy has been assessed by +some observers as "a carbon copy of Moscow's." Bulgaria was, and is, +considered to be the most reliable partner of the Soviet Union in the +Balkans. In contrast, Albania has supported the PRC, Romania has pressed +its case for independence, and Yugoslavia has essentially followed a +nationalistic policy. + +Bulgaria's relations with Greece, which had been basically negative for +twenty years, became more positive in 1964 when trade, air traffic, +communications, and tourist agreements were signed. Because of the issue +of Macedonia, relations with Yugoslavia were, for the most part, cool, +although Zhivkov attempted to improve them from time to time. Relations +with the United States remained cool but correct. + +In 1965, shortly after Khrushchev's ouster in the Soviet Union, there +was an attempted coup against Zhivkov. The government tried in vain to +silence the story but, when pressed, stated that the conspirators in the +plot were Maoists, alienated by Bulgaria's anti-PRC policies. As the +coup was attempted only five months after Khrushchev's removal from +office, Zhivkov--whose power had been based to a large extent on +Khrushchev's support--was in a highly vulnerable position. For this +reason many attributed the conspiracy to those opposed to Zhivkov's +government itself and particularly those opposed to its subservience to +the Soviet Union. The conspirators included Bulgarian Communists, army +officers, and World War II partisans. The discovery of this plot +resulted in purges, the suicide of one of the leading conspirators, and +the reorganization of the Ministry of the Interior and the transfer of +its security functions to the new Committee of State Security, which +fell directly under Zhivkov's personal control. + + + + +CHAPTER 3 + +PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND POPULATION + + +Bulgaria occupies 42,800 square miles of the Balkan Peninsula, and its +1973 population was estimated at 8.7 million (see fig. 1). It is a +member of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact), together with +five other Eastern European countries to its north and northwest and the +Soviet Union. Bulgaria's location is such that its natural features are +combinations of those found in the western Soviet Union and in southern +Europe. Its climate is transitional between that of the Mediterranean +countries and that of north-central Europe. The blend of the various +geographic influences is unique, however, and gives the country a degree +of individuality that is not anticipated until it is explored in some +detail. + +It is a land of unusual scenic beauty, having picturesque mountains, +wooded hills, beautiful valleys, grain-producing plains, and a seacoast +that has both rocky cliffs and long sandy beaches. Soil and climate are +adequate to permit production of a variety of crops. Although only a few +mineral resources are present in quantity or in good quality ores, the +country has a number of them. Large quantities of brown coal and lignite +are available, but resources of the better fuels are limited. + +The people of the country have been influenced by its location, which is +close to the point of contact between Europe and the Orient. The area +had been overrun by so many conquerors and occupied for so long that +only since liberation in 1878 have a majority of the peasants dared come +out of the hills to farm the better land of the plains and valleys. + +The country fared poorly in the distribution of the spoils after the +First Balkan War in 1912. It was then on the losing side of the Second +Balkan War in 1913 and of the two great wars since. In spite of this, +its boundaries contain most of the Bulgarian people in the area, and +only some 10 to 15 percent of the population within its borders is not +ethnically Bulgarian. It has until recently been predominantly +agricultural. Industrialization was undertaken late, and it was not +until 1969 that the urban population equaled that of the rural areas +(see ch. 2). + + +NATURAL FEATURES + +Topography + +Alternating bands of high and low terrain extend generally east to west +across the country. The four most prominent of these from north to +south are the Danubian plateau, the Stara Planina (Old Mountain), or +Balkan Mountains, the central Thracian Plain, and the Rodopi (or Rhodope +Mountains). The western part of the country, however, consists almost +entirely of higher land, and the individual mountain ranges in the east +tend to taper into hills and gentle uplands as they approach the Black +Sea (see fig. 2). + +The Danubian plateau, also called a plain or a tableland, extends from +the Yugoslav border to the Black Sea. It encompasses the area between +the Danube River, which forms most of the country's northern border, and +the Stara Planina to the south. The plateau rises from cliffs along the +river, which are typically 300 to 600 feet high, and abuts against the +mountains at elevations on the order of 1,200 to 1,500 feet. The region +slopes gently but perceptibly from the river southward to the mountains. +The western portion is lower and more dissected; in the east it becomes +regular but somewhat higher, better resembling a plateau. Bulgarians +name local areas within it, but they do not name the region as a whole. +It is a fertile area with undulating hills and is the granary of the +country. + +The southern edge of the Danubian plateau blends into the foothills of +the Stara Planina, the Bulgarian extension of the Carpathian Mountains. +The Carpathians resemble a reversed S as they run eastward from +Czechoslovakia across the northern portion of Romania, swinging +southward to the middle of that country, where they run westward and +cross Romania as the Transylvanian Alps. At a famous gorge of the Danube +River known as the Iron Gate, which forms part of the Romania-Yugoslavia +border, the Carpathians again sweep eastward, becoming Bulgaria's Stara +Planina range. + +Considered in its local context, the Stara Planina originates at the +Timok Valley in Yugoslavia, continues southeastward as it becomes the +northern boundary of the Sofia Basin, and then turns more directly +eastward to terminate at Cape Emine on the Black Sea. It is some 370 +miles in length, and some twelve to thirty miles in width. It retains +its height well into the central part of the country, where Botev Peak, +its highest point, rises to about 7,800 feet. The range is still +apparent until its rocky cliffs fall into the Black Sea. Over most of +its length, its ridge is the divide between drainage to the Danube River +and to the Aegean Sea. In the east small areas drain directly to the +Black Sea. + +Sometimes considered a part of the foothills of the Stara Planina, but +separated from the main range by a long geological trench that contains +the Valley of Roses, is the Sredna Gora (Middle Forest). The Sredna Gora +is a ridge running almost precisely east to west, about 100 miles long. +Its elevations run to only a little more than 5,000 feet, but it is +narrow and achieves an impression of greater height. + +The southern slopes of the Stara Planina and the Sredna Gora give way to +the Thracian Plain. The plain is roughly triangular in shape, +originating at a point east of the mountains that ring the Sofia Basin +and broadening as it proceeds eastward to the Black Sea. It +encompasses the Maritsa River basin and the lowlands that extend from it +to the Black Sea. As is the case with the Danubian plateau, a great deal +of this area is not a plain in strict terms. Most of its terrain is +moderate enough to allow cultivation, but there are variations greater +than those of a typical plain. + +[Illustration: _Figure 2. Topography of Bulgaria_] + +The Rodopi occupies the area between the Thracian Plain and the Greek +border. This range is commonly described as including the Rila mountain +range south of Sophia and the Pirin range in the southwestern corner of +the country. As such, the Rodopi is the most outstanding topographic +feature, not only of the country, but also of the entire Balkan +Peninsula. The Rila contains Mount Musala--called Mount Stalin for a few +years--whose 9,500-foot peak is the highest in the Balkans. About a +dozen other peaks in the Rila are over 9,000 feet. They feature a few +bare rocks and remote lakes above the tree line, but the lower peaks are +covered with Alpine meadows, and the general aspect of the range is one +of green beauty. + +The Vitosha range is an outlier of the Rila. A symmetrical, 7,500-foot +high, isolated peak in the range is a landmark on the outskirts of +Sofia. Snow covers its conical summit most of the year, and its steep +sides are forested. + +The Pirin is characterized by rocky peaks and stony slopes. An +impression of the landscape is provided by a local legend, which says +that when the earth was being created God was flying over the peninsula +with a bag of huge boulders. The rocks were too heavy for the bag, and +it broke over southwestern Bulgaria. + +Some Bulgarian geographers refer to the western Rodopi and the Pirin as +the Thracian-Macedonian massif. In this context, the Rodopi includes +only the mountains south of the Maritsa River basin. There is some basis +for such a division. The Rila is largely volcanic in origin. The Pirin +was formed at a different time by fracturing of the earth's crust. The +uplands east of the Maritsa River are not of the same stature as the +major ranges. + +Sizable areas in the western and central Stara Planina and smaller areas +in the Pirin and in Dobrudzha have extensive layers of limestone. There +are some 2,000 caves in these deposits. The public has become more +interested in the caves during the past three or four decades, but only +about 400 of them have been completely explored and charted. + +To the east of the higher Rodopi and east of the Maritsa River are the +Sakar and Strandzha mountains. They extend the length of the Rodopi +along the Turkish border to the Black Sea but are themselves +comparatively insignificant. At one point they have a spot elevation of +about 2,800 feet, but they rarely exceed 1,500 feet elsewhere. + +Formation of the Balkan landmasses involved a number of earth crust +foldings and volcanic actions that either dammed rivers or forced them +into new courses. The flat basins that occur throughout the country +were created when river waters receded from the temporary lakes that +existed while the rivers were cutting their new channels. The largest of +these is the Sofia Basin, which includes the city and the area about +fifteen miles wide and sixty miles long to its northwest and southeast. +Other valleys between the Stara Planina and the Sredna Gora ranges +contain a series of smaller basins, and similar ones occur at intervals +in the valleys of a number of the larger rivers. + + +Drainage + +From a drainage standpoint, the country is divided into two nearly equal +parts. The slightly larger one drains to the Black Sea, the other to the +Aegean. The northern watershed of the Stara Planina, all of the Danubian +plateau, and the thirty to fifty miles inland from the coastline drain +to the Black Sea. The Thracian Plain and most of the higher lands of the +south and southwest drain to the Aegean Sea. Although only the Danube is +navigable, many of the other rivers and streams have a high potential +for the production of hydroelectric power and are sources of irrigation +water. Many are already being exploited. + +Insignificant when compared with the watersheds that drain to the seas, +about 125 square miles of the country drain into a few small salt lakes +that have no outflowing water. The largest such lake has a surface area +of 2.5 square miles. + +By far the greater part of the country that drains to the Black Sea does +so through the Danube. Most of its major tributaries in the country +(from west to east, the Ogosta, Iskur, Vit, Osum, Yantra, and Lom) carry +more water than do the combination of the Provadiyska, Kamchiya, +Fakiyska, and Veleka rivers, all of which flow directly into the Black +Sea. Of the Danube's Bulgarian tributaries, all but the Iskur rise in +the Stara Planina. The Iskur rises in the Rila and flows northward +through a narrow basin. Territory not far from the river on both sides +of it drains in the opposite direction, to the south. The Iskur passes +through Sofia's eastern suburbs and cuts a valley through the Stara +Planina on its way to join the Danube. + +The Iskur and the other of the Danube's north-flowing tributaries have +cut deep valleys through the Danubian plateau. The eastern banks tend to +rise sharply from the rivers; the western parts of the valleys may have +broad fields with alluvial soils. The peculiar, though consistent, +pattern is caused by forces resulting from the earth's rotation; these +forces give the water a motion that tends to undercut the right banks of +the streams. Some of these rivers are sizable streams, but the Danube +gets only a little more than 4 percent of its total volume from its +Bulgarian tributaries. As it flows along the northern border, the Danube +averages one to 1.5 miles in width. Its highest water levels are usually +reached during June floods, and in normal seasons it is frozen over for +about forty days. + +Several major rivers flow directly to the Aegean Sea, although the +Maritsa with its tributaries is by far the largest. The Maritsa drains +all of the western Thracian Plain, all of the Sredna Gora, the southern +slopes of the Stara Planina, and the northern slopes of the eastern +Rodopi. Other than the Maritsa, the Struma in the west and the Mesta +(which separates the Pirin from the main Rodopi ranges) are the two +largest of the rivers that rise in Bulgaria and flow to the Aegean. Most +of these streams fall swiftly from the mountains and have cut deep, +scenic gorges. The Struma and Mesta reach the sea through Greece. The +Maritsa forms most of the Greek-Turkish border after it leaves Bulgaria. + +About 3,750 square miles of agricultural land have access to irrigation +waters. Dams provide the water for about one-half of the acreage; +diversions from rivers and streams serve about one-third; and water +pumped from the ground and from streams accounts for the remainder. + +Of the dams, ninety-two are termed large state dams. Their combined +capacity is three times that of some 2,000 smaller dams. The sources of +four large rivers--the Maritsa, Iskur, Mesta, and Rilska (a major +tributary of the Struma)--are within a few miles of each other in the +high Rila. Water from the upper courses of these and several other +streams supplies the Sofia area with both water and electricity, and +they have a potential for further development. There are major dams on +the Tundzha, Iskur, Rositsa, and Struma rivers. The Danube is too +massive a stream to harness, and damming the Maritsa along most of its +course would flood too much valuable land. The rivers flowing north +across the Danubian plateau also tend to be overly difficult to use in +the areas where they are most needed. + +The Vucha River, flowing from the Rodopi into the Maritsa River, is +often used to illustrate how rivers have been effectively harnessed to +provide a variety of benefits. Its cascade system of hydroelectric +development employs six dams having the capacity to generate over +600,000 kilowatts of electricity. The water they back up serves the +municipal water systems in Plovdiv and a number of other towns in its +vicinity, and the dams provide irrigation water for nearly 250,000 acres +of cropland. The reservoirs themselves are being developed as +recreational areas and mountain resorts. + +Where a stream is difficult to dam or to divert, water is pumped from +it. This has been feasible only since about 1950, when low-cost diesel +engines and sufficient hydroelectric power became available from newly +constructed dams on other streams. About eighty-five huge pumping +stations have been set up along the Danube River, which furnishes about +three-quarters of the water acquired by this method; and in 1970 there +were about 1,200 lesser stations operating on smaller streams, most of +them on the Thracian Plain. + + +Climate + +For so small an area, the climate varies widely and is unusually +complex. Depending upon the depth to which they study the area, +climatologists list six or more climatic subzones. The country lies on +the line of transition between the strongly contrasting Eastern European +continental and the Mediterranean climatic zones, and its mountains and +valleys are local factors that act as barriers or channels to the air +masses, contributing to sharp contrasts in weather over relatively short +distances. The Black Sea, although too small to be a primary influence +over much of the country's weather, also affects the immediate area +along its coastline. + +In general, continental systems prevail in the north. They are +characterized by hot summers, cold winters, and precipitation well +distributed throughout the year, a major portion of it in early summer +thunderstorms. The Mediterranean climate that is influential most of the +time in the south has mild, damp winters but hot, dry, rain-free +summers. The Stara Planina marks the lower limits of the area in which +continental air masses circulate freely in typical circumstances. In the +area between them and the Danube River there is an extension of the +climate that is common to east-central Europe and adjoining regions of +the Soviet Union. + +In the same fashion, the Rodopi marks the northern limits of domination +by Mediterranean weather systems. The southern slopes of these mountains +are sufficiently mild to merit the region's being called the Green +Greece or Bulgarian California. + +The area in between, which includes the Thracian Plain, is influenced by +both types of climate, but more of the time by continental systems. The +result is a plains climate resembling that of the corn belt in the +United States, which is characterized by long summers and high humidity. +The climate is generally more severe than that of Spain and the portions +of Italy, France, and Soviet Georgia that are in the same latitude. +Because it is a transitional area and the Mediterranean systems may +prevail for most of some seasons or retreat from the scene altogether in +other seasons, average temperatures and precipitation are erratic and +may vary widely from year to year. + +Precipitation over the country averages about twenty-five inches a year +and, when it is distributed normally throughout the seasons, it is +satisfactory for most agricultural crops. Dobrudzha, in the northeast, +the Black Sea coastal area, and parts of the Thracian Plain usually +receive less than twenty inches. The remainder of the Thracian Plain and +the Danubian plateau get less than the country average. Higher +elevations are the most generously watered, in some places receiving +forty inches or more. + +Although a low figure of 7.6 inches was recorded in Dobrudzha for one +year and the normal precipitation is marginal, both Dobrudzha and the +Danubian plateau are in the continental climate zone and usually receive +most of their rainfall during crop-growing seasons. The Thracian Plain, +however, has frequent seasons when it is under Mediterranean influences +and, when this is the case, it may experience prolonged summer droughts. +Irrigation is, therefore, necessary for dependable agricultural +production. + +A few sheltered pockets in the higher mountains may remain covered with +snow all year, and much of the other higher land remains white well into +springtime. Lower elevations are snow covered an average of twenty-five +to thirty days a year. Average cloudiness is about 55 percent, and +average relative humidity is as high as 70 to 75 percent. + +The many valley basins throughout the uplands frequently have +temperature inversions resulting in stagnant air. The Sofia area, for +example, is occasionally troubled by smog. The city's elevation of about +1,800 feet, however, tends to moderate summer temperatures and to +relieve the oppressive quality of the high humidity. It is also +sheltered from the northern European winds by the mountains that ring +the basin. Its temperatures in January average about 29°F, and in August +they average about 70°F. Its rainfall is near the country average, and +the overall result of the several contributing features is a rather +unexpectedly pleasant climate. + +The climate of the coast is moderated by the Black Sea, but there are +many windy days and violent local storms during the winter. The area +along the Danube River experiences bitterly cold winters, and sheltered +valleys opening to the south along the Greek and Turkish borders may, in +contrast, be as mild as though they were on the Mediterranean or Aegean +coasts. The so-called Black Wind, a local phenomenon similar to the +African sirocco, consists of hard-blowing, hot, very dry air and wreaks +havoc on crops. It gets its name from the quantities of dust it carries, +which often darken the skies. + +Regions in the Rodopi and the higher elevations around Sofia feature sun +and snow in a pleasant combination for about four months a year. Several +places have good and reasonably dependable skiing and are being +developed into holiday resorts. + + +Soils + +Fine, dark chernozem (black earth) soils, rich in loess and humus, occur +over a considerable portion of the northern Danubian plateau. They are +fertile, easy to work, and compare with the best soils in Europe. Away +from the river, approaching the mountains, there is a broader area that +is basically similar, but the subsoils are more porous and have allowed +the humus and loess to leach downward from the surface. The resulting +gray soil no longer rates among the finest, but it yields good crops in +some areas and, where it is less satisfactory, the land is forested. + +The Thracian Plain has comparatively little of the finest soils, but it +has much soil that is more than adequate to produce reasonably good +crops. The best on the plain is locally called _smolnitsa_. It is +basically a chernozem, but it is less fully matured and coarser than the +darker variety along the Danube. The plain also features fairly +extensive areas of good brown and brown forest soils. Meadow soils occur +in large areas in the vicinity of Plovdiv. Some are irrigated and +cultivated. + +Meadow and layered podzol (gray forest) soils occur in most of the +higher elevations throughout the country. Intermediate elevations +usually have brown forest soils, some of which are excellent. The +Maritsa and Tundzha and the major rivers that flow into the Danube have +wide valleys with alluvial soils. They may be coarse, but most of them +are fertile, drain well, and are extensively cultivated. + + +Vegetation + +Both the natural vegetation and the cultivated crops that have replaced +it on all areas that could be put to agricultural use reflect the +transitional climate of the country. North of the Stara Planina the +original flora was a continuation of that on the Russian steppe. The +steppe influence was greatest in the east, giving way to deciduous +forests farther to the west. + +Lands south of the mountains, sheltered from the colder extremes of the +continental weather systems, have been able to support plant life that +could not exist on the steppe. Areas along the Black Sea coast and in +valleys of the Rodopi that open to the south experience further +moderation. Many Mediterranean and subtropical species have existed in +them naturally, and others introduced by man have thrived. + +What remains of the original vegetation on the Danubian plateau is found +mainly along the river, where the land has been difficult to cultivate. +It includes brush grass, reeds, and licorice. The last two have +commercial value. Most of the original lowland deciduous forests have +been removed, and grain flourishes on the level expanses where the soils +are favorable. Other food and fodder crops are grown to satisfy local +requirements. The foothills of the Stara Planina are dotted with +orchards; plums are the most prevalent fruit in these northern areas. + +The depression, or geological trench, between the Stara Planina and the +Sredna Gora ranges, which is at the near center point of the country and +contains the upper valleys of the Tundzha, Stryama, and Topolnitsa +rivers, is sheltered and very humid and is ideal for the raising of +roses. One in particular, Rosa Alba, has become known as Bulgaria's +gold. Its flower is not an especially lovely variety, but it is +extremely rich in the rose oil that is the basic fragrance in many +perfumes and a flavor in certain liqueurs. Fields of them flourish in +the Kazanluk area, the so-called Valley of Roses. + +The Thracian Plain, between the Sredna Gora and the Rodopi, originally +featured a mixture of midlatitude forest and Mediterranean flora. The +forests have been removed from the level lands and have been replaced by +a diversification of crops, including truck vegetables, fruit orchards, +strawberries, raspberries, vineyards, tobacco, and cotton. The plain +also produces a variety of herbs and medicine derivatives. Digitalis is +produced from foxgloves; menthol, from peppermint; opium, from a species +of poppy; linseed oil, from flaxseed; laxatives, from iris and rhubarb; +and castor oil, from the castor bean. All of them are grown on this +plain. + +Where the plain touches the Black Sea, varieties of tropical or +subtropical vegetation appear. Vegetation is dense along the Kamchiya +River and on the banks of a few of the smaller streams as they approach +the sea. Reeds, lianas, exotic flowers, and huge old trees that grow +nowhere else in the country flourish in this region. + +In the southern Rodopi, where a few of the river valleys--those of the +Struma, Mesta, and Maritsa, for example--open to the south, the +vegetation is typically Mediterranean. Natural species include the +Mediterranean scrubby underbrush, maquis, and an assortment of flowering +plants and shrubs. Vineyards and subtropical fruit grow well in these +valleys. Such areas produce the country's peaches, figs, and peanuts. + +Mountainous regions feature Alpine meadows and pastures above the tree +line, where the terrain permits, and conifer forests immediately below +the tree line. Deciduous trees are native to all of the uplands of the +country with tolerable elevations. Beech predominates at intermediate +elevations, particularly on northern slopes, and oak, on the lower +foothills. There are dense elm, oak, and ash forests at lower elevations +in the Kamchiya River valley where it descends from the eastern part of +the Stara Planina. Scrub and brush prevail at all upland elevations +where terrain and soil conditions are poor or where the original forest +has been removed and has not been replaced. + +The Stara Planina has grassy meadowland and pastures on rounded summits +and higher slopes. In the springtime these higher lands may also be +brilliant with wild flowers and flowering shrubs. Cherry laurel, for +example, grows wild over wide areas. The meadows usually give way to +beech and to other mixed deciduous forests at lower elevations. Mixed +forests may contain varieties of oak, chestnut, hornbeam, elm, and ash. + +The most valuable forests are in the Rodopi, although many of them are +interspersed among inaccessible craggy hills. A majority of the +country's conifers, both the natural forest and those that have been +planted in preference to the slower growing deciduous, are in the higher +Rodopi, including the Rila and the Pirin. The most common of the +conifers are pine and fir. At elevations beneath those dominated by the +conifers, the mixture of broad-leaved deciduous trees is similar to that +of the Stara Planina. Of the forest area, only about one-half has tall +timber. Scrub on the remainder, however, serves to stabilize the soil of +the forest lands against erosion and to slow the runoff of water. The +rare and exotic edelweiss can be found on the higher slopes of the +Pirin. + + +Wildlife + +The clearing of forestland and the increase in human population have +driven most of the larger wildlife from their natural habitats, except +in the higher and more rugged terrain. Of the larger species, some +bears, wild boars, wild goats, wolves, elk, and several species of deer +continue to exist naturally. Foxes, wildcats, polecats, squirrels and +other rodents, and hare--better able to adjust to existing +conditions--are also surviving. + +Quail, turtledoves, wild fowl, and other game birds are hunted in +restricted seasons. Hunting seasons are also provided for some of the +deer species; the seasons usually last between two and four months, +depending upon the need to protect the animal, between the months of +August and February. There are bounties on wolves and foxes. Wildcats, +falcons, and hawks are also considered harmful and may be killed at any +time. The polecat--in Europe the _Mustela putorius_, a fetid-smelling +member of the weasel and otter family--is a bloodthirsty, insatiable +hunter that terrorizes poultry. It also may be exterminated. + +The many caves in limestone-dominated regions have given rise to various +types of blind fauna. The largest of them are crabs, but most are +insects, including mosquitoes, butterflies, spiders, locusts, and common +flies. Although they are blind, exposure to light is usually fatal to +such species. + +Rivers contain several kinds of freshwater fish, the most plentiful of +which are sturgeon, whitefish, and European carp. Mackerel account for +the largest percentage of fish taken from the Black Sea. There are no +sharks or other dangerous fish in these waters, but a rare Black Sea +seal breeds along the rocky coast north of Varna. + + +Mineral Resources + +The country's mountains contain a variety of metallic and nonmetallic +minerals. A few are of good quality, but most of these occur in very +small quantities. Iron and coal, which are basic to a metallurgical +industry, are mined, but neither of them is of the proper variety or +quality nor are they available in adequate quantities to be used +economically. + +Largest deposits of iron ore occur in the far western Stara Planina and +the Strandzha mountain range. There are smaller deposits in the vicinity +of Burgas, along the Black Sea coast, and near Sofia to the north and +west of the city. Estimated reserves total in excess of 10 million tons. + +Coal has been located in some twenty small deposits. There is an +anthracite basin in the Stara Planina twenty miles north of Sofia and +another in the extreme northwest end of the range. Bituminous coal +occurs in a larger basin in the central Stara Planina, but brown coals +and lignite are much more abundant. + +Copper, lead, and zinc are mined in quantities that exceed domestic +requirements. Bulgaria ranks high in the production of them among the +eastern and southeastern European countries and exports small amounts of +them. Among the other metallic ores, Bulgaria has three of the more +important alloying metals--manganese, molybdenum, and chromium--but the +manganese is of poor quality. Uranium has been discovered in several +deposits near Sofia and is being extracted from one or more of them. +Gold occurs in a number of locations but in small quantities. + +Of the fuels, coal is by far the most abundant and most important to the +economy. The search for oil and natural gas resources was intensive in +the early post-World War II years, and what were hoped to be valuable +fields were discovered in the early 1960s. Production, however, reached +a peak in the latter part of that decade. If it becomes economic to +exploit them, there are oil-bearing shales west of Sofia and in the +northwestern region of the country. The extent of these shales appears +to be limited, but their potential is believed to be considerably +greater than that of the oil-bearing formations where the crude product +is extracted by pumping. + +Other minerals extracted include salt, kaolin, chalk, talc, asbestos, +gypsum, mica, fluorite, quartzite, antimony, lime, sandstone, slate, and +pyrites. The pyrites are plentiful and produce exportable quantities of +sulfur and sulfur products. Fuel resources tend to be concentrated in +basins and on lower lands; most other resources, both metal and +nonmetal, are more frequently found in the Rodopi, the western Stara +Planina, and in the other western highlands. + +Mineral waters are locally considered to be an important resource. The +country boasts some 500 mineral springs, about one-half of which are +warm or hot. Their mineral content varies, as does the concentration of +the chemicals. The stronger of those considered medicinal are used for +drinking only. The milder are used for drinking and bathing. Sofia has +active hot springs that have been in use and have attracted people to +the area for centuries. Its first settlement was built around such a +spring. + + +BOUNDARIES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS + +Boundaries + +Bulgaria has had nearly a century of modern independence, during which +its borders have invariably been imposed upon it by others. This has +been the case partly because the Balkan Peninsula was for many years a +pawn in the balance-of-power politics of the more powerful European +nations and also because Bulgaria has been on the losing side in three +of its four major wars. It even fared badly at the peace table after the +only war in which it emerged victorious (see ch. 2). + +In spite of these circumstances, the country has boundaries that have +many natural physical characteristics and that have imposed no serious +economic hardship on any significant group of people. They also contain +a large percentage of the Bulgarian people, although numerous population +resettlement movements have contributed to this end. None of its borders +are officially disputed. + +The total boundary of Bulgaria is about 1,415 miles long. Rivers account +for about 425 miles of it, the Black Sea coast for 248 miles, and a +great portion of the remainder adheres to ridges in high terrain. + +The western and northern boundaries are shared with Yugoslavia and +Romania, respectively, and the Black Sea coastline constitutes the +entire eastern border. The southern boundary is shared with Greece and +Turkey. + +Nationalists have territorial ambitions stemming from the size of the +Middle Ages Bulgarian empire that encompassed about one-half of the +Balkan Peninsula but, in the local political climate that has existed +since World War II, such ambitions are not seriously considered. + +The post-World War I boundaries were established in rough detail by the +Treaty of Peace between the Allied and associated powers and Bulgaria, +signed in 1919 at Neuilly-sur-Seine. They were demarcated by +international commissions between 1919 and 1922, formalized by the +Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, and reconfirmed by the Treaty of Paris in +1947. + +During World War II, again as an ally of Germany, Bulgaria briefly +reacquired the coveted portions of Macedonia and Thrace, but the +interwar boundaries were restored without much deliberation in 1947 with +the agreement of the Soviet Union as well as all of the other major +victorious allies. Small deviations from the borders established in the +early 1920s have been made for local reasons, but none of them have been +of national significance. + +The 335-mile border with Yugoslavia was drawn in an attempt to follow +the high ridges separating the watersheds of the Morava and Vardar river +valleys in Yugoslavia from those of the Iskur and Struma valleys in +Bulgaria. The border starts in the north at the junction of the Timok +River and the Danube, but it follows the river for only about ten miles. +Leaving the Timok (with a few exceptions when it must cross river +valleys), it remains on high ground until it reaches the tripoint with +Greece. Although nationalist Bulgarians continue to feel that Bulgaria's +share of Macedonia--which it shares with both Yugoslavia and Greece--is +less than just, there are no overt official disputes of the boundary. + +The border with Greece is 307 miles long--all but forty-nine miles of +which are overland. The major portion of it follows higher elevations +and ridges in the Rodopi. East of the Struma and Mesta river valleys, +insofar as it is feasible, the border is at the dividing line between +the Maritsa River basin and those of the streams that flow southward to +the Aegean Sea. + +Following an official visit by the Greek foreign minister to Sofia in +1946, the Bulgarian premier stated that "all territorial claims [between +Greece and Bulgaria] are excluded forever." This statement indicates +that boundary frictions that had persisted for many years were +officially eliminated at that time, and as of 1973 the border was not +disputed. + +The Turkish border is 149 miles long. It follows small rivers and +streams for more than 40 percent of its length, but neither they nor the +overland sections constitute physical boundaries or barriers of any +consequence. + +The Romanian border follows the Danube River for about 290 miles from +the northwestern corner of the country to the city of Silistra and then +cuts to the east-southeast for about eighty-five miles across the old +province of Dobrudzha. The Danube, with steep bluffs on the Bulgarian +side and a wide area of swamps and marshes along much of the Romanian, +is one of the better natural river boundaries in Europe. Most of the +river islands that might be expected to bridge the gap between the +countries are damp and covered with marsh vegetation. They are subject +to regular inundation by floodwaters and, therefore, are uninhabited. +The line across Dobrudzha is arbitrary and has been redrawn on several +occasions. The population of the area that has changed hands is mixed, +but most of those who have strong national preferences have been +resettled in the country of their choice. + +A joint resolution adopted between Bulgaria and Romania in April 1971 +allowed somewhat easier transit of their border. A passport was still +required, but residents of the twelve-mile-wide zone on each side of the +border became able to make one crossing each month without a visa. Each +visit was limited to six days, and the destination and residence to be +visited were subject to the approval of local police. The agreement made +no changes in custom regulations and was not, therefore, intended to +change trade relations between the countries. + + +Political Subdivisions + +The country is subdivided into twenty-eight _okruzi_ (sing., _okrug_), +which are usually translated as districts, and has some 200 towns and +cities and approximately 5,500 villages or settlements. The cities and +larger towns are subdivided into _rayoni_ (sing., _rayon_), and the +smaller villages are grouped together into _obshtini_ (sing., +_obshtina_). The _rayoni_ and _obshtini_ are the urban boroughs and +village communes that are the smallest units of local government, that +is, those that have people's councils (see fig. 3). + +The twenty-eight _okruzi_ include one for the city of Sofia and its +immediate vicinity as well as one for a larger Sofia district. Each +_okrug_ is named for the city that is its administrative center. They +have areas ranging from 794 to 2,916 square miles and populations of +about 130,000 to about 650,000. + +[Illustration: _Figure 3. Political Subdivisions of Bulgaria, 1973_] + +The number of _okruzi_ has been changed only at times of major +governmental reorganization, the most recent of which was in 1959. The +_obshtini_, on the other hand, are in a state of relatively constant +change. Cities grow, towns become cities, new enterprises are set up and +attract population, and other factors affect the need for local +administration. Since the reorganization of 1959, when the _obshtini_ +were reduced by nearly one-half--from about 1,950 to just over +1,000--their number has tended to grow again. By the late 1960s there +were about 1,150 of them. + + +SETTLEMENT PATTERNS + +The Bulgarians, who were mounted archers from the steppes of central +Asia, rode into the area between the Danube River and the Stara Planina +in the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. They interbred with the Slavs +and adopted a Slavic language and many Slavic customs, but they retained +enough individuality to remain readily identifiable. In spite of +horrifying defeats and treatment at the hands of Byzantines and +Ottomans, they were in the land to stay and never relinquished their +title to a share of the peninsula. + +For several centuries before their independence from the Turks, the +people preferred to live in the hills, motivated by the sheer necessity +of having to escape the notice of their oppressive occupiers. They +returned to the fertile plains and valleys in large numbers only after +independence in 1878. Since 1945 there has been a major movement of +people to the cities as the country has become industrialized, and there +has been a lesser movement of the rural population resulting from the +collectivization of agricultural lands. + +Each major movement has brought about some improvement over the +conditions of the period that preceded it. Settlement in the back hills +was particularly necessary during the last years of Turkish control, +when the Ottoman Empire was in decline and its local controls and +taxation became increasingly oppressive. To avoid attracting attention +to themselves, the people settled into small hamlets and built their +homes as bare and unattractive as possible. + +With independence life on the plains was safer and easier. For a time +there was plenty of good land available but, as the population grew, +inevitably the land became occupied, and the size of individual +landholdings decreased. Between the turn of the century and the +mid-1980s, for example, the average landholding decreased from 18.2 to +12.2 acres, a size that was agriculturally uneconomic and that +overpopulated the rural areas. People remained poor and, although it was +no longer necessary to keep them plain, peasant homes amounted to little +more than small, bare, essential shelter. + +Under the communist government, the first near-complete collectivization +program served to increase the size of farmland units in collective and +state farms to an average of about 10,000 acres each. In 1970, with an +average of less than 1,100 fully employed farmers at each of the larger +units, the ratio of farmers to acres of arable land had fallen sharply. +In 1973 the agricultural lands were again recombined, this time into +about 170 units called agroindustrial complexes. The rural population is +still, however, for the most part clustered in unplanned, nucleated +villages or hamlets. Long, single-street villages are rare. Many +villages are situated in valleys for shelter from cold winter winds. A +gradual movement to housing at the agroindustrial centers will +undoubtedly take place, but there was no indication in 1973 that the +movement would be a rapid one or that the government intended to make it +a matter of urgent priority. + +Post-World War II emphasis on educational and cultural pursuits and +rural development has made more community life and more amenities +available to the rural areas. Dwelling space remains meager, with only a +little more than 500 feet of floorspace per dwelling. By 1970 central +water supplies were available to over 90 percent of the population, but +fewer than one half of the dwellings had individual service. Nearly all +dwellings have electricity. + +Bulgaria has been primarily agricultural and has been overrun, pillaged, +and occupied by so many conquerors that its cities have suffered, and +their inhabitants have had less opportunity than have those in most +European countries to develop a culture. There are relatively few cities +with noteworthy associations with the country's past. There are, +however, a few notable exceptions, and some of their histories antedate +the introduction of the Bulgar people into the region. There are others +that, if not altogether new, have had rapid and well-planned growth +during the country's recent history. Modern city growth has been +accompanied by the construction of large numbers of apartment houses, +many of them built as rapidly as possible to recover space destroyed +during World War II and to accommodate the heavy influx of people to +urban areas. + +Sofia was founded by the Thracians and has had a continuous history of +some importance for 2,000 years. No trace of its original founders +remains in the city, although it retained its Thracian name, Serdica, +while it was a part of the Roman Empire. It is situated in a sheltered +basin at the base of the Vitosha range, a location that has been both +strategically and esthetically desirable. Long-established +communications routes cross at the city. The most traveled and most +famous is that from Belgrade to Istanbul. It is Sofia's main street for +that portion of its route. At the city it crosses the north-south route +from the Aegean Sea to the Danube River that uses the Struma and Iskur +river valleys. Some of the other routes that radiate from the city, +particularly those to the Black Sea coastal cities, are of more local +importance than the international routes. Sofia's pleasant climate, plus +its strategic location, made the city a contender in the selection of a +capital for Rome in Emperor Constantine's reign. Its hot springs were an +added attraction to the Romans, and their baths remain. + +Sofia was a thriving city under the Romans. Attila the Hun destroyed it +in the fifth century A.D., but it was rebuilt in the sixth and seventh +centuries, when its population grew to about 40,000. It declined again +under the Ottomans, and in 1878, when it was liberated, it had only some +15,000-20,000 inhabitants. It has grown rapidly since becoming the +capital of the modern state. + +Sofia is the city's fourth name. Saint Sophia's sixth-century church +occupies the highest land in the city and is one of the most famous of +its landmarks, although the city was named for her several centuries +after the church was built. As the capital, the city has most of the +nation's administration and has become the educational and cultural +center of the country. It retains much charm and beauty, in spite of its +rapid growth. From its hundreds of small parks and thousands of trees, +it claims the right to call itself the garden city. + +Plovdiv is the second most important city. It is older than Sofia, +having been established in the fourth century B.C. by Philip of Macedon; +it was first named Philippopolis after him. On the plain and astride the +route from Belgrade to Istanbul, it has been exposed to all who have +passed that way, for good or ill, and this is reflected in its violent +history. It has been captured and devastated in turn by Greeks, Romans, +Goths, Huns, and Turks. It was also ravished on four different occasions +by Christian armies during the Crusades. + +Plovdiv has continued to be an important commercial city, having more +rail lines radiating from it than Sofia. It also has a university and +some of the country's most important museums and art treasures. The old +town center is typically Macedonian and, although it was severely +damaged by an earthquake in 1928, part of it has been termed a national +monument, to be reworked only for its restoration. + +Veliko Turnovo, situated astride a mountain stream on the northern +slopes of the central Stara Planina, was the fortress capital of the +medieval Second Bulgarian Kingdom. It was also the site of the first +constituent assembly held as the country was liberated from the Turks, +and the Turnovo Constitution was adopted there in 1879. It remains an +artistic and cultural center, and some of its fine examples of Bulgarian +renaissance architecture have survived. + +Varna and Burgas are the chief Black Sea ports, and Ruse is the only +major Bulgarian port on the Danube River. Burgas is a young city, +growing to most of its size in the late 1800s, and it was a more +important port than Varna until the 1950s. Varna, however, attracted the +naval academy, has become the naval base, and has acquired most of the +shipbuilding industry. Ruse has also grown rapidly. In addition to its +river trade, the first bridge across the river between Bulgaria and +Romania was built just north of the city. + +A number of new towns have been built since World War II, in some cases +from the ground up. These include some at industrial complexes, others +at resorts. Madan is a new mining center in the Rodopi; Dimitrovgrad is +a new industrial town on the Maritsa River; and there are several +mountain and seaside resort cities. Zlatni Pyassutsi (Golden Sands), +opened in 1956, is one of a group of Black Sea resort cities that, upon +opening, could accommodate tens of thousands of holiday vacationers. + + +POPULATION + +Structure + +In spite of its three most recent wars, comparatively few Bulgarians +live outside the country in the areas adjacent to its boundaries. +Bulgarian sources estimate the total number of Bulgarians abroad at +approximately 1 million. Many of these are in Greek and Yugoslav +Macedonia and are, in fact, Macedonians who may or may not prefer to be +called Bulgarians. Other Bulgarians are in Greek Thrace, and a few are +in Romanian Dobrudzha and in Soviet Bessarabia. A scattering are settled +in other Eastern European countries, Australia, and North and South +America. There are only a few in the United States. + +When The Macedonians and Gypsies in the country--whom Bulgarian official +sources include as fully integrated into the Bulgarian population--are +not counted separately, Bulgarians constitute about 91 percent of the +population. The approximately 700,000 Turks out-number all other +non-Bulgarians in the population by a large margin. Small numbers of +Greeks, Romanians, Armenians, and Jews make up a total of only about 1 +percent (see ch. 4). + +In the absence of official statistics, the number of Macedonians and +Gypsies are impossible to estimate accurately. It is probable that there +are a few more Gypsies than Macedonians and that they total about 5 +percent of the population. Pomaks (Muslim Bulgarians), who tend to live +separately, have been persecuted on occasion and have represented a +social problem. Some authorities have listed them as a separate ethnic +group but, with diminishing emphasis on religion, local authorities +attempt to make no distinctions between them and the rest of the +population. + +Bulgaria is one of an extremely few countries in the world where the +males in the population have outnumbered the females over a considerable +portion of its modern history. This has been a phenomenon that could not +be adequately explained by events or circumstances; but of nine censuses +taken between 1887 and 1965, only in those taken in 1920 and 1947 did +the females constitute a majority. These two years following the great +wars were undoubtedly atypical in that, although Bulgaria did not suffer +great manpower losses from war casualties, the males were probably more +mobile, and many of them may not have returned to the country or, in the +immediate aftermath of the wars, may not yet have settled down (see +table 1). + +_Table 1. Bulgaria, Population by Age and Sex, 1973 Estimate_ + + ---------+----------------+----------------+----------------+------------ + |Number of People| | Male Female| + | in Age Group | Percentage of |----------------|Females per + Age Group| (in thousands) |Total Population| (in thousands)| 100 Males + ---------+----------------+----------------+----------------+------------ + Under 5 | 676 | 7.8 | 348 328 | 94 + 5-9 | 609 | 7.0 | 313 296 | 94 + 10-14 | 647 | 7.5 | 331 316 | 95 + 15-19 | 665 | 7.7 | 340 325 | 96 + 20-24 | 703 | 8.1 | 357 346 | 97 + 25-29 | 629 | 7.3 | 317 312 | 98 + 30-34 | 558 | 6.4 | 280 278 | 99 + 35-39 | 616 | 7.1 | 310 306 | 99 + 40-44 | 649 | 7.5 | 327 322 | 98 + 45-49 | 668 | 7.7 | 334 334 | 100 + 50-54 | 467 | 5.4 | 231 236 | 102 + 55-59 | 421 | 4.9 | 210 211 | 100 + 60-64 | 460 | 5.3 | 225 235 | 104 + 65-69 | 372 | 4.3 | 178 194 | 109 + 70-74 | 264 | 3.0 | 122 142 | 116 + 75 year | | | | + and over| 263 | 3.0 | 110 153 | 139 + | | | | + TOTAL. | 8,667 | 100.0 | 4,333 4,334 | 100* + ---------+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------- + * Overall ratio for total population. + Source: Adapted from Godfrey Baldwin, (ed.), _International Population + Reports_, (U.S. Department of Commerce, Series P-91, No. 18), Washington, + 1969. + +The male majority, however, narrowed and has apparently evaporated for +the foreseeable future. The reversal reflects a change in life +expectancy statistics. Around the turn of the century average life +expectancy was forty years, and females are estimated to have outlived +males by less than six months. Seventy years later, average life +expectancy had increased by twenty-five years, but females were +outliving males by an average of about four years. Projected from the +1965 census and from vital statistics information accumulated since that +time, numerical equality between the sexes came about in the late 1960s, +and in mid-1973 it was estimated that females outnumbered males by the +small majority of 4.334 million to 4.333 million. + +Another exceptional feature of the Bulgarian population is the unusual +number of very old people. Nearly 1 percent of the population in 1970 +was eighty years old or older, and more than 500 people were +centenarians. Of these, three-fifths were women. + +People in rural areas, after having long outnumbered those in cities and +towns, became the minority in 1969. More than four-fifths of the +population was rural at the time of independence in 1878, and more than +three-quarters was still rural in 1947. The movement to the towns +accelerated with the post-World War II industrialization. Towns that +attracted industries have grown by factors of five or more since 1920, +and by far the most dramatic growth has occurred since 1947. + +With 8.7 million people occupying 42,800 square miles in 1972, the +average population density for the country was 203 persons per square +mile. Regions where the densities were highest include the Sofia Basin +and the southwestern portion of the Thracian Plain. The population was +more dense than average in the western and central portion of the +Danubian plateau, in the lower eastern Rodopi, and in the vicinities of +Varna and Burgas on the Black Sea coast. It was least dense in the +higher mountains, particularly in the high western Rodopi, the Pirin and +the Rila, and along the narrow high ridge of the Stara Planina. + + +Dynamics + +Warfare that was endemic to the Balkan Peninsula throughout much of its +early history, exploitation by the Ottomans, and living conditions that +contributed to a short life expectancy served to hold down the +population of the area before independence. Since 1878, although the +country has participated in four wars and most migratory movements have +been at Bulgaria's expense, the population has tripled. + +Growth has been comparatively steady during the century of independence. +Its rate has fluctuated but not widely. Until 1910 it was high. It +dropped during the 1910-20 decade, which included the Balkan wars and +World War I. The period of greatest growth occurred between the great +wars, and the three decades since 1941 have been the periods of least +growth. + +Vital statistics supplied by the Bulgarian government to the United +Nations in 1972 indicated an annual growth rate of 0.7 percent. This was +based on 16.3 births per each 1,000 of the population, as against 9.1 +deaths. Infant mortality, included in the overall death rate, was 27.3 +deaths during the first year for each 1,000 live births. In early 1973 +the government was alarmed at an apparent change in the statistical +trend. Complete information for 1971 showed that, instead of 16.3 births +per 1,000, the actual figure was 15.9. Indications were that in 1972 it +was dropping to 15.4. + +Internal migrations since 1878 have consisted largely of the initial +movement of the rural population from the hills to the plains and the +later movement of people from the rural areas to the towns. External +migrations have been more complex. The earliest occurred in the +aftermath of the liberation; later ones have resulted from the +animosities and territorial changes associated with the various wars in +which the country has been involved. + +Having occupied the territory, Turks left in wholesale numbers when they +lost control of it. More of them departed during the Balkan wars. Large +groups emigrated in the 1920s and 1930s, and more were forced to leave +after World War II. Estimates as to the numbers involved in each move +vary widely; the two largest after 1880 were those in the 1920s and +after World War II, and the total in all emigrations of Turks probably +equals or exceeds the 700,000 that remain in the country. Natural +population increases have been such that, over the long term, the actual +number of Turks in the country has changed relatively little. + +There have been smaller population exchanges with each of the other +neighbors. In the mid-1920s about 250,000 Bulgarians moved from Greek +Thrace into Bulgaria, and about 40,000 Greeks left Bulgaria for Greece. +After 1940, when southern Dobrudzha was annexed from Romania, some +110,000 Romanians were exchanged for about 62,000 Bulgarians. +Macedonians, also in considerable numbers, have chosen between Bulgaria +and Yugoslavia, requiring many of them to move. + +The Jewish people, faring much better in Bulgaria during World War II +than they did in Adolph Hitler's Germany or in most of the countries +overrun by the Germans, have nonetheless emigrated to Israel in large +numbers. Before that war there were about 50,000 of them in the country, +but 90 percent or more of them emigrated during the early postwar years. + +All of the major emigrations were completed before 1960. There appear to +be no reasons why others of similar proportions should occur in the +foreseeable future. + + +Working Force + +In mid-1972 there were 5.8 million people in the working-age group +(fifteen to sixty-four years), although the legal retirement age in most +employment situations is sixty or sixty-five for males and five years +younger for females. About 4.4 million--just over one-half of the total +population and three-quarters of those of working age--constituted the +labor force. Population projections indicate that in the ten-year period +after 1972 the working-age group will increase by 0.3 million, but a +large percentage of the increase will be in the segment of the group +aged fifty to sixty-four. + +About 95 percent of the males between twenty-five and sixty-four years +of age are economically active. The percentage of economically active +females is lower, but they have constituted over 40 percent of the labor +force. About 36.5 percent of the economically active are employed in +agricultural fields; of the remaining 63.5 percent, about one-half are +employed in industry. The others are in various service, administrative, +or other miscellaneous activities. + +Because the country was late in emerging from a predominantly +agricultural economy, its working force has had little technological +experience. Since World War II, however, schools have been increasingly +oriented to train young people to become technologically competent, and +some success in this direction has been achieved. Whether or not the +working force is being used as effectively as is possible under the +circumstances is being debated, but the government finds a decrease in +the birthrate and its possible limiting effect on industrial production +a cause for considerable concern. + + +TRANSPORTATION + +Railroads + +The first railroad built in the country was constructed by the British +in 1866 and connected Ruse on the Danube River with Varna on the Black +Sea. The famous and romantic Orient Express and the Berlin-to-Baghdad +route have used a common line through Bulgaria, entering the country +from Belgrade. The route crosses the western mountains at the Dragoman +Pass, continues through Sofia, Plovdiv, and down the Maritsa River +valley to Edirne and Istanbul in Turkey. + +The rail network consists of about 3,775 miles of track, about 2,620 of +which were being operated in 1970. Of the portion in use, about 2,470 +miles were standard gauge, and 150 were narrow gauge. Approximately 135 +miles were double track, and a little more than 500 had been +electrified. Because of the terrain, the system has a large number of +bridges and tunnels and has been constructed with tighter curves and +steeper gradients than are allowed when terrain features are less +extreme. Most of the some 1,600 bridges are short, but at Ruse, where +the Danube is crossed, the river is 1-½ miles wide. Most of the +approximately 175 tunnels are also short. One is 3-½ miles in length, +but they total only about thirty miles (see fig. 4). + +Route mileage is adequate to meet the requirements of the country. It +will probably not be expanded further; shorter spurs become uneconomic +and are abandoned as motor transport takes over short-haul traffic. +Programmed modernization includes improving roadbeds, ties, and track to +achieve a higher load-bearing capacity. Quantity installation of +continuously welded rail is also underway, and the busiest of the lines +are being electrified. + +Although the system is adequate, performs its services reasonably well, +and continues to be the backbone of domestic transport, it suffers in +bare statistical comparisons with the other carriers. Highway transport +may carry a cargo to the rail station and get credit for a second +shipment when it moves the same goods from the train to its final +destination. Trucks also carry local freight more directly and much more +simply than railroads for short hauls. Ton mileage statistics of the +merchant marine are similarly misleading. Although the railroads remain +by far the most important domestic carrier, their share of total cargo +carried and their share of ton mileage continues to decrease (see table +2). + +The railroads also continue to give way to motor vehicles in numbers of +passengers carried. Between 1960 and 1970 the situation changed +radically; on the earlier date the railroads carried more passengers +than buses did, but a decade later they carried hardly more than +one-third as many. In long-distance passenger travel, the railroads +remained the major carrier by a narrow margin in 1970, although the +difference was narrowing. + +[Illustration: _Figure 4. Communications Systems of Bulgaria, 1973_] + + +_Table 2. Use of Transportation Facilities in Bulgaria, 1960 and 1970_ + + -------------------+-------------------------+------------------------- + | Total Freight* | Ton Miles** + Cargo Traffic: |------------+------------|------------+------------ + | 1960 | 1970 | 1960 | 1970 + -------------------+------------+------------+------------+------------ + Railroads | 38.4 | 68.2 | 4,360 | 8,650 + Motor transport | 128.3 | 492.8 | 1,270 | 4,940 + Seaborne shipping | 1.1 | 14.5 | 1,530 | 24,375 + Inland waterways | 1.6 | 3.7 | 384 | 1,145 + Air transport | 0.007 | 0.083 | 0.2 | 9 + -------------------+------------+------------+------------+------------ + + -------------------+-------------------------+------------------------- + | Total Passengers** | Passenger Miles** + Passenger Traffic: |-------------------------+------------+------------ + | 1960 | 1970 | 1960 | 1970 + -------------------+------------+------------+------------+------------ + Railroads | 79.0 | 106.1 | 2,260 | 3,890 + Motor transport | 72.6 | 282.0+ | 1,020 | 3,740+ + Seaborne shipping | 0.6 | 0.6 | 12 | 17 + Inland waterways | 0.8 | 0.3 | 29 | 19 + Air transport | 0.2 | 1.1 | 56 | 750 + -------------------+------------+------------+------------+------------ + * In million tons. + ** In millions. + + 1969 information. + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1971_, Sofia, 1971. + +Conversion from steam to diesel and electric locomotives is proceeding +rapidly. As late as 1962 the country had no diesel locomotives and only +a few passenger-carrying electric trains. By 1972, about 80 percent of +the freight and a larger proportion of passenger traffic were carried on +diesel or electric trains. Steam locomotives will probably have been +replaced completely by 1978. + + +Roads + +Construction is expensive, engineering problems are frequently +challenging, and the roads are difficult to maintain on the mountainous +terrain, with its many narrow and steep gorges. Ice and snow close most +routes at times during the winter months. Spring thaws and floods damage +the best roads and make the poorer roads impassable for considerable +periods. Of the approximately 21,000 miles of roadway, about 8,000 are +paved, another 8,000 have surfaces hardened with stone or gravel, but +nearly 5,000 remain dirt surfaced. + + +Waterways + +The 290 miles of the Danube River that flow along the northern border +are navigable. Other streams are too short, too shallow, or have too +great gradients to use or to allow development as waterways. The fact +that the Danube leaves the country to exit into the Black Sea from +Romania limits its potential as an avenue to seagoing trade, and the +fact that it flows along the country's periphery keeps it from being the +central feature that it is, for example, in Hungary. Bulgaria's entire +portion of the river is, however, downstream from the Iron Gate and thus +can handle 2,500-ton vessels. There are no locks or dams in this area +and, although it freezes for a short time in the winter and floods +during the spring, it is usable for an average of about 300 days per +year. + +The Black Sea is more commercially significant to Bulgaria. Burgas and +Varna are thriving ports. Burgas has been a busy port for a longer time, +but Varna has developed rapidly and by 1970 had surpassed Burgas as the +major port and had become the center of maritime industry in the +country. Between 1971 and 1975, for example, the city expects to produce +23,000-ton and 38,000-ton dry cargo ships in series production and to +build one, and possibly more, 80,000-ton tankers. + +By 1970 inland waterways--which consisted exclusively of the Danube +River--were carrying only about 0.6 percent of the country's freight +cargo. Because the distances that the average cargo was transported +exceeded those of rail or road transport, however, they accounted for +about 2.5 percent of the total ton mileage. Seaborne shipping carried +about 2.5 percent of the total cargo weight but, because of the far +greater shipping distances, it accounted for nearly two-thirds of the +total ton mileage. Traffic transported by inland waterway remained +relatively constant during the late 1960s and early 1970s; traffic +carried on seagoing vessels was increasing rapidly. + +United Nations reports in 1971 credited Bulgaria with the fastest +developing shipbuilding industry in the world. The pronouncement is less +meaningful than it might appear, however, because the industry started +from very little. Moreover, a major portion of the products are for +export, and much of the industry's local impact is as a production, +rather than as a transportation, enterprise. Nonetheless, the country's +capability for sea shipment increased by more than five times during the +1960s. There are no large passenger vessels in the fleet, but several +hydrofoils, some having capacities to carry more than 100 passengers, +operate between the Danube River ports. + +By 1972 the merchant marine consisted of more than 100 ships, having a +total of nearly 1 million deadweight tons. It has increased at an +average rate of about 6 percent a year between 1967 and 1971, the rates +of increase accelerating in the latter part of the period. + + +Airways + +Civil aviation was carried on by Bulgarian Civil Air Transport before +1970, when that entity was reorganized as Balkan-Bulgarian Airlines +(BALKAN). Its airplanes, all of Soviet manufacture, are identified by +BALKAN inset within a five-pointed star that is elongated to give the +impression of flight. BALKAN operates under the Ministry of Transport. + +Sofia is the center of all the air operations. International routes stop +at the capitals of the six other Warsaw Pact countries and at sixteen +other cities in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The 1973 +scheduled flights also connected Sofia with eleven other cities within +Bulgaria, most of them on a daily basis. + +Percentages of total cargo and passenger traffic carried by air are +insignificant, and the rates of increase in the utilization of air +transportation have been erratic. Air cargo shipments, for example, +increased by a factor of seven between 1960 and 1967 but increased +little the following year and decreased for the remainder of the +decade. + + + + +CHAPTER 4 + +SOCIAL SYSTEM + + +In 1878 Bulgaria emerged from Turkish rule as a homogeneous, egalitarian +peasant society centered in the family and the community. Through the +introduction of foreign economic and social ideas and institutions, the +society gradually changed during the period between the two world wars. +At the time of World War II Bulgaria actually had two social systems: +the traditional peasant society, changing but still focused on the +family and the community, and a growing urban society that focused on +the economy and the state. When the Communists took power in 1944, they +set out to destroy the old social order and replace it with one that +would reflect communist ideology. The resulting changes have been far +reaching and basic. The traditional economic and value base has been +destroyed by the elimination of private property. Social distinctions +were introduced and magnified where none or few existed. Traditional +institutions, such as the church and the family, were weakened; and new +institutions, such as mass organizations, were introduced to take their +place. Many segments of the population benefited materially from changes +that opened new opportunities for education and social advancement; +however, the price paid for these benefits was the loss of such +important motivating forces as freedom of choice, independence of +action, and the right to own income-producing property. + +By the early 1970s the rate of change was slowing down, and the society +was settling into a discernible pattern. Some aspects of the old social +order seem to have survived, providing a continuity between the old and +the new. The changes that continue to affect the society are more the +result of economic growth than of social engineering. + + +ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS COMPOSITION + +The Bulgarian population is homogeneous in both ethnic and religious +composition. Approximately 85 percent is Bulgarian, and some 90 percent +adheres at least nominally to the Eastern Orthodox faith. The most +significant ethnic minorities are the Turks, who number about 700,000, +or 8 percent of the population; the Gypsies, estimated at 200,000, or +2.5 percent of the population; and the Macedonians, who also number +approximately 200,000. The remainder are Greeks, Romanians, Armenians, +and Jews. + +The Turkish minority, once considerably more substantial in size, dates +back to the centuries of Turkish rule (see ch. 2). A steady emigration +of Turks from Bulgaria to Turkey after World War I and the expulsion of +some 150,000 in the 1950-51 period reduced their number. Most of the +remaining Turks are tobacco growers or artisans, who live in rural areas +in the eastern third of the country and along the Danube River. Their +traditional peasant conservatism, bolstered by their Islamic faith, has +made them less willing to adapt to the contemporary social order than +the rest of the population. A majority would like to emigrate to Turkey, +but the Bulgarian government has been unwilling to let them go because +the country cannot afford such a population loss. + +Turkey, for its part, could not absorb the Bulgarian Turks without +seriously endangering its own economy and therefore has not encouraged +their desires. By agreement between the two governments, about 30,000 +close relatives of Turks who left Bulgaria in the 1950-51 period will be +allowed to emigrate during the 1970s. The majority of Bulgarian Turks, +however, have little hope of leaving in the foreseeable future. In spite +of the desire of its members to leave the country, the Turkish minority +has posed no serious problem to the Bulgarian government. The government +has made an effort to integrate the minority into national life, at the +same time preserving its cultural distinctions, which are guaranteed by +the constitution. + +Gypsies are not considered a national minority by the state, although +they consider themselves such. Strongly attached to their nomadic way of +life, the Gypsies have been reluctant to settle in a permanent place and +to integrate themselves into the national society. They continue to +follow their traditional occupations as musicians, tinsmiths, and +horsemen. + +The existence of a Macedonian minority has been disputed over many +decades by Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. Bulgaria has consistently claimed +that Macedonians are ethnically Bulgarians, that their language is a +dialect of Bulgarian, and that their land is a part of Bulgaria. +Yugoslavia, on the other hand, has given legal recognition to a +Macedonian nationality by establishing the People's Republic of +Macedonia and by designating the Macedonian language one of the official +languages of the federal republic (see ch. 2; ch. 10). + +The vast majority of Bulgarians have been born into the Bulgarian +Orthodox Church ever since the ninth century, when Boris I adopted +Christianity for his people. Until World War II a person had no legal +existence without a baptismal certificate from the church. In keeping +with Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is an +independent national church. It is inseparably linked with Bulgarian +nationhood in the minds of most Bulgarians because of the role it played +in preserving a national consciousness during the centuries of Turkish +rule and in spearheading a national revival in the nineteenth century +(see ch. 2). + +A tradition of religious freedom and tolerance allowed religious +minorities to exist without friction. Even during World War II the Jews +in Bulgaria suffered little persecution in comparison with those in +other parts of Eastern Europe. No census of religious affiliation has +been taken since the Communists took power; however, according to +various estimates in 1965 there were about 750,000 Muslims; 26,000 +Protestants; 32,000 Roman Catholics; and between 3,000 and 7,000 Jews. +The Muslim population included most Turks and some 50,000 Pomaks +(Bulgarians who converted to Islam during Turkish rule) living in the +rugged Rodopi mountain range. + +Religious freedom is guaranteed by the constitution, but churches are +subject to strict governmental control. Formal religious education is +restricted to the training of priests. Children, however, continue to be +instructed in the rudiments of faith and ritual by their families. +Despite government efforts to secularize the milestones in the life +cycle, a large percentage of Bulgarians continue to regard the priest as +an essential officiant at baptisms, weddings, and funerals. Churchgoing +and the strict fasts prescribed by the Eastern Orthodox church have not +been carefully observed by most Bulgarians since the 1930s; +nevertheless, the people often exhibit strong religious feelings +tempered by traditional beliefs in the powers of nature, the evil eye, +and other forces. A survey conducted by the Bulgarian Academy of +Sciences in the mid-1960s classified 35.5 percent of those surveyed as +religious and 64.4 percent as nonreligious. The criteria used to +determine whether a person was religious or not was either a verbal +expression of religious conviction or regular attendance at church +services and regular prayer. + + +THE FAMILY + +Until the time of World War I Bulgarian society was frequently +characterized as familistic, that is, personal interests and +prerogatives of an individual were subordinated to the values and +demands of the family. The family was the focal unit in society; it was +the chief training ground for the young and played the leading part in +molding the individual into the accepted pattern. The family was the +center of economic life also, particularly for the peasants, who lived +relatively self-sufficient lives. Relations with other social units and +institutions were carried out through the family rather than by the +individual. An individual had no standing in society apart from that of +his family, and individual behavior and prestige reflected on the family +as a whole. Individualism, therefore, was discouraged by constant +pressure from the family to conform to custom and tradition. + +The traditional family was patriarchal and strongly authoritarian. It +reflected many features characteristic of the _zadruga_, the extended +family that formed the basis of social organization of the South Slavs, +including the Bulgarians, until its gradual decline in the late +nineteenth century. A _zadruga_ consisted of the male offspring of the +same parents and perhaps grandparents, with their wives and children, +living together and jointly owning and working the ancestral lands. The +group was ruled by the elected head, usually the oldest and most capable +male, who was responsible for directing the work, for settling disputes, +and generally for providing for the well-being of the _zadruga_ as a +whole and for each of its members. + +By law and by custom, even after the passing of the _zadruga_ as a +social institution, authority over all matters concerning the family +rested with the father. In the village married sons with their wives and +children and unmarried children all tended to live under the father's +roof until his death, at which time the oldest son took over the family +homestead, and the others built their own houses nearby. The authority +of the patriarch rested, in no small measure, on his ownership and +control of the means of livelihood of the family. Sons submitted to +their father's will in order to inherit their fair shares of the +patrimony. + +Close family relations were maintained not only with blood relatives but +with relatives by marriage and with godparents. The bond between two +families also related by marriage was as close, formally, as the bond +with blood relatives; it included not only the parents of the married +couple but also the brothers and sisters. For that reason parents took +great interest in their children's choice of mates. Similarly, the bond +between godparents and the family of the godchild was considered as +close as that of blood kin. The strong relationship between the two +families was developed partly because the same family usually provided +the godparents for another family for generations. Reciprocity of +godparenthood, however, was not allowed because a family tie was +established with the first christening. Members of families who were +related through godparenthood or through marriage could not marry +because that would have been tantamount to incest. + +Age and sex determined the individual's role within the family and his +relations with other members. Men occupied a superior position, and +women were expected to show deference to their husbands and to older +male relatives. A frequently cited image of Bulgaria at that time was +the man riding a horse or donkey empty-handed while his wife walked +behind carrying a heavy load. The position and influence of the wife, +however, was far greater than this image implies. Few husbands made +decisions or took action affecting the family without prior consultation +with their wives. + +Age was respected because it represented the accumulation of wisdom and +experience. This greater wisdom and experience also gave the older +members of the family authority over the younger ones. Children were +highly valued as tokens of successful marriages and as economic assets, +but they were not fussed over. Although they were expected to take their +places as active members of the family at a relatively early age by +performing light household tasks, running errands, and tending animals, +they were also given considerable freedom to play. Until they reached +maturity, children were expected to do what they were told by their +parents or by other adults without question. + +This traditional family system provided for great stability. Each member +knew his place in society and knew what was expected of him, and he +generally felt secure and satisfied. + +The gradual industrialization and urbanization that took place between +the two world wars slowly introduced changes into the traditional family +system--at first among the urban population and eventually among the +peasantry. Most notable among the changes was the shift toward the +nuclear family unit and the disappearance of the extended family +household. This reduced the authority of the father over his adult +children, who now formed an independent economic and social unit. It +also gave greater freedom to young people in choosing their mates and, +thereby, in their relations with each other. Within the nuclear family +the relationship between husband and wife became a more egalitarian one. +Relations between parents and children also became less authoritarian, +although the father's relations to his children continued to be rather +formal. + +The changes in family life and in the role of the family in society that +began to take place between the two world wars accelerated during World +War II in keeping with the rapid rate of economic change. The greatest +assault on the traditional system, however, came in the second half of +the 1940s and early 1950s when the new communist government set out to +revamp Bulgarian society. The already dying patriarchal system was dealt +its final blow with the elimination of inheritance through +nationalization of industry and commerce and collectivization of +agriculture. After the patrimony had been eliminated, a major incentive +for submission to the patriarch had disappeared. + +Another factor that contributed to the end of the patriarchal family and +to the end of parental authoritarianism was the government's appeal to +youth's desire for independence. Young people are taught to believe that +they are the foundation of the new Bulgaria and that their elders' +traditional ways are outmoded and should be discarded. In this way a +generation gap has been created, and youths wanting to escape parental +influence can count on the state for support. Their escape has been +facilitated through the expansion of educational facilities, the +expansion of employment opportunities resulting from economic and +bureaucratic expansion, and by the many youth organizations and youth +activities--all of which enable young people to spend much time away +from home and act independently of their parents. + +The role of women, which had begun to change in the 1930s, was greatly +altered under the influence of ideology and of economic realities. In +social doctrine and law, women are considered equal to men and are +continually urged to demand their rights in the home and in the +community. They have also gained considerable independence of movement +through the expanded employment opportunities available to them in a +developing economy. In 1968, 80 percent of employable women worked +outside the home. A large percentage of them worked because of the +necessity to supplement the family income rather than through choice; +nevertheless, the fact that they do work outside the home has altered +the pattern of family life and the relationships of family members. +Working mothers must leave their young children in state-operated +nurseries or with relatives and thereby relinquish much of their +influence in molding the children into adults. Evidence indicates that +few mothers like to leave young children in nurseries, preferring to +leave them in the care of trusted relatives or friends. Fathers appear +to be playing a greater role in the raising of children than they did in +the traditional family. + +Housekeeping is still considered to be entirely or predominantly the +responsibility of women, whether they work or not. The working woman +spends much time every day after work standing in line at food markets +and other stores, buying the daily necessities. Household appliances and +convenience foods are scarce luxuries; therefore, housekeeping is a +time-consuming and tiring activity. Even peasant women must take care of +their households and children after putting in the required hours in +cooperative labor, whereas formerly they could fit their field work in +and around their other responsibilities. + +As a consequence of these changes, the traditional roles of family +members have been altered. The dominance of the head of the family has +given way to a greater distribution of decisionmaking and a greater +independence on the part of other family members. As family members +spend less time together, the emphasis in daily life is shifted from the +family to the outside world. Persons come to be looked at more as +individuals than as members of a certain family. Individuality and +personal achievement become as important as family background in +determining the status of an individual and his nuclear family. +Similarly, individual action or personal status no longer reflects on +the larger family. + +In the eyes of the state, marriage is a secular matter governed by civil +law. Religious ceremonies are permitted but must be preceded by a civil +marriage. The minimum age for marriage without parental consent or +special permission from the local authorities is eighteen for both men +and women. The urban marriage rate in the 1960s was considerably higher +than the rural one, reflecting the higher percentage of young people +living in urban centers. Men generally marry between twenty and thirty +years of age, and women, between fifteen and twenty-five. The law +assigns equal rights and obligations to both partners in a marriage. +Divorce is relatively easy to obtain and no longer carries the social +stigma of former times; the divorce rate in the early 1970s was average +for Eastern Europe. + +Despite changing patterns of family life, most observers find that the +cohesive force of the extended family continues to be a factor in +contemporary society. In many cases the cohesiveness is perpetuated or +even strengthened by modern phenomena, such as the chronic housing +shortage and the need for grandparents or other relatives to care for +the children of working mothers. The housing shortage has revived the +traditional system of several generations of a family sharing the same +roof. The pressures of change and the burdens of daily life hold +families together, and the traditional sense of family loyalty also +seems to survive. Members of such extended families assist each other in +finding employment, in gaining admission to special schools, or in +obtaining scarce items of food or clothing. + + +SOCIAL STRATIFICATION + +Before World War II Bulgaria had a basically egalitarian peasant society +with a simple social structure. A rural-urban division was more +significant than class distinctions, which were just beginning to +emerge. The Bulgarian nobility of the Middle Ages had been destroyed +under Turkish rule and was not restored with the return to monarchy; the +small middle class of merchants, industrialists, bureaucrats, and +professionals had come into existence since independence in 1878 and +lacked tradition; an urban working class was just emerging. Few +Bulgarians were more than one or two generations removed from their +peasant ancestors, which gave most people a common background. + +The rural-urban differentiation was socially significant in that it +formed what amounted to two social systems with differing values, +controls, and institutions. The rural society focused on the family and +the community; its outlook was parochial. The urban society focused on +commerce, industry, and government; its outlook was national and often +international, and it was subject to continuous influences from abroad. +The two systems, however, were closely interrelated because most urban +dwellers had their roots in the village and because both the economy and +the government depended heavily on the peasant as a supporter and as a +client. + +The narrower focus of rural society provided few opportunities for +choice, and custom over the years set a pattern that was accepted as a +matter of course. Social standing depended to a large extent on how well +an individual performed within the established pattern, and the +gradations were very slight. The wider focus of urban society, on the +other hand, offered far greater opportunity for choice and freedom of +action. This made for greater differentiation between individuals than +was possible in the village. + +The greater freedom and the opportunity for economic and social +advancement offered by the urban society were most noticeable in the +social contrast between the urban worker and his peasant relatives. +Although most workers had a very low standard of living, they considered +themselves emancipated from the restrictions of rural society and, +therefore, better off. When they returned to the village to visit +relatives, they were looked up to as persons who had enlarged their +horizons and bettered their lot in life. + +The social contrast between the educated urban +intelligentsia--white-collar workers and professionals with a secondary +or a higher education--and the peasant was even greater. Some members of +the intelligentsia maintained a romanticized attachment to their village +origins, but most of them tried to build up their own status by +disparaging the rural population. Even the village schoolteacher and +rural physician were seen as unsophisticated country bumpkins, although +they had the same education as their city counterparts. + +The urban intelligentsia saw itself and was seen by others as the top +group in society, just below the royal family, which occupied the apex +of the social pyramid. The top level of the intelligentsia, that is, the +leaders in the political, economic, and cultural spheres, became a small +entourage surrounding the king and thereby gained additional prestige +and power. The economic position of most of the intelligentsia, however, +was very precarious because there was an oversupply of graduates for +whom government employment was virtually the only outlet. Those who had +an official position held on to it against all odds. Others, who could +not find employment appropriate to their presumed qualifications, sat +around cafés waiting for openings rather than returning to their home +villages to put their education to use there. + +The peasant, for his part, was distrustful of the city and of city ways. +He did not feel inferior--even to the intelligentsia whose education he +greatly admired. The peasant took pride in his land, in his +self-sufficiency, and in his adherence to custom and tradition. He was +conscious of belonging to the large mass of peasantry that shared his +point of view, his way of life, and his strong sense of tradition. +Differences in wealth and economic independence were recognized among +peasant families but did not affect their relationships, which were +basically egalitarian. + +The village, town, and city in pre-World War II Bulgaria each had its +somewhat different social structure. Village structure distinguished +between peasants, artisans, and intelligentsia. Innkeepers and +storekeepers were sometimes identified with the artisans but more +frequently with the peasants because they were usually peasants who had +sold their land to engage in commerce. Artisans, on the other hand, +underwent special training to prepare them for their calling. These +special skills and the fact that artisans did not have to toil long +hours in the sun or rain put them in a higher social category than +peasants. The elite group was the village intelligentsia--the teacher, +doctor, priest, mayor, and other officials who had more than an +elementary education. Their prestige derived from their education, and +their power derived from their positions. Through their ties to the +wider world, the village intelligentsia bridged the gap between rural +and urban societies. + +The social structure of towns distinguished between artisans, merchants, +and intelligentsia. In the preindustrial Bulgaria of the 1930s, the +artisans and peasants together formed the backbone of the economy. The +guild system of progression from apprentice to masterworkman still +prevailed and fostered social distinctions among the artisan group. +Merchants occupied a higher rung on the social ladder than did artisans, +primarily because they did no manual work to earn a living. The +distinction, however, was not great, and members of the two groups +generally associated with each other. The elite group in town, as in the +village, was the intelligentsia. Because towns were usually government +administrative centers and, often, garrison posts, the intelligentsia +was often quite numerous. It included all the white-collar workers, +professionals, and army officers. The town intelligentsia was a +self-contained group whose members mostly associated only with each +other. Within the group, however, distinction was made on the basis of +education and rank in the government hierarchy. + +The city social structure resembled that of the towns but had additional +strata reflecting the wider range of economic activity found in the +city. The most economically and socially disadvantaged were the workers, +including industrial and domestic workers. Just above them were petty +government employees, such as janitors, messengers, and railroad men, +whose standard of living was extremely low but who could look forward to +a secure old age with a government pension and who took pride in being +civil servants. Above these lowest groups were the artisans, shopkeepers +and merchants, and the intelligentsia, as in the social structure of +towns. A few industrialists ranked among the highest because of their +economic power, but even they paid respect to university professors for +their intellect and to higher government officials for the status and +power connected with their offices. + +When the Communists took power in 1944 they set out to destroy the old +social system and replace it with one based on Marxist-Leninist +ideology. The period of so-called socialist reconstruction that followed +resulted in a general leveling of social strata through the demotion of +formerly privileged groups and the promotion of formerly underprivileged +groups. Persons of peasant or worker origin received preferential +treatment in the allocation of housing and of other necessities of life +that were in short supply, in the appointment to jobs, and in access to +higher education. At the same time persons of middle-class or upper +class background were deprived of their housing, removed from key jobs, +and denied educational opportunities for their children through a +discriminatory quota system at secondary and higher schools. A policy of +equalization of incomes made little distinction between different levels +of education or skill, thus eliminating material rewards as a basis for +social stratification. The small political and economic elite that had +developed from the peasant society before 1944 was decimated and +replaced by a group of party stalwarts, most of them from lower class or +middle-class background, who rose rapidly to the top positions of +administrative and political power and became the new ruling elite. +Membership in the Bulgarian Communist Party and complete loyalty to the +leadership were the main criteria for occupying any position of +responsibility. + +The peasants appreciated some of the material benefits granted by the +new government, such as educational opportunities for their children and +expanded industrial employment that offered new outlets for +underemployed rural youth. As a whole, however, the peasantry bitterly +resented being grouped with workers in the ideological frame of +reference of the new leaders. To the peasant, landless workers who +lacked tradition and security occupied a lower social position than he, +and he saw this grouping together as a debasement of his own status. The +blow to his pride and to his traditional position in society was +complete when collectivization deprived him of his precious land. Were +it not for the private farm plot, which allows the peasant to continue +on a very small scale his cherished way of life and thereby perpetuate +his values, the cooperative peasant would be little more than an +agricultural worker. + +In the restructured Bulgarian society the peasantry, encompassing +roughly 30 percent of the population, forms the bottom of the social +pyramid. Although it derives some benefits from the educational, health, +and welfare services instituted by the government, the peasantry is the +forgotten and most disadvantaged segment of the population. Peasants +continue to work hard and long for very meager rewards, and they no +longer have the pride and satisfaction of owning their own land and of +being independent. + +The next social stratum, the industrial working class, has been the +object of much glorification by the regime and has benefited most by the +social measures passed since 1944. In terms of their standard of living +and their social status, workers occupy the lowest level of urban +society; however, the educational benefits available to them and the +growing job market offer prospects for betterment and advancement. The +group has grown more rapidly than any other social class as a result of +the crash industrialization program and constitute between 40 and 50 +percent of the population, as compared to about 29 percent in the +mid-1950s. Most members of the working class are peasants who have left +the village to find a better life in the growing cities and towns. Some +workers are members of the former middle or upper classes who have been +demoted by the new social order. Many members of the small prewar +working class were propelled upward out of the working class into +managerial and administrative positions of industry. + +Within the working class differentiation is made according to education +and skill, which is reflected in income and prestige. Skilled workers +are still in relatively short supply; therefore, they command +considerably higher wages and are likely to receive special housing and +other privileges and inducements from employers. The higher standard of +living that these material advantages can provide and the higher level +of education required to be skilled workers enhance their prestige in +relation to the semiskilled and unskilled workers. Workers in certain +industries, such as mining and heavy industry, are favored regardless of +their level of skill. They benefit from the special status assigned to +these industries in the overall economic plan. + +The middle level of contemporary society encompasses all persons in +nonmanual occupations who are not members of the ruling elite. It +includes administrators, managers, professionals, technicians, and all +categories of white-collar personnel. Next to the working class, this +has been the fastest growing social group. As a result, most of its +members are relatively young, and their social origins represent the +entire spectrum of precommunist society. Within the middle class further +differentiation is made in terms of income and prestige between persons +in the upper levels of management and the professions, who have a higher +education and those in the lower levels of technical and white-collar +employment, who have only a secondary education. The group as a whole +probably constitutes almost 20 percent of the population. The relative +size of the upper and lower levels was not known, although the lower +level was probably larger. + +At the top of the social pyramid is the small ruling elite composed of +the top leadership of the party, government, security forces, mass +organizations, and the various branches of the economy. The ruling elite +also includes members of the cultural and intellectual elite who, by +virtue of their political loyalty and willingness to serve the regime, +share in the privileges usually reserved to the top leadership. By +lending their talents to the party cause, however, these individuals +often lose some of the prestige and deference traditionally enjoyed by +the intellectual elite. The main criterion for membership in the ruling +elite is power derived from approved ideological orientation and +political manipulation. Most members come from peasant or worker +families and are veterans of the communist movement of the interwar +period. Membership in the ruling elite is accompanied by considerable +insecurity because it is highly dependent on political loyalty and +correct interpretation of ideology. A change in official policy can +deprive a member of his status and of all his privileges. + +Since the end of World War II, Bulgarian society has been extremely +mobile. Industrialization and socialization of the economy have created +thousands of new blue- and white-collar jobs. The attendant increase in +educational opportunities has made it possible for individuals to gain +the skill and background required to fill these jobs and, thereby, move +up the social ladder. This mobility has been aided by the government's +determined effort to reshuffle society by improving the social status +and opportunities of the formerly underprivileged groups and by denying +them to the formerly privileged ones. Because education has +traditionally been the main determinant of status, social mobility has +been directed by the state through strict control over educational +opportunities. Preference in admission to higher education has been +given to children of peasants and workers, children of long-standing +party members and children of persons killed in the resistance against +the Germans in World War II (see ch. 6). The political orientation of +the student himself and his membership in mass organizations such as the +youth union are also important factors in determining his admission to +an institution of higher learning. + +In the late 1960s there was some evidence that social mobility was +slowing down and that the society was beginning to stabilize into +self-perpetuating social groups. With the slowing of economic growth the +number of job openings in the higher levels has been reduced, and the +intelligentsia can satisfy from its own ranks most of the demand for +professional and managerial personnel. The social mix of students in +higher education in the late 1960s was far from representative of the +population as a whole--only about 39 percent of the students were from +peasant or worker families, although these groups constituted about 78 +percent of the population. In spite of all their admission advantages, +children of lower income families have not been able to compete +effectively with those of higher income background. Given education as a +main channel of mobility, disadvantage in educational opportunities +means lower possibility for social advancement. Political loyalty, +however, can still override all other considerations and propel a person +up the social ladder. Membership in the party, therefore, continues to +afford considerable advantage. + + +OTHER SOCIAL GROUPS + +Bulgarians are not by nature joiners. Formal organizations were of +little significance in national life before the 1940s. Although a wide +variety of groups existed, mostly in the towns and cities, membership +was generally small and was based on strictly utilitarian +considerations. Individuals joined to derive the benefits provided by +the organization, such as easy credit, professional standing, use of +libraries and other cultural facilities, or use of sports facilities. +Few members were actively involved in the operation or the activities of +the organizations to which they belonged. + +Banding together for a common purpose, however, was far from alien to +Bulgarian culture; but social organizations and informal groupings that +emerged from such banding together usually were based on kinship or on +close personal ties. The most important formal traditional organization +was the _zadruga_ (see The Family, this ch.). In a less formal vein, +wool-cording and spinning bees were important features of rural social +life before collectivization. In fact, many agricultural activities, +such as hoeing and harvesting, were undertaken by groups of friends and +relatives who joined together to take turns working on each other's +land. This joining together for the accomplishment of necessary tasks +served an important social, as well as economic, function. While working +together in such groups, individuals exchanged ideas, passed on +information and, thereby, either reinforced each other's traditional +values and mores or helped develop new ones. + +The cooperative farm of contemporary Bulgaria tries to derive the same +economic advantages from cooperation as did the traditional work groups. +The traditional groups, however, were based on a voluntary joining +together of friends and relatives, whereas the grouping on the +cooperative farm is forced and impersonal. The spirit of reciprocity, +which was so important in the former work groups, has also been lost on +the cooperative farm, where the peasant works land that, in his eyes, +does not belong to him but to an impersonal entity. + +In keeping with communist practice, the government and the Bulgarian +Communist Party have introduced a network of mass organizations designed +to serve specific interest groups. Most prominent among them are the +trade unions, the youth organizations, the women's organizations, and +other member organizations of the Fatherland Front (see ch. 9). Some, +such as sports clubs, discussion groups, and cultural clubs of various +kinds, are organized on community or enterprise bases. Intended to cater +to specific interests of individuals, these groups attempt to attract a +large percentage of the population into formal organizations that can be +used to promote desired norms and values or undertake specific +activities. Major emphasis is placed on collectivism, that is, working +together as a group rather than as individuals. Structurally, the +organizations are usually divided into small groups that are intended to +act as focal social units. These units engage the attention and loyalty +of an individual and then act on his behalf in relation to other social +units or larger institutions, much as the family did in traditional +Bulgarian society. The political purpose of the mass organizations, +however, makes them unattractive to most Bulgarians who have never had +much interest in organizational activities. As a result, membership in +most has been far below desired levels. As was the case with earlier +organizations, Bulgarians join them in order to derive the benefits that +they afford. Membership in a youth organization or in a trade union, for +instance, is often required to gain admission to a school or to obtain a +job. + + + + +CHAPTER 5 + +LIVING CONDITIONS + + +After a period of austerity during which the population's needs were +neglected in favor of rapid industrialization, the standard of living of +Bulgarians began to improve in the early 1960s as more goods and +services became available. The physical well-being of most of the +population has been improving steadily since the end of World War II. +Morbidity has declined noticeably, and declines in the overall death +rate and in the infant mortality rate have resulted in increased life +expectancy. Electricity and water supplies have become available even in +remote rural areas. In comparison with other Eastern European countries, +however, and particularly in comparison with Western Europe, the +standard of living in Bulgaria in 1973 was low. + +Increasing exposure to living conditions in the rest of Europe and +growing incomes of most Bulgarians created pressures to improve their +own quality of life. In December 1972 the country's leadership proposed +an extensive program for improving the standard of living and satisfying +the rising expectations of the population over the next ten years (see +ch. 12). An important element of the program is the elimination of the +continuing disparity in living conditions of the rural and urban +populations. + +In keeping with the socialist ideology of the state, the population is +entitled to free health care and an extensive system of social benefits. +Although these have greatly benefited the population in terms of their +physical and material well-being, their bureaucratic and inefficient +administration has been a source of considerable frustration and +dissatisfaction. + + +HEALTH + +Death and Morbidity + +Life expectancy at birth in the late 1960s was about sixty-nine years +for males and seventy-three for females. This was a 35-percent increase +over pre-World War II figures. Although Bulgarians have had a reputation +for longevity, which has been attributed to their diet, a high infant +mortality rate and a high incidence of morbidity had combined until the +mid-1950s to keep the life expectancy relatively low. Those who survived +to middle age tended to become octogenarians or older; but they were in +a minority. Proportionately, however, there were more older people in +Bulgaria than in most other countries in the world. + +The increase in life expectancy since World War II has been brought +about by a drop in the death rate from 12.2 per 1,000 in 1939 to seven +per 1,000 in 1970 for the urban population and from 13.7 per 1,000 in +1939 to 11.4 per 1,000 in 1970 for the rural population. During the same +period, infant mortality dropped from 139 per 1,000 live births to +twenty-seven per 1,000 live births. In the late 1960s the incidence of +infant mortality was 39 percent higher among rural infants than among +urban ones. More than one-half of the deaths of children under one year +of age were the result of pneumonia. The second major cause of infant +mortality was birth trauma, despite the fact that 98 percent of the +births took place in a public health facility under medical supervision. + +The three major causes of death in 1970 were diseases of the heart and +circulatory system, which accounted for 252 per 1,000 deaths; +cerebrovascular diseases, which accounted for 206 per 1,000 deaths; and +cancer, which accounted for 146 per 1,000 deaths. A program of +systematic treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, which were +once widespread, has either brought them under control or eradicated +them completely. The law requires that all cases of contagious diseases +be registered with the public health service. In 1971 the greatest +incidence was reported for influenza, mumps, chicken pox, dysentery, +infectious hepatitis, and measles. + + +The Public Health Service + +The public health service, modeled after that of the Soviet Union, is +based on the premise that the state has the responsibility to provide +free health care for the population and that such care should be uniform +and readily available. The health service is financed by the state, +supervised by the Ministry of Public Health, and administered by the +public health departments of the district people's councils. Free health +care is available to all citizens; medicine required for outpatient +treatment, however, must be paid for by the patient. + +The cornerstone of the health service is the polyclinic, which provides +general and specialized outpatient aid and consultation. Polyclinics may +be attached to a hospital or may be independent units serving a +designated geographic area. A separate network of polyclinics is +attached to industrial mining, transport, and construction enterprises +to serve their workers. Each polyclinic is divided into departments for +the various specialties in medicine, and each department is staffed by +one or more doctors and auxiliary personnel. Not all polyclinics, +however, have departments for all the major fields of medicine; many +have only sections for internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, +pediatrics, and surgery. Patients needing consultation or treatment by +other specialists are referred to the nearest hospital. + +The health care provided by the polyclinic was under serious attack in +the early 1970s both from the doctors who work there and from the +patients. The main problem seemed to be overburdening and inefficiency +imposed by the system of health care. One polyclinic in Sofia, for +example, was responsible for the health care of 70,000 inhabitants of +its area. Its physicians gave routine examinations to prospective +students and job applicants, certified the legitimacy of claims for sick +leave, and diagnosed and treated all complaints from the common cold to +the most serious illness. During four hours each day, patients were seen +on a first-come-first-served basis, except in emergencies. Waiting rooms +were jammed, and people often waited for hours without seeing a doctor +because the allotted time for office consultations had expired before +their turn came. + +Studies have indicated that one physician sees an average of thirty to +forty patients in the four-hour period of office consultations, and then +one-half again as many in a three-hour period of house calls, which +often cover a wide geographic area. The average consultation between +doctor and patient is six minutes, a time much too short for proper +diagnosis. The result has been frequently wrong diagnosis and wrong or +inadequate treatment. + +A survey of polyclinic physicians conducted in 1970 revealed that over +50 percent of those surveyed considered the outpatient treatment +provided by the polyclinic to be ineffective. They blamed poor +organization and procedure in handling patients' needs, which resulted +in the inefficient use of physicians' time, overloading of physicians, +and shortage of drugs and equipment needed for complex treatment. More +than two-thirds of the physicians questioned indicated that they would +prefer to practice at a hospital or other medical unit and that they +planned to leave the polyclinic as soon as another opportunity was +available. The physicians recommended that their work schedule and +method of handling patients be revised to make the system more +efficient; that social workers be assigned to polyclinics to handle some +of the patients' social problems that aggravated their medical problems; +that polyclinic doctors be given more specialized training in rapid +diagnosis and other skills required by them and not by hospital +physicians; and that the remuneration of polyclinic physicians be +brought in line with their arduous assignment. + +The patient's response to the inadequacy and inefficiency of polyclinic +health care has been to seek out a physician with a private practice and +pay the necessary fee. Approximately one-fourth of the polyclinic +physicians have a private practice during nonduty hours, as do almost +all specialists. By consulting a private physician rather than the free +polyclinic, the patient can choose his own doctor and establish a +personal relationship with him, hoping to develop confidence and receive +more effective treatment. + +The outpatient work of the polyclinics is supplemented by a network of +special dispensaries that provide long-term care for persons suffering +from tuberculosis, venereal disease, tumors and psychoneurotic +disturbances. The sixty-one dispensaries in 1971 also had a total of +3,670 beds for inpatient care. + +A network of hospitals provides inpatient treatment and specialized +diagnostic and clinical facilities. All hospitals are also teaching +centers for physicians, nurses, and auxiliary medical personnel. In 1971 +there were 195 hospitals throughout the country, at least one in each +district. Certain districts, however, were inadequately equipped with +hospital facilities. The total number of beds was 57,053, or 7.6 beds +per 1,000 inhabitants. One hundred and fifty-four of the hospitals, with +a total of 47,839 beds, were general hospitals. There were also fifteen +special tuberculosis hospitals and fifteen psychoneurological hospitals +with a total of slightly over 3,000 beds in each category; five +pediatric hospitals with a total of 480 beds; four obstetric and +gynecological hospitals with a total of 740 beds; one hospital for +infectious diseases; and one for orthopedic and plastic surgery. In +addition to these district-supported hospitals, the central government +operated six hospitals with a total bed capacity of 1,036 in connection +with the special medical research institutes. Extended care and physical +therapy for patients suffering from chronic ailments were offered by 182 +sanatoriums and health spas with a total bed capacity of 16,104. + +The Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) envisages increasing the number of +hospital beds to 8.4 per 1,000 inhabitants and focusing on those areas +of the country that are underserved. An increase in operating funds for +the hospitals is to be channeled mostly into improving plant and +equipment. Although most hospitals suffer from poor or outmoded plant +and equipment, they also suffer seriously from a shortage of staff, +particularly of nurses and auxiliary medical personnel. The plan states +specifically that alleviation of that shortage will have to be delayed. + +In 1971 the country had a total of 16,183 physicians, 1.9 for every +1,000 inhabitants. The number of physicians had more than doubled in the +twenty years since 1952; most of them, therefore, were between the ages +of twenty-five and forty-five. The number of other medical personnel had +expanded along the same lines. In 1971 there were 2,464 pharmacists; +26,381 nurses; 6,016 midwives; and 5,012 feldshers. Feldshers are +paramedics trained to perform a variety of medical functions, including +simple surgery, in the absence of a fully qualified physician. Many +rural health centers are in the charge of feldshers and receive periodic +visits from specialized physicians. + +Physicians and auxiliary medical personnel are all employed by the state +in the national health service. They are classed as nonproductive +workers, therefore their salary scales are lower than those for +productive workers. This has been causing a great deal of +dissatisfaction and is the principal reason for the serious shortage of +medical personnel. One Bulgarian newspaper in 1971 reported the case of +a hospital administrator trying to recruit women streetcleaners to fill +the many vacancies for nurses and aides in the hospital. The +streetcleaners refused because their wages and working conditions were +better than those for the more highly skilled positions in the hospital. + + +PERSONAL INCOME AND EXPENDITURES + +Cost of Living + +Incomes and retail prices are controlled by the government and set in +accordance with the overall economic plan. The cost of living, +therefore, is also controlled and has been relatively stable. Several +increases in the minimum wage during the 1960s were paralleled by price +increases for some of the essential commodities and services. In 1973 +the minimum monthly wage was raised to 80 leva per month (for value of +the lev--see Glossary), and basic wages for the lowest categories of +workers and employees were also raised to bring them into line with +wages in comparable kinds of work. At the same time, prices of certain +foods were reduced, whereas prices of some other essential goods were +raised. + +Although the incomes of most Bulgarians have generally kept pace with +the rise in the cost of living, a chronic scarcity of consumer goods and +services and periodic food shortages have forced a comparatively low +standard of living on the population. As in other communist countries, +the consumer industry has been neglected in favor of other branches of +the economy. Even after the government began to place greater emphasis +on the production of consumer goods in the 1960s, rising demand +outstripped production capabilities. Even the basic needs of the +population often could not be met because of poor planning or the +inflexibility of the central planning system, which does not react +effectively to changing market conditions. It is not uncommon to have +excessive inventories of certain sizes of clothing or footwear while +other sizes are in short supply. Retail outlets are either unwilling or +unable to replenish their supplies of missing sizes until the overall +stock of the item is almost depleted, regardless of consumer demand. + +The government has for some time indicated concern over the low standard +of living in Bulgaria as compared with other Eastern European countries. +One of the aims of the Sixth Five-Year Plan is to increase production of +consumer goods and meet the needs and rising demands of the population. +Limited production capacity, however, and shortages of certain raw +materials will seriously restrict the extent of possible improvements. + +In December 1972 the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party +held a special plenum on improving the standard of living of the people. +This unprecedented move showed the importance that the leadership was +attaching to this subject. In an extensive report to the plenum, party +chief Todor Zhivkov presented a far-reaching program of steps to be +taken, starting in 1973, to improve the standard of living. To implement +the decisions of the plenum over the long run, the Commission on the +Living Standard was established under prominent Bulgarian Communist +Party (BKP--see Glossary) leadership. + +As envisaged by the plenum, the standard of living will be raised by +pursuing a three-pronged policy: gradually increasing wages; keeping +prices stable; and making available an adequate supply of consumer goods +and services, including luxury goods and services to satisfy the demand +of those who are willing to pay the higher price. In the past, luxury +goods and services have been considered superfluous and undesirable in +an egalitarian socialist country. Higher incomes and exposure to the +living standards in other Eastern European and Western European +countries, however, have created pressure for more than just the +satisfaction of basic needs. According to some government officials, +Bulgarians are no longer satisfied with just any washing machine or +electric appliance; they want the latest automatic model and are willing +to pay for it. + +In the program for increasing wages, special attention will be paid to +narrowing the gap between incomes of cooperative peasants and those of +workers. In the mid-1950s a cooperative peasant's income was only 60 +percent of a worker's income. By 1971 the peasant's income had increased +to 85 percent of that of a worker, but this amount was still considered +too low by the government. To accelerate the growth of peasants' +incomes, a nontaxable minimum income was to be introduced in 1973, and +the same system of income tax was to cover both peasants and workers. +The system of remuneration on cooperative farms was to be made the same +as that on state farms, where agricultural workers are classed as +workers, not as farmers. Fringe benefits, such as pensions and +supplements for children, were also to be brought into line with those +of workers by 1975. + + +Consumption + +According to official figures, consumption has grown steadily since the +early 1960s, in spite of continued shortages of some goods. As incomes +rose and consumer goods and services became more readily available, a +greater percentage of household budgets was being spent on them. All +segments of the population spent a greater share of their income in 1971 +on household equipment and on cultural and educational pursuits, which +included such durable goods as household appliances and radios and +television sets, than they did in 1962. Changes in proportionate +expenditures for other nonessentials during the 1960s reflected the +income differences and taste preferences of the different social +categories as well as their rural or urban residence. + +The largest share of consumer expenditures in 1971 went for food, +ranging from 42.5 percent of total expenditures for peasants to 38.8 +percent of total expenditures for white-collar workers (see table 3). +In calculating expenditures for food, the value of food production for +personal consumption was included. The relative share of expenditures on +food has been dropping since 1962. At the same time, the quality of the +diet for all population groups has improved. + +_Table 3. Bulgaria, Percentage Distribution of Household Expenditures by +Population Group, 1962 and 1971_ + + ---------------------+---------------+---------------+------------------- + | Blue Collar | White Collar | Co-op Farm Member + Item +-------+-------+-------+-------+---------+--------- + | 1962 | 1971 | 1962 | 1971 | 1962 | 1971 + ---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+---------+--------- + Food | 46.0 | 42.3 | 44.6 | 38.8 | 46.3 | 42.5 + Alcoholic beverages | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 6.3 | 5.1 + Tobacco | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.3 + Clothing | 13.6 | 11.4 | 14.7 | 11.3 | 13.6 | 10.3 + Housing | 9.9 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 11.4 | 9.6 | 8.8 + Household furnishings| 3.5 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 5.0 + Culture and | | | | | | + entertainment | 4.3 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 7.8 | 2.8 | 5.4 + Health and hygiene | 1.2 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 1.7 + Communication and | | | | | | + transportation | 2.7 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 1.7 + Taxes and fees | 5.4 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 7.0 | 1.3 | 2.0 + Other | 8.2 | 11.1 | 7.7 | 9.1 | 12.3 | 16.2 + | | | | | | + TOTAL | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 + ---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+---------+--------- + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1972_, Sofia, 1972, p. 412. + +Relative expenditures on clothing were roughly the same for all +population groups, although peasants spent a somewhat smaller proportion +of their budget than families influenced by urban life-styles. The share +of the budget spent on clothing has dropped since 1962. + +The relative share of expenditures for housing went down between 1962 +and 1971 for the two lower income groups, who spent almost the same +proportion of their budget for that purpose. The higher income +white-collar group, however, spent over 3 percent more on housing in +1971 than it did in 1962. This group has been investing in its own +private housing rather than living in state- or industry-supplied +housing. Expenditures for household furnishings and equipment were +approximately the same for all segments of the population in 1971. They +occupied a greater share of the household budget than in 1962, +particularly among blue-collar workers. + +In addition to devoting a considerably higher portion of their budget to +housing than other social groups, white-collar workers also devote more +of their budget to culture and entertainment and to health and hygiene. +This is clearly a reflection of more sophisticated tastes and a higher +standard of living. The life-style of this group includes regular +attendance at the theater, operas, and concerts; the purchase of books +and records; and a higher education for their children. This, also, is +the group that prefers to consult a private physician, who sets his own +rates, rather than to use the free public clinic. + +Relative expenditures for communication and transportation services have +remained stable over the years. They vary by population group, consuming +a greater portion of the budget as one rises on the social ladder. The +proportionately higher expenditures of blue- and white-collar workers +are probably due to the expense of commuting to and from a job. The even +higher share of such expenditures in the budgets of white-collar workers +is attributable to private telephones and travel. + +The greatest variation in consumption patterns between the different +population groups is evident in the proportion of expenditures devoted +to other than the enumerated categories. Although there is no indication +in the statistical material as to what kind of expenditures are +included, this entry must certainly include expenses incurred in the +cultivation of private plots and the raising of animals in the private +sector for domestic consumption and expenses incurred in providing +private services. Therefore, these expenditures take a high share of the +total expenditures of peasants and workers. + +Despite expanding consumption, neither the government nor the population +is satisfied with the supply and quality of the goods and services +available. Some items, such as meat, housewares, furniture, building +materials, and various kinds of clothing and knitwear, are in chronic +short supply. Other items, such as fruits, vegetables, and dairy +products, are subject to periodic shortages. In addition, the quality +and selection of many goods do not meet the desired levels. An official +document published in 1972 decried the common practice of producing +high-quality goods for export and lower quality goods for the domestic +market. The same document also called for changing export priorities so +that the domestic needs could be met before scarce goods were exported. + +Another factor limiting the satisfaction of demands for goods and +services has been the small size and inefficiency of the domestic trade +network and of the service industry. Retail outlets are state owned and +have received very low priority in the allocation of funds. As a result, +they are too few in number and are seriously understaffed, making +shopping a time-consuming and frustrating activity. Stores are reluctant +to stock new styles in response to consumer demands until their old +stocks have been almost completely depleted. High-quality and specialty +items are usually available only from private craftsmen at very high +prices. + +Private craftsmen and artisans provide virtually the only service +network in the country. The service sector of the economy has been +considered as nonessential and therefore has been neglected by the state +(see ch. 12). In order to fill the gap thus created, the government +started in the mid-1960s to encourage private individuals to provide +the needed services. Many of these people are regularly employed +artisans and craftsmen in industry who provide specialized services +during their spare time. Others are pensioners or unemployed. Because +they are in great demand, they can set their own prices, and many are in +the highest income groups. The government has attempted to keep their +earnings under control through taxes and has restricted their activities +by other administrative measures, but it has made no effort to eliminate +their services. + +In the report issued by the special plenum on living conditions held by +the Central Committee in December 1972, a comparison was made of actual +consumption in 1970, desired consumption levels during the next decade, +and consumption standards developed by government scientific institutes. +In most cases the actual levels were far below the standards (see table +4). + +_Table 4. Bulgaria, Actual and Desired Annual Consumption Levels_ + + -----------------+--------------------+----------------------------------- + | | Consumption Levels + | |--------+---------------+---------- + | | | Desired | + Item | Measure | Actual |-------+-------+Scientific + | | 1970 | 1975 | 1980 | Norms* + -----------------+--------------------+--------+-------+-------+---------- + Meat and meat | | | | | + products | pounds per capita | 91.3 | 121.3 | 165.4 | 176.4 + Fish | do | 12.1 | 17.6 | 22.0 | 22.0 + Milk and milk | | | | | + products | do | 335.4 | 432.2 | 551.3 | 573.3 + Vegetable oils | do | 27.6 | 30.6 | 30.9 | 28.7 + Flour and flour | | | | | + products | do | 376.1 | 401.3 | 330.7 | 221.0 + Sugar | do | 72.5 | 81.6 | 79.4 | 70.6 + Vegetables | do | 196.0 | 299.9 | 352.8 | 396.9 + Fruits | do | 326.8 | 394.7 | 442.0 | 442.0 + Eggs | number per capita | 122.0 | 159.0 | 250.0 | 265.0 + Cotton fabrics | feet per capita | 72.8 | 81.0 | 108.2 | 118.0 + Wool fabrics | do | 12.5 | 15.4 | 19.7 | 23.0 + Shoes | pairs per capita | 1.7 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 4.0 + Radio sets | per 100 households | 100.8 | 104.0 | 110.0 | 130.0 + Television sets | do | 42.0 | 53.0 | 80.0 | 105.0 + Telephones | do | 7.0 | 9.6 | 10.0 | 50.0 + Washing machines | do | 50.0 | 50.0 | 60.0 | 70.0 + Refrigerators | do | 29.0 | 59.0 | 90.0 | 100.0 + Automobiles | do | 6.0 | 13.5 | 30.0 | 40.0 + -----------------+--------------------+--------+-------+-------+---------- + * As determined by research institutes of the Bulgarian Academy of + Sciences. + Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Technical + Services, Joint Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington), + _Translations on Eastern Europe: Political, Sociological, and Military + Affairs_, "Statistics on Rising Living Standard Given," (JPRS 58,480, + No. 851, 1973). + + +HOUSING + +In common with other Eastern European countries, Bulgaria has suffered a +serious urban housing shortage since World War II, although large +reserves have existed in rural housing. Great numbers of workers have +left the villages over the years to find employment in the rapidly +expanding industrial centers, but housing construction has not kept pace +with this migration. During the early years of communist rule, priority +in the allocation of scarce building materials and funds was given to +the building of new plants and other industrial installations rather +than to new housing. In the 1960s only between 3 and 6 percent of the +gross national income was invested in housing construction as compared +with 20 percent or more in most Western European countries. Bulgaria has +had the lowest housing investment among the communist countries of +Eastern Europe. + +In 1970 the Politburo and the Council of Ministers adopted a special +program for the solution of the housing problem within the next ten to +fifteen years. The program stated that the aim of the BKP was to enable +every family to have its own apartment, and every member of the family +his own room. In 1972 there were some 250,000 more urban families than +there were housing units. + +Aggravating the housing shortage in the early 1970s was an accelerating +deterioration of old buildings. Money and materials for maintenance of +existing structures have been even scarcer than for new buildings. In +addition, many of the postwar apartment buildings were put up hastily, +using inferior materials and workmanship, and soon turned into crumbling +slums. + +In order to spur housing construction without imposing too great a +burden on the state budget, the government was forced to abandon its +intention of providing low-rent housing for everyone. Instead, it has +encouraged the population to invest in its own housing. As a result, +special savings accounts for the purchase of private housing have grown +at a more rapid rate than regular savings accounts. During the 1968-70 +period approximately one-third of the new housing units made available +were financed entirely by state funds, another one-third were financed +entirely by private funds, and the last one-third were financed by +private funds with the aid of loans from state sources. State +enterprises are instructed to grant their employees interest-free, +fifteen-year mortgages for the purchase of an apartment or house. Up to +4,000 leva can be borrowed for this purpose in urban areas and up to +3,000 leva in rural areas. This, however, covers less than one-half of +the cost of a two-room apartment. + +Although the increasing reliance on tenant-financed housing is helping +to reduce the overall housing shortage, it has meant that most new +housing units are built for the higher income groups. Cooperative +apartments and private houses require a substantial initial investment +and the assumption of a mortgage, which are beyond the means of most +blue-collar and low-income white-collar workers. These groups continue +to rely on state-financed or industry-financed low-rent housing, which +usually has long waiting lists of prospective tenants. In order to free +more of the low-rent housing for those who cannot pay for a private +home, persons owning a second home or intending to build one are being +asked to vacate their state-supplied housing. + +In 1973 the per capita area of usable housing space was 124 square feet. +New dwelling units constructed under the Sixth Five-Year Plan were to +have an average of 857 square feet each; those constructed during the +following Seventh Five-Year Plan (1976-80) will have an average of 911 +square feet each. Inasmuch as possible, all new housing units +constructed before 1975 will be equipped with running water, +electricity, sewage disposal facilities, and central heat. After 1976 +such amenities will be mandatory. In the mid-1960s, the latest date +available, 30.7 percent of all housing units had running water, 94.7 +percent had electricity, 32.7 percent had sewage disposal facilities, +and 1.5 percent had central heat. The availability of these amenities in +housing units varied a great deal among the different social groups of +the population (see table 5). + +_Table 5. Bulgaria, Percentage of Housing Units Equipped with Various +Amenities, December 1965_ + + ----------------------+---------+-------------+------------+--------- + | | | Sewage | + | Running | | Disposal | Central + | Water | Electricity | Facilities | Heat + ----------------------+---------+-------------+------------+--------- + _Households_: | | | | + Blue collar | 29.0 | 95.2 | 32.7 | 0.8 + White collar | 72.6 | 99.3 | 73.0 | 4.9 + Cooperative farm | 6.5 | 91.6 | 7.2 | 0.0 + Cooperative artisan | 37.1 | 98.4 | 40.2 | 0.2 + Other | 54.0 | 96.5 | 56.7 | 2.9 + | | | | + ALL HOUSING | 30.7 | 94.7 | 32.7 | 1.4 + ----------------------+---------|-------------+------------+--------- + Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Technical + Services, Joint Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington), + _Translations on Eastern Europe: Political, Sociological, and Military + Affairs_, "Aspects of Standard of Living Analyzed," (JPRS 48,717, No. + 126, 1969). + + +SOCIAL BENEFITS + +In addition to receiving free medical care, all citizens are entitled to +a variety of social benefits, including sickness and disability pay, +pensions, maternity benefits, and family allowances. Most of these are +administered by the trade unions, but pensions are under the +jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance. They are financed by the +central government and by contributions from the employers based on a +percentage of gross salaries and wages paid. + +All workers are entitled to paid sick leave after three months' service. +In the case of accidents at work, there is no waiting period. Lump-sum +compensation for temporary disablement because of an accident at work +ranges in amount, depending on severity of injury and length of +service. During the period of disablement, the worker is entitled to +benefits ranging from 30 to 100 percent of his wage, depending on the +severity of the disablement and on his income. Prolonged or permanent +disability entitles the worker to a pension. + +Old-age pensions are based on the years of service and kind of work +performed. The pensionable age is fifty-five for women and sixty for +men, but earlier retirement is possible for certain categories of work. +Pension payments range from 55 to 80 percent of wages based on a scale +covering the last five years of employment or, in some cases, three out +of the last five years. Higher rates are paid for work years past the +usual retirement age. Pensions are payable to dependents after the death +of the pensioner. Dependents also receive life insurance payments. +Cooperative farm members are entitled to pensions after twenty years of +work for women and twenty-five years of work for men provided they +worked 100 to 135 days each year. In 1972 it was suggested that 200 to +250 days of work per year should be required for pensions in exchange +for higher pension payments to cooperative farm members. + +Pensions are collectible even if a person continues working. This system +was criticized by Zhivkov in late 1972. He suggested that persons who +continued to work after being eligible for a pension should be +encouraged to do so without drawing a pension but should, instead, +accumulate additional increments to their pension for each year worked. + +In addition to old-age pensions there are pensions for special merit +payable to persons who have made an exceptional contribution to national +life and national pensions payable to fighters against fascism and +capitalism. All minimum pension payments were increased in 1972. + +Under new provisions announced in March 1973, employed women will be +entitled to four months of fully paid maternity leave and six months of +leave at minimum wages for the first child; five and seven months, +respectively, for the second child; six and eight months for the third +child; and four and six months for each subsequent child. Mothers who +are students or who do not work for some valid reason will receive +minimum wages for corresponding periods. Mothers of children under the +age of ten are entitled to special annual leave. All mothers receive a +cash payment at the birth of a child; the payments are sharply +differentiated to encourage larger families. In early 1973 the payments +were 20 leva for the first child, 200 leva for the second child, and 500 +leva for the third child. It was planned, however to raise these +payments to 100 leva, 250 leva, and 500 leva, respectively. + +Another inducement for larger families is a system of monthly family +allowance payments for children up to the age of sixteen or until they +complete secondary school. Allowances are payable to all families +regardless of whether or not the parents work. A variety of other social +assistance benefits are available to indigents, persons disabled from +childhood, orphans, and the aged with no income. + + +WORK AND LEISURE + +In 1973 the country was in the process of shifting from a +forty-six-hour, six-day workweek to a 42.5-hour, five-day workweek. The +transition was being carried out district by district according to a set +schedule. It was to be completed by 1975. Persons working in +agriculture, education, and the health service, however, were to +continue to work their forty-six hour workweek, except where the actual +work involved was adaptable to a reduced workweek. + +The reduction in working hours had been a much debated subject for +several years. It was first promised by the government in 1968, but its +implementation has been slow because it is predicated on the same level +of productivity and output by each enterprise as before implementation. +Pressure for reduced working hours has been strong because most +Bulgarians have very little time for genuine leisure in their daily +life. + +The lack of time for genuine leisure is the result not only of long +working hours but also of an inadequate trade and service network, a +shortage of time-saving household equipment, and an excessive +bureaucracy. All the daily chores, such as housekeeping, shopping, and +attending to other personal or family matters, are time consuming and +cumbersome. Studies have shown that all persons over the age of six +devote an average of four hours out of every twenty-four to housework +alone. The national leadership feels this is excessive and has proposed +measures to develop the service sector. + +The favorite leisure-time activity of young and old, urban and rural +Bulgarians is to get together with friends for informal socializing. Men +congregate at the neighborhood tavern or their favorite café to drink +plum brandy or wine, play cards, and talk about the latest news. Women +gather to gossip at each other's homes, at the village pump, or at the +neighborhood playground or park. The evening promenade is an important +diversion for all ages and social groups. Walking back and forth at some +designated public thoroughfare in small groups of friends or relatives, +people greet each other and exchange pleasantries. + +Sports are a major form of recreation for young people. Soccer is the +national sport, and the matches of major teams are followed with great +interest. Hiking and picnic excursions are popular among city dwellers +who like to get out into the country to enjoy the beauty and +tranquillity of nature. In towns and cities, the theater, operas, +concerts, and other cultural activities are popular leisure-time +diversions. The cinema is extremely popular in both town and village, +although increasing television viewing has been reducing cinema +audiences. + +In addition to sports, young people spend much of their leisure time +listening to popular music and also dancing. In fact, they are +periodically reprimanded by the BKP leadership for spending too much of +their time in leisure activities and not enough in socially useful +work. + + + + +CHAPTER 6 + +EDUCATION + + +The educational system in Bulgaria, as in the Balkans generally, began +to develop in a real sense only in the nineteenth century, principally +because Bulgaria had been under Turkish rule for 500 years. As education +was of little concern to the Turks and an educated Bulgarian population +would only represent a threat to their regime, the advancement of a +formal educational system was either openly repressed or neglected by +the Turks. As a result, the literacy rate in Bulgaria was one of the +lowest in Europe at the time of liberation in 1878. During the six +decades between liberation and World War II, the educational system had +made great progress in providing basic education to young people, but +there remained a hard core of illiterates in the adult population. After +the Communists took over in 1944, a massive drive in adult education +virtually eliminated the problem of illiteracy within a decade. + +The educational system under the Communists was essentially patterned on +that of the Soviet Union, and the desire on the part of Bulgarian +authorities to stay within that pattern brought about a general +cautiousness as they restructured the system to make it coincide with +the newly imposed ideology. Although educational reforms have been +enacted with great frequency, they have often dealt with matters of form +rather than of substance. The basic adherence to Soviet guidelines has +remained intact throughout the years of communist rule. + +As in most Eastern European countries, the major objectives of the +Bulgarian educational system have been premised on both ideological +issues and the demands of the national economy. One of the primary goals +of the system--both stated and implicit--is the production of the ideal +communist citizen who will work for the realization of "socialist +construction" and the betterment of the socialist society. A second +major premise of the system is that the demands of the economy must be +met; this goal is to be achieved by educating skilled personnel to fill +the specific needs of its various sectors. Because of the trend toward +industrialization that obtains in all communist countries, a corollary +policy is that the study of science and technology must be emphasized +over the study of the humanities. + +According to established principles, therefore, certain policies are +carried out in the process of education. People of worker or peasant +origin, who the Communists perceive as having been deprived of their +basic rights to an education in the past, are allowed to enter the +higher levels of the educational system without the usual prerequisite +examination if the necessary places are available. They generally +represent between 30 and 40 percent of the total higher education +population as compared with 80 percent of the population as a whole. + +Certain communist principles form the backbone of the curriculum. Work +is perceived to be an integral part of education as are directed +extracurricular activities, and a sizable percentage of formal education +is allotted for practical and vocational training. Religious education, +which was a legacy from the past, has been dismissed as superstitious +and archaic, and virtually all religious schools have been banned. The +curriculum from the earliest years of schooling to the upper levels of +higher education is filled with such courses as Marxism-Leninism, the +history of the communist party of the Soviet Union, and the history of +the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary). + +Under the many and varied educational reforms legislated under the +Communists, the pendulum has swung between relative emphasis on science +and technology on the one hand and the humanities on the other. Although +overall emphasis has always been on the sciences, that emphasis has +increased and decreased at various times since the communist takeover. +Between 1944 and 1948, for example, there was little overall emphasis on +technology in the curriculum. Between 1948 and 1967, however, these +subjects were emphasized to a large degree. Beginning in 1967 some +weight was again placed on the humanities. As of 1973 there had been +some manifestation of rededication to technology and science, but the +latest proposed reform regarding secondary education represented a +desire on the part of the government to fuse general education--which of +course includes the humanities--and specialized training into one +system. + +In mid-1973 problems inherent in the educational system of Bulgaria +continued to exist. One of the most serious was the inadequacy of funds +for education generally but particularly for higher education where the +need was the greatest. Another problem was that of overcrowding. +Although there was virtually no problem of teacher shortage, there were +far too many students in proportion to the number of schools. A third +problem lay in the area of foreign student exchange where relatively few +foreign students studied in Bulgarian universities and institutes and +few Bulgarian students were allowed to study abroad. Another problem on +the higher educational level was the discrepancy between students' +preference regarding their fields of specialization and government +dictates in this area. Although many students at the university level +were interested in the arts and social sciences, the government, feeling +the weight of the economy's demands, very often preempted their choices +and allocated many more places to the sciences than to the arts. The +most serious problem, however, in terms of higher education, was that +owing to a shortage of places at the university level only 20 percent of +the secondary students who applied for admission were accepted. This +shortage of places in higher education, coupled with the fact that +extremely few Bulgarian students were permitted to study abroad, meant +that a large proportion of potential students capable of serious work +were turned away from higher education altogether. + + +HISTORY OF EDUCATION + +Until the late eighteenth century education made virtually no progress +in the country. Although schools did exist during the period of Turkish +rule, the Turks had no interest in furthering education among their +subjects, except insofar as it would benefit themselves. From the +fourteenth through the seventeenth centuries education remained at a +standstill. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Turks +allowed the Greek Orthodox Church to become predominant among Christians +in the area, and an intense hellenization campaign ensued with the +seeming purpose of assimilating the Bulgarians as a people into the +Greek society that surrounded them. The campaign, which was particularly +virulent in the 1750s, was successful in the schools, and the Bulgarian +language and customs were supplanted by those of the Greek. + +By the late eighteenth century, however, a national revival grew in +force, stimulated in large part by Father Paisi, a monk who wrote the +first Bulgarian history, _The Slav-Bulgarian History_. This work and +Father Paisi's teachings provided an incentive for the development of +education in the country. From 1762 until liberation from Turkish rule +in 1878, education made great strides. As the churches began to throw +off the domination of the Greek Orthodox Church, more church schools +staffed by monks and priests were established within the Bulgarian +Orthodox Church framework. + +Although the Greek educational system still predominated in the early +part of the nineteenth century, complemented by a rising move toward the +establishment of Bulgarian Orthodox Church schools, a movement toward +secular education was initiated at this time. Secular subjects were +introduced in the church schools, and communal schools were established. +By 1834 the first primer in Bulgarian was written, based on a western +European model, which established the basis for secondary education. In +1835 a wealthy merchant founded the first Bulgarian high school, and +within the next ten years some fifty schools had been established. + +At the time of liberation, however, over 90 percent of the population +over school age was still illiterate. Only a small proportion--some 30 +percent--of school-age children, those from seven to fourteen years of +age, were actually attending schools. After the Turnovo Constitution +(1879), however, which was enacted shortly after liberation, the +educational system was revitalized (see ch. 8). Elementary education +was made both free and compulsory. The state, the monarchy, and private +individuals contributed to the goal of making education as nearly +universal as possible. + +In 1879 the three-year compulsory elementary school was introduced. By +1880 the period of compulsory education had been extended to four years. +In 1888 the University of Sofia was founded. The university initially +had seven faculties: history and philosophy; physics and mathematics; +law; medicine; agronomy; theology; and veterinary medicine. + +In 1910 the school system, which covered a twelve-year period, consisted +of a four-year elementary school for children aged seven to eleven, a +three-year _progymnasium_ for children from eleven to fourteen, and a +five-year gymnasium for children from fourteen to eighteen. This system +continued with only slight modification until the Communists took over +in 1944. Also by 1910 both professional and vocational schools had been +established providing a relatively high quality of education in such +fields as agriculture, engineering, theology, commerce, art, and music. +Although there were many students of higher education at the University +of Sofia, about 10,000 students annually attended foreign universities, +principally in Austria and Germany. + +By the end of World War I, many villages that had more than twenty +families had their own primary school. Larger settlements in more urban +areas often had their own _progymnasia_ and gymnasiums. In towns that +had 20,000 or more citizens, there were kindergartens for children from +three to seven years of age. Both religious and linguistic minorities +had their own schools, which functioned within the public school system. +Foreign schools coexisted with the public school system. Although the +curricula of the foreign schools were similar to those of the public +secondary schools, subjects were taught in western European languages, +forming a link between Bulgaria and the West. + +By 1921 a three-tiered system of education--consisting of the four-year +elementary school, the three-year _progymnasium_, and the five-year +gymnasium--became officially compulsory in the first two stages. Many +children failed to attend school, however, and many villages, despite +the official policy, were without school facilities. The entire +educational system was controlled by the government through the Ministry +of Public Education, which regulated the contents of texts and courses +and the administration of exams. The model for the educational system +was essentially European, with a particularly strong emphasis on German +and Russian patterns. + +In 1921 the Law of Public Instruction brought an increase in emphasis on +vocational training. Orders were issued to bring about a transition to +"vocational education and respect for labor." Eventually, schoolchildren +were forced to spend two weeks of their studies in "compulsory labor," +a concept that was the precursor of the Bulgarian communist philosophy +of the integration of work with education. During this period the +students worked in such projects as cleaning school facilities, binding +texts, and cultivating school gardens. + +In 1934 a so-called modern school was established to give the student an +alternative to the academically and socially elitist gymnasium, but +there were still a number of deficiencies in the Bulgarian educational +system. The literacy rate had greatly increased, but between 20 and 30 +percent of the population was still illiterate. Although schooling was +officially compulsory, it was in fact inaccessible in smaller villages, +and many school-age children were not able to attend. Humanities were +emphasized to the virtual exclusion of technical-vocational subjects, +which were developed to only a very slight degree. Only one of five +secondary students studied technical subjects. Adult education was +virtually nonexistent. + +In 1937 there were eight institutions of higher education in addition to +the University of Sofia, the country's leading educational facility. Six +of these--the Free University, the Academy of Art, the Academy of Music, +the Military Academy, the Theological Seminary, and the School of +Physical Education--were also located in Sofia. The remaining two were +business schools located in Varna and Svishtov. A large number of +Bulgarian students also chose to continue their education abroad. One of +the major problems at the time concerned the absorption of graduates +into the various fields for which they were eligible. The country was +still predominantly agricultural, and there were simply too few +positions available for the annual influx of graduates, a situation that +caused alienation and disaffection. + + +COMMUNIST EDUCATIONAL POLICIES + +When the Communists came to power in 1944 they were determined to change +the system of education in Bulgaria. Not only did they seek to eradicate +certain elements--such as religion and social elitism--from the +educational system, but they also were determined to make education +universal and, insofar as possible, to create an entirely literate +society. As the educational system developed under communist tutelage, +however, governmental statements on the subject displayed an increasing +tendency to link the system with ideology and principles to the point +where the ultimate goal was the creation of the ideal Communist. + +When the 1947 Constitution was formulated, it established universality +and state control over the school system as the two main policies of +education. It stated: "Every citizen has the right to education. +Education is secular, democratic and progressive in spirit. Ethnic +minorities have the right to instruction in their mother tongue; they +also have the right to develop their national culture, although study of +the Bulgarian language is compulsory.... Schools belong to the State. +Private schools can be established only by the passage of a law; such +schools are placed under State control...." + +Statements in subsequent constitutions indicated an increased emphasis +on the socialist content of education and its close ties with the Soviet +model on which it was based. In 1949 the government issued a statement +declaring that education would be "in the spirit of socialism, +proletarian internationalism, and indissoluble brotherly friendship with +the Soviet Union." Two years later the government stated that "the +people's school is a powerful weapon in the hands of the Communist Party +and the people's democratic state for education and Communist +indoctrination of the people." In the present-day period both Todor +Zhivkov, who is the first secretary of the party, and the minister of +national education (formerly known as the minister of public education) +have reinforced the purpose and function of education in a socialist +society. In 1966 the minister of national education stated: "The work of +the school, its major and minor tasks--everything for which it +exists--must be subordinated to its fundamental objective: training and +educating the new man of communist society." + +Certain distinctive principles form the basis for communist policies of +education in Bulgaria. Chief among these is the close patterning of the +system on the Soviet model. For this reason Bulgaria tends to be +somewhat cautious in its approach to education and reluctant to make +sweeping reforms unless the Soviets provide a model for change. + +The principle of a universally accessible system of education has top +priority, and in fact the near-universal nature of education in Bulgaria +has brought about almost complete literacy. Whereas before 1944 many +Bulgarians had never attended school, in mid-1973 almost every Bulgarian +was able to attend some form of school. In some areas of the educational +system, particularly in institutions of higher education, the number of +students has increased as much as eightfold. + +Another principle of communist education in Bulgaria is the concept of +socially useful work, which must be performed by all students at all +levels of education. The principle of work in education is initiated at +the very lowest levels of the system; it progresses into increasingly +longer periods as the student advances in the school system. In the +higher grades, students work for significant periods of time in +agriculture, industry, and construction. In the higher levels of +education the student must sign a document that obligates him to accept +a working assignment, which should be related to his field of +specialization, for a period of three to five years. + +Another facet of the system is the eradication of old values and their +replacement with new socialist values (see ch. 4). One of the first +tasks of Bulgarian educators was to eliminate religious teachings and +practices in the schools. Religion, as a subject, was eliminated in the +early years as was the history of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. +Students are taught that atheism is both reasonable and scientific; +religion is dismissed as a relic of a superstitious and undesirable +past. By the same token, students are indoctrinated strongly by +teachers, directors of extracurricular activities, and colleagues to +revere and swear allegiance to the government. + +Another guiding principle of the educational system in Bulgaria, which +was initiated at the time of the takeover and still obtained to some +degree in 1973, is the concept that sons and daughters of the worker and +peasant classes should be favored in terms of their preference of access +to education, particularly at the higher levels. This policy was clearly +motivated by a desire to compensate for the exclusion of this class from +such institutions in the past. In the early communist years institutions +of higher education charged tuition, but children of the worker-peasant +classes were exempted. By 1954 this class constituted 20 percent of the +higher education population, a figure that by 1970 had risen to 78 +percent. In 1973 the government was still maintaining a preferential +clause for these students in higher education and reserved 10 percent of +the places in such institutions for them. + +Another principle of the educational system is the promotion of +technical or vocational education and the simultaneous downgrading of +the humanities. Academic studies were quantitatively reduced in order to +place greater emphasis on practical work. When a student has completed +his formal education in the school system, he will have at the time +spent at least one-third of his school hours working on a farm, in a +factory, or at some other enterprise. In the curriculum itself technical +subjects are given a place of greater importance than the humanities. +Although studies have indicated that a great many students seeking +admission to institutions of higher education aspire to the study of the +humanities, governmental policies have limited the number of places +available in these areas in order to train technical-vocational +specialists to meet the needs of the economy (see ch. 12). + +The last important principle of Bulgarian education is the +nationalization and secularization of the school system. When the +Communists took power in the 1940s, they quickly closed all foreign and +private schools with the exception of schools for the children of Soviet +officials and diplomats. Schools of ethnic minorities fell under the +aegis of the government and thereby lost all autonomy. Ironically, in +1973 the only private school that existed was related to the Bulgarian +Orthodox Church. As the church is subservient to and dependent upon the +state, however, the existence of such a school undoubtedly represented +little threat to the government. + + +EDUCATIONAL REFORMS + +Between the years 1944 and 1948 the Communists set about eradicating the +prewar educational system. By 1947, when the constitution (also called +the Dimitrov Constitution) was enacted, all prewar textbooks had been +replaced by communist texts; all schoolteachers and university +professors who were considered reactionary or fascist had been replaced +by persons loyal to the Fatherland Front (Otechestven Front) government; +and all institutions of higher education had been opened to workers and +their children, whereas students thought to have fascist or reactionary +tendencies were denied admittance. + +The Dimitrov Constitution stipulated further that all schools, including +those that had previously been private, would be the property of the +state; that all foreign schools would be closed for the academic year +1948-49; and that religious schools would be discontinued. Ironically, +the only denominational schools that were allowed to continue were those +that trained priests, but these schools had to have special permission +from the state in order to continue their operations. + +In 1948 and 1949 another series of reforms was initiated, which, +although less sweeping than the original reforms, tended to pattern the +Bulgarian school system more closely on that of the Soviet Union. In +August 1949 a joint resolution of the BKP Central Committee and the +Council of Ministers declared that education would be carried out in the +spirit of socialism, based both on the teachings of Karl Marx and +Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and on Bulgarian friendship with the Soviet Union. +The ideological studies introduced into the curriculum consisted of the +fundamental principles of Marx and Lenin, the history of the communist +party of the Soviet Union, and the history of the BKP. All of these +subjects became obligatory from kindergarten. + +The second initiative in the 1948-49 reforms was the declaration that +all universities and institutions of higher education as well as the +Academy of Sciences were no longer autonomous. A third reform during +this period was the reduction from five to four years of the gymnasium, +which in turn reduced the total schooling from twelve to eleven years. +The fourth reform was the redesigning of polytechnic education to +greatly increase the number of trained graduates to fill the rapidly +escalating demands of the economy. + +In statistical terms the results of the various communist reforms were +mixed. Although the number of primary and secondary schools increased +slightly overall from 1938 to 1948, there was hardly any appreciable +growth in primary schools, whereas secondary schools nearly doubled. The +number of students, similarly, barely changed in the same ten-year +period; the number of primary students actually declined, but the number +of secondary students grew appreciably (see table 6; table 7). + +Higher education, on the other hand, made great strides after the +communist takeover as the number of universities and other institutions +of higher education increased by one-third. Despite the emphasis on +technical and vocational education, such schools dropped in terms of +facilities, students, and teachers during the early communist years. The +number of teachers of polytechnic subjects also declined during the +period (see table 8). + +_Table 6. Number of Schools in Bulgaria, Selected Years, 1938-70_ + + --------------------------+---------+---------+---------+--------- + Level | 1938/39 | 1948/49 | 1960/61 | 1970/71 + --------------------------+---------+---------+---------+--------- + Kindergarten | 254 | n.a. | 6,570 | 8,037 + Primary | 7,291 | 7,872 | * | * + Secondary | 133 | 253 | * | * + | ------ | ------ | ------- | ------- + Total primary-secondary | 7,424 | 8,125 | 5,877 | 4,197 + Vocational technical | n.a. | n.a. | 236 | 132 + Secondary vocational | n.a. | n.a. | 0 | 190 + Technical | n.a. | n.a. | 231 | 246 + | ------ | ------ | ------- | ------ + Total technical | 384 | 159 | 467 | 568 + Teacher training | 5 | n.a. | 18 | 20 + Higher education | 12 | 19 | 20 | 26 + --------------------------+---------+---------+---------+--------- + n.a.--not available. + * In 1960 the primary and secondary levels were unified under one system. + +_Table 7. Number of Students in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, +1938-70_ + + --------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------- + Level | 1938/39 | 1948/49 | 1960/61 | 1970/71 + --------------------------+-----------|-----------+-----------+----------- + Kindergarten | 12,859 | n.a. | 281,000 | 331,960 + Primary | 955,330 | 928,934 | * | * + Secondary | 73,561 | 129,396 | * | * + | --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- + Total primary-secondary | 1,028,891 | 1,058,330 | 1,212,383 | 1,154,630 + Vocational technical | n.a. | n.a. | 42,123 | 47,253 + Secondary vocational | n.a. | n.a. | 0 | 83,038 + Technical | n.a. | n.a. | 93,944 | 152,919 + | --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- + Total technical | 46,925 | 31,826 | 136,067 | 283,210 + Teacher training | 401 | n.a. | 4,203 | 6,921 + Higher education | 11,443 | 29,639 | 54,965 | 89,331 + --------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------- + n.a.--not available. + * In 1960 the primary and secondary levels were unified under one system. + +The next reforms occurred in 1957 and in 1958 and placed a much stronger +emphasis on technical-vocational training, while the years of total +schooling were again increased. The period of secondary schooling +consisted of a five-year program rather than the previous four, thus +extending the entire period of education to twelve years. The network of +professional schools was expanded significantly, and teacher training +was upgraded and given new emphasis. In 1958 there were specialized +professional schools with approximately 64,000 students studying various +aspects of industry and agriculture. At approximately the same time +there were twenty-two pedagogical schools with an enrollment of 8,989 +students. + +_Table 8. Number of Teachers in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, +1938-70_ + + --------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------- + Level | 1938/39 | 1948/49 | 1960/61 | 1970/71 + --------------------------+-----------|-----------+-----------+---------- + Kindergarten | 286 | n.a. | 11,873 | 18,185 + Primary | 24,830 | 34,000 | * | * + Secondary | 2,874 | 4,893 | * | * + | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------ + Total primary-secondary | 27,704 | 38,893 | 51,067 | 54,068 + Vocational technical | n.a. | n.a. | 2,835 | 2,734 + Secondary vocational | n.a. | n.a. | 0 | 5,720 + Technical | n.a. | n.a. | 5,307 | 9,045 + | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------ + Total technical | 2,487 | 1,109 | 8,142 | 17,499 + Teacher training | 50 | n.a. | 251 | 406 + Higher education | 588 | 1,169 | 3,883 | 7,125 + --------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------- + n.a.--not available. + * In 1960 the primary and secondary levels were unified under one system. + +The concept of practical work as an integral part of the curriculum was +again emphasized, and the scope of vocational training grew enormously +as vocational and technical schools increased threefold. Although all +students had to perform certain tasks as part of their basic education, +the 1957-58 reforms dictated that graduates of higher technical and +agricultural institutions had to perform one year of practical work +before graduation. As the concept of polytechnical education became +widespread at the secondary level, practical work consumed up to +one-third of the total hours of education. Although experimental +vocational training was introduced into the curricula of some gymnasiums +in this period, other gymnasiums, particularly in the rural areas, +required students to spend several hours weekly in formal vocational +studies. + +In the same 1957-58 period a number of broad, rather than structural, +reforms were initiated. Schools for ethnic minorities were established +in which, despite the fact that study of the Bulgarian language was +compulsory, teaching was performed in the language of the minority +group. All schools of general education became officially coeducational, +and evening classes for workers were initiated. At the same time, +although there already had been some financial assistance, scholarships +were presented on a wide scale. In the 1957-58 academic year 46 percent +of all students in institutions of higher education received stipends +from the government. Although there were few scholarships given to +gymnasium students, with the exception of Turkish students who were +considered the least educated group, students in professional schools +and technical colleges were the recipients of a large number of +governmental stipends. + +The reforms of 1959 were of more lasting significance than were the +1957-58 reforms. Unlike the latter reforms, which represented a slight +deviation from the Soviet educational model, the 1959 reforms returned +the Bulgarian system once more to the original Soviet pattern. In 1958 +Nikita Khrushchev wrote a treatise called "Strengthening the Ties +Between School and Life" in which he demanded a close integration of the +educational system and the economy. Shortly thereafter, Zhivkov declared +that the 1957-58 school reforms in his own country were inadequate and +asked for a basic reorganization of the entire school system. In July +1959 a basic law, reorganizing the entire school system, was passed. + +This law was entitled "Law on Establishing a Closer Link Between +Education and Practical Life and on Furthering the Development of Public +Education in the People's Republic of Bulgaria." Its stated objectives +were: "To prepare youth for life by combining education and instruction +with practical and production work" and "to imbue the young people with +a love of work and a spirit of patriotism and international solidarity." +The law proposed the introduction of polytechnic studies on an +unprecedented scale in order to provide skilled workers for agriculture +and industry. Although the main objective was to meet the demands of the +economy, it was hoped that the new emphasis on technical subjects would +break down the exclusiveness of the educated classes, while socializing +the younger generation in communist ideological terms. + +In practical terms the 1959 reforms introduced a unified twelve-year +so-called secondary school--despite the fact that it included the +elementary grades as well--called the medium polytechnical school, which +totally replaced the existing five-year basic school and the four-year +medium school or gymnasium. The medium polytechnical school was divided +into an eight-year elementary course and a four-year upper course. After +completing the basic school the student was faced with four +alternatives. He could enter: the upper course, which provided general +education plus specialization in an area of production; a medium +professional school or technicum, which provided a specialized +education; a professional technical college, which prepared him for +production in the economy; or the so-called miscellaneous training, +which included courses organized by plants, factories, and cooperatives. + +At the same time the new law provided for the improvement of teacher +training. All teachers who taught in the fifth level or above were +required to have a university education or its equivalent. Teachers who +taught in kindergartens or the first to fourth levels were required to +take a three-year course after the obligatory twelve-year course of +schooling. + +The reforms were later criticized, however, on much more far-reaching +grounds. Some felt that technical specialization was stressed to such an +extreme that the liberal arts were altogether ignored. Some complained +that, although students were overburdened with superfluous details of +overspecialized subjects, teachers were still basically unprepared to +teach these subjects. Others felt that there was a lack of correlation +between the work that the student had to perform and his or her area of +expertise. Still others realized that there was a basic clash between +the managers who supervised the worker-students and the students +themselves. + +Despite much criticism about the reforms, in terms of bare statistics +they were successful in greatly increasing the emphasis on +technical-vocational training. Although the number of primary and +secondary students remained approximately at the same level and the +number of primary and secondary schools declined drastically, there was +a tremendous increase in technical-vocational schools, students, and +teachers. + +In 1967 there was another wave of educational reform in Bulgaria, as +well as in all of Eastern Europe, that once again changed the direction +of education. Although most Eastern European countries began to +deemphasize polytechnic instruction, Bulgaria's course was more cautious +and ambivalent. On the one hand, Bulgarian educators stated that the +time allotted for practical training would be increased, while on the +other hand, efforts were made to reintroduce the humanities into the +curriculum. In the last three grades of the upper course, the curriculum +was divided into two branches: natural science and mathematics, and the +humanities. The number of general education subjects was gradually +increased, and there was renewed emphasis on foreign languages and the +social sciences. + +By 1969, however, authorities once again perceived certain problems in +the educational system and proposed counteracting reforms. One problem +was the relative cost of higher education, which was expanding, as +compared to the cost of primary education, which was both cheaper and +contracting. A second problem was the question of the availability of +trained persons for the national economy because of the long periods of +schooling then required. It was argued that by the time a young man had +completed his education and his military training, he was twenty-five or +twenty-six years old. A third problem was the intense competition for +places in higher education and other postsecondary institutions. In 1969 +approximately 70,000 to 75,000 students leaving secondary schools +competed with each other for 20,000 places at the university level. A +fourth problem was whether the polytechnic school should place primary +emphasis on trade specialization or on academic subjects. + +In the same year serious thought was given to the solution of these +problems, and tentative measures were proposed. The major thrust of +these proposals was to enable students to meet the needs of the economy +by shortening the period of overall education. It was proposed that a +unified polytechnic school, which would fuse general and professional +elements of education, would replace the current, professionally +oriented polytechnic school. At the same time children would enter +school at the age of six, instead of the customary seven. The secondary +polytechnic school would be a ten-year instead of a twelve-year course, +allowing students to graduate at the age of sixteen. Most courses in +higher education would be reduced from five to four years, enabling +students to complete all levels of education by the age of twenty rather +than twenty-five. + +The reforms would perhaps have a greater impact on the secondary system +than the other levels, as they envisioned a completely unified secondary +school system in which professional and general education would be +fused. Specialization in liberal arts, mathematics and economics, +chemistry and biology, social sciences, and foreign languages would be +offered. + +In 1972 these reforms were officially proposed and passed by the Council +of Ministers. It was anticipated that they would be carried out over the +next ten to fifteen years. Although the concept of fusing general and +professional education in the new unified secondary polytechnic school +was not universally popular, the reform embodying this concept was +passed primarily because of the influence of one of its strongest +proponents, Zhivkov. + +Other reforms proposed in 1972 dealt with the specific levels of the +educational system and with monetary necessities to fulfill these +expectations. As it was expected that by 1975 approximately 76 percent +of children from three to seven years of age would be in kindergartens, +the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) emphasized the development of a huge +network of kindergartens. By 1975, 85 percent of the students attending +primary school were expected to go on to the secondary level, and plans +were made to increase the construction of boarding and semiboarding +schools to accommodate these students. Secondary education was to be +made compulsory in order, in Zhivkov's words, "to give every young man +and girl the opportunity not only of acquiring scientific knowledge of +nature and society and the necessary general culture and polytechnical +education, but also of acquiring certain production and technical habits +and skills, of preparing themselves for socially useful work." + +The main emphasis in the 1972 reforms, however, was on higher education. +It was anticipated that there would be some 120,000 students in higher +education by 1975. Of this number it was expected that 65,000--or +approximately half--would be specialists. Of the 65,000 specialists, +half would be engaged in science and technology. Therefore, in 1972 +plans were being formulated for the construction of new buildings at +many of the major institutions of higher education. + +In order to fulfill these structural changes, it was decided that both +increased expenditures and additional places for students were needed. +During the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1966-70), about 300 million leva (for +value of the lev--see Glossary) had been expended on education. In the +Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) 500 million leva were to be allocated. In +addition, 30,000 more places were to be provided at the preschool level, +28,000 more accommodations at hostels, and 4,500 classrooms at all +levels. + + +LITERACY + +Figures vary to some degree, but at the time of liberation in 1878 +between 85 and 90 percent of the Bulgarian population was illiterate. By +the early twentieth century, however, Bulgaria had achieved the highest +literacy rate in the Balkans. Although some scholars stated that only +some 31 percent of the population over school age was literate, by 1920 +nearly 50 percent of the population over school age was literate. By +1934 only 31.6 percent of the population over school age was still +illiterate, and by 1940 this figure was reduced to between 20 and 25 +percent. + +After the Communists took power in the country, literacy increased at a +rapid pace. In 1956 only 17.6 percent of the population over twenty-five +was illiterate, and by 1965 only 8.6 percent was illiterate. In 1973, +although total literacy for people under fifty years of age was claimed +by the government, the rate of literacy of this group was probably +somewhere between 90 and 100 percent. + +Of the illiterate population in 1965, approximately three-fourths were +women and only one-fourth were men, reflecting the recency of the +emancipation of women in Bulgaria. Of ethnic groups, the Gypsies have +both the lowest levels of literacy and of education, whereas the Turks +have a significantly higher literacy rate. Jews, Czechs, Greeks, and +Russians all have a relatively high literacy level. In 1965 there were +three times as many illiterates in rural areas as in urban. Also, +illiteracy in Bulgaria was much more common among the older generation +than among the young. In 1965, of the population over 60 years of age, +approximately one-third was illiterate, whereas only a very small +percentage of the working-age group was illiterate. The government +seemed relatively unconcerned about the problem of illiteracy among the +older people, as an official stated: "The high illiteracy rate among the +older population does not present a problem since this is the population +above the working age and this group is not crucial to our economic +life." + + +THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM + +Administration and Finance + +The 1947 constitution established both the Ministry of Education and the +Committee for Science, Art, and Culture, which held ministry status. In +1954 the Law on Public Education increased the authority of the Ministry +of Education; all general and vocational schools fell under its +jurisdiction at that time. In February 1954 the Ministry of Culture was +established. It replaced the Committee for Science, Art, and Culture and +oversaw, in broad terms, the curricula at all levels of education, +including correspondence courses. + +In 1973 the executive branch dealing with the legal aspects of education +was the Council of Ministers, and the Ministry of National Education +dealt with all administrative matters. The minister of national +education is a member of the Presidium of the National Assembly as well +as of the BKP Central Committee. Similarly, the assistant ministers of +education hold high offices in the party structure. In this way the +party not only supports educational legislation but also originates it. + +The Ministry of National Education has four principal tasks to perform. +Its primary duty is to direct and control the educational system in +accordance with the policies of the party and the government. It both +formulates and approves basic documents of the educational system, such +as the curricula, the school regulations, and methods. It arranges for +the publication of all school textbooks and supervises the work of the +people's councils at the local level. + +The minister of national education is assisted by three vice ministers +who are appointed by the National Assembly and who head three broad +departments: the Department of General Education, the Department of +Vocational Training, and the Department of Higher Education. Also within +the Ministry of National Education are the following sub-sections: +Marxism-Leninism, physical culture, economic planning, finance, +employment, teaching materials, and cultural relations. + +At the regional level the district people's councils have responsibility +for organization and instruction in all educational institutions with +the exception of schools of art, intermediate schools, and institutions +of higher education. Each council is under the authority of its +executive committee as well as the Ministry of National Education. The +Education Section of the council performs the routine tasks affecting +the educational system. The Ministry of National Education supervises +these education sections and assists them when necessary. They are also +assisted by various advisory committees. + +Education in Bulgaria is generally financed by the state budget. Schools +that are deemed to have national importance are financed by the national +budget, whereas schools that have only local significance are financed +by the people's councils at the local level. Since 1964 the expenses of +many vocational training schools have been financed by various related +ministries, factories, and enterprises. These organizations have played +an increasing role in the financing of the schools since that date. + +The only available figures dealing with the financing of education are +those on higher education. As Bulgaria is considerably behind most +European countries in terms of the financing of education, there is very +little public discussion of the issue. Sofia, the capital city, has one +of the most severe financial problems. In 1966 only 3.2 percent of the +total city budget was spent on matters relating to education. Generally, +financial figures for education are categorized with those for science +and culture so that it is nearly impossible to separate those figures +that deal specifically with education. In recent years educational +reformers have requested greater sums for education than were allocated +in the past. + +Bulgaria's budget for education fluctuated between 133 million leva in +1960 and 491 million leva in 1971. The proportion of the total budget +allocated for education, however, actually decreased over the last eight +years of the period. In 1960 education represented 5.9 percent of the +total budget; in 1964, 9 percent; in 1967, 8.4 percent; and in 1971, +only 8.3 percent. The percentage of the Bulgarian gross national product +(GNP) earmarked for education in 1972 was inferior to that of some other +European and Asian countries. The German Democratic Republic (East +Germany) spent 5.9 percent on education; the Soviet Union, 5.8 percent; +Japan, 5.3 percent; Poland, 4.8 percent; Great Britain, 4.3 percent; +France, 3.2 percent; and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), +3 percent. Bulgaria allocated only 0.5 percent of its total GNP to the +field of education. + + +Preschool Education + +Before the Communists took power in 1944 kindergartens were considered +to be an unimportant factor in education. In 1921 there were only +twenty-four kindergartens in the entire country. + +The Communists made a real effort to establish a far-reaching network of +kindergartens, which in the late 1940s included three types: the half +day, all day, and seasonal. No tuition was required for the half day +kindergarten, and tuition varied--depending on the income of the +family--for the other two types. + +Half day kindergartens accepted children after six years of age, +preparing them for admission to elementary schools. All day +kindergartens, which were located in large towns and industrial areas, +cared for children, aged three to seven, of working mothers. Seasonal +kindergartens were established in rural areas for the children of +mothers whose work was seasonal. These schools operated from two to ten +months per year and also accepted children from three to seven years of +age. + +In mid-1973 there were crèches for children from infancy to three years +of age. Children from three to seven attended kindergarten. Although +attendance was voluntary, it was believed that over 60 percent of the +preschool-age children were enrolled in crèches or kindergartens. +Approximately 50 percent of the children in elementary school have had +their preschool education in the half day kindergartens. There were five +types of kindergartens in Bulgaria: the half day, the all day, the +seasonal, the kindergarten sanatoriums and the auxiliary kindergarten. +Kindergarten sanatoriums provided educational facilities for children +with tuberculosis, and auxiliary kindergartens were for the mentally +deficient. + + +Elementary Education + +Before the Communists took power, there were primary schools for +children between seven and eleven and _progymnasia_ for children eleven +to fourteen years old. Although both levels of education were compulsory +according to the law, many children between the ages of seven and +fourteen did not attend school. The program of the _progymnasium_ was to +enable children--who might be excluded from either a gymnasium or +vocational school for economic or academic reasons--to obtain additional +education beyond the primary level. + +After 1944 the Communists undertook a major revision of elementary +education in accordance with their basic principles of education (see +Communist Educational Policies, this ch.). In 1950 a new unified school +system was established, patterned after the educational system of the +Soviet Union. This unified, eleven-year system comprised both primary +and postprimary education. In 1954 the Edict on Public Education stated +that the first eight years of this new general education were compulsory +for children from seven to fifteen years of age. Depending on the +particular needs of the individual community, children could attend +either four-year, seven-year, or eleven-year general education schools. +Generally, the four-year schools predominated in rural areas, and the +seven-year and eleven-year schools were more prevalent in larger +villages and towns. + +Elementary education is still compulsory for both boys and girls from +seven to fifteen years of age. Classes are held in the morning only and +run six days a week, Monday through Saturday. The schools are known as +basic or general schools and include not only elementary education but +also the first two phases of the eleven-year polytechnic school. The +elementary course comprises grades one through four, and the +postelementary courses include classes five through eight. The +elementary curriculum includes the study of Bulgarian, mathematics, +music, art, and physical education. The postelementary curriculum also +encompasses the study of foreign languages and science. On both levels +the study of Russian is compulsory. + +The purpose of this general elementary education, according to the +government, is to "provide pupils with general and polytechnic education +combined with fundamental moral, physical and aesthetic training, +instill in children a liking for work, accustom them to productive work +useful to society and prepare them for studies at a higher level." In +accordance with these principles "education in labor" was made an +integral part of the curriculum. The total curriculum of elementary +education consists of a tripartite division. The academic section is +subdivided into the sciences and the humanities. The education in the +labor section consists of work, beginning in the first year of +schooling, in shops, farms, and factories. The extracurricular section +is dominated by the work-study program of the youth organization known +as the Pioneers (see ch. 9). + + +Secondary Education + +Before 1944 secondary education in Bulgaria consisted of the gymnasium +and the vocational school. The gymnasium was divided into three types: +the classical, the semiclassical, and the scientific. All three included +the following subjects in their curriculum: Bulgarian language and +literature; either French, German, or English; philosophy; mathematics; +history; the history of Christianity; geography; sociology; civics; +physics; and chemistry. In the scientific and classical divisions, +natural history and drawing were also given, and Latin and Greek were +presented in the classical and semiclassical gymnasiums. There was also +a normal school, or pedagogical part of the gymnasium, which added +pedagogy and physical education to the basic curriculum. + +Soon after the communist takeover the combined elementary-secondary +period of schooling was reduced from twelve to eleven years. The +objectives of a secondary education were described in the following +terms: "the general promotion of the physical and intellectual +development of adolescents, the weaning of their minds from extreme +nationalist and reactionary ideas, the inculcation of the spirit of +progress, and preparation for creative participation in the economic and +cultural life of the country." The curriculum of the secondary schools +was changed in order to incorporate these goals. Latin and Greek were no +longer required, but Russian became compulsory. A new subject called +general history subsumed within it the old studies of religion, ethics, +political economy, and Bulgarian. Astronomy was added to the new +curriculum. + +Between 1949 and 1959 other changes were introduced in the secondary +school system. There were then two principal forms of secondary +education: the general school and the technical school. Grades eight to +eleven of the general school, which were considered part of secondary +education, included study of Bulgarian language and literature; Russian; +French, German, or English; mathematics; physics; astronomy; chemistry; +biology; history; constitutional history; geography; psychology and +logic; geometrical drawing; and physical education. + +Technicums and vocational-technical secondary schools, on the other +hand, offered courses ranging from two to five years that gave the +student a specialized education. Graduates of the eleven-year general +school attended these schools for two years; students who had completed +less than eleven years attended for three to five years. In 1952 labor +reserve schools were established. These factory schools offered one-year +or two-year training programs to young people from fourteen to seventeen +years of age who had already completed their elementary education. + +During the 1960s the new polytechnic secondary school was introduced in +order to incorporate the elements of a general and specialized education +into one system. Although this type of secondary education continued to +be the main form of secondary education, it was criticized on two +seemingly paradoxical counts. One group of critics claimed that the +polytechnic school gave the student neither a sound general education +nor a solid base in professional training. Another group claimed that +the polytechnic school was both too narrow and too technical, depriving +the student of a broad background in general areas. + +In mid 1973 there were three major types of secondary education in +Bulgaria: the secondary polytechnic or a semitechnical variation of the +gymnasium, the vocational-technical schools, and the technicums (see +fig. 5). Roughly 95 percent of students who had completed elementary +school continued in secondary education. + +[Illustration: _Figure 5. The Bulgarian School System, 1973_] + +Approximately one-third of students continuing in secondary education +attend the polytechnic school. The stated purpose of this kind of school +is "to provide pupils with wider scientific education and more intensive +polytechnical training, through practical production experience closely +linked with general education and technical subjects, and to prepare +them for active working and intellectual life or for their continued +studies at higher levels. This secondary course completes the pupils' +basic science studies and polytechnical preparation. The practical +experiences gained prepares them for specialization in a major branch of +production work." + +Polytechnic schools can be either part of the general schools--in which +case they consist of grades nine through eleven--or separate schools in +themselves. In the latter case the course is of either four or five +years' duration. These schools are also open to factory and +office-workers who are able to remain in their positions, on a reduced +basis, while continuing their education. + +Technicums are more popular than the polytechnic schools. Although +sources differ with respect to the exact percentage of elementary +students who continue their education in technicums--with some claiming +approximately 40 percent and others as high as 77 percent--probably +about 50 percent continue their schooling in this area. According to the +government the purpose of the technicums is to "train specialists at +intermediate levels for the various sectors of the national economy: +industry, agriculture, and building construction, transport services, +commerce and public health services." At the same time, however, the +technicums provide general education that corresponds to some extent +with the program of the polytechnic school. + +These schools, more than the polytechnic schools, are directly related +to trends in the economy. Technicums are designed to produce supervisors +and skilled workers who will satisfy the needs of the economy. The +course of study varies from three to four years. Although some general +subjects are taught, emphasis is on the acquisition of specialized +knowledge in such fields as agriculture and engineering. + +The least popular form of secondary education in Bulgaria is the +vocational-technical school, which is a form of trade school. Although +the number of students in vocational-technical schools has doubled since +1944, only approximately 20 percent of the graduates of elementary +education continue in this area. The government states that "Vocational +training schools are designed to train skilled workers for industry and +agriculture." The schools can either operate independently or be a part +of a technicum or agricultural or industrial enterprise. Although the +courses are generally open to elementary graduates, workers under thirty +who have not completed their primary education may also continue their +training in these schools. + +The program of the vocational-technical school varies from one to three +years. In the case of workers under thirty, the program runs from one +to four years. Graduates of the program receive the title of skilled +workmen; they are obligated to work in their field of specialization for +three years. The curriculum in the vocational-technical school includes: +Bulgarian, Russian, physics, mathematics, and physical education. These +subjects consume only half of the allotted time; the other half is spent +working in factories or on farms. + +In addition to these three basic forms of secondary education, there are +special types of secondary schools as well. Specialized secondary +schools exist for music, art, and ballet. Although most operate only on +the secondary level--requiring the completion of the elementary +school--some give the complete eleven-year program. The length of study +generally is four years. Music schools offer courses in instrumental +music, singing, musical theory, and general education. Students of dance +study at the National School of Choreography, which is divided into a +section offering classical ballet and another offering Bulgarian folk +dance. Art students study at a special gymnasium. + +Another form of secondary education is the foreign language secondary +school. In these schools all instruction is given in the foreign +language selected. Russian is the most popular language, followed by +French, German, and English. Although no figures are available for +schools of other languages, in 1973 there were six English-language +schools with fifteen native English instructors. Of the total number of +places available in these language schools, 50 percent are reserved for +girls and 50 percent for boys. Of the same total, 20 percent are +reserved for children of "the active fighters against fascism and +capitalism." + + +Higher Education + +In the period between the 1921 reforms and the years just before World +War II, there were nine institutions of higher education in Bulgaria. +The University of Sofia was both the largest and the oldest. The most +popular faculties in higher educational institutions at that time in +order of popularity were: education, law, economics, medicine, and +agriculture. The arts were the least popular faculty. In mid 1973 +statistics were unavailable for both engineering and physical education +(see table 9). + +When the Communists took power in 1944 they made sweeping changes in the +field of higher education. Universities--which had heretofore been +autonomous--were put under state control; members of the party sat on +faculty councils that selected and promoted professors. University +graduates were placed by the government and were subject to punishment +under the newly established penal code if they refused to accept +assignments. + +_Table 9. Number and Proportion of Students in Various Bulgarian +University Faculties, Selected Years, 1939-71_ + + -----------+---------------+---------------+---------------+--------------- + | 1939 | 1948 | 1960 | 1970 + |-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + | |Percent| |Percent| |Percent| |Percent + | | of | | of | | of | | of + |Number | Total |Number | Total |Number | Total |Number | Total + -----------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + Engineering| n.a. | ... | 182 | 5.4 | 1,480 | 25.5 | 5,042 | 40.6 + Agriculture| 127 | ... | 768 | 22.9 | 1,088 | 18.8 | 1,415 | 11.4 + Medicine | 139 | ... | 729 | 21.8 | 911 | 15.7 | 1,174 | 9.5 + Economics | 230 | ... | 716 | 21.3 | 889 | 15.4 | 1,895 | 15.2 + Arts | 55 | ... | 86 | 2.6 | 268 | 4.6 | 319 | 2.6 + Education | 365 | ... | 388 | 11.6 | 827 | 14.3 | 2,163 | 17.4 + Physical | | | | | | | | + education| n.a. | ... | 40 | 1.2 | 169 | 2.9 | 259 | 2.1 + Law | 307 | ... | 441 | 13.2 | 157 | 2.7 | 142 | 1.1 + | | |-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + TOTAL | | | 3,350 | 100.0 | 5,789 | 99.9*|12,409 | 99.9* + -----------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + n.a.--not available. + ... not applicable. + * Columns do not add to 100 because of rounding. + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1971_, Sofia, 1971, p. 247. + +The essential task of higher education was enunciated by Premier Vulko +Chervenkov in 1954: "Higher schools must train not only qualified +specialists but also able, and conscious participants in the political +direction and building of socialism in our country." In 1949 +correspondence courses were initiated for manual workers and civil +servants. Courses generally ranged from five to six years. Certain +workers were allowed to attend shorter courses given by the various +institutions while they continued to work. Although they were required +to pass examinations, they did not have to attend classes regularly. + +Between 1948 and 1952 the curriculum became more and more patterned +after the curriculum of the Soviet Union. In 1948 Marxist-Leninist +studies were introduced; in 1949 political economy and the history of +the Communist Party of the Soviet Union became obligatory for all +university students. By 1950 the party newspaper, _Rabotnichesko Delo_, +reported that 150 Soviet texts were being utilized in institutions of +higher education. By 1952 students were obliged to study both +dialectical and historical materialism, the rudiments of +Marxism-Leninism, and the history of the BKP. Study of these subjects +was generally mandatory for three years. + +In mid 1973 there were two major forms of higher educational +institutions: teacher training institutions and university level +institutions. In the latter category are universities, technical +institutes, agricultural institutes, medical schools, art academies, and +higher schools of economics. In 1972 there were twenty-two university +level institutions, sixteen of which were in Sofia. The remainder were +located in the provincial cities of Plovdiv, Varna, Svishtov, and Ruse. +The courses of study range from four to six years; five years is the +average period. In 1970 in proportion to the total population of the +country, Bulgaria was fourth in the world in terms of the number of +students--which constituted about 1 percent of the total +population--attending institutions of higher education, following the +United States, the Soviet Union, and Japan. + +Higher education in Bulgaria is conceived primarily in terms of the +national economy. The entire educational process at the higher level is +determined by the needs and prerequisites of the economy. The government +has stated: "The main tasks of the institutions of higher education are: +to train qualified specialists, imbued with Communist ideals, for all +fields of activity, who will be conversant with the latest developments +in science and technology, to train teachers and research specialists +for the institutions of higher education and scientific organizations, +to take systematic measures to improve the qualifications of specialists +in various branches of the national economy; [and] to propagate +scientific, technical and political knowledge among the workers." + +Students at the undergraduate level--with the exception of students of +worker and peasant origin--are expected to pass a written examination in +order to gain admission. Fifty percent of the total number of admissions +are reserved for people who have been employed for a two-year period. +Most graduates are obliged to work for three years after graduation in a +position assigned to them by the government. Unlike the prewar +faculties, technical and scientific faculties have had the highest +enrollments. Although education continues to draw large enrollments, in +1971 engineering had the largest number of students, followed by +education, economics, agriculture, and medicine. Law and physical +education had the lowest number of students at that time. As the State +Committee for Science, Technical Progress, and Higher Education +determines the specialization to be pursued, this list reflects more the +preferences of the government than those of the students. + +Because the government determines the fields of specialization to be +pursued by students of higher education, over a ten-year period--from +1960 to 1970--the pendulum has swung away from the arts and toward the +pure sciences. The fields most preferred by the students themselves, +however, and those that earn the highest wages, are still medicine, +architecture, journalism, and foreign languages. + +The State Committee for Education and Technical Progress stipulates the +number of admissions as well as the courses to be followed in graduate +work. All applicants for graduate study must have a minimum of one year +of working experience in their fields of specialization. In addition to +completion of four or five years of higher education, the applicant must +pass examinations in his field of specialization, in Russian, and in one +Western European language. The curriculum is determined by the various +research institutes of the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of +Agricultural Sciences, or other institutions of higher education. The +term of graduate study is approximately four to 4-½ years. + +Beyond the usual graduate study is the doctoral program. To obtain the +doctor of science degree, the student must prepare a dissertation that +according to governmental criteria, contains "a significant scientific +contribution, new educational methods and proposals, theoretical +conclusions and discoveries of great significance for the advancement of +science, technology, and the national economy." A candidate for this +degree must either hold a candidate degree, be thoroughly accredited in +his profession, or have proof of significant contributions to the +economy. + +In terms of the exchange of foreign students, there are only a +relatively small number of foreign students in Bulgaria, and only a tiny +percentage of the Bulgarian student population studies abroad. Although +theoretically opportunities exist for Bulgarian students to study in +other countries, in fact, opportunities are very limited. There are +strict regulations regarding foreign study. In 1971 the Ministry of +National Education stated that only students of parents permanently +employed abroad could study there; no students with independent sources +of income were allowed to study in foreign universities. In 1971 between +1.5 and 1.8 percent of the Bulgarian student population were foreign +students. In the academic year 1970/71 only 1,603 students studied +abroad. Of these, 1047 studied in the Soviet Union; 226 studied in East +Germany; 154 studied in Czechoslovakia; and twelve students pursued +their studies in other countries. + +At the same time foreign students are not numerous in Bulgaria, although +they come from a variety of countries. As of 1972 only 1,240 foreign +students had been graduated from Bulgarian universities. Among these +graduates were 174 from Albania, 129 from Syria, 126 from East Germany, +ninety-four from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North +Korea), fifty-seven from Kenya, and fifty from the Democratic Republic +of Vietnam (North Vietnam). In the academic year 1969/70 alone, 1,882 +foreign students attended Bulgarian institutions of higher education. +These students came from ninety-two countries; they include 430 students +from North Vietnam, 393 from Syria, 106 from the Sudan, forty-five from +Iraq, and twenty-two from Cuba. Although the focus in foreign student +exchange is definitely on the developing countries--for both economic +and political reasons--in 1971 foreign student exchanges with Western +countries were being increased. + +Although higher education is tuition free in Bulgaria, financial +assistance is still required by a large number of students. The +percentage of students on governmental scholarships varies from year to +year, generally ranging between 30 to 40 percent. In 1965 over 39 +percent of the student population received scholarships, whereas in 1970 +only 30 percent received them. There are two basic conditions for +scholarships as stipulated by the state: acceptable grade averages and a +family income--per family member--that does not exceed 70 leva per +month. + +There are still severe difficulties in the field of higher education in +Bulgaria. One problem is the acute shortage of professors in the areas +of engineering and technology in institutions of higher education. At +some times the shortage is so extreme that advertisements are placed in +the newspapers in order to recruit personnel. + +Another difficulty in higher education is overcrowding in the schools +and in the cities where the institutions are located. This dilemma is +particularly acute in Sofia, where most of the major universities and +institutes are located. In school year 1969/70 there were 82,573 +students enrolled in higher educational institutions; of this number, +59,130--roughly three-fourths--were in Sofia. As many of the students +come to Sofia from other areas of the country, the influx of students +has created a severe housing shortage. One solution, which has been +explored to some extent in recent years, has been for students to enroll +in institutions in major cities to study in their regional areas during +the year and come to Sofia only when examinations are given. +Approximately one-third of the total student population have studied on +this basis. + +A more serious problem is the issue of student preferences versus the +demands of the economy. Since the government requires trained scientific +and technological personnel, there are more admissions in these areas +than in the arts. Students, however, have indicated a greater interest +in the humanities, but admissions in these areas are few. In 1973 for +every place available in the humanities, there were six applicants. For +every place available in the sciences, there were only four applicants. +The inevitable result of such a policy is the creation of a group of +young people who are engaged either in a study not of their choice or +who have been dissuaded from the field of higher education altogether. + +The most serious problem is the fact that only a small proportion of +applicants are accepted in universities and institutes because there are +simply not enough facilities available to them. In an average year there +are generally 70,000 applicants and only 15,000 acceptances. Thus, +roughly 80 percent of all applicants are rejected by the institutions of +higher education in Bulgaria. Although students are allowed to reapply +at a future date, because they are not generally permitted to study +abroad, this overflow has resulted in the problem of the so-called idle +youth. At the beginning of 1972 authorities estimated that there were +approximately 50,000 of these people. Although the government has +attempted to deal with this problem by forcing the idlers to either work +or be trained for work--and they have been quite successful, as idlers +were estimated to be down from approximately 51,000 to 9,000 in less +than six months--they have failed to deal with the root cause of the +problem, that is, insufficient places in higher education. + + +TEACHER TRAINING + +Between 1921 and 1932 all primary and _progymnasium_ teachers had to +complete the normal school section of the gymnasium. In 1932, however, +all normal schools were abolished, and teachers were trained in two-year +pedagogical institutes that demanded completion of the gymnasium for +admission. The pedagogical institutes were subdivided into three +sections: the humanities, the sciences, and arts and crafts. Gymnasium +teachers, in turn, had to have a university degree. Vocational-school +teachers generally were vocational-school graduates themselves. + +In 1944 two new forms of teacher training, both based on the Soviet +model, were established. Teachers in the kindergartens and the four-year +elementary schools, who had already completed seven years of elementary +school, attended five-year teacher training schools. Teachers of grades +five through seven, who had completed their secondary education, trained +at two-year institutes. As before the communist takeover, teachers of +secondary education and university professors had to complete their +training at a university. Teachers of physical education, fine arts, and +music were trained at the appropriate section of an institution of +higher education. + +In 1953 the government established the Institute for the Improvement of +Teachers for the purpose of providing refresher courses for teachers. +This institute also provided teachers with the proper ideological +orientation. The government stated that the objectives of this institute +were to provide the "dogmatic ideological improvement of teachers ... +and ... the study and application of [the] Soviet teaching experience." +The institute offered such courses as pedagogy, psychology, Bulgarian +language and literature, Russian language and literature, Bulgarian +history, the Bulgarian constitution, mathematics and physics, natural +science and chemistry, and geography. + +In 1959, however, it was decided that all elementary-school +teachers--those who taught grades one through four--would be trained at +teacher training colleges, and all secondary-school teachers--who taught +grades five through eleven--would attend higher educational +institutions. + +In mid 1973 both kindergarten teachers and teachers of the first to +fifth grades were trained at intermediate teacher training institutes. +Teachers of grades five through eight also began their training at the +same institutes, where they trained for three years after the completion +of their secondary education. When they had completed this level of +their education, they continued at an institute of higher education. +Teachers of the fifth through eleventh grades had to have a diploma from +an institution of higher education. Vocational-school teachers and art +teachers were trained at appropriate faculties of higher educational +institutions. + +Teachers are paid at various levels depending on their academic +backgrounds and current circumstances. The three basic determinants of a +teacher's salary are his or her academic qualifications, the number of +classes covered per week, and the overall length of service. Every +teacher is entitled to a 4-percent increase in salary after every five +years of teaching. The total increase is limited to 16 percent. Teachers +who work excessively long hours are granted overtime pay. In the case of +teachers who are forced to teach in areas where living conditions are +considered difficult, extra salaries are given. Teachers who are engaged +in pilot programs receive a 5-percent supplement to their salaries in +order to repay them for the necessary research and training. Teachers +who teach in special schools, special kindergartens, and schools for +maladjusted children also receive supplemental salaries. Teachers +who--in addition to their regular duties--work in pupils' centers, +boarding schools, and evening study periods receive an additional 20 +percent of their original salary. + + +OTHER EDUCATION + +Before World War II there were very few facilities for education that +did not fall into the standard educational system. Schools for the +handicapped, for example, were almost nonexistent. Just before the war +there were only five schools of this kind and only 400 children were +enrolled. There were three schools for the deaf, one for the blind, and +one for the mentally retarded. + +By 1944 the number of schools for the handicapped had declined to four, +and only 200 children were enrolled. One of the first pieces of +educational legislation under the Communists provided specifically for +this type of school. Although the development of these schools in the +early years was quite slow, eventually, by the early 1960s, there were +seventy special schools, caring for approximately 8,000 children. These +special schools provided general schooling for the handicapped--although +the curriculum was, of necessity, modified to suit the needs of the +individual student. Emphasis was on vocational training. + +The primary focus was on adult education. The major objective was to +raise the level of literacy in the country. Between 1944 and 1950 there +were special courses that were aimed at both total illiterates and +semiliterates. When, by the early 1950s, this goal had been +accomplished, these courses were reduced in number and replaced by other +kinds of adult education. Part-time courses at the secondary level were +made available for workers. Evening classes--which taught new vocational +skills and improved already existing skills--became common. Higher +education through correspondence courses opened new avenues to people +who had previously had only a vocational education. + +In 1961 the first boarding schools were established. In 1971 new plans +were formulated to increase the number of such schools. It was +anticipated that 30 percent of all first to eighth graders would attend +such schools by 1975, that 50 to 60 percent would attend by 1980, and +that a full 80 percent would live in boarding schools by 1990. + +There is a wide diversity of schools that do not fall into the standard +educational system. In terms of special education there are elementary +schools for the blind, deaf, mentally retarded, and children who are +otherwise handicapped. All children in these categories begin their +schooling at the age of seven with the exception of the retarded, who +begin at eight. These children attend school for eight years and may +then continue in schools of general education, technicums, or other +schools. Retarded children, after completion of the eight years, go on +to special enterprises that are supervised by the Ministry of Public +Health. + +Children who are either recuperating from, or are prone to, illness +attend primary and secondary schools located in areas where the climate +is propitious for their recovery. Children in these schools are accepted +at any point between the first and eleventh grades. Although the +curriculum is somewhat modified, the basic content of the courses is +essentially the same as in the regular primary and secondary schools. +Most pupils attend these schools only temporarily, generally from four +or five months to a year. + +When the Communists came to power they stipulated that private schools +could continue only if they had express permission from the government +and were operated under governmental authority. In the early years of +communist rule, diplomatic missions continued to operate schools for +the children of foreign emissaries. In 1973, however, the only private +schools were the secondary school, known in Bulgaria as a seminary, and +the Ecclesiastical Academy of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. + +In addition to these special schools, there are technical and vocational +schools of various kinds that are not part of the regular school system. +Between secondary and higher technical schools fall the advanced +technicums, which function on a postsecondary level. Courses generally +run from two to three years, depending on the field of specialization. +There are advanced technicums for such specializations as mining, +medicine, veterinary medicine, and industrial chemistry. All schools +include courses in Marxism-Leninism, higher mathematics, and physical +education in addition to the courses of specialization. Also on the +technical-vocational level are six-month training courses that are +organized by factories, cooperatives, and other enterprises. These +courses are designed to improve the workers' skills or to retrain +workers for other areas of specialization. These courses include both +theoretical studies and practical work. + +Evening courses, correspondence courses, refresher courses, and special +research programs are also numerous in the country. Workers up to thirty +years of age who have not completed their elementary education are urged +to attend evening schools--known in Bulgaria as shift courses--or +correspondence courses. In both types of school the average length of +study is from one to three years, depending on the amount of elementary +education completed. Once these courses are completed, the worker may +continue in either a secondary polytechnic or a vocational school. +Eventually, he may go on to an institution of higher education. +Refresher courses, on the other hand, are at the higher education level +and are provided for industrial specialists in order to keep them +abreast of the latest developments in science and technology. Teachers +and researchers are encouraged to hold research fellowships that +function under the various institutions of higher education as well as +the Academy of Sciences. + +The final component of specialized education is conducted by the party. +Based on Marxism-Leninism, it is geared to indoctrinate party members +but is provided for nonparty members as well. The objectives of this +form of education were summed up by Georgi Dimitrov, premier of the +country from 1946 until 1949, who stated that these schools are to +prepare "individuals in the fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism +... in order that they become independent practical organizers and +leaders, capable of leading the masses in the struggle against the class +enemy." The instructors of party education are trained at the Institute +for Political Instruction of the Central Committee of the BKP, which in +turn supervises the work of the Central Leninist Party School. In +addition to the general dissemination of party policy by these +instructors, there are both formal study circles and political schools +that present two-year courses in the history of both the Bulgarian and +the Soviet communist parties. + + + + +CHAPTER 7 + +ARTISTIC AND INTELLECTUAL EXPRESSION + + +Bulgaria has a proud cultural heritage that dates to early medieval +times. During the Golden Age (A.D. 893-927) of the first and second +Bulgarian kingdom, Bulgarian arts and letters dominated the Slavic +world. Exposed to the flourishing culture of neighboring Byzantium, +Bulgarians absorbed its influence, adapted it to their own Slavic +culture and language, and then spread it among the less advanced Slavic +peoples in the Balkans and to the north. + +After the Turkish conquest in 1396, cultural development was retarded +for several centuries until the drive for liberation in the nineteenth +century rekindled its creative spark. In contrast to the Golden Age, +however, when Bulgarian culture was widespread, modern artistic and +intellectual expression tended to be provincial in both its audience and +its content. After independence, although interest in cultural and +intellectual matters was high, support for it was restricted to a +minority in Sofia and in a few of the largest towns. The government made +some contribution to the country's artistic development through small +subsidies to institutions and government jobs for artists and +intellectuals, but the subsidies were not always on the basis of merit. + +Before World War II few people could made an adequate living through +creative work alone, with the possible exception of members of the +National Theater and Opera. The prestige of university professors, +members of the Academy of Sciences, and the leading singers, artists, +actors, and writers was high, but the financial rewards were hardly +commensurate with their standing. Despite their prestige, Bulgarian +writers and intellectuals have not enjoyed the same position of +leadership and influence that has been traditional in other countries of +Eastern Europe. + +The communist government had promoted pride in the cultural heritage by +restoring and preserving the country's medieval treasures and national +revival masterpieces and by promoting traditional folk arts both in +their own right and as inspiration to other forms of artistic +expression. Considerable funds and efforts have been devoted to the +promotion of new artistic and intellectual expression, which is seen as +an important medium for the political and social education of the +people. For this reason the leadership has tried to keep artistic and +intellectual expression under control and to use it for its own +purposes. + +Despite controls, artistic and intellectual life is active. Not all +creative effort becomes public, and that which does not meet the +prescribed criteria of style and content is known only by its creator +and a few select friends; nevertheless, it is produced. Much of what +passes the censor is of doubtful artistic quality, but works of +considerable merit have appeared in all forms of artistic expression. +Gifted artists and writers find ways to express their talent within the +confines of government regulations. + + +THE ARTS AND SCIENCES UNDER COMMUNISM + +Since 1944 artistic and intellectual expression have been subject to the +cultural policy of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary), +which has followed a relatively strict adherence to the concept of +Socialist Realism as developed in the Soviet Union. Under this concept +art, music, and literature are required to promote communist ideology +and present an idealized picture of communist society. In order to +impart the ideological message, artistic and intellectual expression +must be understood by the common man and, therefore, can only take the +form of straightforward representative statements. + +During the period of de-Stalinization in the mid-1950s, cultural +controls became less restrictive, and artistic and intellectual +expression burst into new creativity and life. Although this outburst +never reached the proportions it did in Poland and Hungary during the +same period, the regime considered it a threat and reimposed strict +controls in the late 1950s. At that time the government was preparing +for a great push in economic development and, to further this goal, +mobilized the cultural community into service as propagandists. + +Another thaw in cultural restriction occurred in the early 1960s when +several factions were struggling for control of the BKP. After Todor +Zhivkov assumed firm control of the party, writers and artists were +again required to serve the needs of the state until the fall of Nikita +Khrushchev in the Soviet Union, and an attempted coup in Bulgaria forced +Zhivkov to broaden his popular support by relaxing the BKP's control of +national life. + +This ebb and flow of restriction on artistic and intellectual expression +continues and serves as a barometer for the political and economic +climate in the country. At no time since the mid-1950s did cultural +policy reach the degree of repression of the Stalinist period. The +leadership in Bulgaria, as did those in other Eastern European +countries, learned that repression was counterproductive. Instead, it +adopted a subtler method of control through the publishers, art +galleries, theater companies, and other outlets for creative expression, +all of which are run by the state in conformity with the guidelines on +cultural policy. Because a creative artist must communicate his ideas to +an audience in order to achieve fulfillment, he tends to adapt his ideas +and principles to what is acceptable to the available outlets for his +work. Thus, self-censorship has replaced direct government control for +the most part. + +From a material standpoint, the life of a creative artist in +contemporary Bulgaria is far more secure than that of his counterpart in +a capitalist country. Creative expression is seen as a social function; +therefore, society owes the creative artist an assured livelihood. This +is provided either through regular salaries from publishing houses, +academies of music or art, or other agencies that employ artists or +through stipends paid to creative artists who do not have a regular +salary to depend on. Free or low-cost room and board are also available +to creative artists and their families at special artists' colonies or +retreats operated by professional unions in the creative arts and by +government agencies for the promotion of the arts and sciences. Under +this system, however, the artist is under constant pressure to produce +in order to justify his salary or stipend. + +In order to qualify for any of the material advantages, in fact, in +order to function as a professional artist or scholar, an individual +must be a member of the appropriate professional union. The unions are, +for the most part, an arm of the BKP and another instrument for +enforcing cultural policy (see ch. 9). Only the Writers' Union has +demonstrated a certain degree of independence based on the recognized +power of the written word. As recently as December 1972 the union again +resisted integration into the Committee on Art and Culture, a +supradepartmental government agency having a wide range of authority in +the cultural sphere. The Writers' Union is the only professional union +in the arts that has not been integrated into the committee. + +The principal aim of cultural policy since 1944 has been to popularize +the arts and sciences by making them accessible to all segments of the +population and to utilize those mediums for the promotion of communist +values. Popularization of the arts has been accomplished by greatly +expanding the facilities that present the arts to the public and by +supporting these facilities with state funds. Many new orchestras, +theater companies, publishers, and art galleries have come into +existence since World War II. Touring exhibits and road companies take +the arts into small towns and villages. Radio and television have been +extensively utilized to promote the arts and learning. Through state +support, the prices of books and admission tickets have been kept +extremely low in order to bring them within the reach of as many persons +as possible. The traditional library clubs have been reinforced by a +network of "houses of culture," which serve as cultural centers in +villages and in urban neighborhoods. + + +LITERATURE + +The origins of Bulgarian literature date back to A.D. 855 when the Greek +priests Cyril and Methodius designed an alphabet--Cyrillic--suitable for +the Slavic languages in order to facilitate the Christianization of the +Slavs (see ch. 2). At first the alphabet was used to translate the Bible +and other Christian religious texts, but in the Golden Age of the First +Bulgarian Kingdom several original religious and secular tests were +written by Bulgarians in their own language. In the late Middle Ages a +substantial literature in Bulgarian was created. Although the authors +were all churchmen, much of the literature was secular. A whole body of +apocryphal literature--so-called heretical tales and legends--came into +being at that time. + +During five centuries of Turkish rule, no literature was produced except +the orally transmitted folksongs and ballads. Not until the second half +of the eighteenth century, when Turkish rule began to degenerate, did +Bulgarian literature revive itself as part of the awakening national +consciousness of the people. The first book to appear was Father Paisi's +_Slav-Bulgarian History_, a highly nationalistic book published in 1762 +that played a major role in the struggle for liberation. During the +first half of the nineteenth century, several Bulgarian texts were +published in neighboring countries. These were extremely influential in +developing the modern Bulgarian language as their publication coincided +with the establishment of schools and the spread of education among the +Bulgarian people. A number of periodicals were also started by +Bulgarians abroad, but most of them were irregular and short lived. Of +considerable significance, however, was the collection and publication, +first in periodicals and later in book form, of the folksongs and +ballads that had kept alive the language and culture of the Bulgarians +during the five centuries of Turkish rule. Much of the interest in folk +literature came from outside the country from other Slavs in Serbia, +Croatia, Czechoslovakia, and Russia, who were going through their own +national awakening and had a kindred feeling for the Bulgarians. + +The early modern literature was nationalistic and didactic. Its authors +were educators involved in the spread of education and in the +modernization of the language and revolutionaries fighting for an +independent Bulgaria. Modernization and social reform were other strong +currents permeating the literature of that time and later. Such poets as +Petko Slaveikov, Lyuben Karavelov, and Khristo Botev were strongly +influenced by the Russian social reformers and revolutionaries of the +second half of the nineteenth century. Botev was the most outstanding +poet of this era. His short, intense, and fiery poems continue to arouse +patriotic feelings of Bulgarians everywhere. Botev's revolutionary +fervor and heroism have been identified by the present-day regime with +its own revolutionary movement, and he has been accorded great honor. + +In the postindependence period the dominant literary figure was Ivan +Vazov, whose influence on subsequent generations of writers has been +tremendous. Known as the national poet and father of modern Bulgarian +literature, Vazov was primarily a writer and not a crusader or +revolutionary as were his predecessors. He was steeped in the great +literature of Europe and Russia and used the Bulgarian setting and +traditions to write about universal ideas. Vazov's greatest novel, +_Under the Yoke_, describing Bulgarian life under the Turks, has been +widely translated. + +Vazov and his contemporaries Yordan Yovkov and Pencho Slaveikov (son of +Petko Slaveikov) sought to direct Bulgarian literature away from its +confines of national politics and reform into a more general artistic +and philosophical outlook. They were joined in this effort by the +somewhat younger Elin Pelin, whose stories have also been widely +translated. Although these writers continued to draw much of their +inspiration from native scenery, folk themes, and village life, they +were writers of universal quality and appeal. + +Later, rival literary groups, each with its journal, laid the basis for +marked development in poetry, the short story, and the novel between the +two world wars. No outstanding literary figure emerged, but writers +continued to experiment with a variety of themes and forms. + +Realism had always been a strong theme in Bulgarian literature, and in +the decade after 1944 the Communists sought to utilize this tradition in +imposing Soviet-style Socialist Realism as the desired form of +expression. Writers who conformed to the prescribed style were +generously rewarded with stipends and special privileges that encouraged +a volume of writing heretofore unknown. The novel became the main +literary form as it lends itself particularly well to the prerequisites +of the prescribed literary style. Nikola Vaptsarov and Khristo +Smyrnenski have been singled out by the government as outstanding +writers in the style of Socialist Realism. + +Most of the literature produced in the late 1940s and early 1950s has +been classed at best as mediocre, even by Bulgarians themselves. Several +works of that period, however, have been recognized as outstanding. The +most acclaimed of these has been Dimitur Dimov's _Tobacco_, dealing with +the revolutionary movement among tobacco workers before and during World +War II. The novel was strongly condemned when first published in 1951 +but, after the relaxation of cultural controls in the mid-1950s, it was +hailed as the best novel since Vazov's _Under the Yoke_. + +Dissatisfaction of the writers with the restrictions imposed on them and +discontent of the public with the monotony and lack of literary quality +of contemporary writing became evident in the mid-1950s. These feelings +broke into the open when a mild form of de-Stalinization was put into +effect in 1956 (see ch. 9). Although the so-called writers' revolt never +reached the proportions of those in Poland or Hungary, it did bring +about a short period of relative freedom in literary expression and a +number of outstanding literary works that aroused a great controversy. +Foremost among these was Emil Manov's _An Unauthentic Case_, which +describes interparty conflict. Todor Genov's play _Fear_ also received +high praise for its treatment of the corruption by power of a once +idealistic Communist. + +The leaders of the writers' revolt, with one exception, were all loyal +Communists who had become disillusioned with what they saw as the +hypocrisy and dishonesty of the leadership, which they felt was leading +the people into moral bankruptcy. Their main forum was a new periodical, +_Plamuk_, edited by Manov, foremost of the rebels. The main demand of +the rebels was that an artist should be free to choose his themes and +methods of presentation provided he remain loyal to communist ideology. + +When the exposure in literature of the spiritual decline of individual +Communists and of communist ideals became too embarrassing to the +leadership, tighter restrictions were reimposed in the late 1950s. The +literature of the early 1960s has been termed cathartic. By writing +about long-suppressed thoughts and emotions, writers attempted to purge +themselves of guilt for the sins of the system that they had supported. +The poetry, which was very popular with the young, had a ring of +disillusionment and pessimism. + +The government leadership did not approve of this literature any more +than it did of the literature exposing faults in the system. Rather than +repress the writers as it had done before, the regime used subtle +pressures to guide writers into acceptable subjects. What followed was a +wave of naturalistic poetry and novels dealing with purely human +problems. + + +THEATER + +A dramatic tradition was developed as part of the National Revival. +Plays intended to arouse the people's national consciousness were +written by Bulgarian authors and staged by students and teachers at +library clubs in several cities (see ch. 11). After independence in 1878 +the National Theater was formed in Sofia, but for several decades it +depended heavily on foreign plays and foreign theatrical talent. By the +start of World War II, however, government subsidies had helped to +develop it to a point where it compared favorably with national theaters +elsewhere in Europe. + +The present-day government has heavily supported the theater as a "mass +school for the all-round ideological, ethical and aesthetical education +of the people." An extensive repertoire of Bulgarian plays conforming to +the demands of Socialist Realism and to the prescribed content and +interpretation has been built up. It is performed by some forty-six +theatrical companies throughout the country. Classics by William +Shakespeare, Johann von Schiller, Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, and +others are also performed regularly, as are selected contemporary plays +by playwrights from all over the world. Unlike elsewhere in Eastern +Europe, there has been no experimental or avant-garde theater in +Bulgaria. + +The presentations of the Satirical Theater in Sofia are the most daring +and innovative theatrical presentations available to the public. +Although their humor is often biting, their theatrical style seems +rather ordinary and traditional to a Western theatergoer. The Satirical +Theater is, nevertheless, the most popular theater in the country; +tickets for its performances are sold out weeks in advance. In addition +to satirical reviews, the theater presents classical satires by Bertolt +Brecht, Nikolai Gogol, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and others. On the +assumption that "people who laugh think no evil," which is an old +Bulgarian proverb, the authorities have tolerated greater outspokenness +on the part of Satirical Theater productions than in the more serious +forms of artistic and creative expression. + + +FILMS + +As a medium of artistic and intellectual expression, Bulgarian films +have lagged behind those produced in other Eastern European countries. +They have received little recognition in the West, where they are +generally considered old-fashioned in story line interpretation as well +as in technical approach. Several attempts at imitation of the +surrealism of Alain Resnais and Louis Bunuel or of some of the other +contemporary Western cinematic directors, have proved failures in the +eyes of the critics at home and abroad. + +In common with other communist filmmakers, those in Bulgaria have +concentrated for years on the suffering of the people under Nazi +oppression during World War II. Most of these films about war and +resistance have a propaganda purpose that outweighs any efforts toward +artistic or technical excellence. Since the late 1960s most feature +films have focused on contemporary life and its problems. It is these +films that have shown some experimentation in contemporary cinematic +techniques on the part of Bulgarian directors. + +Animated cartoon shorts have been better received by Western critics and +audiences than have feature films. Those designed and directed by Ivan +Andonov, who is also one of Bulgaria's leading actors, have been +acclaimed as outstanding. + + +MUSIC + +Bulgaria is best known in the world of music for several renowned opera +singers it has produced in the twentieth century. The bassos Boris +Khristov and Nikolai Ghiaurov, in particular, rank among the great +singers of all time. A number of other singers are known on opera stages +in Europe and the Soviet Union. The country's five opera companies +provide a good training ground for young singers. The opera repertoire +relies heavily on the classics and on contemporary compositions of +non-Bulgarian origin; there are few Bulgarian operas. Nevertheless, +opera is an extremely popular form of musical entertainment, +particularly among the intelligentsia. + +The interest in and love of opera among Bulgarians probably has its +roots in Eastern Orthodox Church music, which abounds in both the vocal +and dramatic elements characteristic of opera. Bulgarian clerics made +considerable contribution to the development of this music during the +Middle Ages through the introduction of certain rhythmic and structural +qualities that give orthodox ecclesiastical music its characteristic +form. + +The most typical form of musical expression through the ages has been +folk music. Through folksongs the Bulgarian language and cultural +heritage were kept alive during the centuries of Turkish rule. Turkish +influence is evident, however, in the musical quality of Bulgarian +folksongs, which are noticeably Middle Eastern in feeling. Although +there are many gay dances and happy songs in the folk repertoire, an +important segment of folk music has a sad, plaintive quality and sings +of the hardships and grief of daily life. + +Bulgarian concert music is not well known outside the country. It is, +however, regularly performed by Bulgarian orchestras and has found its +way into the repertoire of orchestras in the Soviet Union and other +communist countries. Outstanding among contemporary composers is Pancho +Vladigerov, whose compositions were well received both before and after +the Communists came to power. + +In the early 1970s the Bulgarian press noted a growing interest in +popular music among the youth. Dance bands and popular ensembles +proliferated in the high schools and youth clubs. Although the press +praised this interest in music as constructive, it decried the kind of +music that found most popularity. Instead of heroic "mass songs" of +Bulgarian composers, the youth showed interest only in Western popular +music. + + +FOLK ARTS + +A rich legacy of folk arts was developed before and during the five +centuries of Turkish rule. On Sundays and festival days and at the end +of ordinary workdays, young and old in the villages would gather to +dance the intricate steps of the _horo_ (a circular group dance) and to +sing about young love, brave men, Turkish oppression, or mythical beasts +with strange features. Flutes, bagpipes, and simple stringed instruments +accompanied the songs and dances. + +History and tradition were passed on from generation to generation +through legends, ballads, proverbs, and cautionary tales. This folklore +has formed the basis of much of Bulgarian literature and art since +independence from the Turks. + +Other forms of folk arts were woodcarving, highly colored embroidery, +rug weaving, and icon painting. Although distinct in their regional +variations, the traditional costumes of Bulgarian peasants are simple +and drab when compared to those of other parts of Europe. Because any +wealth or material possessions were subject to Turkish confiscation, +Bulgarian peasants strove to present an image of poverty through simple +dress and housing. + +In common with other Eastern European governments, the Bulgarian +government has striven to support and promote the traditional folk arts +as part of the cultural heritage of the people. Artisan co-*operatives +produce carved woodenware, rugs, weavings, embroideries, and traditional +musical instruments for sale in government shops. Numerous folk dance +groups give performances at local tourist centers and abroad. The +various folk arts have been free from restriction even during periods of +strict cultural controls; therefore, they have afforded the best outlet +for individual creativity of the serious artists as well as the folk +artists. + + +PAINTING AND SCULPTURE + +The golden age of Bulgarian art was, without doubt, the Middle Ages. No +art since that time has matched the magnificence and quality of the +icons and frescoes that adorn the churches and monasteries constructed +during that period. Some of the best and most prized examples of +Byzantine painting are found in the Boyana Church near Sofia, in the +Zemen Monastery in the mountains along the Yugoslav border, and in +several other small village churches. A masterpiece of early Bulgarian +art is the icon of Saint Theodor of Plateina near Preslav; it was made +of colored faience in the tenth century. True to the Byzantine style, +medieval Bulgarian art used muted colors, mostly the earthy tones of +yellows and browns, to depict somber saints and other religious figures. + +Some of the Bulgarian painters developed a special style known as the +Turnovo School of art. In addition to decorating churches and +monasteries, Turnovo School artists also painted miniatures to +illustrate chronicles and religious texts. Several of these are +preserved in major European museums. + +Woodcarving, silversmithing, goldsmithing, and other crafts also reached +a high level of artistry in medieval Bulgaria. Human and animal figures +were common motifs in carved wooden doors and other architectural +features. + +Medieval creativity came to an abrupt halt with the Turkish invasion, +which not only prevented new artistic expression but also destroyed and +damaged much of the existing art. Not until the National Revival of the +nineteenth century did Bulgarian artists again begin to express their +creativity in painting and sculpture. + +Modern Bulgarian art had its beginning in the national awakening and +the struggle for independence of the late eighteenth and the nineteenth +centuries. As in literature, National Revival art found its themes in +the beauty of the countryside, the charm of old customs, traditional +folktales, and the heroic deeds of brave men. Stylistic inspiration came +from peasant art and ancient Bulgarian religious art. Most significant +among revival artists were Nikola Pavlovich and Vladislav Dospevaki, the +former for his introduction of Western-style realism and the latter for +his modernization of church art. As a whole, however, National Revival +art is more significant for its historic role than for its artistic +merit. + +In the early years of independence, the simplicity of National Revival +art gave way to an academic style and to impressionism. Best known in +that period was Ivan Murkvichka, a Bohemian by birth, whose most +appreciated paintings dealt with peasant life. He founded the Academy of +Fine Arts in Sofia and organized the first Bulgarian art exhibit. + +After World War I Vladimir Dimitrov, known as The Master, sought to free +Bulgarian painting from the influence of ethnography and literature, +although he too drew upon village motifs. Mainly a painter of people--in +individual portraits or in group compositions--he concentrated on themes +of family life and peasant work. Since World War II Dimitrov has been +hailed as a great revolutionary humanist whose stylized epic and lyrical +works depict the greatness of the people and of their suffering. + +In addition to Dimitrov, the interwar period saw the formation of a +group of young painters, led by Ivan Milev, who broke away from routine +academic composition and advocated the combination of national with +modernistic elements. At this time also, Alexander Bozhinov developed +cartoon caricature as an art form to be used as a political weapon. + +Contemporary art has been guided by the strictures of Socialist Realism +as interpreted at different times. Because national or peasant art is +always acceptable under these restrictions, artists have used it as an +avenue for greater freedom of expression. The influence of peasant +icons, for instance, can be seen in the work of many contemporary +artists. Peasant motifs, such as the fruits of the earth, are also +evident in much of the work. The art most acceptable to the leadership, +however, has been the kind of realism that Westerners associate with +communist art. Typical of this style is Ilia Petrov's _Partisan Song_, a +monumental canvas depicting a group of partisans triumphantly singing +after a victory over fascists. Petrov has consistently received official +praise for his work, which is seen as "national in form and socialist in +content." + +Under the influence of Zhivkov's more liberal cultural policy in the +1960s, artists began to show greater variation and creativity in style +while retaining the acceptable subject matter for their work. Many +experimented with abstracts and other avant-garde forms, but these +works were never selected for public showing or purchase by the museums +and other state agencies, which are the only significant patrons. The +artist, therefore, is usually forced to divide his efforts between those +works that will earn a living and those that will give vent to his +creative urge. + +Although nonrepresentational art is not publicly exhibited, a +considerable degree of abstraction became acceptable in the late 1960s. +According to observers who have had contact with Bulgarian artists, the +public had grown bored with the prescribed style and content of artistic +production, and the government could no longer effectively enforce the +restrictions. Added to the difficulties of enforcement was the +increasing exposure of Bulgarians through tourism to the great variety +of contemporary art produced in Western Europe and in some of the other +communist countries. The most abstract and avant-garde painter in +Bulgaria is Genko Genkov, some of whose paintings hang in the National +Gallery in Sofia. + +Graphic artists have been allowed the greatest freedom for abstraction. +By its very nature, graphic art tends to be abstract and stylized. +Graphic artists such as Maria Nedkova have succeeded in producing works +that are highly regarded both by the government and by the avant-garde +intelligentsia. Many graphic artists go back to Bulgarian medieval art +for inspiration in theme and style. Pencho Koulekov, for instance, who +is highly regarded in Bulgaria, uses the primitive two-dimensional +perspective, the simplification of forms, the highlighting of the +essential, and the omission of all detail that was characteristic of +early miniaturists and icon painters. + +Until the time of independence, sculpture was represented almost +exclusively by decorative wood carvings. With the introduction of +Western influences, several artists turned to the use of stone. Few +Bulgarian sculptors achieved international fame, however, although the +work of some professors of fine arts in Sofia were becoming known +outside the country. Among them was the noted woodcut artist, Vasil +Zakhariev, and a former director of the Academy of Fine Arts, Ivan +Lasarov. + +The three-dimensional nature of sculpture and the classic Greek +tradition of literal representation have made it difficult for +contemporary sculptors to break away from the realistic representational +requirements of the regime. Only sculptures designed for children's +playgrounds and parks are allowed a degree of abstraction characteristic +of art created by children themselves. Observers have commented that +works considered highly modern in Bulgaria are completely traditional +and representational to the Western eye. + + +ARCHITECTURE + +The architectural tradition of Bulgaria is formed on ancient Thracian, +Greek, and Roman architecture of which examples survive in several +parts of the country. Three periods stand out in the development of +distinct architectural styles over the ages. The first period was the +Middle Ages, when Bulgarian and other architects constructed some of the +great examples of early Byzantine architecture in territories that +constituted the First Bulgarian Kingdom (see ch. 2). Many of these +monuments are no longer within the boundaries of Bulgaria--notably the +churches and monastery in the Lake Ohrid region of Yugoslavia--and +others were destroyed during the centuries of Turkish rule. Among those +that have survived within the confines of the country are some of the +best examples of artistic expression and technology of the Byzantine +period. These are a source of great pride for Bulgarians, who consider +them part of their contribution to world culture. + +The next period of outstanding architectural development was the +National Revival period of the late eighteenth century and the +nineteenth century. Flourishing commerce gave new life to such towns as +Plovdiv and Turnovo and created new urban centers in which affluent +merchants and artisans built homes and public buildings in a richly +ornamented style that came to be known as the National Revival style. +These two-story structures made extensive use of stone and wood, the +latter usually elaborately carved. The interiors were light and +spacious. In addition to carved doors, ceilings, and built-in +sideboards, the interiors were often decorated with wall paintings. +Typical of National Revival architecture is the Rila Monastery; its +interior walls are covered with frescoes, and its interior and exterior +abound in carved wooden structural members and decorative details. The +monastery, like other National Revival structures, reflects the +Byzantine influence in the many large arched windows, arched ceilings, +and arcades. + +The third period of distinguished architectural development is the +contemporary one. Industrial growth since World War II and a rapidly +growing tourist industry since the mid-1950s have called for large-scale +construction of needed facilities. New resort towns arose on the Black +Sea; industrial new towns grew in other locations; and hotels, apartment +complexes, and public buildings were needed throughout the country. +Although much of the architecture imitates the colossal style of +Stalinist work, some of it is of high artistic quality and imagination. +The Balkantourist Hotel in Turnovo and several hotels in Black Sea +resorts are often singled out as outstanding examples of modern +architecture; they combine traditional features with modern materials +and techniques and blend them into a design that fits into the natural +surroundings. + +Several young architects have achieved international reputations by +winning major design competitions in different parts of the world. +Winning designs have included plans for the development of the city +center of Closure, in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), +and the city center of Tunis, and the redesigning of the Civic Center +Plaza in San Francisco. Since the 1960s the most talented young +architects have been spending some time in Western Europe to expand +their knowledge and experience. + + +SCHOLARSHIP AND SCIENCE + +Isolated for five centuries from the main currents of intellectual and +scientific developments abroad and denied the education required to +undertake any scholarly or scientific activity of their own, the +Bulgarian people do not have a long tradition of scholarship and +science. Some intellectual activity did take place in the isolated +mountain monasteries, and it eventually inspired the National Revival. +Because of this isolation, however, the focus of the intellectual +activity was parochial. + +The Academy of Sciences was founded in 1869 as part of the National +Revival movement and has served, together with the University of Sofia, +as the rallying point of intellectuals and scholars. After World War II +the Academy of Sciences was expanded by the incorporation of several +independent research institutions. Its membership was also vastly +increased with the admission of individuals whose loyalty to the new +government would assure the proper slant to their scholarly work. The +Academy of Agricultural Sciences was founded in 1961 to provide the +scientific know-how that would expand the output of collectivized +agriculture. The two academies coordinate and supervise all research and +scholarly activity undertaken in the country. + +Emphasis in all scholarly and scientific activity has been on matters +directly applicable to industrial and agricultural development. Work in +the social sciences has been directed at the government's efforts to +transform Bulgaria into a socialist state. The work of scientists and +scholars must conform to the various theories and formulas developed by +Soviet scholars and must not dispute or contradict the basic precepts of +Marxism-Leninism as interpreted by the Bulgarian leadership. In the +early 1970s scholarly activity in Bulgaria had not yet attained the +freedom of thought and expression that has been evident in Poland and +Hungary. + + + + +SECTION II. POLITICAL + +CHAPTER 8 + +GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM + + +The People's Republic of Bulgaria is a socialist state with a form of +government not too different from the Soviet model on which it was +patterned. Following the classical Marxist-Leninist ideology, it +subscribes to rule by the working class--that is, dictatorship of the +proletariat--a doctrine asserting that all power emanates from the +people and is exercised by them through the electoral process. Corollary +to this right of the people to elect national representatives is the +power to recall them through the same instrument of the ballot. In +practice, however, the dictatorship of the proletariat has been a +dictatorship of the communist party. + +The government has its theoretical base in the constitution adopted in +1971, which superseded the earlier version of 1947. The 1971 +Constitution provides for a representative unicameral legislature known +as the National Assembly, an executive committee within the legislature +called the State Council, and a cabinet of advisers known as the Council +of Ministers. For regional and local government the constitution +establishes a hierarchical structure of people's councils. Parallel to +the entire governmental structure there exist corresponding levels of +the Bulgarian Communist Party (Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya--BKP, +see Glossary) and, in practice, the party leadership at each level +exercises executive and legislative control. + +The 1971 Constitution, unlike the 1947 document, explicitly sanctions +the leadership of the BKP. Its preamble unequivocally proclaims the +leading role of the BKP in the government machinery as the directing +force in promoting socialist goals and in actively participating in the +fraternity of friendly socialist countries. Particularly noteworthy is +the statement of recognition of Bulgaria's alignment with the Soviet +Union. + +The 1971 Constitution also recognizes the representation of +multi-interest groups within the united Fatherland Front (Otechestven +Front), a coalition of left-of-center political groups, which had its +origins during World War II. The front has become a large umbrella for +mass organizations and is headed by the National Council of the +Fatherland Front, which functions under party auspices. As constituted +in 1973, the front remained a control mechanism or, more appropriately, +a transmission belt for the BKP. + +The drafters of the 1971 Constitution of Bulgaria subscribed +to Lenin's principle of unity of power, which advocated combined +legislative-executive authority in one state organ of power. In the +1970s the State Council had assumed legislative initiative as well as +executive responsibility, whereas the National Assembly, which was +constitutionally endowed with the legislative authority, followed the +lead of the State Council. + +Government is structured on two levels: national and local. The highest +legislative body, according to the constitution, is the National +Assembly, which meets only three times a year in very short sessions. +Executive direction at the national level comes from the State Council, +which theoretically is elected by and responsible to the National +Assembly. In effect, however, the council has become a superior body. +Because the National Assembly meets infrequently, the State Council +assumes legislative initiative in addition to its executive +responsibility. The third major organ at the national level, referred to +in the constitution as the government, is the Council of Ministers, +which is theoretically appointed by and responsible to the National +Assembly but is actually responsible to the State Council. National +policy decisions reach the grass roots level through the pyramidal +system of people's councils. + +The judiciary, although independent in theory, is an integral part of +the government structure that operates as an adjunct of the +executive-legislative organs. By design the judicial system legitimizes +communist control and gives legal expression to party policy. The system +is structured so that the courts of law and the prosecution agency +function together, and the latter enjoys police power. + + +CONSTITUTIONAL EVOLUTION + +The beginnings of constitutional government in Bulgaria date back to +1879 after Russia had liberated the country from 485 years of Turkish +rule. From 1879 to 1947 the country was governed by a constitutional +monarchy based on the Turnovo Constitution, which established a +parliamentary system of government having a king at its head. Among +comparable constitutions in Europe at the time, the Turnovo document was +considered liberal and democratic in form, organization, and operation. +It was considered to be one of the most liberal in the world at that +time. Whereas most European countries limited suffrage in various ways, +all Bulgarian citizens over the age of twenty-one enjoyed the franchise. + +Through a sixty-five-year span, however, the Turnovo Constitution was +revised twice, suspended twice, and violated many times. Basic to these +conflicts was the limit on the power of the king and the extent of +popular participation in government. The absence of consultative bodies +in a unicameral legislature served to widen the rift between the +executive and legislative branches. + +Even after the communist takeover in 1944, the Turnovo Constitution +continued to be the charter of government until a new constitution was +adopted in December 1947. In party historiography the 1947 Constitution +is described as the work of Georgi Dimitrov, hence it became known as +the Dimitrov Constitution and remained in force until 1971. + + +The Constitution of 1947 + +In the mid-1940s, with the ascendancy of the BKP in the Fatherland Front +coalition government, there arose a need to draw up a new charter. The +changes in government structure and operation had rendered the Turnovo +Constitution obsolete, and the BKP was anxious to discard those elements +that party ideologists considered bourgeois. + +Structurally the Constitution of 1947 consisted of eleven chapters and +101 articles without a preamble. It proclaimed Bulgaria a people's +republic with a representative form of government to be implemented by +universal suffrage of citizens eighteen years of age and over. + +The constitution established the National Assembly as the supreme organ +of the state power and the Council of Ministers as the supreme executive +and administrative organ. During the twenty-four-year span of the 1947 +Constitution, the Presidium of the National Assembly actually wielded +more power than its parent organization or the Council of Ministers, +even though such power was not ascribed to it in the Constitution. The +power of the presidium derived from the BKP positions concurrently held +by its members. + +Legislative power was vested in a unicameral legislature, the National +Assembly, which was elected for a term of four years. Assembly +representatives were elected by the people on the basis of one +representative for every 30,000 people; amended in 1961 to 25,000. +Representatives served terms of four years but could be recalled at any +time before the expiration of their terms. The constitution required the +assembly to meet twice a year and on other occasions as required by its +presidium, which met in continuous session. + +The many functions of the National Assembly included electing the +presidium, Supreme Court judges, and the chief prosecutor; appointing +the Council of Ministers; amending the constitution; granting amnesties; +deciding the holding of referenda; voting on the general economic plan; +settling questions of war and peace; and other legislative matters of +nationwide application. + +Within the assembly the presidium--consisting of a president, two vice +presidents, a secretary, and fifteen members--was empowered with +legislative-executive authority, and it exercised judicial power in the +interpretation of laws that were binding on everyone. More importantly, +the presidium assumed the powers and functions of the National Assembly +when the latter was not in session. In effect, the small presidium +exercised the legislative function most of the time. + +Executive and administrative direction was vested in the Council of +Ministers, a cabinet elected by the National Assembly. The council +consisted of a chairman, several deputy chairmen, the heads of various +commissions having ministerial rank, and the ministers. The council was +assigned the tasks of directing and administering the various ministries +that were concerned with the economy as well as with affairs of state; +the State Planning Committee; the State Control Committee; and the +Committee on Art and Culture; as well as the Committee on Science, +Technical Progress and Higher Education. In practice, the council +implemented policy decisions of the party leaders who were its +high-ranking officers. + +Following the Soviet model, the first secretary of the party was also +the chairman of the Council of Ministers and, as such, was the country's +premier. It became evident through the years that the Council of +Ministers and the Presidium of the National Assembly were the ultimate +sources of governmental authority because legislation they proposed was +usually implemented by decree and approved, after the fact, by the +National Assembly. + +The 1947 Constitution treated the economic and social structure of the +country extensively. It subscribed to collective ownership of the means +of production; defined rules of national economic planning and social +welfare; empowered the government to nationalize trade, industry, and +transportation; expropriated land where necessary; and restricted +ownership of private property--all in the interest of the state. The +constitution also gave the state the prerogative to establish monopolies +over production and trade. + +Below the apex of the governmental pyramid lay the wide base of local +governments. These consisted of district and communal people's councils +exercising authority through their executive committees, which sat in +continuous session. The executive committees of the people's councils +cooperated closely with local party groups, and personnel were often +concurrently members of executive committees and local party committees. +Although the organization of local government was revamped in 1949, in +1951, and in 1959, by the mid-1960s it was replaced by twenty-seven +districts plus Sofia, which became a territorial administrative unit. +The decentralizing of governmental authority to the local organs of +state power was designed to bring about greater efficiency and better +supervision in matters of political, economic, and cultural interests. + + +The Constitution of 1971 + +The Constitution of 1971 was the result of the work of the Tenth +Bulgarian Communist Party Congress, which was held April 20-25, 1971, in +Sofia. This congress also produced a new program for the BKP, made +changes in statutes, elected the Central Committee of the Bulgarian +Communist Party, and adopted "Directives on the Socio-Economic +Development of the People's Republic of Bulgaria during the Sixth +Five-Year Plan (1971-75)." + +The draft of the new constitution was presented for nationwide +discussion on March 30, 1971, just three weeks before the opening of the +tenth BKP congress. The congress approved the draft in its entirety on +the opening day of session. The constitution was approved through a +popular referendum on May 16 and was proclaimed law two days later by +the National Assembly. General elections under the new law took place on +June 27, 1971. + +The structure and functioning of the different organs of state power as +outlined in the Dimitrov Constitution remained essentially the same +except that the State Council became a more powerful governmental body +than the Presidium of the National Assembly that it replaced and, in +effect, overshadowed the Council of Ministers in authority. The new +document continues to define Bulgaria as a people's republic but also +refers to its socialist character and to its membership in the +international community of socialist states. Two new features are the +declaration of principles in the preamble and the sanction given to the +leadership of the BKP, aided by the Bulgarian Agrarian Union (also +called the Agrarian Party) within a united Fatherland Front (see ch. 9). + +The Constitution of 1971 reflects the new changes in the sociopolitical +and socioeconomic development of the country as viewed by the communist +leadership. The first chapter consists of twelve articles that briefly +define the political philosophy upon which the constitution is based and +the direction in which the party expects the country to move under the +new charter. Simply stated, the philosophy avows that Bulgaria is "a +socialist state of the working people of town and country, headed by the +working class," and "the guiding force in society and the state is the +Bulgarian Communist Party." The direction of movement expected by the +country's leadership is evidenced by the assertion that "the socialist +state shall promote the evolution of the socialist society into a +communist society." This chapter also affirms the Marxist-Leninist +principles that underlie the functioning of the state and the society. + +The new document also addresses itself to significant changes in the +interrelationships between the National Assembly, State Council +(formerly the presidium), and the Council of Ministers. For instance, +the constitution expanded the right of legislative initiative to include +not only the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers but also the +State Council, the permanent commissions of the National Assembly, the +Supreme Court, the chief prosecutor, and the district people's councils. +The rationale was that the National Assembly is not a continuously +sitting body so that its functions must, of necessity, be assigned to +state bodies of a permanent nature. + +Twenty articles explain the economic system and development of the +republic based on the socialist ownership of the means of production. +The constitution recognizes four kinds of ownership: state, cooperative, +public organizations, and individual or personal. + +The Law on Citizen's Property passed during the session of the National +Assembly in March 1973, however, nearly abolished the private ownership +of the means of production which, according to communist theory, is the +basis for the exploitation of man by man. The new measure gave legal +expression to what had been planned since the constitution was +promulgated in 1971 and reflects the complete predominance of collective +ownership in furtherance of the spirit of the tenth BKP congress. +Private ownership is confined to "items for personal use." + +Basic rights and liberties of citizens get constitutional guarantees, +but in almost every stipulation that hinges on personal, civil, and +political rights, in practice, the interest and welfare of the state +take precedence. Basic rights and obligations embrace a wide scope of +personal, civil, and political freedoms. Among these guarantees are the +right to Bulgarian citizenship; civil rights of spouses, parents, and +children; rights to work, rest, and receive health care and free +education; freedoms of speech, press, association, and demonstration; +rights to secrecy of correspondence and communication except in cases of +national emergency; and freedom of worship. All citizens are declared to +be equal before the law regardless of national origin, creed, social +status, education, or sex. Article 36 extends to women equal rights with +men. Mothers are guaranteed all-expense-paid hospitalization and +maternity care, paid maternity leave of absence, and provision for +children's care in nurseries and other establishments provided by the +government. The protective arm of the state also extends to its citizens +overseas. + +Rights have commensurate obligations defined by the constitution to +ensure the survival and strengthening of the socialist foundation. +Foremost among these are the obligation to work according to one's +abilities, the defense of the state, compulsory military service, and +tax obligations for state support. Treason and other high crimes against +the state, such as inciting war and disseminating propaganda, are +treated with severity. + + +STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE GOVERNMENT + +The Central Government + +The constitution exhibits an image of legislative supremacy asserting +that power belongs to the people and is exercised through such elected +representative bodies as the National Assembly and the people's +councils. The practice, however, shows executive political hegemony +exercised by the party leadership occupying positions of governmental +responsibility, such as the head of the Council of Ministers and head of +the State Council. The power exercised by a government organ is +directly linked to the party positions held by its head and by its +members. For example, Todor Zhivkov as president of the State Council (a +position that automatically makes him president of the republic) is at +the same time first secretary of the party and a member of its +Politburo. Stanko Todorov, who is chairman of the Council of Ministers +and thereby premier of the republic, is also a member of the Politburo. +Several other members of the State Council and the Council of Ministers +are concurrently members of the Politburo, the Secretariat, or the +Central Committee. This interlocking of positions, which occurs not only +at the national level but at all levels, ensures party control of the +entire governmental system (see fig. 6). + + +State Council + +The source of executive direction and control in the government is the +State Council, a twenty-four-man executive committee within the National +Assembly elected for an indefinite term until a new National Assembly +elects a new council. It functions as a collegial executive and +legislative body, and its president assumes the title of president of +the People's Republic of Bulgaria. + +The State Council of the National Assembly replaced the former +presidium, to which the 1947 Constitution had given honorific titles but +largely ceremonial functions. Conceived during a plenum of the party +Central Committee in 1968 but not established until after the +promulgation of the new constitution in 1971, the State Council was +designed to be a powerful force, both executive and legislative, in the +overall governmental structure. The best evidence to the power inherent +in the structure of the new State Council was the fact that party leader +Zhivkov chose to relinquish the premiership, which he had held for +several years, in favor of the newly created position of president of +the State Council. Zhivkov is one of a very few leaders of communist +countries who continues to retain the top position in both the party and +the government. + +The State Council exercises a wide spectrum of authority that would +theoretically be the responsibility of the National Assembly. In effect +the State Council becomes the alter ego of, or a surrogate for, the +National Assembly and arrogates to itself the constitutional +prerogatives of the people and the elected legislature. Most members of +the State Council are concurrently high-ranking members of the BKP. + +Among the many duties and responsibilities of the council, the most +important can be divided into two definite groups: those functions that +are specifically defined and thereby permanent and those functions that +the council assumes when the legislative body is not in session. During +wartime, when it might not be possible for the assembly to meet, the +constitution provides for the complete assumption of legislative and +executive authority by the State Council. + +The State Council's specific and permanent functions include, among +others, calling the National Assembly into session, exercising the +right of legislative initiative, determining bills that should be +submitted to the people for nationwide discussion, interpreting the laws +and decrees binding on everyone, creating and eliminating departments +below ministerial level, appointing and recalling diplomatic +representatives, granting Bulgarian citizenship, ratifying international +treaties concluded by the government, and implementing the general +direction of the defense of the country. + +[Illustration: _Figure 6. Bulgaria, Structure of Government, 1973_] + +When the National Assembly is not in session, the State Council is +empowered to promulgate decrees and other acts of legal validity dealing +with problems arising from laws and decrees of the legislative body. +Furthermore, these acts and decrees have the force of law and need no +legislative confirmation at the next assembly session. + +Additionally, the council exercises executive control over the Council +of Ministers, its members, the local people's councils, and the Office +of the Chief Prosecutor; it can repeal decisions of the ministries and +other central departments, which in effect reduces the Council of +Ministers to a grade below the State Council. In the event of war the +State Council, in the absence of the National Assembly, is empowered to +sign peace treaties, to amend the constitution, to grant amnesty, and to +change the territorial boundaries of the country. In sum, the functions +of the State Council can be categorized into executive, legislative, +judicial, and police. In carrying out these multifarious +responsibilities, six councils and two committees assist the State +Council, (see fig. 7). + + +Council of Ministers + +The Council of Ministers is described in the constitution as "a supreme +executive and administrative body of state power." In practice the +council is more of an advisory body to the State Council than it is a +supreme body even though it oversees the day-to-day functioning of the +government. In 1973 the council consisted of a chairman (the premier), +two first deputy chairmen, five deputy chairmen, twenty ministers, and +several chairmen of committees subordinate to the council. Additionally, +there are other members in the council; they are ministers without +portfolio (two) and the deputy chairman of the State Control Committee. +Within the council there is an inner executive committee known as the +Bureau of the Council of Ministers; its membership includes the +chairman, his seven deputies, the minister of finance, and the chairman +of the State Planning Committee. + +Election and organization of the Council of Ministers is done by the +National Assembly, which determines the number, kind, and names of the +ministries and of other departments with ministerial rank. For this +reason the number of ministries and central agencies may vary from time +to time. The Constitution of 1971 introduced two new features that did +not exist in the 1947 Constitution. One obliges the Council of Ministers +to give an accounting of its work to the State Council and another +limits the rights of the Council of Ministers over the executive +committees of the people's councils. + +Some of the functions of the Council of Ministers overlap those of the +State Council. Categorically, these functions may be grouped together as +executive, legislative, economic (budget preparation), police, and +military. + +The Council of Ministers also has jurisdiction to form--for the purpose +of administration--committees, councils, general boards, and offices. +Also within their competence, ministers and heads of departments with +ministerial rank have the right to issue orders and rescind unlawful or +irregular acts and actions of the special bodies of the people's +councils. They also have the right to suspend acts of the executive +committee of the people's councils. + +[Illustration: _Figure 7. Bulgaria, Organization of the Council of +Ministers, 1973_] + +The constitution empowers the Council of Ministers to draft and +implement national economic plans for submission to the National +Assembly. The council has police power in the maintenance of public +order and security and has general command of the armed forces. Along +with the State Council it implements the direction and control of the +activities of the people's councils. + + +The National Assembly + +The National Assembly, a unicameral legislature, is the only legislative +body of the central government, but legislative initiative has been +extended to several other governmental organs. In practice the State +Council appears to be the most powerful organ of government as well as +the principal initiator of legislative matters. The assembly, which +meets only three times each year in short sessions, would appear to have +more form than substance in the actual governmental affairs of the +country. It would seem to be impossible for anyone to become a member of +the assembly or of the State Council without prior approval of the BKP +(see ch. 9). + +The assembly's 400 members represent voting districts of equal numbers +of inhabitants per delegate. The term of office is five years. This was +another innovation in that the BKP hierarchy decided that party +congresses would be held every five years instead of four and, +therefore, elections to the National Assembly should be changed in the +same manner. In the exercise of its functions, the National Assembly can +dissolve itself, and in emergency situations it may extend its term. + +The manner in which the National Assembly operates, that is, the +infrequency and brevity of sessions, makes it imperative for permanent +commissions, in addition to the State Council, to carry on the +multifarious functions of the assembly. In 1971 there were twelve +permanent commissions, half of which had overlapping functions with +various ministries. The constitution does not specify how many permanent +or interim commissions the assembly should appoint but leaves such +matters of organization to the assembly itself. + + +Local Government + +Territorially, Bulgaria is divided into twenty-eight districts +(_okruzi_; sing., _okrug_), about 200 municipalities, and about 5,500 +villages. The municipalities, if size warrants, are divided into urban +constituencies (_rayoni_; sing., _rayon_), whereas villages are usually +grouped together to form rural constituencies known as _obshtini_ +(sing., _obshtina_). Since 1959 the number of districts has remained +constant at twenty-eight, which includes one for the city of Sofia. The +number of urban and rural constituencies, on the other hand, changes +frequently as the population increases and as people move from the +countryside to the cities or move from cities to suburban areas. +Districts and urban and rural constituencies are governed on the local +level by people's councils, and in the 1971 elections there were almost +1,200 such councils with a total of more than 53,000 elected officials. + +Each people's council has an elected executive committee, which is +constantly in session and which acts for the council during the long +periods when the full body is not meeting. On the local level the +executive committee is to the people's council what the State Council is +to the National Assembly on the national level. An executive committee +usually consists of a chairman, a first deputy chairman, several deputy +chairmen (depending on size), and a secretary. The interlocking of party +and governmental positions that is the hallmark of the central +government is repeated at the district and rural and urban constituency +levels, and often the members of a people's council executive committee +are also the most prominent members of the local party organization. An +executive committee usually serves for the entire term of its people's +council. + +In the implementation of national policy, people's councils are under +the supervision and control of higher councils all the way up to the +central government. The hierarchical and pyramidal structure of the +people's councils, wherein the lowest bodies are subject to the +direction of the next higher and of the highest bodies, is an example of +the application of Lenin's principle of democratic centralism. +Coincident with this structure of government is the parallel structure +of the BKP, whose members are in control or are influential at every +level. + +People's councils are empowered to adapt decisions and orders of higher +authorities to their own individual needs. Local councils prepare plans +and budgets in consonance with the national plans and, after decisions +have been made at the national level, the local councils conform to the +national policy. People's councils are involved in the day-to-day +affairs of their constituencies in government services and +administration, the maintenance of public order, the protection of state +and communal property, and the protection of the rights of its citizens. +In these areas the local police, known as the People's Militia, are the +instruments of the local council, but their responsibility is also to +the next higher level and on up to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (see +ch. 15). + + +JUDICIAL PROCEDURE + +The highest judicial organ is the Supreme Court, the members of which +are elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms. Below it are +twelve regional and ninety-three district courts, and the military +courts. The Supreme Court is a court of original jurisdiction as well as +of appellate jurisdiction. It is organized into criminal, civil, and +military divisions. In the administration of justice, courts and +prosecution are referred to as "weapons of the dictatorship of the +proletariat." Judges and assessors take part in the dispensation of +justice. These positions are elective. + +The Office of the Chief Prosecutor is established to see that the laws +are obeyed by the ministries and other national departments, bodies of +local state power, economic and public organizations, and officials as +well as citizens. The chief prosecutor is elected to a five-year term. +He is subject to recall, however, before the expiration of his term and +is responsible only to the National Assembly. Again, as is true with the +Supreme Court, between sessions the chief prosecutor reports to the +State Council. + +The chief prosecutor exercises wide powers in the performance of his +functions. Because he is elected by the National Assembly, he is certain +to be a loyal party member; he appoints prosecutors (district and +communal) for lower levels and can recall them before the expiration of +their terms. Together with the minister of justice, he controls the +judicial system for the communist party. + +In interpreting the communist theory of "unity of power," the +constitution places the judiciary below the executive and legislative +branches of state power. It also lumps together the judicial bodies and +prosecutors in overlapping and parallel functions. The fact that judges +and lay assessors are elected indicates that the party echelons can +control the workings of the judicial machinery. + + +THE ELECTORAL PROCEDURE + +The basic election law of Bulgaria is embodied in a document adopted on +February 17, 1953, and published as the Law of Election for the National +Assembly of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. It has been amended many +times since then. + +Article 6 of the 1971 Constitution extends the right to vote to every +Bulgarian citizen who has reached the age of eighteen, regardless of +"sex, nationality, race, creed, education, occupation, official or +social status, and property status." The only exceptions are those +persons under "complete tutelage." An earlier law had denied the right +to vote only to those who had been sentenced by a court. + +Members of both national and local representative bodies--the National +Assembly and the people's councils--are elected by direct and secret +ballot on the basis of universal, equal, and direct suffrage. +Theoretically, they are responsible to their electorate and render an +accounting of their activities. In this frame of reference they can be +subject to recall even before the expiration of their term. In practice +they are removed at the discretion of the BKP. + +The State Council schedules dates for elections to the National Assembly +and people's councils. In no case is the date fixed later than two +months after the expiration of the current mandate. The council is also +empowered to schedule dates for holding referenda on decisions of the +National Assembly. All election dates are set on weekends or nonworking +days to ensure continuous work production. + +Under the election law and in accordance with the constitution, +elections are called by the State Council and conducted by the Central +Election Commission, a body created by the National Assembly and +directed by the State Council. The Central Election Commission comprises +representatives of various organizations, such as trade unions, +cooperatives, youth organizations, special professional and interest +groups, and other public organizations and societies, which must be duly +registered according to acceptable procedures established by the +National Assembly. The election commission is headed by an executive +committee consisting of a chairman, a deputy chairman, a secretary, and +twenty members, all of whom must be approved by the State Council. + +Corollary to the right to elect is the right to be elected to public +office. Candidates are nominated according to electoral areas. +Theoretically, the right to nominate candidates is secured through +meetings of public organizations and such societies as trade unions, +youth organizations, cultural societies, and cooperatives. In practice, +however, candidates are nominated by the BKP leadership of these public +organizations, and their names are submitted for discussion during +meetings. This procedure ensures the candidates' election and at the +same time meets the obligation in the electoral law that nominations be +discussed at public meetings. + +Lists of candidates for public office are compiled in each village, +town, and district and are submitted to the BKP-controlled National +Council of the Fatherland Front where a final list of candidates is +drawn. Only candidates nominated by the BKP, the Bulgarian Agrarian +Union, and other mass social organizations approved by the Fatherland +Front are allowed to go on the ballot. Quite expectedly, the single +slate of candidates presented by the Fatherland Front usually gets +elected unanimously. + +In the parliamentary election held on June 27, 1971, voters elected +assembly deputies, people's councillors, judges, and lay assessors. Out +of 6,168,931 registered voters, 6,159,942 cast ballots, representing +99.85 percent of the electorate. A total of 6,154,082 voters, or 99.9 +percent, voted for all Fatherland Front candidates as contrasted to +1,487 who voted against. About 4,373 election ballots were declared void +because of irregularities. + +The speed with which election results are tallied and announced was +exemplified by the election of 1971. Two days after the election the +Central Election Commission--headed by its chairman, Angel +Velev--examined the protocols of the 400 urban constituency election +commissions and announced the results. As expected, all 400 candidates +nominated by the Fatherland Front were elected. Announcements of local +election results in towns and villages are made by the respective +executive committees of the people's councils. + +The BKP's method of organizing the government after an election was +illustrated by the plenum of the Bulgarian Communist Party's Central +Committee held on July 6, 1971. It discussed and approved proposals for +candidates for chairman and deputy chairman of the National Assembly, +membership of the State Council, Council of Ministers, heads of the +different commissions, chairman of the Supreme Court, and chief +prosecutor. Nominees were submitted for discussion and confirmation +during the first session of the sixth National Assembly held on July 7, +1971. + +An amendment to the 1971 Constitution on the nomination of candidates by +the leadership of public organizations obtained official sanction not +only for the purpose of expediency but more importantly to guarantee the +election of the nominees, as there had been cases of nonelection during +the previous elections for people's councils. The election law also +provides that candidates must garner 50 percent plus one vote in the +electoral districts before being declared elected. Statistics of +election results for people's councils in 1949 and 1966 showed that the +percentage of votes ranged from 96.48 percent of the voting population +in 1949 to 99.56 percent in 1966. The new amendment required that +two-thirds of the registered voters cast their ballots in favor of the +candidates before declaring that an election had taken place. + + + + +CHAPTER 9 + +POLITICAL DYNAMICS + + +In mid-1973 political affairs and the administration of the country +remained completely in the hands of the ruling circle of the Bulgarian +Communist Party (Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya--BKP, see Glossary), +headed by First Secretary Todor Zhivkov. Political power was exercised +by him and by the few select officials in the Central Committee of the +Bulgarian Communist Party, particularly those who were members of the +Politburo and the Secretariat. The extent of such power was best +described by Vulko Chervenkov, onetime premier and Politburo member, who +declared that "no institution, organization, or person can be above the +Politburo and the Central Committee." This statement, made in the early +1950s, continues to be the cardinal rule of communist power in Bulgaria. + +Retention of power by the party was ensured through its absolute control +of governmental machinery and of all organized activities. Virtually +every important government post was held by a high-ranking party member. +First Secretary Zhivkov, for example, was also president of the State +Council, the leading government body, which made him the top man in both +party and government. In addition to the interlocking of government and +party posts at all levels, it was also customary for the top officers of +mass organizations to be members of the party hierarchy. The continued +existence of a second political party, the Bulgarian Agrarian Union +(Bulgarski Zemedelski Suyuz--BZS), did not encroach on the +monopolization of political power by the BKP because the prerogatives of +the union had been curtailed to the point where it had become an +auxiliary of the BKP rather than a competitor. Any opposition to the +ruling elite had come from within the party rather than from outside +organizations. As recently as 1965 an abortive attempt to overthrow +Zhivkov was made, but this was the result of intraparty factionalism +rather than antiparty opposition. Zhivkov managed to avert the attempted +coup d'etat and afterward strengthened his power base within the party. + +At the helm of the party for nineteen years, Zhivkov, despite occasional +intraparty struggle and friction, remained the undisputed leader and, as +such, he maintained very close relations with the Communist Party of the +Soviet Union and with the Soviet government. On the one hand the close +Bulgarian-Soviet relationship has been interpreted by Marxist +theoreticians as the application of "proletarian internationalism"--a +theory that contends that proletarian unity is "historically the higher +right than that of national self-determination." On the other hand, many +observers of Bulgarian-Soviet relations maintain that the nature of the +unequal alliance stems not only from historical and cultural +affiliations as well as political and ideological identification but, +more important, from Zhivkov's need for strong Soviet support. + +At the Tenth Party Congress in 1971 Zhivkov reiterated the necessity for +close ties with the Soviet Union and introduced a five-year economic +plan that continued the long emphasis on heavy industry. The congress +reelected the Politburo, despite the advanced ages of some of the +members and their demonstrated concern for maintaining the status quo at +a time when the changes necessary to transform Bulgaria into a modern +industrial country have placed new demands on old methods and +institutions. Success or failure of the Communists' ongoing efforts to +industrialize, modernize, and communize the country depends on the +adaptability of the leadership and the political institutions to meet +the challenges of the 1970s. + + +MAJOR POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS, 1965-71 + +After discovery of the plot to overthrow him in April 1965, Zhivkov took +steps to secure his position and to prevent future conspiracies. Because +the threat to his regime had come mainly from the army, Zhivkov and his +minister of defense often spoke to assemblies of military officers to +explain party policies and to assuage dissident feelings within military +ranks. In addition, state security functions were realigned in an +attempt to tighten the system in order that such conspiracies would not +be able to germinate in the future. The Ministry of the Interior lost +its responsibility for security to the newly created Committee of State +Security, which was under the direct supervision of Zhivkov in his +position as premier. Later, in 1968, the Committee of State Security and +the Ministry of the Interior were again merged under the latter's title. + +After the abortive plot against him, Zhivkov offered some reforms to +placate disgruntled elements and to avoid a repetition of the incident. +Although the principal plotters were imprisoned, Zhivkov's reaction to +the conspiracy was one of general appeasement. This policy of +appeasement was shown by the fact that no general purges took place and +that people who could have been suspected of dissident activity were +allowed to remain in positions of authority in the party and in the +government rather than being summarily swept aside. The programs of +liberal reform that had been implemented before, but interrupted by, the +1965 plot were resumed, and Bulgaria seemed to be reaching for a +national destiny rather than accepting the role of a Soviet puppet. The +reforms affected all fields--political, economic, and cultural--and for +a time it seemed that the abortive coup d'etat had given new impetus to +Bulgarian national interests. + +The promise of reform appeared to be the focal point around which the +Ninth Party Congress was convened in 1966, and at the congress party +leaders underscored the need for the widest participation in the +democratic process. Reforms, however, fell victim to the conservatism of +older party leaders, and Zhivkov did not have the personal strength or +magnetism to push forward his program. The ninth congress ended with the +reelection of the essentially reactionary Politburo and a reaffirmation +of the status quo. The bright hopes for economic, political, and social +progress that had been evident in late 1965 and early 1966 collapsed in +a return of rigid ideological dogma and a firm reliance on Soviet rather +than Bulgarian initiatives. + +The failure of the ninth congress to rejuvenate the party hierarchy and +to chart a reform course for the future had repercussions throughout +Bulgarian society. Initiatives in foreign affairs that had been taken in +1965 and 1966 foundered in the retrenchment into party orthodoxy. +Negotiations that had begun with Western European countries as well as +with Balkan neighbors bore no fruit as the Zhivkov government failed to +follow up earlier moves toward better relations. Even more detrimental +to Balkan relations was Bulgarian participation in the Soviet-led +invasion of Czechoslovakia, which Yugoslavia and Romania strongly +opposed. In the cultural area the party tightened its controls over +creative artists and reorganized the Committee on Art and Culture to +better serve the needs of the government. The First Congress of Culture, +held in 1967, emphasized the constructive role of culture in society and +called for an intensification of anti-Western propaganda in order to +counter the dangerous influence of so-called bourgeois culture. + +There was also great concern among party leaders about the so-called +nihilistic attitude of the country's young people. In December 1967 +Zhivkov published his "Youth Theses" in an attempt to counter what the +party considered to be dangerous apathy on the part of Bulgarian youth. +Zhivkov's theses initiated some institutional reforms that dealt heavily +with patriotic education in an attempt to instill some national pride in +the young people, but about a year later patriotic education was +deemphasized. Evidently the program had aroused strong feelings of +nationalism that interfered with the pro-Soviet attitudes that have been +characteristic of Zhivkov's government. After publication of the "Youth +Theses," all youth activities came under the aegis of the Dimitrov +Communist Youth Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz), +referred to as Komsomol, which is the junior auxiliary of the BKP. The +moves to politicize young people failed to arouse any widespread +interest, and in the early 1970s Bulgarian youth remained essentially +apolitical and apathetic. + +In the economic sector the BKP blueprint for reform commonly referred to +as the New Economic Model offered innovations in decentralized +decisionmaking that delegated more responsibilities to public and state +organizations on the lower level as well as to individual enterprises. +The attention given to economic reform at the time--late 1965--was +motivated not only by Zhivkov's need to shore up his own political +position after the attempted coup but probably more so by the examples +of new economic programs that were sweeping the Eastern European +communist countries and the Soviet Union. More important than the +liberal reforms for decentralized management of the economy was the +decision to allow planning from the bottom to the top. From the time of +the enactment in 1965 up to about 1968 there were definite signs of +change. The July plenum of the BKP Central Committee in 1968, however, +formalized a number of changes that called for considerable reduction in +the autonomy of the existing public and state organizations, thus +setting aside the entire economic reform program. After the July plenum +and another in November 1968, a reorganization of state enterprises took +place in line with the new centralization policy. + +During the remainder of the 1960s and into the early 1970s, Zhivkov's +position remained stable, and there were no overt threats to his regime +such as the 1965 plot to overthrow him. In 1969 and again in 1970 +agreements were signed in Moscow that tied the Bulgarian economy even +closer to that of the Soviet Union. Bulgaria's position, or more +precisely the BKP's position, on relations with the Soviet Union was +summed up in a statement made by Zhivkov just before the Tenth Party +Congress in 1971: "The fraternal friendship and cooperation of the +Bulgarian Communist Party with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union +and the ever broader and deeper alignment of Bulgaria with the Soviet +Union will remain the immovable cornerstone of the entire work and the +domestic and foreign policy of our party." + +At the Tenth Party Congress, which was attended by General Secretary +Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, there were no startling changes +either in party policy or in high-ranking personnel assignments. The +same Politburo, with an average age of sixty-three, was returned to +office, and the party program promised no alteration in the heavily +centralized, pro-Soviet policies that had marked most of Zhivkov's +tenure. A new constitution was proposed by the party and later adopted +by the government and, although some institutional changes were +made--for example, creation of the State Council as a collective +executive branch of government--the absolute supremacy of the BKP over +every aspect of Bulgarian life was in no way diminished. On the +contrary, the power of the top leadership was probably enhanced along +with its ability to perpetuate itself in office. + + +THE BULGARIAN COMMUNIST PARTY + +Organization + +Party statutes define the organization, membership, and program of the +BKP. A statute promulgated during the Sixth Party Congress in 1954 +proclaimed the party to be an "inseparable part of the world communist +front" and acknowledged the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as the +leading political force within the communist bloc countries. Later party +statutes refined the basic document but did not change the premise that +the BKP looks to the Soviet party for leadership. + +Central to the observance of basic communist policy is adherence to the +principles of democratic centralism. Patterned after the Soviet model, +these principles call for a pyramidal form of command responsibility in +which lower party organs are subordinated to the next higher body. This +also means that decisions of higher bodies bind those below, +individually and collectively. Party policy and practice encourage open +discussion of issues during meetings of local party units as well as +during conferences and congresses at higher levels; however, party +discipline requires unitary action after a decision has been reached by +the hierarchy. + +The party hierarchy is composed of the Politburo, the Secretariat and, +to some extent, the Central Committee, the membership of which interlock +as one man may occupy two or more positions at any given time. +Theoretically occupying the apex of power is the congress of the party +that is held every five years, following the example of Soviet party +congresses. The congress is made up of delegates from various party +units on the basis of proportional representation of party members. The +main statutory functions of the congress include revising or amending +party statutes, deciding party policy, electing the Central Committee, +and receiving reports concerning past progress and future plans. It is +customary for major governmental programs or reforms to be presented to +a party congress before promulgation. The Tenth Party Congress, for +example, listened to readings of the draft of a new constitution and the +Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) and approved both unanimously. Actually, +the purpose of a congress is to demonstrate unanimity and accord. The +size of the congress (1,553 delegates in 1971) and the fact that it +meets only at five-year intervals preclude carrying out its statutory +role as a deliberative and policymaking body. Public politicking or +wrangling by delegates to a party congress would be unprecedented. + +Because the party congress meets so infrequently, it delegates its +functions to the Central Committee that it elects. Election of Central +Committee members is also a pro forma action wherein the congress +unanimously approves the list of names provided by the party leadership. +The Central Committee is a large working party organ, which in 1973 +included 147 members and 110 candidate (nonvoting) members. The +committee is charged with the administration of party work between +sessions of the congress and the implementation of party policies +presented by the leadership. For the performance of its duties, the +Central Committee has fourteen permanently operating departments and six +schools and institutes, the latter ostensibly to promote political +educational goals. As set forth in party statutes, plenary sessions of +the committee are to be held at least twice a year, and special sessions +may be called from time to time. + +Within the Central Committee sits the nine-man permanent Secretariat +headed by the first secretary who, by party structure, is the most +powerful man in the country. The Secretariat is elected by the Central +Committee during the party congress, but the election, once again, is +merely formal approval of the members already selected by the top party +leadership. Since 1954 the position of first secretary has been +continuously held by Zhivkov, who also heads the State Council and is +therefore the head-of-state. In addition to the first secretary, six +other secretaries and two members complete the composition of the +Secretariat. The main function of the Secretariat is to supervise the +implementation of party policy. + +Sharing the center stage of political power with the Secretariat is the +Politburo, elected by the Central Committee in the same manner as the +Secretariat. In effect the Politburo is a self-perpetuating body, and +any change in membership is dictated by the members themselves. Composed +of eleven members and six candidate members, all Politburo members +belong to the Central Committee. They provide collective political +leadership in both party and government. + +The Politburo is the policymaking and decisionmaking branch of the +party. In theory the eleven members of the Politburo are equal, but in +practice the party first secretary occupies the topmost position of +power in the party and is therefore first among equals in the Politburo. +Such is the concentration of political authority in the top bodies that +multiplicity of membership by party officials in any or all of the +central party organs is more the rule than the exception. + + +Membership + +After the successful coup d'etat in September 1944, communist party +membership grew with unprecedented speed. From prisons and internment +camps and from self-exile abroad, party leaders began to converge in +Sofia to restructure the party and to form a new government. Party +members assisted by sympathizers helped fill the necessary manpower +requirements as functionaries and working groups in the new coalition +government. A period of intensive recruitment and propaganda followed +that swelled the number of members from 15,000 to 250,000 in just four +months. By the time the Fifth Party Congress convened in December 1948, +party membership reached 500,000. This was in part due to the merger of +the Social Democrats with the BKP in August 1948. In large part, +however, Bulgaria's egalitarian peasant society--coupled with +indiscriminate recruitment using hardly any criteria for +qualification--produced a predominantly peasant membership. Workers +accounted for slightly over one-fourth of the total membership as +compared to one-half made up of peasants. + +Ironically, the intense campaign for new members was accompanied by +wide-scale purges within the party during a power struggle between the +Stalin faction and the home faction of the BKP. Led by Chervenkov, the +Moscow-oriented leaders succeeded in getting rid of their political +opponents and soon after established a Stalinist kind of government in +the country. Observers noted that this was aimed not only at weeding out +undesirable party elements but, more important, at increasing the number +of workers and consequently achieving a numerical balance with the +peasant members. + +Once in full control of the party and government, the BKP hierarchy +turned its attention to more systematic methods of recruitment. By the +time the Eighth Party Congress convened in November 1962, the BKP had +528,674 members plus 22,413 candidates. It was also at about this time +that the Zhivkov government relaxed the open police terror and pardoned +6,000 political prisoners, most of them Communists. + +The Ninth Party Congress, held in November 1966, provided new +regulations concerning party composition and acceptance of new members. +Qualifications of candidates had to be checked thoroughly, and only +those qualified could be accepted. Education as the main criterion of +selection was emphasized among target groups of workers, peasants, +specialists, women, and young people. As a result of this improved +recruitment procedure, the new members after the congress were 44.3 +percent blue-collar workers and 32 percent women. Of this group, it was +estimated that 60.4 percent had at least a secondary education. + +It was reported by the Secretariat that district (_okrug_) party +committees after the Ninth Party Congress showed improvement in +"content, style and methods of their work," and that they understood +better the political approach in guiding local economic tasks as well as +leading primary party organs in the political and organization work of +their constituencies. Furthermore, over 77 percent of full-time +secretaries of local party committees and about 90 percent of chairmen +of cooperative farms had higher or secondary education. Formal training +as well as in-service education was given serious attention. Educational +training for party members includes two-year university courses, short +courses, seminars, informal meetings, and conferences of local party +committees. + +Statistics reported in 1971 showed that 25.2 percent of about 700,000 +members of the BKP were women. Increasingly more important positions +were assigned to women in the party hierarchy. In the same period (1971) +there was a woman member of the Politburo, several women members of the +Central Committee, and two women ministers. Not only were women active +in party activities, but they could also be found in boards of +management of government enterprises. + + +Party Congresses + +Party statutes formerly stipulated that congresses would be held every +four years, but a decision was made to extend the interval to five years +after the Communist Party of the Soviet Union had made the same change. +Decisions of the congresses appear as party statutes that usually +reflect the desires of the leadership and the circumstances that +necessitated the additions, deletions, or amendments to already existing +statutes. The most important innovations embodied in BKP statutes +emerged from congresses beginning with the Sixth Party Congress, held in +1954, and continuing through the Tenth Party Congress, held in 1971. + +The Sixth Party Congress abolished the position of general secretary and +in its place created the post of first secretary, again following the +lead of the Soviet party, which had done the same thing after Stalin's +death a year earlier. Party leader Chervenkov, who was premier and a +Politburo member, kept those posts and allowed the election of Zhivkov +as first secretary. Zhivkov was then an unknown functionary who had +risen from the ranks of the Sofia party structure. Aside from the usual +exhortation for party unity and the changes in six Politburo positions +as well as an increase in Central Committee membership, the Sixth Party +Congress was uneventful. Zhivkov's rise to power did not take place +immediately, and a period of intraparty struggle ensued as he gradually +consolidated his authority as first secretary. + +The Seventh Party Congress, held in June 1958, proved even more +uneventful. It passed the Third Five-Year Plan for the development of +the economy, the fulfillment of which was drastically reduced to three +years even before the ink was dry on the document. With Central +Committee approval, new plans for economic targets were prepared; +meanwhile, Zhivkov prepared an elaborate propaganda campaign to push +this program through. Zhivkov's Theses, as the collection of +instructions have come to be known, advocated increased cultivation and +production in agriculture and industry to obtain yields that were double +those of previous plans. An unprecedented flurry of activity followed on +the heels of extensive media coverage. Aided by the press, the Agitation +and Propaganda Department under the Central Committee's direct +supervision launched a vast campaign that surpassed even those efforts +in neighboring countries. + +This period is characteristically known as Bulgaria's Great Leap +Forward, patterned after the Chinese experience, and historians put +forth political and economic motives for such an economic experiment. +Politically, after Nikita Khrushchev started his de-Stalinization policy +in the Soviet Union, the Bulgarian repercussion was evident in +Chervenkov's disenchantment with the Soviet trauma and his looking +favorably instead toward the Chinese example. The Great Leap Forward was +neither a spectacular success nor a dismal failure and achieved no more +than the expected progress in three year's time. The ensuing period +marked a return to earlier patterns and heralded the end of Chervenkov's +political career and the concurrent elevation of Zhivkov. The election +of Zhivkov's friends--Stanko Todorov and Mitko Grigorov--to full +membership in the Politburo gave him added support. Khrushchev's visit +as the head of a large Soviet government delegation did not hurt Zhivkov +but rather gave convincing proof of Khrushchev's support of the +Bulgarian first secretary. Anton Yugov was premier at this time, but it +was not long before he too was purged, the final blow coming only hours +before the start of the Eighth Party Congress. + +The Eighth Party Congress in 1962 marked the end of the open opposition +to Zhivkov's leadership. With Chervenkov and Yugov out, Zhivkov was in +full control. A month earlier, in October 1962, a special plenum of the +Central Committee announced Zhivkov's assumption of government power as +premier while retaining the first secretaryship of the party. In the +economic sector, the Twenty-Year Plan of Economic Development--patterned +on that of the Soviet Union--had been passed. It featured more realistic +goals in contradistinction to its predecessor. As usual, heavy +industrial priorities ranked high in the development plan. + +In November 1966 the Ninth Party Congress was held in Sofia. During the +deliberations changes were made within the Politburo whereby Zhivkov's +former protégé, Grigorov, was dropped from membership without an +explanation and Todor Pavlov, a theoretician of Marxism, and Tsola +Dragoycheva, head of the National Council of the Fatherland Front, were +added as full members. Boyan Bulgaranov and Ivan Mihailov, both older +party members, were retained--a move that indicated the influence of +older functionaries over young potential leaders. Economically, the +congress supported principles of new management, tying political +progress with economic advancement. + +Collectively the aforementioned congresses accomplished little. On the +contrary the 1971 congress introduced considerable changes in the +sociopolitical and socioeconomic patterns of growth--among them the +drafting and adoption of a new constitution (see ch. 8). + + +Tenth Party Congress + +Whatever political changes are visible in Bulgaria are the result of the +Tenth Party Congress held in Sofia from April 20 to April 24, 1971. It +was attended by 1,553 delegates representing roughly 700,000 party +members, a ratio of about one delegate for every 450 members. +Additionally, foreign representatives from eighty-nine countries were on +hand. Leading the Soviet delegation were Brezhnev, general secretary of +the Soviet party, and four other high-ranking officials. + +As is customary, Zhivkov opened the congress with his usual +state-of-the-nation address, extolling Bulgarian-Soviet ties and +stressing friendship between the two countries. Included in the agenda +were the adoption of a new five-year economic plan; discussion and +adoption of the new party program; discussion and approval of the new +constitution; the election of party members to the Central Committee, +Politburo, and Secretariat; and a change in party statutes calling for a +congress every five years instead of four. + +The central theme of the party congress revolved around the concern or +"care for man." To this end resolutions were passed during the +deliberations purportedly giving "everything for the sake of man; +everything for the good of man." A separate report on the subject also +emphasized the need for improving the economic plight of the people. By +the time the resolutions and directives were being implemented, however, +noticeable variations in interpretation and emphasis had taken place. +For example, the draft directives for the Sixth Five-Year Plan showed +projection of industrial production that went up by 60 percent, whereas +production of consumer goods was projected to increase by only 50 +percent. + +Special attention was given to the areas of education and culture by the +Tenth Party Congress. Zhivkov underscored the need to close the +educational gap between workers and peasants, who often had no more than +an elementary education, and the intelligentsia and white-collar +professionals, who had attained the secondary level and more often had +gone on to higher education. + +Far more significant changes in party statutes took place in the area of +governmental operations. With the adoption of a new constitution, +modified structural arrangements were worked out, the most important of +which was the creation of the powerful State Council of the National +Assembly; the council's functions are not entirely dissimilar to, but +greater than, the presidium that it replaced (see ch. 8). + +The composition of the new Politburo and Secretariat remained +essentially the same. The congress seemed anxious to demonstrate unity +by stressing continuity of tenure for its senior members. All of the +eleven Politburo full members elected in 1966 were reelected in 1971; +four were over age seventy, and the youngest was fifty years old. All +Politburo members except one had been with the party since before +September 9, 1944. Some Western observers wondered whether the retention +of the entire old guard signified stability or exemplified stagnation. +At a time when observers were expecting an infusion of new blood into +the hierarchy, the leaders chose the status quo. Zhivkov, in his closing +speech, seemingly aware that the political conservatism of the old +ruling elite left something to be desired, maintained that "the +communist is ... an official up to a certain age; but he never ceases to +educate, to inspire, to unite, and to organize the masses." In effect he +apologized for retaining the same old membership in the hierarchy. + + +THE BULGARIAN AGRARIAN UNION + +The egalitarian character of Bulgaria's society derives from its +basically agricultural economy. Its peasant organization--the Bulgarian +Agrarian Union (Bulgarski Zemedelski Suyuz--BZS) was formed as early as +1899, making it one of the oldest agrarian organizations in Europe. +Founded to promote the well-being and educational advancement of its +members, it developed into a political party and a powerful machine that +in the 1920s became the governing party under Alexander Stambolisky. +After Stambolisky's government was overthrown in 1923, it did not rise +to power again. The party split in 1931, and in 1942 the radical half of +the party, known as the Pladne (the name of their newspaper) faction, +joined the BKP in the Fatherland Front coalition. + +The BZS in the early 1970s was a secondary political party subservient +to, and controlled by, the BKP. Its membership was reported to be +120,000, of which 80,000 were cooperative farmers and approximately +15,000 were active militants in government jobs. It has a more +simplified party hierarchy, being governed by an executive council +elected by delegates of its congress, which meets every four years. The +Executive Council--corresponding to the BKP Central Committee--is +composed of ninety-nine members and forty-seven alternate members. From +among them are elected members of the Standing Committee, comparable to +the Politburo of the BKP, which directs the entire activity of the BZS. +The Standing Committee derives its authority from the Executive Council +and reports to it. + +Assisting the Executive Council is the Auditing Commission, which +oversees the financial accounts of the BZS. Another leading central +organ of long historical tradition is the Supreme Council. It is not as +large as the congress, but it is important enough to make policy +decisions affecting the great mass of agrarian rank and file. It +consists of all members and alternates of the Executive Council, members +of various commissions, and all the chairmen of district committees. + +There are twenty-eight district committees; 1,027 village committees; +and 3,848 local branches of the BZS below the national level. +Jurisdictionally, they all follow an orderly system of organization +whereby lower organs fall under the supervision and control of higher +organs, and all fall under the final jurisdiction of the BKP agencies +above them. + +The preamble of the 1971 Constitution recognizes the existence of the +BZS as united in "purpose and action" with the BKP in the establishment +and development of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. In keeping with +this pledge, the BZS leadership and prominent members are elected to, +and in some cases appointed to, important bodies of state administration +through all levels of the government. There was an increase in the +number of BZS members elected to public office in the general elections +that followed the BKP congress in 1971. It appeared that the Communists +had decided during their congress to broaden the base of representation +by including more BZS members in the government as well as more members +from various mass organizations and the Turkish minority. Regardless of +affiliation, all candidates for office are carefully screened by the +BKP, and after election all officials are under the control of the BKP. + +Of the national officials in January 1973, Georgi Traykov, leader of the +BZS, was one of two first deputy chairmen of the Fatherland Front. +Earlier, he had been released as chairman of the National Assembly, +which approved his nomination to the State Council, a move that was +politically expedient in the view of Zhivkov to establish a "closer +relationship ... between the State Council and the National Council of +the Fatherland Front." + +During the Thirty-Second Congress of the BZS, held in Sofia in October +1971, the presence of high-ranking BKP Politburo members as well as +foreign delegates was very much evident. Boris Velchev, Politburo member +and secretary of the Central Committee, delivered a speech praising the +work of the BZS in its partnership with BKP in all aspects of Bulgaria's +socialist development. Domestically, BZS was lauded for its efforts in +the technological progress in agriculture resulting in the production of +large quantities of cheap produce. BZS members were also praised as good +machine operators in factories and as "innovators and frontrankers in +field brigades and livestock farms." + +Internationally, the BZS maintains contacts with dozens of agrarian and +related organizations in various countries. As diplomats, national +officials among the BZS leaders had demonstrated exceptional ability in +foreign relations, especially where the regular high-ranking BKP +representatives had been found less acceptable. + + +MASS ORGANIZATIONS + +Mass organizations are auxiliaries of the BKP through which the party +hierarchy exerts control over the bulk of the population. Established to +serve the immediate interests of a particular class of workers or +professionals, mass organizations work as transmission belts for the +administration of party policies and the achievement of party goals. +Most, if not all, of their chairmen are trusted and loyal BKP members. + +The right to form organizations for any purpose not contrary to public +law and national security is guaranteed in the constitution. These +organizations may be political, professional, cultural, artistic, +scientific, religious, or athletic. Furthermore, unions and other +associations may be formed within public organizations and cooperatives. +In all cases the guidelines set by the BKP for the development of a +socialist state impose limitations on the operations of mass +organizations. Recognition of the BKP as the leading political party and +the subservience of all other organizations is clearly understood. The +most important mass organizations are the Fatherland Front, the Central +Council of Trade Unions, and the Komsomol and its affiliate Pioneer +organization. + + +Fatherland Front + +The Fatherland Front grew out of the internal dissension between the +government and various political parties, in particular, the pro-Soviet +elements who objected to the alliance with Nazi Germany. In March 1942 +the government launched repressive measures in an attempt to immobilize +communist activities. Working with a group of exiled Bulgarian leaders +in Moscow, Georgi Dimitrov, former secretary-general of the Communist +International (Comintern), urged action against the country's rulers, +"who have sold themselves to Hitler." As conceived by Dimitrov, the +program of the Fatherland Front aimed not only to bring down the +"Hitlerite" regime and consequently establish a "true Bulgarian national +regime" but also to declare Bulgaria neutral and dissolve its alliance +with Germany. + +Established in 1942, the Fatherland Front operated underground under +communist leadership but also included other political parties. +Cooperation among these political parties, however, did not take place +without problems, mainly because each one espoused its own particular +interests and viewed the BKP with suspicion. Leaders of each party +worked as members of the National Committee (later known as the National +Council) of the Fatherland Front. It was from within the Fatherland +Front movement that the coup d'etat of September 1944 took place, the +result of which was a coalition government. + +When the Communists took full control of the government and dissolved +the coalition, they retained the Fatherland Front as an umbrella +organization. The BKP, of course, is the leading force within the front, +which also includes the Bulgarian Agrarian Union and several other +organizations. In effect the Fatherland Front is an instrument of the +party through which most of the country's organized activities are +controlled and supervised. Some of the tasks relegated to the front +include the nomination and discussion of candidates for election to +central and local bodies of state authority; the right to supervise the +activities of enterprises, institutions, and organizations operating +public utilities and services; and the right to supervise activities of +workers and professionals to ensure conformance to party line and +policy. + +In 1973 the Fatherland Front continued to be a large mass organization +working fully for and with the BKP. Available statistics showed a +membership of 3.86 million in July 1970, of which 3.1 million were +nonparty members. It included both individual members and collective +groups--mainly trade unions and youth organizations. + + +Central Council of Trade Unions + +Trade unions are workers' and professionals' organizations--the +function, role, and responsibility of which echo the economic directives +and decrees of the BKP. With the abolition of capitalist ownership +declared by the Fifth Party Congress in December 1948, the structure and +activities of trade unions changed to conform to the party's management +of the economy as the vanguard of the state in its socialist +development. Since then the Bulgarian trade unions have been reliable +mainstays and faithful transmission belts of BKP policies among the +working masses. Thirteen individual trade unions unite to form the +Central Council of Trade Unions, which accepts the leading role of the +BKP in all Bulgarian affairs. In 1973 total membership in the central +council was about 2.6 million. + +Following the principle of democratic centralism, all trade union +officials are elected from bottom to top but, following the pattern set +by the BKP, all candidates for union offices are carefully screened and +selected by officials at higher levels. Each trade union local is the +basic organization unit at a factory or business enterprise, and there +is an ascending hierarchical structure based on territorial +organization. At the district level there is a district trade union that +reports to the central organization. Theoretically, the trade unions are +independent and nonparty, but they are organized hierarchically, and +their activities are closely monitored and controlled by the BKP. In +effect, the trade unions look after the interests of the state rather +than the interests of the workers. To ensure party control there is an +interlocking of positions in the highest realms of the unions, the +government, and the party. For example, the chairman of the Central +Council of Trade Unions in 1973 was also a member of the State Council +of the National Assembly as well as being a candidate member of the +Politburo. At lower levels many district and local trade union +executives are also members of the district and communal people's +councils. Under this arrangement the unions take a direct part in the +management of state affairs--such as labor and labor legislation, +recreational activities, workers' sports, and so forth. + + +Dimitrov Communist Youth Union + +Young prospective members of the BKP come from the Dimitrov Communist +Youth Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz), also referred +to as the Komsomol. Established as the youth's counterpart of the BKP, +it is organized much as the parent structure, having a secretariat of +nine members headed by a first secretary and a bureau of seventeen +members and five candidate members that is comparable to the party +Politburo. The Komsomol is under the leadership of party committees and +is supported by the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of +National Education, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Bulgarian Red +Cross, and the Civil Defense Staff in interlocking roles of authority +and supervision. Founded as a sociopolitical organization to train the +youth in the ideological principles and goals of the BKP, the Komsomol +also serves as a source of manpower reserve in government and as an +instrument for the application of party policies and directives. In the +early 1970s membership was about 1 million (see ch. 2; ch. 15). + +Despite all the attention given to youth affairs, alienation of young +people manifests itself in many different ways. There were no tangible +signs of protest such as outward demonstrations, mass rallies, or +disruptions during congresses, plenums, annual meetings, or regional +conferences to show this alienation. But the negative attitude and +sagging interest in political indoctrination and economic activities +increasingly worries party leaders. The ideological and political gap +between generations prompted the administration to prepare and publish +Zhivkov's "Youth Theses" in December 1967. This work is basically an +inspirational treatise to counter what Zhivkov averred was national +nihilism among the youth, characterized by apathy, absence of +discipline, improper family upbringing, misdirected school discipline, +and ill-prepared Komsomol programs, among other things. The theses also +deplored the "degenerate influences" of capitalist society that were +evident in conspicuous material consumption in food and beverages, +dress, music and dance, and social mobility brought about by bourgeois +affluence. + +In an effort to bring the youth back into line, the theses emphasized +patriotic political education within a Marxist-Leninist frame of +reference, defined the duties and privileges of the young people, and +finally directed the reorganization of the Komsomol under closer party +supervision. The initial reaction to the theses was one of increasing +passivity. + +In another effort to court the Komsomol-age group, political speeches +openly lauding the youth union as the instrument for the realization of +the technological and scientific as well as the military technical +training of young people and their patriotic education have been +resorted to. Further, in extolling the work and importance of the youth +union to the all-round development of Bulgarian socialist society, +Zhivkov also enjoined the youth to implement the Sixth Five-Year Plan of +the BKP. + +The organization for Bulgarian children still too young for the Komsomol +is the Pioneers, also known as Young Septembrists to commemorate two +September events in Bulgarian political history--the abortive communist +coup d'etat in 1923 and the successful overthrow of the monarchy in +1944. The Pioneer organization is composed of children of elementary +school age. It is structured like the Komsomol and operates as its +junior division. A special division within the Komsomol National Central +Committee oversees the affairs and work of the Pioneers. Lower +committees at the district and municipality levels are directed by the +soviets for working with students, which are charged with youth work in +their respective territorial jurisdictions. Each district has a Pioneer +battalion that is divided into companies corresponding to school classes +and further subdivided into classroom rows, the lowest unit of Pioneer +organization. The chain of command flows from the central committee and +reaches down to the youngest member of the organization living in the +remotest part of the country. The content of academic curriculum and +party training is generally in accord with the ability levels of the +children. + + +Committee of Bulgarian Women + +There is no mass organization, as such, for Bulgarian women. The +Committee of Bulgarian Women, with a membership of 171 in 1973, is a +group dedicated to looking after the affairs of women in the country, +whether they be workers or housewives. The Constitution of 1971 +guarantees to Bulgarian women the enjoyment of equal rights with men. In +the complex structure of the BKP-controlled government, recognition of +women as a significant working force in the socialist movement is given +great attention. An earlier provision contained in the 1947 +Constitution, known as the Dimitrov Constitution, similarly guarantees +the "right to work, equal pay for equal work," and the attendant +benefits, such as paid leave, social security, retirement pension, and +education. + +Bulgarian women have become active participants in the political process +under communist rule. As noted earlier, 25.2 percent of BKP members in +1971 were women, and there was one woman in the Politburo. There were +7,000 women members of the BZS and almost half of the Komsomol members +were women (500,000); the same is true for the Fatherland Front, and +women made up 41.2 percent of the trade unions. In the unions of +writers, composers, artists, and actors women are also active. Most +teachers are women. They represented 67.7 percent of the Teachers Union. + +The women's movement was active on a nationwide scale. On the initiative +of the Committee of Bulgarian Women, a plan for the development of +science and technical progress including the study of the social role of +women was presented to the presidium of the Bulgarian Academy of +Sciences. Another suggestion by the same women's group called for the +study of conditions defining women's role as "mothers, production +workers and public activists." + +In the report to the plenary session of the party Central Committee in +July 1968, Zhivkov outlined the functions of the Committee of Bulgarian +Women. These included the coordination of state and administrative +organs in research institutes that studied the role of women in society. +Henceforth, according to Zhivkov, the Central Committee of the BKP would +receive reports on such research and would be directly concerned with +matters concerning Bulgarian women. + + +Ideological Training + +How mass organizations relate to BKP party directives, orders, and +decrees is best illustrated in the area of political education and +indoctrination. The National Conference on Party Propaganda was held in +April 1970 and sponsored by the Agitation and Propaganda Department of +the Central Committee and by the district party committees. During the +conference one of the district secretaries detailed some aspects of a +three-stage system that is being applied. + +The three-stage structure corresponds to the educational level as well +as to the political training and age of students. Schools in the higher +level of various district party committees and branches of the mass +organizations train administrative personnel, intellectuals, and party +activists. Training on this level includes theoretical seminars and +study groups. For intermediate personnel, including employees with a +secondary education, there are schools and institutes giving lectures +and talks on Leninism. A more elementary form of mass propaganda is +given to people with less training in theoretical political ideology; +people of advanced age fall also into this category. Political education +for this group consists of lectures in beginners' schools. Compulsory +subjects in primary party organizations are also discussed during +education sessions at party meetings. Except for Sofia, which has a high +rate of literacy, most districts employ this three-stage system of +political education. It is estimated that 60 percent of Communists in +Sofia have at least a high school education; many have college degrees +in contrast to some outlying districts where a large percentage of the +Communists have only an elementary education. + +The three-stage system is also used for training newly inducted +Communists as well as youth groups. It was reported during the +conference that approximately 900 of the best party propagandists have +been sent to Komsomol organizations to train youth in the party school +system. Within the Komsomol there is evident need for considerable +changes in the training of youth in the system of political education, +designed to bring the youth closer to the practice of the principles of +Marxism-Leninism. + + + + +CHAPTER 10 + +FOREIGN RELATIONS + + +Throughout the communist era in Bulgaria, that is, since World War II, +the foreign policy of the country has mirrored that of the Soviet Union. +In addition to the close relationship resulting from bilateral +agreements between the two countries, Bulgaria was also a charter member +of both the Soviet-dominated Council for Mutual Economic Assistance +(COMECON--see Glossary) and the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact) +military alliance. Bulgaria's loyalty to the Soviet Union throughout the +period is always a starting point in political writings on Eastern +European affairs. + +The successive leaders of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see +Glossary) have consistently maintained that their country's fortunes +would rise with those of the Soviet Union. To the Bulgarian Communists, +such loyalty was not only natural from an ideological point of view but +was also the pragmatic course, given the factors of world power politics +in the postwar era. Todor Zhivkov, the BKP leader since 1954, and still +in office in 1973, continued to adhere to a policy of close alignment +with the Soviet Union and used the relationship as the foundation of his +regime. The nature of the relationship has developed along two parallel +lines: the BKP has maintained close ties with the Communist Party of the +Soviet Union at the same time that government-to-government affairs have +become increasingly intertwined. + +As is true with other countries in which the communist party has become +the dominant political force, in Bulgaria the formulation of foreign +policy takes place at the highest party level--the Politburo. After the +party has announced the basic policy, the administration of foreign +affairs is handled by government ministries. The government has +repeatedly dedicated itself to the goals of the world communist movement +and, particularly, to the goal of solidarity among socialist states, +always acknowledging Soviet leadership. In the Sino-Soviet rift that +developed during the 1960s, Bulgaria continually expressed its +allegiance to Moscow and decried the divisiveness that resulted from +polycentric attitudes and actions. + +In mid-1973 Bulgaria maintained diplomatic relations with eighty-two +governments, thirty-six of which had embassies in Sofia. The remaining +governments carried on diplomatic relations through their +representatives in nearby capitals. Bulgaria maintained fifty-four +embassies in foreign countries and, as a member of the United Nations +(UN), maintained an ambassador and a staff in New York. Bulgaria also +participated in the activities of many of the UN special agencies. + + +DETERMINANTS OF FOREIGN POLICY + +Historical Factors + +Bulgaria emerged from World War II under the control of a coalition +government dominated by the BKP, which by 1947 had arrogated unto itself +complete power in the country. In the immediate postwar years policy and +direction concerning how the BKP should run the country was dictated +from Moscow, as was the case throughout most of the countries of Eastern +Europe. Between 1944 and 1948 eight countries had been taken over by +communist parties and had aligned themselves with the Soviet Union, +which exerted varying degrees of influence in the internal and +international affairs of all of them. Over the next twenty years +Yugoslavia and Albania broke out of the Soviet orbit completely; the +German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Poland, Hungary, and +Czechoslovakia experienced uprisings or civil disorders--in most cases +suppressed by Soviet force--and Romania asserted its right to national +self-determination on numerous occasions. Bulgaria alone remained +unwavering in its absolute allegiance to the Soviet Union. + +Bulgaria chose not to follow the examples of other Eastern European +countries in seeking some degree of autonomy during the 1950s and 1960s +for many reasons. Not least among these were the historic traditions of +friendship between Bulgarians and Russians dating back to the +Russo-Turkish war that freed Bulgaria from Turkish rule in 1878. +Bulgarians are also close to the Russians in language, religion, and +cultural traditions. Additionally, having assumed power, the Bulgarian +Communists quite naturally looked toward Moscow--then the center of +world communism--for guidance and support. Many of the early postwar +leaders had spent several years as residents of the Soviet Union, where +they had been closely associated with the country's party. + +Another reason for the close ties to the Soviet Union was pure +pragmatism on the part of the Bulgarian communist leaders. They were, in +effect, a minority leadership group faced with the task of imposing an +alien ideology on a reluctant majority at the same time that they were +trying to reorient the country's economy from an agricultural base to an +industrial base. The Bulgarian leaders needed the support of the Soviet +Union. + +Beset by intraparty strife and lack of success in running the country +after the death of Georgi Dimitrov--the leading Bulgarian communist hero +and strong man of the early postwar years--the party leadership again +clung to Soviet support and totalitarian rigidity to perpetuate itself +in power. Even after the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and the +later de-Stalinization program under Nikita Khrushchev, Bulgaria's +leaders retained Stalinism as a modus operandi until the early 1960s. + +After Zhivkov became first secretary of the party in 1954, there was a +long power struggle, for a third time, and it was not until the early +1960s that Zhivkov managed to eliminate his major antagonists from the +party hierarchy and stabilize his regime. During all of those years and +on through the 1960s and into the 1970s, Zhivkov continued the policy of +absolute loyalty to the Soviet Union and to its leadership. +Consequently, Bulgarian foreign policy has been a mirror image of Soviet +policy. + + +Principles of Foreign Policy + +Bulgaria's constitution, in describing how the state serves the people +in foreign affairs, mentions "developing and cementing friendship, +cooperation, and mutual assistance with the Union of Soviet Socialist +Republics and the other socialist countries" and "pursuing a policy of +peace and understanding with all countries and peoples." Official +spokesmen proclaim that the country's international relations are +founded on the necessity for protecting national sovereignty and on the +creation of an overall attitude that would further the cause of all +nations in their development as modern states. + +A quotation from the party program developed for the Tenth Party +Congress in 1971 indicates that, as far as Bulgaria's leaders are +concerned, the Soviet Union leads and Bulgaria follows. "For the +Bulgarian Communist Party and the Bulgarian people, Bulgarian-Soviet +friendship is like the sun and the air for every living creature, it is +a friendship of centuries and for centuries, one of the main driving +forces of our development, a condition and guarantee for the future +progress of our socialist fatherland and its tomorrow." + + +CONDUCT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS + +The Constitution of 1971 assigns the conduct of foreign relations to the +National Assembly, the State Council, and the Council of Ministers. +Formulation of foreign policy, however, remains a prerogative of the +BKP. The constitution states that the National Assembly implements +foreign policy but, because the assembly meets only three times each +year in short sessions, the implementation function is passed on to the +State Council during the long interim periods between assembly meetings. +Primary responsibilities of the State Council in foreign affairs (as +opposed to those limited to the periods between National Assembly +meetings) include representation of the country in its international +relations; the appointment, recall, or release from duty of diplomats +and consular officials; the ratification or denunciation of +international agreements; and the establishment of diplomatic and +consular ranks. + +Although the ministries of foreign affairs and foreign trade are the +governmental operating agencies in the field of international +relations, in theory and in fact the State Council is the supervisory +body. The State Council exercises control over the activities of the +Council of Ministers and the ministries as stipulated in the +constitution. In essence, the State Council is the most powerful +government organ, not only in foreign affairs but in all governmental +activities. The interlocking of positions between the highest levels of +the party and the highest levels of the government assures that the BKP +program will be implemented. + +According to the constitution, the Council of Ministers "organizes the +implementation of the home and foreign policy of the state." The council +is also charged with the concluding of international agreements and the +approval or denunciation of international agreements that are not +subject to ratification. In performing its constitutional duties in +foreign affairs, the Council of Ministers acts through the Ministry of +Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade. + +The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the administrative arm of the +government in the execution of foreign policy directives, decrees, and +decisions of the BKP and in representing the country abroad in +embassies, legations, and consular offices. The ministry, in the +prosecution of its duties and functions, employs a minister, two first +deputy ministers, four deputy ministers, and a secretary general, who +are assisted by the heads of eight geographic departments. In 1973 these +departments were designated to handle affairs with the Soviet Union, +other socialist states, the Balkans, Western Europe, Asia, the Arab-bloc +countries, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Americas. + +The functional departments include: administrative, consular, political, +research and planning, cultural, documentation and archives, economic, +finance and accounting, international organization, inspectors, +personnel, press and cultural affairs, protocol, and legal. A committee +for church affairs and a diplomatic service bureau, although not +classified as regular departments, function as such. Also included is +the position of disarmament negotiator. + +The Ministry of Foreign Trade functions under the direction and +supervision of a minister, a first deputy minister, and six deputy +ministers, who are almost always high-ranking members of the BKP. The +ministry itself is organized into thirteen geographic offices and seven +departments. The different geographic offices handle trade agreements +with the Soviet Union, other socialist countries, developed capitalist +countries, Asia and Latin America, and the Arab and African countries. +Other offices include foreign exchange planning and accounting, +coordination, leadership and control of foreign trade organizations, +currency and finance, economic planning, market conditions, planning, +and personnel. There are departments for statistics, secretariat and +protocol, legal and departmental arbitration, accounting and auditing, +administration, labor and wages, and control inspectorate. +Additionally, there are offices and sections not falling under any +specific category but existing independently. They are: an office for a +trade fair director general, trade representatives, a foreign trade +research institute, and a state inspection on the quality of goods for +export. + + +INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS + +Relations with Communist Countries + +Bulgaria's foreign policy and foreign trade are circumscribed to a great +extent within the alliances formed by the Soviet Union and the communist +countries of Eastern Europe. In the early 1970s this tightly knit, +although polycentric, group continued to expect and did receive +Bulgaria's participation in preserving the status quo in Eastern Europe. +As is the case with other Eastern European countries, Bulgaria wants +Western technology and also would like to attract more Western tourists +to increase its hard currency intake. Bulgaria's motive for attracting +the West is economic rather than ideological. It is accepted within the +socialist alliances that the principle of proletarian internationalism +does not preclude diversity of trading partners of the individual member +countries. + + +Soviet Union + +Bulgarian relations with the Soviet Union have been described as +subservient, and Zhivkov once acknowledged that he was "known for being +bound to the Soviet Union in life and death." In 1948 Bulgaria entered +into the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Aid with the +Soviet Union, which was renewed for another twenty years on May 12, +1967, and over the years the close alignment between the two countries +has taken on greater importance. Ideologically, it is well known that +Bulgaria is a loyal partner within the Soviet-dominated socialist group. +Its leaders have been schooled in Marxism-Leninism and usually look to +the Soviet Union for leadership. + +Economically, Bulgaria still looks to the Soviet Union for foreign aid +and preferential trade treatment. The rapid pace with which Bulgaria has +moved toward industrialization is primarily owing to Soviet assistance. +Raw materials critical to Bulgaria's economy are supplied by the Soviet +Union and, with Soviet aid, the country has been able to construct many +large industrial enterprises. Estimates in 1967 put the number of Soviet +specialists in Bulgaria at 5,000, and the number has probably increased. +The renewal of a five-year agreement for 1971 through 1975 would serve +to increase further the Soviet share of trade in Bulgaria. + + +Relations with Other Communist States + +Bulgaria's relations with Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, +and Romania are largely governed by a series of bilateral and +multilateral treaties of friendship and cultural cooperation and by +military and economic alliances. The alliances are the Warsaw Pact and +COMECON. Relations with the other two communist states of Eastern +Europe, Albania and Yugoslavia, have usually followed Soviet initiatives +toward those countries. + +Quite naturally, Bulgaria's major concerns in foreign affairs have dealt +with relations among the states of the Balkan Peninsula and particularly +with adjacent states. Romania, its northern neighbor, is a member of +COMECON and the Warsaw Pact but has often appeared to be a reluctant +member and since the early 1960s has stressed nationalism rather than +Marxist internationalism, causing Bulgaria, with its strong Soviet +orientation, to tread lightly in bilateral relations for fear of +offending the Soviets. Nevertheless, the Bulgarians and Romanians have +drawn closer together, probably because both countries see benefits that +might accrue from Balkan cooperation and believe that such cooperation +should in no way disturb the Soviet Union. In the early 1970s relations +appeared to be particularly good: there were frequent meetings between +leaders and government ministers, and a plan to cooperate in the +building of a huge hydroelectric project on the Danube River between the +two countries was announced. + +Relations with Yugoslavia have more often than not been troubled to the +point of enmity. The problems existing between these two countries have +deep historical roots that hinge primarily on the Bulgarian contention +that Macedonia (since 1946 a federated republic of Yugoslavia) should be +Bulgarian rather than Yugoslavian. After World War II, when both +countries became communist, the Macedonian question was purposely +deemphasized but, when the Soviet-Yugoslav split occurred in 1948, +ideological differences paved the way for a renewal of the polemics on +the Bulgarian irredentist claims. In the early 1970s the polemics were +reduced to a minor level, and constructive talks leading to a +rapprochement began to occur. The changed atmosphere was attributed to +the state of relations between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia but, for +whatever reason, the climate of relations between Bulgaria and its +western neighbor was considerably improved, and Bulgarian irredentism +was submerged. + + +Relations with Noncommunist States + +The European Conference for Security and Cooperation held in Helsinki in +the spring of 1973 discussed the possibility of a freer exchange of +people and ideas as well as a freer flow of information between Western +European and Eastern European societies. The intensity of ideological +polemics had diminished with increasing contacts between East and West, +and the gap between the two social systems seemed narrower, especially +in regard to economic planning and development. Bulgaria, however, +publicly expressed doubts about importing anti-communist theories that +might accompany the freer exchanges of people, ideas, and information. + +In a plenum of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party +in July 1973, the party leaders touched on issues of international +relations. The leaders pledged to continue a new policy of building +goodwill and enhancing relations with noncommunist European states as +well as with other developed capitalist states in all aspects of +political, economic, cultural, and other relations. Bulgaria also sought +to continue cultivating and developing friendly relations with +nonaligned friendly countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. +Consistent with this policy, it pledged to render assistance to these +countries, especially where there were national liberation movements +involved in active resistance to the established regimes. + + +Greece and Turkey + +Greece is geographically contiguous to Bulgaria, and relations between +the two countries have been alternately hot and cold depending on the +political climate of the times. In 1964 both countries signed an accord +relative to war reparations, which opened up some channels of +communication, cultural exchanges, and relaxed travel restrictions. The +move toward better relations was interrupted by the 1967 coup d'etat in +Greece, but improvement began again in the early 1970s when officials of +the two governments exchanged visits. By 1972 a newly created +Bulgarian-Greek economic cooperation commission had met in Sofia. + +Difficulties between Bulgaria and Turkey have deep roots in history and +also involve the 750,000 ethnic Turks still residing in Bulgaria (see +ch. 2; ch. 4). An atmosphere of cordiality, however, had been developing +slowly as the officials of both countries cautiously negotiated to +reduce tensions between the two countries. Exchanges of high-level +visits and the signing of various economic agreements had stabilized +Bulgarian-Turkish relations by the early 1970s. The hijacking of two +Turkish planes to Sofia in 1972 disturbed the détente temporarily, but +the Bulgarian foreign minister went quickly to Turkey to make amends. In +1973 the two countries again enjoyed improved relations. + + +The United States + +The tensions that marked Bulgarian-United States foreign relations in +the 1950s eased somewhat in the 1960s. The legations of both countries +were raised to embassy status in November 1966. This action was believed +to be an offshoot of United States efforts, particularly that of +President Lyndon B. Johnson, to "build bridges" to Eastern Europe. This +resumption of diplomatic goodwill was not pursued vigorously and, at the +time, reception to the idea in Bulgaria was generally cool. A noted +communist theoretician regarded the United States overtures as a +divisive force in the fraternal world of the communist movement, +designed ultimately to bring in a capitalist system inimical to the +ideological interest of any socialist country. + +In 1973 the relations between the two countries were, however, cordial. +Observers noted an increase in trade, although it was still +quantitatively small and accounted for only between US$6 million and +US$7 million annually. Bulgaria hoped to increase this volume to US$30 +million, especially by exporting high-quality tobacco to the United +States market. + +Bulgaria has been seeking a consular agreement that would grant it +most-favored-nation tariff treatment in order to keep Bulgarian exports +on a competitive level with others in the United States market. Toward +this end, a Bulgarian trade delegation visited the United States in +mid-July 1973 to exchange views on expanded trade and economic relations +between the two countries. While in Washington the delegation met with +top officials from the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, +the Department of the Treasury, and the Export-Import Bank and with some +members of Congress. + + +West Germany + +The two world wars saw Bulgaria fighting on Germany's side. Thereafter +Bulgarian policy differed from the Soviet line only once in a case that +involved relations between Bulgaria and the Federal Republic of Germany +(West Germany). When Chancellor Ludwig Erhard sounded out several +Eastern European governments with peace notes in 1966, Bulgaria along +with Romania did not publish official replies. Later that year West +German officials met with the Bulgarian foreign minister, and it +appeared that normalization of relations was in the offing. The +negotiations did not come to fruition, however, and Bulgaria fell back +in line with the Soviet Union, which at the time was hostile to West +Germany. The mere fact that Bulgaria participated in such independent +talks appeared remarkable to some observers. + +During 1972 relations between Bulgaria and West Germany improved. Some +of the reasons attributed to this changing tack included the +ratification of treaties negotiated between West Germany, Poland, and +the Soviet Union; the opening of diplomatic channels between Poland and +West Germany; and the meetings of ambassadors of European countries in +Helsinki. Most important, however, was the signing of a basic treaty +that established and regulated relations between West and East Germany, +a condition set by Bulgaria before diplomatic relations could be resumed +with West Germany. The open advocacy of the Soviet Union for improved +relations with West Germany also encouraged Bulgaria to expedite the +resumption of diplomatic communications. + + +Other Western Countries + +The mid-1960s saw party chief Zhivkov "building bridges" himself with +other Western countries. In light of Bulgaria's interest in expansion of +trade, relations with France were improved with reciprocal visits in +1966 between Zhivkov and Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville. +Also in the same year, partly as a result of these negotiations, the +French car manufacturer, Renault, established an assembly plant in +Bulgaria. Simultaneous with this move was the establishment of a +diplomatic mission in Canada. Agreements were negotiated with Belgium +and Italy on cultural, technical, and economic matters. Australia also +had a share of Bulgaria's trade attention; both countries signed a +long-term trade agreement in 1972, and an agreement was reached to +establish diplomatic relations at the embassy level. + + +Relations with Other States + +Bulgarian interest in trade with the developing countries has increased +considerably. In 1971 and 1972 the volume of trade with third world +countries exceeded 316 million leva (for value of the lev--see Glossary) +as opposed to 113.3 million leva in 1965. The Arab countries rank first +in the amount of business conducted with Bulgaria. A considerable number +of Bulgarian experts are also engaged in the construction of industrial +enterprises in various developing countries. + + +MEMBERSHIP IN REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS + +Regional Cooperation + +Military cooperation on a regional basis was secured for Bulgaria and +its allies (the Soviet Union, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, +and Czechoslovakia) in a multilateral alliance known as the Warsaw Pact. +Albania, an original member, withdrew in 1968 (see ch. 16). Signed on +May 14, 1955, in Warsaw, Poland, the pact was and remains Eastern +Europe's answer to the challenges and security arrangements of the North +Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In one sense it seemed to provide +legal grounds for the Soviet Union to keep its troops in east-central +Europe as well as to secure the balance of military power in Europe, +especially after West Germany joined NATO. In another sense it confirmed +the Soviet Union's political and military hegemony in all of Eastern +Europe. + +The organization has two main bodies--the Political Consultative +Committee, which recommends general questions of foreign policy for +member countries, and the High Command of United Armed Forces, which +prepares military plans in time of war and decides troop deployments. +Both bodies are located in Moscow, and all its senior ranking officials +are Russians. + +Bulgaria has bilateral treaties of mutual aid with each other member of +the Warsaw Pact. A multilateral agreement binds all the members to one +another in general and to the Soviet Union in particular. Within +Bulgaria Soviet officers serve as advisers at the division level and +formerly served down to the regiment level. Others serve as instructors. + +Bulgaria was a charter member of COMECON in 1949. An economic alliance +among Eastern European countries, COMECON is the counterpart to Western +Europe's European Economic Community (commonly called the Common +Market). Other members are the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, +Poland, Romania, and East Germany. Mongolia and Cuba, non-European +countries, joined in June 1962 and July 1972, respectively. Albania +joined in 1949 but withdrew in 1961. + +Founded as an outlet for agricultural and industrial products and as a +capital-and-labor market, COMECON, like the Warsaw Pact, binds its +members to each other and all of them to the Soviet Union. Long-term +trade agreements of five years are usually renewable at the end of each +term. It is estimated that 60 to 65 percent of the total foreign trade +of each signatory is carried on with other member countries. One of the +obvious disadvantages of the organization, however, is the absence of a +common market. Trade and commerce between the member countries are +carried out on the basis of preference and within the framework of +bilateral agreements. + +Because the loose structure of COMECON does not make for effective +regional planning, member countries such as Bulgaria continue to renew +bilateral trade agreements within COMECON. The Soviet Union remains +Bulgaria's largest foreign market, accounting for more than 50 percent +of Bulgarian trade. Bulgaria also agreed to send Bulgarian workers to +the Soviet Union for heavy industrial projects. + +Participation of Bulgaria on a regional level has been confined to a few +projects. Among these are a COMECON electric power grid, which serves +the western Ukraine, especially the city of Kiev; a Romanian-Bulgarian +project to construct a power dam and navigation system for sixty miles +along the Danube River; a system of high-speed expressways to connect +the capital cities of member countries; a project to modernize steel +industries and to reduce production and delivery time; and membership in +the International Bank for Economic Cooperation, headed by a former +deputy chairman of the Soviet State Bank. + + +United Nations Membership and Participation + +Bulgaria became a member of the UN on December 14, 1955. Its delegates +are active in committee work of the UN organs and subsidiary bodies as +well as in deliberations on the floor of the General Assembly. One of +its most important committee assignments is to the so-called First +Committee, which was established as one of the original six committees +under the General Assembly's rules of procedure in 1946. It deals with +political and security matters and was headed by Milko Tarabanov, one of +five Bulgarian delegates to the UN in the session held from September +through December 1972. + +Available records of General Assembly activities in 1970 showed active +participation of Bulgaria's delegates in committee work touching on such +matters as the review of administrative tribunal judgments; the question +of defining aggression; the peaceful uses of outer space; the peaceful +uses of the seabed under international waters; and the implementation of +the declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries +and peoples. Bulgaria was particularly interested in the Caribbean +territories. + +As a member of the Committee on Disarmament, Bulgaria, along with +twenty-four other participating states, met in Geneva in 1970. The +committee met to consider the question of cessation of the nuclear arms +race and associated matters, such as the prohibition of emplacing +nuclear arms or other destructive weapons on the seabed. A refinement of +the comprehensive test ban treaty of 1963 extended the prohibition on +arms control to underground testing. Bulgaria, along with other Eastern +European countries, also supported draft proposals of the committee not +to undertake the "development, production, and stockpiling of chemical +and bacteriological weapons" and the consequent "destruction of such +weapons" as well as the prohibition of "biological methods of warfare." +Bulgaria, as a member of the General Assembly's First Committee, also +cosponsored a resolution to secure guarantees that the seabed would be +used only for peaceful means. + +In regard to the question of nuclear and thermonuclear testing, Bulgaria +sought the early passage of an agreement to prohibit all nuclear weapons +testing while the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were going on +between the United States and the Soviet Union. Bulgaria also +participated actively in the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer +Space. As a member of a subcommittee's working group, proposals and +working papers were submitted on the question of liability for damage +caused by objects that were launched into outer space. For its part, +Bulgaria sought to clarify the "question of applicable law" and the +"settlement of disputes." + +The country was also represented in bodies dealing with economic +questions; questions of development; and social questions involving +housing, building, and planning as well as the promotion of children's +welfare. Additionally, the United Nations Conference on Trade and +Development had Bulgarian delegates in five of its working groups, +dealing with trade and development, commodities, domestic shipping, +international shipping legislation, and the transfer of technology. +Bulgaria is also a member of the Economic Commission for Europe. + + + + +CHAPTER 11 + +MASS COMMUNICATIONS + + +Since the Communists took over the government in 1944, the mass +communications systems have been perceived as instruments of propaganda +and vehicles for party control. Because of this perception of the +significance of the media, the new government immediately claimed all +mass media as state property. + +There is little if any tolerance of the free expression of ideas +throughout the entire mass communications system. Because Bulgaria is +more closely tied to the Soviet Union than most of the other Eastern +European countries, the dictates of Moscow are virtually followed to the +letter in the media. Themes that are initiated in Moscow are reiterated +almost verbatim in Sofia. The major theme of the mass media is respect +for and emulation of the Soviet Union, although recently some social +themes--such as the problems of youth and alcoholism--have been +incorporated as well. + +The only sources of information and entertainment permitted to the +people are the domestically controlled mass media. Most Bulgarians +distrust information available to them from these sources but, having no +alternative, continue to use them. + +Historically, of all the mass communications systems, the press has +always reached the largest number of people and has traditionally been +viewed by the government as the most effective means of informing the +general public. Although the circulation of the press dropped +drastically in the mid-1940s, it has since the 1960s once again become +the chief instrument of the mass communications system. Radio has +greatly expanded in variety and scope since the 1940s. Television, +although slow to develop and still limited in its audience relative to +other European countries, has been growing rapidly since the early 1960s +and was beginning to experiment with color in the early 1970s. + +There has been little change in the Bulgarian publishing industry since +1944. Owing to the government's fear of contamination by the West or +other capitalist societies, there is very little importation of foreign +books into the country. Although books have increased greatly in terms +of sheer numbers of editions, the quantity of book titles has remained +very much the same since World War II. + +Libraries range from those under the control of state ministries and +committees to local reading rooms and enterprise libraries. The latter +are generally more widely used by the people. + +Since the end of World War II the film industry has grown to a great +extent. Like other instruments of the media, films are chosen for their +propagandistic value; however, since the advent of television, fewer +people have attended films. + + +BACKGROUND + +The press--composed of newspapers and periodicals--was the most +developed of the Bulgarian media in the first half of the twentieth +century. Radio, which was introduced in the 1920s, was under the aegis +of what was then the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone. The +production, importation, and sale of radios were unrestricted. The least +developed communications system of the day was the film industry, which +was privately owned and operated. Television was not initiated in the +country until the mid-1950s. + +In the years immediately after the takeover, a strong pro-Soviet policy +was established for the media, which was still in effect in 1973. While +the new government restricted individual freedom and initiative within +the media, it demanded total support by the media of all policies of the +Soviet Union. Despite the fact that Bulgaria has never deviated from the +policy of complete commitment to the Soviet Union, after the invasion of +Czechoslovakia various media conferences were held in which calls for +stricter adherence to the Soviet line were sounded. + + +OBJECTIVES OF MASS COMMUNICATIONS + +The government has certain distinct perceptions as to how the media must +serve the state. Propaganda permeates every aspect of life from formal +education to membership in unions and clubs to the publication of books +and pamphlets. The Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary) is the +main political force. It both creates the appropriate condition for the +expression of public opinion and forms public opinion itself. + +At a recent conference on the mass communications system, a leading +member of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party +delineated the principal tasks of the media. The major task of the media +was "to work for the broadest possible propagation of the congress +decisions and for the mobilization of the people's physical and mental +powers to make their decisions materialize...." The second vital task of +the media was to "help form a socialist outlook on life among the +peoples and educate the new man--active fighter for the developed +socialist society, ideologically convinced, morally durable, physically +tempered, with profound awareness of duty and responsibility." The third +task was to promote the economic awareness of the people and to train +managers, specialists, workers, and farmers for the greater economic +good of the country. The fourth main task was to continue in the active +struggle against "bourgeois ideology ... and the ideological subversion +of imperialism." + +A basic tenet of the Bulgarian system, however, is the belief that mass +communications must be actively supplemented by human contact on the +individual level. Iliya Georgiev, secretary of the Varna Okrug Bulgarian +Communist Party Committee, in an article on the political knowledge of +working people in 1972, stated categorically that the interest +stimulated in the people by the mass communications system must be +maintained and extended by informal means of communications, such as +district (_okrug_) seminars, meetings in enterprises and farms, +activities in the trade unions, and the Dimitrov Communist Youth Union +(Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz--commonly referred to as +the Komsomol). + +The government has spent considerable time in assessing the extent to +which these media objectives have been achieved. In the years +immediately following the takeover, the government was consistently +distressed by continued Bulgarian feelings of friendship with the West +and the continual influence of the West upon the country. Although the +propaganda efforts of the communist government were tireless, radio +broadcasts and printed materials from the West continued to pour into +Bulgaria. + +As the government's control over both the formal communications media +and the informal means of communications widened, the external threat +was perceived to be less, and governmental attention turned to the +assessment of the relative popularity of the various branches of the +media. In a recent study 3,294 people were questioned as to their +favorite source of domestic and international information. The vast +majority--64.8 percent--of those polled stated that their preferred +source was daily newspapers; 24.6 percent preferred television; and only +2.7 percent preferred radio. Although the newspapers were the favorite +source of information, they were frequently criticized by the people, +who expressed a basic lack of confidence in the press. In a second study +dealing with people's attitudes toward the press alone, 48.1 percent of +the 900 people polled said they disliked the press, and 52.1 percent +complained of the primitive quality of Bulgarian newspapers. + +Young people, especially students, appeared to be even less stimulated +by the mass media than their elders. A study performed in the 1969/70 +academic year indicated that students were indifferent to both domestic +political events and international developments. The pollsters concluded +that generally Bulgarian students take little advantage of the mass +media as a source of information. Unlike the broad public, whose primary +source of information was the press, students tended to see television +as their preferred source and the press and radio as secondary sources. + + +FREEDOM OF INFORMATION + +The 1947 Constitution, known as the Dimitrov Constitution, established +the stated rights of citizens as well as the nationalization of all +private property, including the mass communications network. Regarding +the so-called freedom of citizens, Article 88 of the 1947 Constitution +claimed: "The citizens of the People's Republic are guaranteed freedom +of the press, of speech, of assembly, of meetings and demonstrations." +At the same time, Article 10 and Article 17 prohibited the unrestricted +freedom of private property and provided for its nationalization under +the authority of the National Assembly. More specifically, Article 80 of +the constitution dealt directly with the system of mass communications: +"The state cares for the development of science and art by establishing +... publishing houses, libraries, theatres, museums, public reading +clubs, ... film studios, [and] cinemas...." + +In 1956 the premier of the communist regime, Vulko Chervenkov, +emphasized the ultimate control of the party over all institutions of +the country. He stated: "No institution, organization, or person can be +above the Politburo and the Central Committee ... those guilty of +deviation from the Bolshevik rule must be held responsible and +punished." Under his successor, Todor Zhivkov, a slight liberalization +regarding freedom of the media ensued (see ch. 9). For a brief period +writers and scholars were given greater latitude of expression. When +some writers dared to openly criticize the government, however, Zhivkov +was unable to tolerate this criticism and reimposed restrictions on the +media. The ultimate authority of the party was again made manifest. In +an article in 1969, Georgi Bokov, chief editor of _Rabotnichesko Delo_ +and chairman of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists, flatly rejected the +notions of freedom and independence for the mass communications system. +The stated goals of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists in the late 1960s +were "to promote the development of mass information and propaganda +media as first-rate ideological weapons in the struggle for the victory +of socialism and Communism ... the Union must constantly work to turn +the press, radio, and television into effective ideological instruments +for the Party." + +In 1971, a new constitution was promulgated, but the basic clauses of +the 1947 document, regarding so-called individual freedoms and state +ownership, remained essentially intact. It was restated in Article 54 +that "citizens enjoy freedom of speech, press, meetings, associations +and demonstrations." Article 46 again provided for state development of, +and control over, the mass communications system. + +The results of the policy regarding the media are witnessed by numerous +examples of party control and the repression of dissidents. All +newspapers must provide space for the official news of the government, +and all Central Committee directives must be printed without alteration. +No dispatches sent out by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (Bulgarska +Telegrafna Agentsiya--BTA)--the official news agency of the +country--are allowed to be revised. No criticism of government policies +is tolerated. Dissident individuals and groups are singled out for +criticism by the Politburo. In 1972 a Politburo member, Todor Pavlov, +accused certain writers of rejecting Socialist Realism in favor of more +bourgeois literature and art. Other writers were criticized for their +so-called subjectivistic interpretation of Bulgarian literature and were +branded as pseudoscientists. + + +ADMINISTRATION OF THE MASS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM + +Administrative Units + +As the system has evolved, the broad outlines of propaganda have been +dictated from the Politburo, the party's chief policymaking unit. From +there policy is transmitted to the Agitation and Propaganda Department +(Agitprop), which is a major operational unit of the Central Committee. +Agitprop, in turn, is responsible for the transmission of guidelines +down to the lowest levels of party organization. Simultaneously, the +same dictates are transmitted throughout all cultural institutions by +the Ministry of Information and Communications. Under this ministry's +jurisdiction are the arts, the film industry, radiobroadcasting, +television, book and pamphlet publishing, printing, all cultural or +educational institutions, and all so-called independent artists. Still a +third channel for the transmission of the original propaganda are the +mass organizations that function in the propaganda field under direction +of either Agitprop or the Ministry of Information and Communications +(see ch. 9). + +The administrative center for all media is Sofia, the capital. Eight +daily newspapers are published in Sofia and distributed throughout the +country; there are also seventeen major publishing houses in Sofia. The +National Film Board, which oversees all aspects of film production, is +in Sofia, as is Radio Sofia, which is the radio station for the entire +country. The Cyril and Methodius Library--also known as the Bulgarian +National Library--is within the confines of the city, as are the Union +of Bulgarian Writers; the Union of Bulgarian Artists; and the Union of +Composers, Musicologists, and Performing Musicians (see ch. 7). + +The exportation of propaganda is under the auspices of the Sofia Press +Agency. This agency was founded in 1967 with the express purpose of +disseminating Bulgarian propaganda to other countries. Its three major +tasks are to publicize Bulgaria's achievements and successes actively to +the world; to attempt to counter anti-Bulgarian propaganda; and to +provide the various communist parties of the world with rationale in +their struggles against capitalism. + +In 1972 the Sofia Press Agency was in the process of negotiating +agreements with the BTA and the Committee for Television and Radio. +Agreements had already been established with book publishers, +photographic artists, and the film industry. In early 1972 over 500 +people--the majority of whom were editors and translators--were working +for the Sofia Press Agency, and contracts had been signed with +approximately 120 foreign countries. Nine magazines, translated into +eleven languages, had been published each year in 2.5 million copies. A +dual language newspaper has been published each year in 500,000 copies, +and 400 books had appeared in approximately 4 million copies. Some +15,000 articles had been written, 30,000 photographs taken, and dozens +of television motion pictures and documentaries had been filmed. + + +News Agency + +The BTA was founded originally in 1898 in Sofia. It is the official news +agency of the country and the sole source of both foreign and domestic +news. It receives most of its foreign items from the Soviet Union news +agency but also maintains exchange agreements with Reuters, Associated +Press, and the Associated Foreign Press as well as a host of lesser +known foreign news agencies, although it tends to be more discriminating +in terms of the items selected from these sources. + +In the 1960s the BTA had twenty-three correspondents posted throughout +the nation, as well as foreign correspondents in Moscow, Peking, East +Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Tirana, Belgrade, Ankara, Paris, Bonn, New +York, Vienna, Cairo, and New Delhi. Correspondents are sent on special +assignments to investigate news that is considered to be of interest to +Bulgaria. Domestic news is reproduced in Russian, English, French, +German, and Spanish, and international news is reproduced in Russian, +English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian. In an average day the BTA +receives approximately 800 foreign newspapers, magazines, and bulletins +and itself produces over 125,000 words. + + +THEMES OF THE MEDIA + +The predominant theme of the media remains the expression of friendship +with the Soviet Union. In 1971 a leading member of the party's Central +Committee informed members of the media that one of their primary +functions was to champion the feelings of "fraternal love, trust, and +gratitude" of the Bulgarian people for the "heroic Soviet people," at +the same time demonstrating "clearly and convincingly the unbreakable +ties linking our present and future with the present and future of the +Soviet Union." + +A second common theme of the current media deals with the continuing +struggle between so-called bourgeois capitalism and socialism. The +people are, on the one hand, warned of the invidiousness of capitalistic +methods--"The veiled methods of ideological struggle applied on an even +broader scale by contemporary imperialism requires greater vigilance +from us...." On the other hand they are assured that socialism will +ultimately prevail--"their [socialist] ideas make their way with +insuperable force into the minds and hearts of working people all over +the world, gain more and more new adherents, and become a powerful +factor of social progress." + +Another dichotomy that the media pose as a continuing theme is that of +religion versus socialism. Bulgarian writers triumphantly proclaim that +"religion as a component of the sociological structure of society for +thousands of years gradually withers away at an even faster pace +throughout the transition from capitalism to communism." Since one of +the major aims of the government is to eliminate religious sentiment +among the people, the public is from time to time assured +that--according to the latest survey--only 35.5 percent of the +population is considered religious or that the "Bulgarian people is one +of the least religious in the world." + +Another divisive force that is frequently posed by the media is national +patriotism versus proletarian internationalism. Although +internationalism is viewed as predominant, citizens are warned against +feelings of bourgeois nationalism, since the "unity between +internationalism and patriotism is of a relative character, and there is +always the real possibility of dissension between them; they may even be +placed into a position of mutual opposition." Somehow the conflict, +according to the journal _Filosofska Misal_, is perceived as being +resolved through a higher form of patriotism that is inextricably linked +with love of the Soviet Union. Socialist patriotism is seen as a +"qualitatively new, higher form of patriotism" as expressed in "love and +gratitude toward the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet +Union organically linked with love for Bulgaria." + +In accordance with the media's constant expression of admiration for, +and solidarity with, the Soviet Union, any issue that raises the +question of conflicting loyalties between the People's Republic of China +(PRC) and the Soviet Union is summarily dismissed with the reiteration +of support for the Soviet Union. One journal warned the people of the +dangers from the left in the form of the people of the PRC as well as +from the right in the form of capitalist societies: "Contrary to all +healthy logic, for years on end, the Chinese leadership has been waging +hostile propaganda campaigns against the Soviet Union ... which are in +no way inferior to the most malicious fabrications of bourgeois +anti-Sovietism." + +When the troops of the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in August +1968, Bulgaria once again rose to the Soviet Union's defense in complete +justification of the invasion. The BTA cited a long list of workers, +peasants, and intellectuals who were allegedly in favor of the action. +Major newspapers such as _Rabotnichesko Delo_ interpreted the event as +symbolic of proletarian internationalism, and _Zemedelsko Zname_ stated +that "it is our supreme duty to resist the common enemy and not to allow +anyone ever to tear away even one link from the chain of the socialist +community." The Czechoslovak uprising itself, as reported by the +Bulgarian press some months later, was interpreted as nationalistic and +counterrevolutionary. + +Bulgaria's relationship with the West, as expressed by the media, has +evolved over time from overt hostility to some degree of tolerance. In +1968 the Bulgarian media openly denounced the concept of peaceful +coexistence with the West. By the early 1970s, however, although +citizens were still urged by the media to struggle against bourgeois +capitalism as epitomized by the West, a slight thaw in the cool +relations that had prevailed since the mid-1940s was detected. On the +one hand, all instruments of the media were urged to direct the people +away from foreign influences and to struggle against "bourgeois +ideology, anticommunism, and the ideological subversion of imperialism." +On the other hand, however, Western correspondents in 1973 declared that +Bulgaria was entering a period of greater flexibility with the West. + +The last polemical theme of the Bulgarian mass media is known as the +Bulgarian miracle. Although success for the alleged achievement of +Bulgaria's national goals is attributed to correct socialism, the +application of Leninist principles, and the unity of party and people, +the media take every opportunity to stress the achievements of the +Bulgarian state since the advent of communism. One journal stated that +"our country strengthened and matured as a state with a modern socialist +industry, intensive mechanized agriculture, and flourishing national +culture, a state enjoying an indisputable international prestige, +respected as an economic partner and as a factor for the safeguard of +peace." + +On the nonpolemical side, the Bulgarian media discuss both Bulgaria's +immediate social problems and issues that affect the world. The issue of +alcoholism is discussed relatively openly and is viewed as an issue of +national concern. Alcoholism is perceived to be related to both the +rising number of divorces and the frequency of crimes (see ch. 5; ch. +15). + +Bulgarians also have become involved in the international issue of +pollution of the environment, and the press has given the topic a fair +amount of coverage. The issue has been dealt with on a completely +nonpolemical basis; in fact the brotherhood of all forms of societies is +stressed as the means of combating the problem. + + +THE PRESS + +Newspapers + +In 1944, three months after the new government took control, all +newspaper plants were made the property of the state. In the ensuing +year, the government took over the distribution of newsprint, and many +noncommunist editors and Communists were either jailed or executed. By +1945 only eight daily and weekly newspapers were permitted to publish. +Five of them were published under the aegis of a governmental or party +agency. _Rabotnichesko Delo_--which was patterned on the Soviet +_Pravda_--became the organ of the Central Committee, and _Otechestven +Front_--patterned on the Soviet _Isvestia_--became the official organ of +the government. _Izgrev_ was an organ of the Fatherland Front _Zvenos_; +_Narod_ was an instrument of the Fatherland Front (Otechestven Front) +Socialists; and _Narodna Voiska_ was an army organ. _Politika_ was not +directly affiliated with the party but was decidedly pro-Communist (see +ch. 9). + +The other two newspapers, both expressing a degree of opposition, were +tolerated only through 1946. These were _Narodno Zemedelsko Zname_, an +organ of the Bulgarian Agrarian Union (Bulgarski Zemedelski Suyuz--BZS) +and _Svoboden Narod_, an organ of the Social Democratic Party. In early +1947, however, they were closed down. + +The Fifth Party Congress in 1948, endeavoring to more fully exploit the +potential of the press for propaganda purposes, called upon it to serve +as the "first assistant of the Bulgarian Communist Party, of the +Fatherland Front, and of the government." The primary function of the +printed news media, as stated by that congress, was to mobilize the +working people in terms of their identification with the so-called great +socialist buildup. In the same year the Central Home of Bulgarian +Journalists was established in order to train writers in the correct +propaganda line established by the party. This institution was replaced +in 1955 by the Union of Bulgarian Journalists. + +After World War II the national newspapers were generally four pages +long and consisted of news concerning Bulgaria, the Soviet Union, and +other socialist countries; progress reports regarding national economic +plans; foreign news presented with a decided anti-Western bias; and +information regarding cultural events and sports. Cartoons, which +appeared occasionally in the daily and weekly newspapers, were generally +propagandistic and dealt with so-called foreign agents, the bourgeoise, +and other so-called enemies of the people. There was little humor in the +newspapers, as their overall purpose was to portray and defend the +communist system. + +The national newspapers were modeled after those of the Soviet Union, in +both style and content. During the 1940s they established ties with the +Soviet news agency, the Chinese Communist news agency, and the news +agencies in other communist countries. All international events--those +dealing with the communist-bloc countries and those dealing with the +West--were integrated through these sources. + +While Stalin lived, all of his dictates were followed to the letter, +including the duplication of the Soviet example in the strong verbal +campaign against Yugoslavia. When Nikita Khrushchev succeeded him and +subsequently made some semblance of peace with Yugoslavia, the Bulgarian +press followed suit. Similarly, when the Soviets quickly quelled the +Polish and Hungarian revolts, the Bulgarian press endorsed the Soviet +versions of these events. Strict control over the press was retained in +the early 1970s, and most news still emanated from the Soviet news +agency. Censorship was seldom required, however, since all editors were +by this time acutely aware of their responsibilities to the party. + +In contrast to the natural press, the provincial press concentrated on +local matters. It included, in addition to a few regularly published +newspapers, a variety of new types of publications, such as +multicirculators--which were wall posters--and the so-called bumblebees, +which were letters of accusation pointing out alleged failures of +particular individuals to maintain acceptable social standards or to +attain programmed economic goals. In broad terms, all these publications +were designed to indoctrinate specific groups of people, generally in +their places of work. The multicirculators called on workers to support +the economic goals of the government and promised them rewards if they +fulfilled the required objectives (see table 10). + +_Table 10. Bulgaria, Newspaper Circulation by Frequency of Issue, 1971_ + + ---------------------------+--------+---------------- + Frequency | | Annual + of | | Circulation + Issue | Number | (in thousands) + ---------------------------+--------+---------------- + Daily | 13 | 611,900 + Two to four times per week | 31 | 108,181 + Weekly | 58 | 100,880 + Less than once per week | 604 | 16,533 + | --- | ------- + TOTAL | 706 | 837,494 + ---------------------------+--------+---------------- + +In the early 1970s the style of Bulgarian newspapers remained +essentially the same as in the mid-1940s. National daily newspapers +ordinarily had four pages, but sometimes had from six to eight pages +when there was vital news to cover. Headlines were often printed in red, +but stories and articles were in black print. Since the late 1960s or +early 1970s advertising increased, and newspapers began to resemble +their Western counterparts to a greater extent. + +In 1972 thirteen daily newspapers were published, eight of which were +printed in Sofia. _Rabotnichesko Delo_ was a descendant of the first +workers' newspaper, which was begun in 1897. It led both in importance +and circulation, was the primary organ of the BKP, and set the tone for +all other newspapers in the country. In 1950 it had a daily circulation +of 364,500 copies, and by 1960 its circulation had risen to 567,360. In +1972 this newspaper had a total circulation of approximately 650,000 +copies. The second most important daily newspaper published in Sofia +was the _Otechestven Front_, the organ of the government. This +publication was initiated as an underground newspaper in 1942. As of +1972 it claimed a daily circulation of 247,000. + +The other Sofia dailies and their circulations were: _Zemedelsko Zname_, +168,000; _Narodna Mladez_, the newspaper for youth, 225,000; _Trud_, the +organ of the trade unions, 200,000; _Narodna Armiya_, an organ of the +Ministry of National Defense, 50,000; _Vecherni Novini_, founded in +1951, an evening newspaper, 40,000; and _Kooperativno Selo_, the organ +of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, 230,000. The major +provincial dailies were _Otechestven Glas_ (in Plovdiv), _Narodno Delo_ +(in Varna), _Chernomorski Front_ (in Burgas), _Dunavska Pravda_ (in +Ruse), and _Pirinsklo Delo_ (in Blagoevgrad) (see table 11). + +_Table 11. Bulgaria, Circulation of Newspapers and Periodicals, Selected +Years, 1939-71_ + + -----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------- + | 1939 | 1948 | 1960 | 1971 + -----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------- + _Newspapers_: | | | | + Annual circulation* | 130,297 | 345,905 | 602,813 | 837,494 + Annual circulation | | | | + per capita | 20.7 | 48.5 | 76.6 | 98.1 + _Periodicals_: | | | | + Number | 393 | 246 | 151 | 963 + Annual circulation* | 11,208 | 10,421 | 20,923 | 48,605 + Average annual | | | | + issues per capita | 1.8 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 5.7 + -----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------- + * In thousands. + + +Periodicals + +By 1971 there were 963 periodicals with an annual circulation of 48.6 +million, roughly tripling the pre-World War II figures. Periodicals were +an extremely popular form of reading material. + +Among the leading periodicals of Bulgaria are: _Novo Vreme_, a monthly +journal of the Central Committee; _Ikonomicheska Misal_, the organ of +the Institute of Economics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; _Puls_, +a publication of the Central Committee of the Komsomol; _Slavyani_, the +monthly journal of the Slav Committee in Bulgaria; _Bulgarski Voin_, the +monthly journal of the chief political department of the Bulgarian +People's Army (Bulgarska Narodna Armiya); _Resorts_, a bimonthly journal +printed in Russian, French, English, and German; and _Lov i Ribolov_. + + +RADIO + +In 1939 there were three radio stations and over 60,000 subscribers (see +table 12). Approximately one out of every 100 Bulgarian citizens owned a +radio set. + +_Table 12. Bulgaria, Number of Radio Stations and Subscribers, Selected +Years, 1939-71_ + + ----------------------------+--------+---------+-----------+----------- + | 1939 | 1948 | 1960 | 1971 + ----------------------------+--------+---------+-----------+----------- + Radio stations: | | | | + Mediumwave | n.a. | n.a. | 5 | 12 + Shortwave | n.a. | n.a. | 2 | 4 + Ultra-shortwave | n.a. | n.a. | 0 | 11 + Number of radio stations | 3 | 5 | 7 | 27 + Number of relay stations | n.a. | 41 | 1,347 | 1,835 + Number of radio subscribers | 62,677 | 210,366 | 1,430,653 | 2,304,567 + Number of radio receivers | 62,677 | 201,866 | 868,950 | 1,546,163 + Subscribers* | 10 | 30 | 182 | 269 + ----------------------------+--------+---------+-----------+----------- + n.a.--not available. + * Per 1,000 population. + +As of March 26, 1948, the state controlled not only the management of +radio stations and the content of radio programs but also the +manufacture, distribution, and sale of radio equipment. The ownership +and operation of radios were subject to the chief directorate of radio +information according to the Law on Radio. Article 15 of this law stated +that private homes could only receive programs of Bulgarian radio +stations. Article 17 of the same law stated that all people wishing to +purchase radios had to receive prior authorization and pay a radio tax. + +The ideological purposes of radio broadcasts are presented by the +government in quasi-cold war terms. One radio commentator, Lyuben Popov, +has described the radio as a weapon for waging war on the air. He +explained that "the struggle on the air is becoming sharper and sharper +and more and more uncompromising.... Our propaganda work is part of the +ideological struggle for victory of communist ideas." Radio is perceived +as serving two principal ends. On the domestic level it serves to +provide information as well as propaganda to the public; on the +international level it functions in a purely ideological capacity. + +There are twelve mediumwave radio transmitters: two are located in +Pleven; two in Kurdzhali; two in Sofia; and one each in Plovdiv, +Blagoevgrad, Varna, Shumen, Stara Zagora, and Stolnik. There are eleven +ultra-shortwave stations: three are located in Sofia, two in Botev, two +in Slunchev Bryag, two in Kyustendil, one in Snezhinka, and one in +Plovdiv. There are four shortwave radio stations in Bulgaria. Of the +total number of twenty-seven radio stations in the country, six +broadcast in both amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation +(FM); twenty broadcast in AM only; and one located at Botev Peak +broadcasts only in FM. + +Bulgarian radio stations are on the air approximately 500 hours per +week. Foreign broadcasts are transmitted approximately twenty-six hours +a day Monday through Saturday and twenty-nine hours on Sunday. These +programs are broadcast in Bulgarian, Turkish, Greek, Serbo-Croat, +French, Italian, German, English, Spanish, and Arabic and are +transmitted to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and South +America. The number of domestic listeners has approximately doubled over +the 1960-71 period. In mid-1973 over a quarter of the population owned +radio sets. + +The leading radio programs are transmitted by Radio Sofia. Radio +Plovdiv, Radio Varna, and Radio Stara Zagora also transmit popular +programs. Radio Rodina is the main station transmitting to Bulgarians +residing abroad. Generally, radio programs consist of news bulletins +dealing with both local and international events; programs for rural +listeners and industrial workers, which deal with industrial, +agricultural, and cultural matters; programs for children, which +complement the formal educational curriculum; literary and cultural +programs; and scientific programs. + +In January 1971 Radio Sofia took steps to refurbish its old programming. +Some critics felt that the old programming was lacking in variety, +causing listeners to turn to foreign broadcasts for more enjoyable +entertainment. Others within the medium wanted to have more freedom and +creativity in programming. As a result, in mid-1973 the three main +programs of Radio Sofia had a singular and distinctive character. +"Horizont" provided both general information and popular music. "Christo +Botev" had a more cultural and propagandistic nature, presenting +ideological, literary, and educational programs. "Orfei" was the program +for classical music, which was occasionally supplemented by theatrical +and literary features. The results of these changes have been mixed. +Although some critics felt that the new programs were more lively than +their predecessors, others continued to criticize them for a "dearth of +original thought, a laconic style, and a pompous tone." + +Other recent developments in radio have been the establishment of radio +relay ties with nearby countries. These relay ties are expected to +increase Bulgaria's communications with the West while providing her new +partners with access to the East. In July 1972 the construction of radio +lines between Bulgaria and Turkey was completed. In December 1972 plans +for a radio relay line between Sofia and Athens were announced; the line +was to be completed by 1974. This particular line was expected to +provide Greece with access to Eastern Europe and Bulgaria with access to +the Middle East and North Africa. + + +TELEVISION + +Television, like radio, became a state monopoly under the control of the +Ministry of Culture on March 26, 1948, but the first strictly +experimental broadcasts were not undertaken until 1954. It was 1959 +before the first regular programming--consisting of two programs per +week--was being broadcast. By 1962 programs had been increased to only +four per week. + +The number of television subscribers rose from a mere 2,573 in 1960 to +185,246 in 1965 and to 1.2 million in 1971. These figures meant the +number of sets per 1,000 people were; less than one, in 1960; about +twenty-three, in 1965; and 138, in 1971. During the same period an +increasing number of transmitting stations was making reception possible +in nearly all parts of the country. By 1972 there were twenty-seven +transmitters; the major ones were located at Sofia, Slunchev Bryag, +Botev, Varna, and Kyustendil. In spite of the expansion of the network +and the increasing numbers of sets available, in comparison to other +European countries there were still relatively few television +subscribers per 1,000 of the population. + +Three-quarters of the television sets are located in the cities. +Although there is only one major television program, Program I, plans +are underway for the transmission of a second program, Program II. This, +when added to the coverage of Program I, is expected to reach 95 percent +of the population by 1975. + +Television is transmitted on a daily basis. The weekly programs run +between 68 and 72 hours. Television time has been apportioned more or +less according to popular taste. Of the total hours, 22 percent of +television time was devoted to documentaries, 15 percent to music, 12 +percent to news, 11 percent to programs for children, 10 percent to +language and literature programs, and 8 percent to sports. There were +also special broadcasts to villages and question-and-answer programs in +industrial enterprises and cooperative farms. Unlike the rest of Eastern +Europe, Bulgaria imported very few television films from the United +States. + +One of the most recent innovations in television programming was the +transmission of a special program for tourists in 1973. Bulgarian Radio +and Television decided to cooperate with the Committee for Tourism to +promote a 1-½-hour program for foreign tourists on the Black Sea coast. +The program, as envisioned in 1973, would consist of local news, +presented on three different channels in Russian, English, and German +respectively; local events; international news; tourist information; and +advertisements. + +Future plans for Bulgarian television were outlined in the Sixth Five +Year Plan (1971-75). Although color television programs in the 1970s +were transmitted to Bulgaria from Moscow, Bulgaria's own color +television was to be transmitted in late 1973. Along these lines, +Bulgaria planned to collaborate with Intervision--the Eastern European +television network--in the promotion of color television. In 1972 plans +were also being formulated for the construction of between 250 and 300 +relay stations and additional television transmitters. + + +PUBLISHING + +In 1939 there were 2,169 books and pamphlets published in 6.5 million +copies, and in 1948 there were 2,322 books and pamphlets published in +19.9 million copies. By 1960 the number of book and pamphlet titles had +risen to 3,369 in 30.2 million copies, and by 1971 the number of book +and pamphlet titles reached 4,188 in 46.8 million copies. + +More recent studies of book and pamphlet publication conducted in 1969 +and 1970 indicated that the overwhelming majority of books and pamphlets +were written by Bulgarians. Of the 3,799 books published in 1970, there +were 3,368 by Bulgarian authors. The foreign works during this year were +predominantly in Russian, 131; French, sixty-five; English, sixty-five; +and German, fifty-four. There were few books translated from Spanish and +a sprinkling of translations from other lesser known languages. Of the +translated works most were literary, followed by works dealing with the +social sciences, the applied sciences, the arts, geography and history, +the so-called hard sciences, philosophy, philology, and religion. + +A 1971 study illustrates the fact that--in terms of titles alone--books +are more popular than pamphlets by a ratio of approximately three to one +(see table 13). The greatest number of book titles in 1971 were in the +areas of artistic and folkloric literature, technology and industry, and +scientific and educational texts. The smallest number of book titles +were in the areas of general handbooks, community affairs, and atheism +and religion. The greatest number of pamphlet titles, on the other hand, +were in juvenile literature, communist party literature, and science and +education. The fewest pamphlet titles dealt with atheism and religion, +Marxism-Leninism, languages, and labor and trade unions. + +Because the Bulgarian publishing industry has emphasized the quantity of +books available in terms of copies rather than variety or number of +titles, there has been some serious criticism of policy, particularly +from the newspapers. In fact, among the Balkan countries, Bulgaria ranks +below Yugoslavia, Romania, and Turkey in the number of titles published +annually. One newspaper claimed that of the total number of books +published in 1972, only approximately one-third were so-called real +books, meaning that they were not simply textbooks or brochures. This +newspaper claimed that foreign literature was not well known in Bulgaria +and pointed out that the literature of Asia, Africa, and South America +had increased by only 470 titles since 1939. + +The state not only is in charge of the publishing houses themselves but +also supervises the distribution of books throughout the country. +Editorial councils are the final authorities in determining the output +of individual publishing houses. The one exception to the general +administration of publishing houses is the publication of textbooks. In +this case the Committee on Art and Culture is responsible for the +printing of textbooks, and the Ministry of National Education is, in +turn, responsible for their distribution. + +_Table 13. Bulgaria, Book and Pamphlet Publication, 1971_ + + -------------------------------------+--------------+--------+---------- + | Total Number | Book | Pamphlet + Subject of Publication | of Titles | Titles | Titles + -------------------------------------+--------------+--------+---------- + Marxism-Leninism | 26 | 23 | 3 + Communist party | 270 | 158 | 112 + Socialist and communist construction | 181 | 97 | 84 + Foreign policy and economics | 94 | 74 | 20 + Philosophy | 70 | 52 | 18 + History | 147 | 121 | 26 + Economics | 29 | 21 | 8 + Production | 90 | 82 | 8 + Finance | 15 | 11 | 4 + Labor and trade unions | 55 | 39 | 16 + Legal and constitutional system | 73 | 53 | 20 + Military policy | 38 | 28 | 10 + Natural science and mathematics | 261 | 225 | 36 + Technology and industry | 490 | 415 | 75 + Agriculture and cooperatives | 284 | 214 | 70 + Trade and nutrition | 51 | 37 | 14 + Transportation and communications | 75 | 64 | 11 + Community affairs | 4 | 4 | ... + Health | 215 | 157 | 58 + Physical education and sports | 72 | 53 | 19 + Scientific and educational texts | 397 | 301 | 96 + Literary criticism | 133 | 55 | 78 + Art | 152 | 118 | 34 + Languages | 70 | 66 | 4 + Artistic and folkloric literature | 609 | 534 | 75 + Juvenile literature | 277 | 146 | 131 + Atheism and religion | 8 | 7 | 1 + General handbooks | 2 | 2 | ... + | ----- | ----- | ----- + TOTAL | 4,188 | 3,157 | 1,031 + -------------------------------------+--------------+--------+-------- + +The party is the final arbiter regarding the acceptability of work for +publication. All party control, however, is theoretically unofficial; +censorship exists only in the sense that all power of decision regarding +publication is in the hands of party members. The official process for +publication is that the writer submits his work to the publishing house. +The publishing house then sends it, with a brief description of its +ideological content, to the Committee on Art and Culture. If the book is +approved at this stage, it is returned to the publishing house, where it +is again checked for its ideological content. + +The major criterion for acceptance is the ideological soundness of the +work in question. According to a refugee playwright from Bulgaria, "The +journalist must praise the party, and government, and criticize the +West. The poet, the playwright, the novelist must uphold the communist +ideal." Since the works of leading Communists are almost always accepted +for publication, one writer has stated; "In Bulgaria dead communist +heroes are the safest bet." + +The government is actively engaged in attempting to promote Bulgarian +books abroad. In the late 1960s and early 1970s books by native +authors--although in relatively small numbers--were published in such +diverse countries as Great Britain, Japan, France, Turkey, Italy, Iran, +Austria, Argentina, and Finland. According to the latest available +source on the promotion of Bulgarian books abroad, plans also have been +formulated for the publication of books in the United States, Belgium, +Brazil, and Syria. + +One of the most serious problems in the publishing industry, other than +the broad issue of freedom of expression of the writers, is that of a +shortage of textbooks. In 1970 the Committee for State Control +discovered that courses in 1,013 subjects at the university level had no +textbooks whatsoever. In the University of Sofia alone, where +approximately 317 subjects were taught, textbooks existed for only 216 +of these subjects; roughly half of the books for the 216 subjects that +used textbooks were out of print. + + +LIBRARIES + +When the Communists took power in 1944, they began to allocate +relatively large sums of money to develop new libraries in both large +cities and small villages. By 1971 the country had over 10,000 +libraries, whose collections numbered nearly 50 million volumes (see +table 14). + +The Committee on Art and Culture maintained a number of libraries, +including the country's largest, the Bulgarian National Library. Founded +in 1878 in Sofia, it contained 814,000 works in 1971, including about +13,000 old and rare volumes, approximately 17,000 graphic works, and +some 20,000 photographs and portraits. The library published both a +yearbook and a monthly periodical. + +The committee maintained two other libraries. One was the Ivan Vazov +State Library, situated in Plovdiv, whose collection included a wide +variety of periodicals, old and rare books, and archives. The other +library under the committee was the Elin Pelin Bulgarian Bibliographical +Institute, which maintained a record of all printed works in the country +and published a monthly bulletin listing all of its publications, an +annual yearbook, and a monthly list of all articles published in reviews +and journals. + +In addition there were research-related libraries maintained by the +Academy of Sciences; public school libraries; university libraries; +libraries organized in state plants, factories, and cooperative farms; +regional libraries; and local libraries. + +The major regional libraries were located in Burgas, Ruse, Stara Zagora, +Shumen, Varna, Velsko, and Turnovo. The best known local library was the +City Library of Sofia, which contained about 452,862 volumes. + +_Table 14. Libraries in Bulgaria, 1971_ + + ---------------------+--------------------------------------------- + | Number + Kind of Library |-----------+--------+----------+------------- + | Libraries | Books* | Readers* | Books Lent* + ---------------------+-----------+--------+----------+------------- + National | 1 | 814 | 25 | 189 + Local | 27 | 5,287 | 259 | 4,807 + Reading rooms | 4,108 | 20,387 | 1,359 | 20,744 + Enterprises and | | | | + government offices | 2,110 | 6,532 | 537 | 4,984 + Public schools | 3,860 | 9,336 | 772 | 6,653 + Universities | 23 | 2,077 | 84 | 1,320 + Specialized: | | | | + Science | 115 | 1,409 | 29 | 507 + Government | 35 | 594 | 16 | 282 + Party and public | | | | + organizations | 93 | 804 | 39 | 280 + Technical | 212 | 864 | 54 | 398 + Medical | 60 | 405 | 36 | 361 + Theaters | | | | + (archives) | 133 | 443 | 6 | 34 + Educational | 14 | 152 | 8 | 57 + | ------ | ------ | ----- | ------ + Total specialized | 662 | 4,671 | 188 | 1,919 + | ------ | ------ | ----- | ------ + TOTAL | 10,791 | 49,104 | 3,224 | 40,616 + ---------------------+-----------+--------+----------+------------- + * In thousands. + +The so-called public reading room was another form of library. Founded +by educated Bulgarians during the Turkish occupation as centers of +culture and education, the reading rooms have become quite widespread, +particularly in the villages, and supply books to farmworkers and other +members of the rural population. In the early 1970s there were 4,108 +reading rooms with over 20 million volumes. + + +FILMS + +By 1947, after the new constitution had been enacted, the film industry +became a state monopoly. The next year the new Law on Motion Pictures +was passed, which essentially expanded on the theme of state control. It +officially abolished free enterprise in the film industry and prohibited +individual activities in the importation and exportation of films and +the private operation of movie theaters. The film industry fell under +the official control of the Bulgarian Cinematography Association, which +was under the Department of Motion Pictures of the Committee for +Science, Art, and Culture. By 1950 the entire film industry was under +the complete control of the Council of Ministers. The Department of +Motion Pictures became officially attached to the council. + +One of the early laws regarding films stated that "the motion picture +must become a real fighting assistant of the party and the government +and be an ardent agitator and propagator of the government policy." The +focus of the industry was to be placed on the building of socialism +while increasing the country's bonds with the Soviet Union. Early +legislation stated that "Soviet films gave immense educational influence +and mobilized action and conscious participation in the building of +socialism for still greater friendship with the Soviet Union." This +emphasis on the relationship with the Soviet Union was not only +ideological. Soviet films also represented approximately 87 percent of +the films shown in Bulgaria from 1945 to 1956, and the Bulgarian film +industry was in large part assisted by its film counterpart in the +Soviet Union. + +The film industry expanded quickly under the new government. There were +187 films produced in 1960 (see table 15). By 1965 there were +approximately 2,000 motion picture houses, roughly 83 percent of which +were in the villages. + +_Table 15. Bulgaria, Films Produced and Translated, Selected Years, +1939-71_ + + -------------------------+--------+--------+--------+-------- + | 1939 | 1948 | 1960 | 1971 + -------------------------+--------+--------+--------+-------- + Full length | 3 | ... | 11 | 18 + Art | (3) | ... | (10) | (16) + Documentary | ... | ... | (1) | (2) + Television | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 + Short and medium length | ... | 19 | 110 | 252 + Documentary | ... | (15) | (36) | (60) + Popular science | ... | (4) | (32) | (61) + Technical education | ... | ... | (16) | (21) + Animated | ... | ... | (8) | (16) + Propaganda | ... | ... | (18) | (94) + Previews | ... | 53 | 66 | 58 + | --- | --- | --- | --- + TOTAL | 3 | 72 | 187 | 347 + -------------------------+--------+--------+--------+------- + +In mid-1973 information on the film industry indicated that the +production, distribution, importation, exportation, and exhibition of +films were still controlled by the Bulgarian Cinematography Association. +This agency was subdivided into three sections: the chief studio at the +Bulyana film center where feature films and cartoons were produced; a +second studio that produced documentary shorts and popular science films +for schools; and a third studio that specialized in newsreels. + +Relative to other European countries there was little importation or +exportation of films. In mid-1973 data suggested that between 100 and +150 feature films were imported per year. These films generally came +from the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries, although a +few were imported from Italy, France, and Great Britain. The first +Bulgarian film to be exported was _The Chain_, which was shown in +Czechoslovakia in 1964. The same year another Bulgarian film, _The +Intransigents_, was shown in Ireland, and still another, _The Peach +Thief_, was shown in Great Britain. The precise number of Bulgarian +films exported was unknown, although one writer claimed that in 1973 +Bulgarian films were viewed in about seventy countries. + +In mid-1973 the subject matter of Bulgarian films was characteristically +contemporary, and there was little focus on historical events. Although +a few historical films had been produced, they were in the minority. A +few films had dealt with the subject of Bulgarian resistance to the +Nazis, but they too were relatively scarce. More films were devoted to +the so-called people's heroic struggles. Most films in Bulgaria, +however, dealt with contemporary life in the country and current events. +The overwhelming majority of these films treated the conflicts and +issues of Bulgarian youth. + + + + +SECTION III. ECONOMIC + +CHAPTER 12 + +CHARACTER AND STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY + + +Under comprehensive control of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see +Glossary), the economy was severely strained in mid-1973 as the result +of the dual task imposed upon it by the BKP leadership to increase +productivity rapidly and substantially and to provide a growing volume +of consumer goods and services under a newly announced program for +raising the population's low standard of living. A first step in +improving the living standard took the form of an upward adjustment in +the lowest wage brackets and a broadening of social security provisions. +Further improvements, however, were made conditional upon attainment of +the productivity and production goals. + +The development of the economy and of the consumer program faced severe +limitations because of the inadequacy of domestic resources, including +basic raw materials, fuels and power, skilled workers, and trained +professional personnel. Economic development was heavily dependent on +financial and technical aid from the Soviet Union, and dependence upon +that country was to be increased in the 1971-75 period. Efforts to +overcome persistent and growth-retarding difficulties in the economy led +to frequent organizational and procedural changes in the economic +mechanism, the structure of which in mid-1973 was still in flux as a +result of decisions taken by the BKP in 1965 and in 1968. + +The main trend in reshaping the organization and management of the +economy was one of concentration and centralization--a trend that led to +the creation of huge trusts in industry and distribution and of vast +agroindustrial complexes in agriculture. In the process, divisions and +lines of authority were blurred, and violations of government directives +were frequent because of their complexity and the constraints they +placed on the day-to-day operation of economic enterprises. + +In the search for a more efficient organization and management pattern, +heavy reliance was placed on the introduction of complex automation into +all economic processes with the aid of a nationwide computer network--a +system of automation that would extend from the highest levels of +national economic planning down to the individual factory shop and cow +barn. No ideas have been advanced, however, on how complex automation +would solve the basic problem of the economy--the widely acknowledged +and pervasive lack of incentives to work. The methods used to grapple +with this problem were limited to a tinkering with the wage and bonus +system, administrative sanctions, political indoctrination, and +exhortations. + + +ORGANIZATION + +State ownership of the means of production predominates in the economy. +Collective ownership has prevailed in agriculture, but it may be +gradually eliminated in the course of the agricultural reorganization +initiated in 1970 (see ch. 13). Private ownership of productive +resources is limited to subsidiary farm or garden enterprises of +collective farmers, industrial and state farmworkers, and artisans; a +small number of individual farms on marginal lands; and noncollectivized +artisan shops. In 1971 private ownership encompassed about 10 percent of +the agricultural land but only 2.5 percent of the fixed assets used in +production. Private ownership of personal property and homes is allowed. + +The proportions of national income (net material product) generated in +each of the ownership sectors in 1971 were: state, 70 percent; +collective, 21 percent; and private, 9 percent. The importance of +private enterprise in the production of food, however, is much greater +than its contribution to the national income may suggest. The private +sector has provided more than one-fifth of the crop output and one-third +of the livestock production (see ch. 13). + +Whereas the leadership has promoted livestock production on private farm +plots, since 1968 it has placed increasingly severe restrictions on the +activities of private artisans, who had originally been encouraged to +expand their operations through liberal regulations issued in 1965. +Aside from providing essential services, private artisans played an +important role in supplying a variety of consumer goods for the +population. The restrictions on artisans' activities have been based on +the BKP tenet that private ownership of means of production and the use +of personal property to acquire unearned income are incompatible with +the socialist order and the country's new constitution. + +Economic activities are centrally planned and directed along lines +prescribed by the BKP. The functions of planning and control are +exercised by the Council of Ministers with the aid of specialized +economic ministries, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of +Chemical Industry and Power Generation, and the Ministry of Foreign +Trade, and of various governmental committees and commissions (see ch. +8). The state banking system and, more particularly, bank credit have +also served as tools for the control of enterprises and trusts. + +The economic management structure has been subject to frequent changes. +In the spring of 1972 there were fourteen economic ministries, including +five ministries exclusively concerned with branches of industry and +construction. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Industry, as its +name implies, has functioned in two major economic sectors and has also +had substantial responsibilities in the field of distribution. Among the +committees and commissions the most important have been the State +Planning Committee, the Committee on Prices, and the Commission for +Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation. In December 1972 the +Commission on the Living Standard was created to coordinate and control +the fulfillment of the national living standard program decided upon by +the plenum of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party. +Attached to the Council of Ministers and chaired by a deputy minister, +the commission is composed of ministers and deputy ministers, +representatives of public organizations, scientists, and other members. + +Since the beginning of 1971 economic management has been more highly +centralized than before. A plan for partial decentralization of economic +decision making adopted in 1965 was abandoned by 1968. The economy is +organized into trusts (officially known as state economic associations) +that unite enterprises within branches of economic sectors along +functional lines, such as metallurgy, textiles, food processing, +railroads, freight forwarding, tourism, wholesale distribution, +publishing, and filmmaking. In agriculture, trusts are known as +agroindustrial complexes; each complex unites several previously +independent farms (see ch. 13). Trusts are subordinated to economic +ministries and are ultimately responsible to the Council of Ministers. +The extent of the ministries' authority over trusts is not clear. In +some important respects trusts receive instructions directly from the +Council of Ministers. + +Agroindustrial trusts number 170. In the nonagricultural sector about +sixty-two trusts were originally created, with an average of thirty +branches but as many as 106 in one instance. The process of +concentration and centralization continued on a small scale at least +until the spring of 1973, in part through the consolidation of separate +trusts. Before the reorganization, trust branches had been legally and +financially independent enterprises, and trusts served only as +administrative links between enterprises and ministries. Whereas +individual enterprises were previously regarded as the basic economic +units in the country, it is the trusts that have been officially +considered as such under the new system of management. + +Trusts have assumed various functions previously performed by the +enterprises themselves. They formulate economic and technological +development policies for the trust as a whole and for each branch; +establish relations with suppliers, distributors, and financial +institutions; and centralize research and development. Trusts have also +been charged with responsibility for providing operational guidance to +their branches and for organizing the export of products that they +manufacture. Branches remain responsible for the effective organization +of operations, efficient uses of resources, and the conscientious +fulfillment of tasks assigned to them by the annual plan. + +Regulations governing the authority of trusts over their branches were +intended to permit the establishment of flexible internal management +organizations adapted to the particular needs of each trust. The trusts' +policies were expected to be based on the rule that whatever the trust +could do better than the branches should be centralized in it and, +conversely, whatever the branches could do better than the trust should +be left in their field of competence. Each trust was supposed to arrive +at an optimal combination of management centralization and +decentralization. + +The transition to the new management system involved difficulties +because of delays in issuing pertinent regulations, misinterpretation of +the regulations by trust managers, and the reluctance of enterprise +managers to acquiesce in the loss of their independence. Most of the +organizational and personnel problems were reported to have been +resolved by the end of 1971, and in March 1973 party chief Todor Zhivkov +reported that further consolidation of the new management structure had +been achieved. In the long run, greater efficiency of economic +management is to be attained through pervasive automation of all +management functions with the aid of a synchronized national network of +electronic computers. + +Under the new system of trusts, profits of individual branches are +pooled and redistributed by the parent organization. Highly productive +branches may thus find themselves in the position of having to share +their profits with unproductive branches. This feature, some observers +believe, may reduce incentives to raise the level of efficiency, +increase output, and improve the quality of products. + + +STRUCTURE AND GROWTH + +National income (net national product, which excludes most services not +directly related to production) was officially reported to have been +10.41 billion leva (for value of the lev--see Glossary) in 1971, +compared to 10.53 billion leva in 1970. Nevertheless, the official index +of national income growth showed an increase of 7 percent from 1970 to +1971. This example illustrates the difficulty of using official +statistics to describe the structure and growth of the economy or +structural changes over a period of time. + +According to the 1971 statistical yearbook for Bulgaria, the respective +shares of industry and agriculture in national income in 1970 were 49 +and 22 percent. The yearbook issued in 1972, however, cited 1970 figures +of 55 and 17 percent instead. According to the earlier source, the +proportion of national income contributed by industry increased by 6.5 +percent in the 1960-70 period, whereas the subsequent source shows a +growth of 17 percent for the same period. Similarly, the contribution of +agriculture to national income was reported to have declined by 36.4 and +by 33.3 percent. An upward trend in the contribution of trade to +national income was shown in the earlier source, but a declining trend +appeared in the latter. + +The differences in statistical presentation resulted primarily from a +major revision of wholesale prices, introduced by the government in +January 1971. Price revisions made in earlier years, changes in the +composition of individual statistical categories and other +methodological modifications also contributed to the inconsistency of +statistical time series in value terms. Because of differences in +concept and coverage, Bulgarian national account data are not comparable +with those of the United Nations or the United States systems of +national accounts. + +In the 1960-71 period national income at prices of 1957 was reported to +have increased 2.25 times, which is equivalent to an average annual 7.7 +percent rate of growth. The growth of national income was more rapid in +the years 1966 through 1971 than it had been in the 1960-65 period. The +official national income index implies an average annual increase of 8.5 +percent in the latter period, compared to 6.7 percent in the earlier +years. Reliable data on the growth of Bulgarian national income in +Western terms are not available. Relatively high rates of economic +growth are generally associated with early stages of industrial +development. + +In 1971 industry still lagged behind agriculture in terms of employment, +although the proportion of the labor force employed in industry had been +steadily rising, while employment in agriculture had been declining. In +the 1960-71 period employment in industry rose from 21.9 to 31.2 percent +of the labor force, and employment in agriculture declined from 54.7 to +33.4 percent of the total. During the same period employment in the +services sector increased from 9.2 to 13.4 percent of the labor force, +and gains in employment were made in all other economic sectors except +forestry, including construction, transportation and communications, and +trade. + + +LABOR + +Growth and productivity of the economy have been adversely affected by +shortages of skilled labor and of adequately trained and experienced +technical and executive personnel. In the words of the minister of labor +and social welfare, the level of worker's current training is +inconsistent with the country's industrial base; it lags behind the +requirements of the scientific and technical revolution. The lack of +required skills has contributed to frequent machinery breakdowns and to +the output of low-quality products. As a means of upgrading the skills +of workers and executives, a broad program for training and retraining +was launched in October 1972 with the cooperation of the Ministry of +National Education. About half the number of persons undergoing training +were below the age of thirty. + +Other persistent shortcomings in the field of labor that have plagued +the economy and have been the target of frequent criticism and +administrative action by the leadership are inefficient organization of +labor and poor labor discipline. Inefficient labor organization has been +mainly an outgrowth of inferior management skills. Poor labor discipline +has been a consequence of inadequate work incentives. In 1972 the +minister of labor and social welfare estimated that more than 20 percent +of the working time was lost through idling and other violations of +labor discipline. + +Adequate information on the structure of wages was not available in +mid-1973. The main faults of the wage system that prevailed in early +1973 after repeated revisions, however, were outlined by the BKP leader, +Zhivkov, and these faults were also discussed by labor ministry +officials from the point of view of their effect on labor productivity. +The basic wage constitutes the main incentive for work; bonuses, +premiums, and honors play a minor role. Because of the large investment +needs for industrial development and the corollary need to restrict +consumption, wages have been kept low, and the rise in wages has been +slower than the growth of productivity. + +Basic wage pay has been based on the place of employment and not on the +work performed. Wage scales for identical work have differed +substantially between branches of the economy and industry. In industry, +wage scales have been lower in branches manufacturing consumer goods +than in branches producing capital goods; they have been lowest in +textile mills. Wages have been determined by job classifications within +economic and industrial branches, the workers' level of education, and +length of service. Normal increases in pay for workers remaining in the +same positions have therefore been infrequent. + +Slow promotion and the disparity in wage scales contributed to excessive +labor turnover because, under the prevailing conditions of scarcity, +trained workers were able to improve their incomes through a change of +jobs. It also led to irregularities in job reclassification by employers +seeking to retain their workers through increases in pay. Wages have +been raised from time to time by the government through general upward +revisions of pay scales. This method, however, has no incentive value +because it is not directly linked to an improvement in the workers' +performance. + +With a view to enhancing the stimulative effect of wages on +productivity, Zhivkov proposed a basic reform of the wage system that +would be carried out gradually in the 1973-80 period. In presenting his +proposal to the BKP Central Committee plenum, Zhivkov dwelt on some of +the major principles to be embodied in the new wage system. The minimum +wage must be higher, and the rise in wages must be more rapid than +before. Increases in basic wages must be closely linked to individual +performance and to overall labor productivity in general, pay would be +based on performance rather than on formal qualification or length of +service. To this end the sectoral approach to wage determination is to +be abandoned in favor of a functional approach that would establish a +uniform economy-wide wage scale for jobs in relation to their complexity +and hardship and to the specific conditions of work. Rigid pay scales +are to be replaced by flexible schedules providing a range of pay for +each job depending upon the ability and performance of the worker. + +The reform would also gradually eliminate the egalitarian aspect of the +current wage system by providing appropriate differentials for workers +with higher qualifications. Under the current system, for example, the +salary of economists has been below that of engineers, and the salary of +engineers has been equivalent to the wages of skilled workers. This +problem has been repeatedly considered in the past, but its solution was +delayed for lack of funds. + +Zhivkov also cited shortcomings of the prevailing piecework system and +suggested some long-range remedies for the ills. About 60 percent of all +workers have been employed on the piecework system. Production norms +under the system have been low because of technological advances and the +infrequency of adjustment of norms. Under these conditions workers have +been able to exceed the basic norms to such an extent that payment for +work above the norm has become a large, and in some cases the +predominant, portion of the workers' earnings. Striving to increase +their wages, workers under the piecework system have often resorted to +shortcuts that have lowered the quality of output. + +Zhivkov's proposal for improvement included the introduction of more +realistic and more flexible quantitative and qualitative production +norms and a gradual transition to hourly rates of pay with bonus +payments for superior work whenever the quantity and quality of output +is not directly dependent on individual workers. Under these conditions +bonus payments would be linked to the performance of the entire working +personnel, and the importance of the bonus in wage payments would be +enhanced. + +The wage reform has been discussed in the context of a broad program, +announced by the BKP Central Committee plenum in December 1972, for a +general rise in incomes and an improvement in the population's level of +living. In the process the difference between urban and lagging rural +incomes is to be eliminated. Implementation of the program has been made +contingent upon the attainment of greater productivity and output +through workers' efforts to surpass production and efficiency targets +set by the government. These more difficult targets must be embodied in +what have been officially labeled workers' counterplans. The BKP and +the government have launched a new form of so-called socialist +competition among workers and economic units, the aim of which is to +exceed in performance the requirements of the counterplans. + +Implementation of the standard of living program began with the +introduction of wage increases, effective March 1, 1973, for workers +employed under difficult or hazardous conditions, schoolteachers and +university faculties, physicians and medical personnel, and employees of +artistic and cultural institutions. Effective June 1 the minimum wage +for all types of work was raised from 65 to 80 leva per month, and a +level of 88 leva per month was decreed for all workers earning between +80 and 87 leva. The resultant distortion of the wage structure is to be +eliminated over a period of several years. + +Another important measure affecting labor was announced in March 1973--a +gradual transition from a six-day, forty-six-hour workweek to a five-day +week of forty-two and a half hours. Under the BKP directive the +transition must be accomplished without loss in production; the loss in +worktime must be compensated by a corresponding rise in productivity. +The shorter workweek had been in effect on an experimental basis for +about 17 percent of the industrial workers since 1968. In 1973 and 1974 +it was to be introduced in enterprises of the material production +sector, excluding agriculture, provided that the required rise in +productivity has been assured. In 1975 the reduced workweek will be +introduced in transport, for management of state economic enterprises, +and for persons employed in the field of services other than health +services and educational institutions. Preparations for experiments with +a shortened workweek in these two areas and in agriculture are to be +undertaken in 1974 and 1975. The decree on working hours gave formal +approval to an established practice that requires workers to make up by +work on Saturdays or Sundays for worktime lost whenever official +holidays fall on weekdays. + + +INVESTMENT + +The proportion of national income devoted annually to capital formation +(net investment) rose steadily from 22.6 percent in 1961 to 35.4 percent +in 1966 and 1967 and declined thereafter progressively to 26.8 percent +in 1971. In absolute terms annual capital formation increased from 1.06 +billion leva in 1961 to 3.06 billion leva in 1970, then declined to 2.74 +billion leva in 1971. More than half the net addition to capital (from +46 to 67 percent annually) consisted of fixed assets; the balance +represented equipment and inventories. + +Gross investment at current prices increased from 1.4 billion leva in +1961 to 3.6 billion leva in 1971; investment was officially estimated at +3.9 billion leva in 1972 and was scheduled to reach 4.3 billion leva in +1973. The bulk of investment has been channeled into the material +production sector (including trade). The annual investment share of +this sector increased from about 74 percent in 1960 to 79 percent in +1969 and declined to 76 percent in 1971. The proportion of investment +devoted to housing and services declined correspondingly in the 1960-69 +period from 26 to 21 percent and rose in the subsequent two years to 24 +percent. The shift in the investment trend foreshadowed the formal +directive issued by the Tenth Party Congress in April 1971 for the +development of a program to raise the population's standard of living. + +Industry has been the main beneficiary of investment funds; its share +rose to almost 50 percent in 1969 but declined slightly thereafter. +Agriculture received only about 15 percent of investment in the years +1969 through 1971, compared to 28 percent in 1960 and 19 percent in +1965. Residential investment declined from 14 percent in 1960 to an +average of not quite 10 percent in the 1969-71 period. + +Building construction and installation work absorbed the largest, though +declining, share of investment--60 percent in 1960 and 46.4 percent in +1971. The share of investment spent on machinery and equipment rose by +50 percent in the 1960-69 period from 26 to 39 percent, but declined to +34 percent in 1970 and 37 percent in 1971. Imported machinery, mostly +from the Soviet Union, constituted a major though declining proportion +of investment in machinery--from two-thirds to one-half of the total in +the 1965-71 period. Other investment expenses, including geological +surveys, absorbed from 12 to 17 percent of annual investment. + +New investment has been increasingly concentrated in state enterprises. +In the 1960-71 period the proportion of investment absorbed by state +enterprises increased from 68 to 83 percent, while the share of +investment devoted to collective farms declined from 18 to 8.5 percent. +Annual investment in artisans' collectives rose from 1.2 percent of +total investment in 1960 to 2.7 percent in 1968 and declined to 1.1 +percent in 1971. This trend paralleled the government's policy of +initial encouragement and subsequent restriction of private artisan +activities; it suggests that the government's restrictive policy may not +have been limited to private artisans alone (see Organization, this +ch.). + +Private investment in residential construction declined from 12.7 +percent of annual investment in 1960 to 6.5 percent in 1970 but rose to +7.2 percent in 1971. In absolute terms private investment increased from +about 174 million leva to 262 million leva. By 1973, however, new +restrictions were being introduced on housing construction by private +individuals. As much as 90 percent of the residential construction in +1960 and 70 percent in 1971 was privately financed. In the 1968-70 +period about half the private investment in housing was supported by +bank loans or by loans from special funds of employing organizations. + +The rise in the volume of capital per worker in the 1960-70 period as a +result of the investment activity did not produce a corresponding +increase in labor productivity; that is, the efficiency of investment +declined. Whereas the amount of fixed capital per worker in the sphere +of material production increased at an average annual rate of 10.4 +percent, and the volume of machinery and inventories rose by 12.5 +percent per year, output per worker increased at an annual rate of only +7.7 percent. In an effort to increase the efficiency of investment, the +Tenth Party Congress, convened in the spring of 1971, directed that 35 +percent of new investment in the sphere of material production during +the 1971-75 period should be used for the reconstruction and +modernization of existing facilities. In 1972, however, the proportion +of investment used for this purpose was only 18 percent. + +In the context of the eventually abandoned program for economic +decentralization, provision was made for reducing the role of the +central government budget in financing investments and for increasing +participation by investors with their own funds and bank credits. In the +sphere of material production, excluding trade, budgetary allocations in +1965 accounted for 55 percent of investment, and bank credits made up 7 +percent; in 1969 investment funds from these sources constituted 21 and +32 percent, respectively. The contribution from the budget, however, +rose again after 1969 to 28 percent in 1971, whereas bank credits +declined to less than 20 percent of the investment funds. The share of +investors' own resources, including funds of local governments, +increased from 36 percent in 1965 to 52 percent in 1971. Budgetary +investment funds are being increasingly concentrated on projects in the +fields of services and raw materials production. + +A satisfactory explanation of the shifts in the pattern of investment +financing is not feasible in the absence of adequate information on the +changing methods of financing economic enterprises and organizations. +The announced government policy is to shift financing progressively from +the budget to the economic trusts. The shifts did not alter the +fundamental fact that all investment funds, excluding the small private +investment, remained public property subject to governmental controls +and that the difference was merely one of bookkeeping. The change in the +channeling of public investment funds was introduced in the hope of +increasing the effectiveness of their use. + +The realization of major investment projects, particularly in industry, +has been made possible by very substantial technical and material +assistance from the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, serious shortcomings +have been officially reported in the implementation of investment +programs, both in industrial and in residential construction. The main +problem has been posed by the initiation of building programs that +exceed the capacity of the construction industry and the consequent +scattering of limited resources. The situation has been aggravated by +frequently poor project planning, inferior design, delays in the +delivery of machinery and materials, poor organization of work, and +slack discipline. + +As a result of the difficulties in construction, the completion and +commissioning of new industrial plants has often been delayed, and +housing construction has fallen chronically short of the volume +planned--by as much as 25 percent in 1972. The consequent failure of the +anticipated output from new plants to materialize created shortages in +various areas, thereby affecting production and market supplies +adversely and necessitating revisions of the economic plans. In an +effort to minimize these difficulties, the government adopted various +administrative measures in 1971 and 1972, including the formulation of a +list of nationally important construction projects, direct supervision +of which was assumed by the Council of Ministers. The number of projects +included in the list for 1972 was variously reported as thirty-five and +thirty-nine out of a total of more than 3,000 projects. The listed +projects consisted mainly of plants for the production of industrial +materials. + + +BUDGET + +The budget constitutes the basic financial plan of the country's +leadership. It is the monetary expression of the annual socioeconomic +plan and provides for the financial flows implicit in that plan. The +budget is comprehensive; it takes into account all aspects of the +economic, social, and cultural activities of the country. In line with +the government's policy of gradually placing economic trusts and their +branches on a self-financing basis, a progressively larger share of the +funds budgeted for the economy is being retained by the trusts rather +than channeled to the budget. The sums thus retained by economic +organization rose from about 3 billion leva in 1971 to a planned level +of more than 5 billion leva in 1973. Ultimate control over the use of +these funds, nevertheless, remains with the government, and their +disposition is subject to the provisions of the budget. + +The national budget is formulated by the Ministry of Finance along lines +dictated by the BKP leadership and must be approved by the National +Assembly. As a rule only very minor modifications are made in the +process of legislative review. Budgets for local governments are +prepared as a part of the national budget; in 1972 and 1973 their total +amount was equivalent to about 17 percent of the overall national +budget. The Ministry of Finance is also responsible for ensuring the +scrupulous implementation of the budget. It is assisted in this task by +a nationwide network of state and local inspectors and by agents of the +banks. Actual budgetary results are directly affected by deviations from +the annual economic plan and therefore seldom, if ever, correspond to +the original estimates, which have the force of law. + +Systematic publication of budgetary data was discontinued in the +mid-1960s. Since then only scattered figures have become available +through press reports on the presentation of the budget to the National +Assembly and occasional articles by the minister of finance or other +ministry officials. + +The annual budgets have grown steadily larger. The approved budget for +1973 called for revenues of 7,057 million leva and expenditures of 7,035 +million leva. In 1970 actual revenues totaled 5,723 million leva, the +expenditures amounted to 5,650 million leva. Usually about 90 percent of +budgetary revenue has been derived from operations of the economy, and +the remainder has been raised through a variety of levies on the +population. The largest single item of revenue--more than 30 percent of +the total--has been collected in the form of a turnover tax on sales +that has been passed on to the ultimate consumer. The second most +important revenue source has consisted of levies on enterprises in the +form of a profits tax, a tax on fixed capital (interest charge) and +miscellaneous other deductions from income. Social security taxes based +on payrolls have been the third major source. Levied at a rate of 12.5 +percent through 1972, the social security tax was raised by 20 percent +in 1973 in order to meet rising costs. In 1972 about four-fifths of the +turnover tax and two-thirds of the revenue from taxes on profits and +capital was to be derived from industry. + +In December 1972 the BKP Central Committee plenum embarked upon a +gradual modification of the income tax system that would eventually lead +to a total abolition of income taxes for wage earners and collective +farmers by 1980. Initially, the existing system is to be improved by +introducing unified taxation for all blue- and white-collar workers and +collective farmers and by establishing a tax exemption equal to the +official minimum rate of pay. Gradual elimination of all income taxes +for these population groups in the 1976-80 period is to be synchronized +with the contemplated reform of wage scales. At the same time a system +of progressive taxation is to be introduced on incomes derived from +activities in the private sector that are not in conformity with the +amount of labor invested. + +The most complete recent information on budgetary expenditures is +available from the approved budget for 1972. Out of a total outlay of +6,514 million leva, 3,224 million leva was earmarked for the national +economy, and 2,065 million leva was set aside for social and cultural +needs. The remaining undisclosed balance of 1,225 million leva, or 19 +percent of the total outlays, must have included expenditures for +defense, internal security, and government administration. The social +and cultural expenditures included; social security payments, 1,054 +million leva; education, 532 million leva; public health, 303 million +leva; culture and arts, 83 million leva; and science, 93 million leva, +in addition to 235 million leva to be provided by research organizations +and economic trusts. + +Information on the budget for 1973 was more sketchy. No information had +been disclosed on the magnitude of the expenditure on the national +economy; the usually undisclosed residual was therefore also not +ascertainable. The increase in overall revenues and expenditures over +those in 1972 was about 8 percent. Outlays for social and cultural +affairs, however, were planned to increase by 11.8 percent, including +increases of 18.8 and 15.7 percent, respectively, for public health and +education. These figures reflected the government's announced program +for increasing the well-being of the population. + +The BKP and government leadership look upon the budget as a major tool +for executing BKP economic policies. As expressed by the minister of +finance in 1973, the budget contains a whole arsenal of financial and +economic levers--levers that must be used ever more skillfully to raise +the efficiency of economic performance, to improve the structure of +production and consumption, and to bring about a well-balanced economy. +The budget is also considered a tool for exercising effective control +over the entire sphere of production and services, not only to ensure +smooth current operations but also to inhibit any undesirable departures +from official policy. + +The disciplinary powers of the budget have yet to be more fully +developed to cope successfully with the officially reported shortcomings +in the economy. One step in this direction calls for the further +intensification of what has been officially called financial and bank +control through the lev, that is, the discretionary use of financial +sanctions, including the denial of budgetary allocations or bank +credits, to enforce strict compliance with specific plan directives. +Another advocated measure is to intensify the public campaign against +waste and the irresponsible attitude toward public funds and for tighter +financial discipline. An implacable campaign is also to be waged against +wrongs done to the citizens in the use of public funds, illegal +formation and misappropriation of funds by economic organizations, +irregularities in the supply of materials, failure to produce consumer +goods despite the availability of needed resources, accumulation of +excessive inventories, and pilferage. + +Many apparent violations of economic and budgetary discipline arise +because of the frequently inadequate knowledge or understanding by +personnel at all levels of the economy of the constantly changing laws +and regulations concerning the operation and interrelation of the +diverse economic units, particularly in the area of finance. The changes +in laws and regulations are the result of an unceasing search for a +system that would provide effective incentives toward conscientious and +efficient work to all gainfully employed persons. + + +BANKING AND CURRENCY + +Banking + +Since early 1971 the country's banking system has consisted of the +Bulgarian National Bank and two semi-independent banks attached to it: +the Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank and the State Savings Bank. This +banking system emerged after three reorganizations in the 1967-70 period +and conforms to the general pattern of institutional and management +concentration in the economy. In addition to serving as the central bank +of issue, the Bulgarian National Bank, an independent agency under the +Council of Ministers, is directly responsible for financing all sectors +and phases of the economy other than foreign trade and consumer credit, +in which fields it supervises the activities of the Bulgarian Foreign +Trade Bank and the State Savings Bank. The bank is also responsible for +exercising close control over the economic units that it finances, with +a view to ensuring the fulfillment of all national economic plans and +the scrupulous adherence to existing laws and regulations. + +A minimum of current information was available in mid-1973 on the +structure of the banks, the relationships between them, and their +financial operations. Official statistics are limited to annual data on +bank credits for investment and on the volume of outstanding short- and +long-term loan balances for the banking system as a whole. Data on +outstanding loans are broken down by type of borrower and, in the case +of short-term loans, also by purpose. With minor exceptions, no +information was available on the volume of loans extended, on loan +maturities, or on interest rates after 1970. Statistics had also been +published on the volume of personal savings in the accounts of the +saving bank at the end of each year. + +The total amount of loans outstanding at the end of the year increased +from 3.6 billion leva in 1965 to 9.2 billion leva in 1971. The +proportion of long-term loan balances rose from 24 percent of the total +amount in 1965 to 40 percent in 1970 but declined to less than 36 +percent in 1971. The increase in lending activity to 1970 was a direct +consequence of the partial shift from predominantly budgetary financing +of economic activities to a substantial measure of self-financing by +enterprises and trusts. The subsequent decline was related to the +tightening of investment credit in an effort to reduce waste in the +construction program (see Investment, this ch.). Long-term loans have +been granted predominantly, if not exclusively, for fixed investment +purposes. + +Of the 3.27 billion leva in long-term loans outstanding at the end of +1971, 2.61 billion leva was due from state and collective enterprises, +and 660 million leva was owed by private individuals who had borrowed to +finance home construction. Only 12.5 percent of the loan balances was +due from collective farms--an amount equivalent to barely 62 percent of +the sums owed by private individuals. Collective enterprises in industry +and services had outstanding loans of only 13 million leva. In relation +to the value of each sector's fixed assets in 1971, the proportion of +outstanding long-term loans was: state enterprises, 11.3 percent; +collective farms, 16.1 percent; and collective artisans, 2.9 percent. + +Nine-tenths of the short-term loan balances at the end of 1971 were owed +by state enterprises, and one-tenth was due from collective enterprises. +Wholesale and retail trade accounted for 36 percent of the outstanding +loans; industry and construction were each liable for 28 percent. +Short-term loan balances of agriculture amounted to less than 8 percent +of the total sum, and balances of the services sector constituted less +than 0.2 percent. The largest part of short-term loans was granted for +working capital purposes, including the procurement of farm products. A +balance of almost 1 billion leva, however, was outstanding on loans for +the completion of building construction, including a small amount for +housing. + +A very small, though increasing, volume of consumer loans for the +purchase of durable goods and clothing has been granted by the State +Savings Bank. The volume of such loans--36.5 million leva in 1966, 48.2 +million leva in 1967, and 45.4 million leva in 1968--was equivalent to +slightly more than 1 percent of retail sales in the commercial trade +network. The outstanding balances of consumer loans at the end of the +year rose from 49.1 million leva in 1968 to 102.1 million leva in 1971. +Consumer loans may not exceed the sum of 500 leva and may be used only +for the purchase of designated goods. In 1969 the authorized list +included twenty-three categories. A sample survey in 1969 indicated that +about two-thirds of the loan volume was used to acquire television sets, +furniture, and motorcycles; another 20 percent was spent on radios, +sewing machines, and scooters. + +Apart from consumer loans, the State Savings Bank grants small loans to +licensed private craftsmen for working capital and to collective and +state farmworkers and other qualified applicants for the purchase of +productive livestock, seeds, fertilizers, small tools, and other farm +perquisites. The bank also makes loans for adapting premises to the +needs of tourism; for current building repairs; and for meeting personal +emergencies, including loans to newlyweds for the acquisition of +furnishings. Depending upon the purpose of the loans, loan ceilings +range from 150 to 800 leva, and maturities extend from ten months to +eight years. + +The volume of consumer loans was reported to have reached 116 million +leva in 1972. Under the economic plan for 1973, the State Savings Bank +was scheduled to make loans to individuals for the purchase of consumer +goods and other needs in the amount of 203 million leva and for home +construction in the amount of 180 million leva. The bank was also +expected to lend 141 million leva to people's councils. + +Loan funds of the State Savings Bank have been derived from personal +savings deposits and, presumably, from interest payments. The bank also +conducts state lotteries for the benefit of the state budget. There is +no evidence as to whether the bank retains a portion of the lottery +proceeds for its own operations. Savings deposits increased almost +fivefold in the 1960-71 period to a level of about 3.6 billion leva--a +sum equivalent to 64 percent of total retail sales or 150 percent of +food sales through commercial and institutional channels in 1970. +According to preliminary data, savings deposits rose by 630 million leva +in 1972, and they were scheduled to increase further by 870 million leva +under the economic plan for 1973. The bulk of savings deposits has been +channeled into the budget. + +The repayment record on loans by the State Savings Bank was excellent, +at least through 1969. The proportion of delinquent loans was reduced +from 3.1 percent in 1966 to 0.01 percent in 1969. This result was +achieved by a regulation that provided for penalties to be imposed on +paymasters throughout the economy who failed to withhold or to report to +the bank monthly loan payments. According to a bank official, there had +been no need to impose any penalties because the regulation itself +proved to be an adequate deterrent. + +The loan repayment record of enterprises, trusts, and other economic +organizations has not been nearly so good and led to a tightening of +credit provisions in 1971. The proportion of overdue short-term loans in +the production sector increased from 10.7 percent in 1966 to 11.8 +percent in 1971. Similar information on long-term loans has not been +published. + +The penalty interest rate on delinquent loans is 10 percent (it was 8 +percent through 1970), compared to a normal range of 1 to 5 percent on +loans for working capital. Whenever a bank loan or supplier credit is +delinquent for more than three months and the delinquent amount exceeds +20 percent of the borrower's working capital, the borrower becomes +subject to a special credit and repayment regime, the specific +conditions of which are not known. The ultimate sanction is the refusal +of credit and, at times, even the replacement of the trust or enterprise +director. The special credit regime is also applied whenever a trust or +its branch (enterprise) stockpiles unneeded inventories; procures +materials for production without guaranteed outlets for the output; +undertakes a construction program without adequate financial provisions; +increases its obligations; or suffers a worsening of its financial +condition for any other reason. + +Interest costs in excess of those planned lower the economic +organization's income and, under the prevailing incentives system, also +reduce the funds available for the payment of wages, salaries, and +bonuses. Loan delinquency and the associated penalty interest rate, +therefore, often bring about the reduction or elimination of bonus +payments and, in extreme cases, the withholding of a portion of regular +pay. Application of the more severe sanctions entails a serious +deterioration of the economic organization's finances that adversely +affects its production program. Through close contact with borrowers and +detailed supervision of their operations the bank endeavors to forestall +delinquencies and the attendant losses to the economy. In December 1972 +the Council of Ministers adopted a decision to enhance the role of the +banking system in administering the economy by intensifying its +participation in the formulation of economic plans and by expanding its +authority in monitoring plan fulfillment. + + +Currency + +The currency unit of the country is the lev, divided into 100 stotinki +(see Glossary). It is a nonconvertible currency with a variety of +exchange rates, usable only in domestic transactions. Since January 1, +1962, the lev has been officially defined to contain 759.548 milligrams +of fine gold--equivalent to 1.17 leva per US$1 at that time. This +exchange rate was valid only for commercial transactions. In the wake of +the United States dollar devaluation on December 18, 1971, the official +commercial exchange rate was set at 1.08 leva per US$1 (greenback--see +Glossary). A further revision of the exchange rate was put into effect +on February 13, 1973, which established a parity of 0.97 leva per US$1. +The subsequent decline in the value of the dollar in foreign markets did +not call forth another official exchange revaluation to mid-1973. + +The official tourist exchange rate for so-called capitalist currencies +underwent similar revisions and was set at 1.65 leva per US$1 on +February 14, 1973. The noncommercial rate for ruble area countries, +based on a parity of 0.78 leva per 1 ruble, was equivalent to 0.64 leva +per US$1 until that date; thereafter, at the new ruble-United States +dollar parity, it was equivalent to about 0.59 leva per US$1. + +In addition to the official exchange rates, there are three varieties of +clearing account rates. The multilateral transferable ruble is used to +clear accounts with other European members of the Council for Mutual +Economic Assistance (COMECON--see Glossary). Socialist bilateral units +arise from bilateral trade agreements with other communist countries. +Neither of these two exchange varieties has private markets abroad. +Bilateral clearing units arise from bilateral trade and payments +agreements with about thirty noncommunist trading partners. These +clearing units are traded sporadically abroad at varying rates of +discount. + +The lev has been traded on the black market in exchange for so-called +capitalist banknotes or gold coins. The black market rate of the lev +fluctuated between 4.60 leva per US$1 in January 1963 and 2.58 leva per +US$1 in June 1972. + +Except for small remittances or travel allocations to other communist +countries, the lev is nontransferable for residents; resident status +applies to all physical and juridical persons who have resided in the +country for more than six months, regardless of their citizenship. +Ownership of or trade in gold, foreign currencies, or so-called +capitalist securities is prohibited, as is the import and export of +Bulgarian banknotes. There are no investments by noncommunist country +nationals in Bulgaria. + +Exchange transactions are administered by the Bulgarian National Bank +jointly with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, and +the Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank. Bulgaria is neither a member of the +International Bank for Reconstruction and Development nor of the +International Monetary Fund. Statistics on currency in circulation, the +public debt, foreign exchange reserves, gold stocks, and the balance of +payments have not been published. + + +FOREIGN TRADE + +Foreign trade is a state monopoly. Trade policy is formulated by the BKP +and government leadership; it is translated into a complex set of laws +and regulations designed to encourage the expansion and qualitative +improvement of production for export, to promote import substitution, +and to bring about greater efficiency in production and foreign trade +operations. Control over foreign trade is shared by the Ministry of +Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Finance, and the Bulgarian National Bank +through the Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank. + +Along with other elements of the economic structure, the foreign trade +apparatus and the laws and regulations governing foreign trade have been +frequently modified. As a result, there are two basic types of foreign +trade organization: those attached to and serving individual economic +trusts with a large export volume and organizations serving several +trusts whose export activity did not justify a separate export +department. Two foreign trade organizations that imported most +industrial materials were attached to economic trusts responsible for +the domestic distribution of supplies. Foreign trade organizations +affiliated with trusts retain their legal identity and are not +considered to be branches of the trusts they serve. Relations between +foreign trade organizations and the trusts whose products they handle +are governed by contracts, the framework of which is provided by +official regulations. As a rule, foreign trade organizations carry on +their activities for the account of the trust. There are a few +organizations, however, that trade for their own account, and there are +also a few economic trusts that have the right to engage in foreign +trade activity directly. + +Export plans are approved by the Council of Ministers for each economic +trust in physical and value terms and by major trading areas, that is, +member countries of COMECON, other communist countries, Western +industrialized nations, and developing countries. Trusts pass their +trade plans to foreign trade organizations. The plan of a single trust +may be apportioned among several foreign trade organizations, and many +foreign trade organizations receive plan assignments from several trusts +so that their own foreign trade plan is a composite. + +Under the regulations of 1971, as amplified in 1972, and unlike earlier +conditions, the financial results of export operations are directly +reflected in the producer's profit position. This circumstance is +counted upon by the leadership to motivate trusts toward attaining +optimum efficiency in export production and toward adjusting output to +foreign market requirements. Financial incentives to surpass official +foreign trade targets are provided by allocating the producers and +foreign trade organizations a portion of the receipts from excess +exports and a portion of savings made on imports through import +substitution. Excess exports may not be made by diverting output +scheduled for the domestic market, and savings on imports may not be +made at the cost of quantitative or qualitative deterioration of the +domestic supply. + +Producers for export are obligated both to produce the items called for +by the export plan in accordance with specifications and to meet +contractual delivery dates; with few exceptions, they have no direct +contact with foreign buyers. It is the responsibility of the foreign +trade organizations to seek out the most profitable markets and to +handle all physical and financial details of the trade transactions. It +is also their duty to keep producers currently informed about changing +conditions in world markets and to make them aware of needed adjustments +in production. + +Standard subsidies per 100 leva, differing by trading area, are granted +on all exports. These subsidies, in effect, modify the official exchange +rate so that trade is actually conducted on a multiple exchange rate +basis. Subsidies from the state budget are also provided for exports, +the returns from which do not cover costs. Special bonuses are offered +to economic trusts and their branches that fulfill or surpass their +export assignments to noncommunist markets. Proceeds from exports are +credited to the economic trusts and not to the foreign trade +organizations. + +Relations between economic trusts and foreign trade organizations are +determined in broad outline by government regulations. Specific details, +however, including precise financial arrangements that are the core of +the relationship, must be worked out by the parties to the contract. +This situation provides opportunities for friction that may be harmful +to the export program. Trusts and export associations were therefore +enjoined to undertake negotiations in a cooperative spirit and to avoid +taking advantage of their monopoly position as producers or exporters. +Disputes that threaten to involve financial losses are to be settled by +the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Finance. + +Total trade turnover increased more than 3.5 times in the 1960-71 period +to a level of 5 billion leva, including 2.55 billion leva in exports and +2.45 billion leva in imports. The growth of trade was erratic, +particularly in the case of imports. Over the entire 1960-68 period, +however, the average annual growth of exports and imports was almost +identical--13.9 and 13.8 percent, respectively. In the subsequent three +years exports rose almost twice as rapidly as imports, though at a +lower rate than in earlier years. The change in the relative rates of +growth during the 1969-71 period--10.5 percent for exports and 5.6 +percent for imports--helped reverse the consistently negative trade +balance of the earlier period and produced trade surpluses in three +consecutive years. + +The great bulk of the trade has been carried on with communist +countries, primarily the Soviet Union. The share of these countries in +total trade, however, declined from 85 percent in 1961 to 78 percent in +1970; it had fallen to 73 percent in 1966. Communist countries outside +COMECON, primarily Cuba and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North +Vietnam), accounted for only 3 to 4 percent of the trade annually. The +Soviet Union alone provided more than half the imports and absorbed an +equal amount of exports. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) +and Czechoslovakia were the main COMECON trading partners after the +Soviet Union, but the volume of trade with these countries was very much +lower. The share of East Germany in the total trade had been 10.5 +percent in 1960 but ranged between 8 and 8.6 percent in the 1965-70 +period. The proportion of trade with Czechoslovakia declined from 9.7 +percent in 1960 to only 4.8 percent in 1970. + +The orientation of trade toward the Soviet Union has been based largely +on political factors but has also been dictated by the shortage of +export goods salable in Western markets and the inadequacy of foreign +exchange reserves (see ch. 10). Trade with COMECON members is conducted +on the basis of bilateral clearing accounts that do not involve the use +of foreign exchange. Furthermore, the Soviet Union has supplied Bulgaria +with a large volume of industrial plants and equipment in exchange for +the products of these plants. In the 1971-75 period trade with the +Soviet Union is scheduled to increase by 60 percent over the volume in +the preceding five-year period, and the share of the Soviet Union in the +total trade volume is planned to reach 68 percent. + +Trade with noncommunist countries rose from about 15 percent of the +total volume in 1961 to 27 percent in 1966 but declined thereafter to 22 +percent in 1970. From three-fourths to four-fifths of this trade was +accounted for by Western industrialized nations, primarily the Federal +Republic of Germany (West Germany), Italy, France and Great Britain. The +balance of the noncommunist trade was with developing countries, mainly +India, the United Arab Republic (UAR), and Iraq. Trade with the United +States has been negligible. + +There has been a gradual shift in exports from agricultural to +industrial commodities and from raw materials to manufactured and +semiprocessed products. Yet in 1970 exports of agricultural origin still +constituted 55 percent of the export volume, including 8 percent of raw +farm products. The share of industrial exports rose from 25 percent in +1960 to 45 percent in 1970, of which 13 and 27 percent, respectively, +consisted of machinery and equipment. In 1972 the proportion of +machinery and equipment in exports was reported to have risen to 34 +percent. + +Machinery and equipment have been exported almost exclusively to +communist and developing countries. In 1968, the last year for which +information was available, machinery and equipment constituted only 1.8 +percent of exports to Western industrialized nations. + +Imports in the 1960-70 period consisted predominantly of machinery and +equipment, fuels, raw and processed industrial materials, and raw farm +commodities. Imports of foods and industrial consumer goods were limited +to about 10 percent per year. Machinery and equipment constituted from +40 to 44 percent of imports; fuels and industrial materials accounted +for about one-third; and agricultural raw materials made up the balance. + +In the 1960-70 period the country's overall trade balance was negative +each year with the exception of 1969 and 1970. The trade deficit for the +entire period amounted to 580 million leva, including 530 million leva +in the trade with noncommunist countries and 50 million leva in the +trade with communist partners. A breakdown of the trade balance by all +four trading areas was available only for the 1965-70 period. For that +period the overall trade deficit amounted to 278 million leva. Whereas +trade with communist and developing countries had positive balances of +148 million leva and 154 million leva, trade with developed Western +countries accumulated a deficit of 580 million leva. Almost all of this +deficit was incurred in the years 1965 through 1967, when government +controls over foreign trade were temporarily relaxed in an aborted +economic reform. Under the system of bilateral agreements governing +Bulgaria's trade, the surplus in the trade with communist and developing +countries cannot be used to offset the deficit with Western trading +partners. + +Data bearing on the balance of payments have never been published. The +Soviet Union has granted substantial loans to Bulgaria since 1946, some +of which were used to finance imports from that country. Bulgaria, in +turn, has made some loans to developing countries to help finance its +exports. A portion of the deficit with Western trading partners may be +offset by income from the rising Western European tourist trade, +particularly with West Germany. A reputable Western source reported +Bulgaria's indebtedness to Western nations to have been US$88 million in +1971, but the basis of this estimate and the degree of its reliability +are not known. + + + + +CHAPTER 13 + +AGRICULTURE + + +In the spring of 1973 the country's political and governmental +leadership expressed serious concern about the uneven growth of +agriculture over a period of several years. Although wheat production +had progressed satisfactorily and reached a record level in 1972, and +good results had also been obtained in the cultivation of tobacco and +tomatoes--both of which are important export crops--the expansionary +trend in fruit growing was reversed in 1968, and cattle raising had +stagnated for at least a decade. + +The situation was particularly disappointing to the leadership because +in 1970 it had embarked on a comprehensive long-range program for +raising agricultural productivity and output through the introduction of +industrial production methods on the farms. To that end the country's +farms were consolidated into 170 agroindustrial complexes intended to +bring the advantages of scientific organization, concentration and +specialization of production, mechanization, and automation to all +phases of agricultural work. Planning for these complexes has been +concentrated at the highest government level, and any modification of +the obligatory plans requires the approval of the Council of Ministers. + +In this process the traditional distinction between state and collective +property has been blurred and is slated for gradual elimination; the +same is true for the differences in status of industrial and farm +workers. The new approach to farm organization was taken despite severe +shortages of adequately trained management and technical personnel and +in the face of the demonstrated superior productivity of tiny farm plots +cultivated for their own benefit by individual farm and industrial +workers. + +It is difficult to arrive at a comprehensive and balanced assessment of +agricultural development and of the situation in the 1972/73 +agricultural year because of the continuing changes in the agricultural +regime and the lack of essential data. All published information, +including critical comments, emanates from controlled official sources. +The press output tends to concentrate on problem areas, treating other +aspects in uninformative generalities. Officials and press have been +especially silent on the question of the farmers' reactions to the new +agricultural order, beyond claiming the farmers' whole-hearted support +for every new agricultural edict. + + +CLIMATE AND SOILS + +Natural conditions are generally favorable for agriculture. Fertile +soils and a varied climate make possible the cultivation of a wide +variety of field crops, fruits, and vegetables, including warm-weather +crops, such as cotton, tobacco, rice, sesame, and grapes. Frequent +summer droughts, however, lead to wide fluctuations in crop yields and +necessitate extensive irrigation. + +The Stara Planina (literally, Old Mountain), or Balkan Mountains, divide +the country into several climatic and agricultural regions. The broad +Danubian tableland that lies north of these mountains has a continental +climate, except for a narrow strip along the Black Sea coast. Cold +winter winds sweep across the plateau from the Eurasian land mass, +causing prolonged periods of frost, which tend to damage orchards and +vineyards. There are 180 to 215 frost-free days in the year, and summers +are hot. A continental climate also prevails in the Sofia Basin and in +the region surrounding the headwaters of the Struma River. + +In the Thracian Plain, south of the Stara Planina, the continental +climate is modified somewhat by the influence of the Mediterranean Sea. +Compared to the Danubian plateau, winters are less severe, and summers +are longer and warmer. The number of frost-free days per year ranges +from 198 to 206. A near-Mediterranean climate prevails in the valleys of +the lower Struma, Mesta, and Maritsa rivers; in the Arda basin; and on +the southern slopes of the Rodopi (or Rhodope Mountains) (see ch. 3). +The mountains protect the inland valleys and basins from strong winds; +summers there are hot, and winters are mild. Yet winters are not mild +enough for the cultivation of Mediterranean crops, such as olives and +citrus fruits. + +The Black Sea coast is warmer than the interior of the country in winter +but cooler in summer; from 241 to 260 days in the year are frost free. +Frequent gale storms and hot winds resembling the African sirocco, +however, have an adverse influence on crops. + +Although annual rainfall is reported to average about forty inches on +the higher mountain slopes and to reach seventy-five inches in the Rila +mountain range, precipitation in most farming areas averages only twenty +to twenty-five inches per year. Rainfall measures even less than twenty +inches in the Plovdiv area and in the coastal districts of the Dobrudzha +region in the northeast. Most of the rainfall occurs in the summer +months, but the amount and timing of precipitation are often unfavorable +for optimum crop growth. Drought conditions reached crisis proportions +in 1958 and 1963 and were serious also in 1968. In 1972 most crops were +adversely affected by a spring drought and excessive rains in the early +fall; the grape crop was an almost total loss. + +Soils of superior and intermediate quality make up almost three-fourths +of the country's surface. The Danubian plateau contains several grades +of chernozem (black earth), which gradually give way to gray forest +soils in the foothills of the Stara Planina. A degraded chernozem called +_smolnitsa_, or pitch soil, predominates in the Thracian Plain, the +Tundzha and Burgas lowlands, and the Sofia Basin. This central region is +encircled at higher elevations by a belt of chestnut and brown forest +soils. Similar chestnut soils are also found in the Strandzha upland, in +the basins of the eastern Rodopi region, and in the Struma and Maritsa +valleys. Brown forest soils and mountain meadow soils occur in the Stara +Planina and in the Rila, Pirin, and western Rodopi. Alluvial soils, +often of good quality, are found alongside the rivers, particularly the +Danube and Maritsa, and also in several basins. + + +LAND USE + +In 1970 agricultural land comprised almost 15 million acres, or 53 +percent of the country's land area. Sixty-nine percent of the +agricultural land was suitable for field crops; 4 percent consisted of +meadows; and about 6 percent was devoted to vineyards, orchards, and +other perennial crops. Natural pastures constituted more than 20 percent +of the agricultural land. Bulgarian economists have repeatedly pointed +out that the per capita acreage of farmland in the country, excluding +pastures, is among the lowest in the world. + +According to official statistics the area of agricultural land increased +by 840,000 acres in the 1960s as a result of the expansion of grazing +areas by 1.1 million acres and the simultaneous loss of 270,000 acres of +cultivated land. The loss of cultivated acreage was caused by the +diversion of land to industrial and other uses and by severe soil +erosion. The acreage devoted to vineyards and orchards nevertheless +increased by 100,000 acres, or 12 percent. + + +Land Protection + +More than half the cultivated acreage is subject to erosion. +Increasingly large areas degraded by erosion have remained uncultivated +each year, but they continue to be included in the annual statistics on +farmland acreage. The unused area of plowland expanded from 720,000 +acres in 1960 to 1.26 million acres in 1970. Another 1.5 million to 2 +million acres have been reported to suffer from erosion to a degree that +will make it necessary to abandon them unless corrective measures are +quickly taken. Only 70 percent of the acreage under fruit trees and +vineyards bore fruit in 1970. + +The government has long been aware of the need to arrest the loss of +cultivated farmland. An intensive program of reforestation has been +carried on over many years, but the rate of replanting has not been high +enough to halt the ravages of erosion. Proposals advanced by +agricultural experts to clear abandoned mountain farmland of noxious +weeds and to develop these areas into improved pastures--measures that +would also help control erosion--have not been acted upon. + +In 1967 the continued loss of valuable farmland led to the promulgation +of a special law for the preservation of land; details of this law are +not available. In 1972 the Council of Ministers issued an order, +effective January 1, 1973, that provided, in part, for payments to be +made into a special land improvement fund in the event of diversion of +farmland for construction purposes. Depending upon the quality of the +land, payments into the fund range from 162 leva (for the value of the +lev--see Glossary) to 48,560 leva per acre. Land used for afforestation, +cemeteries, and housing or public works under the jurisdiction of town +authorities is exempt from the payment requirement. The exemption also +applies to land used for open pit mining on condition that the land is +rehabilitated in accordance with plans and within time limits approved +by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Industry (hereafter referred +to as the Ministry of Agriculture). + +In 1970 the government created special district councils for the +preservation of cultivated land and, in May 1971, placed the councils +under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture. The decree of +1971 required the ministry and district governments to take decisive +measures for the increased protection of farmland. The decree also +directed the chief prosecutor's office to increase control over the +expropriation of farmland for construction and other nonagricultural +purposes and to impose severe penalties on violators of the land +protection law. + +The land protection measures were not sufficiently effective. The +acreage abandoned in the 1966-70 period was three times larger than the +area abandoned in the preceding five years. In January 1973 an inspector +of the Committee for State Control stated publicly that the farmland +problem had become increasingly more serious and that the committee was +obliged to intervene in order to identify shortcomings in the land +preservation work and to assist in eliminating the deficiencies. At the +same time the Council of Ministers reprimanded a deputy minister of +agriculture and the heads of two district governments for grave +shortcomings in the preservation and use of farmland. + +In an effort to gain control over the deteriorating farmland situation, +a new land protection law that replaced the law of 1967 was passed in +March 1973. The new law explicitly provided that only land unsuitable +for agricultural purposes or farmland of low productivity could be put +to nonagricultural use. Under the law expansion of towns and villages +was to be allowed only after a specified density of construction had +been reached. Construction of country homes and resort facilities was +restricted to land unsuitable for agriculture. Provision was made for +regulations that would offer material and moral incentives to use +unproductive land for construction purposes, and more severe penalties +were prescribed for violations that result in the waste of arable land. + + +Irrigation + +Somewhat better results have been achieved in the expansion of +irrigation. In the 1965-70 period the irrigable area increased at an +annual average of 44,000 acres from 2.25 million to 2.47 million acres, +or 21 percent of the cultivated land. Under the Sixth Five-Year Plan +(1971-75) 494,000 acres are to be added to the irrigable area, raising +the total irrigable acreage to 26 percent of the cultivated land. During +the first two years of the plan period 124,000 acres were equipped for +irrigation, and 80,000 acres were to be made irrigable in 1973. In order +to complete the five-year irrigation program on schedule, therefore, it +would be necessary to bring under irrigation 270,000 acres in the last +two years of the plan period--a task not likely to be accomplished in +the light of past experience and of available resources. + +Only about 70 percent of the irrigable acreage was actually irrigated in +the 1965-70 period. Although the irrigated area of 1.7 million acres in +1970 represented an increase of 21 percent of the acreage irrigated in +1965, it was 17 percent smaller than the acreage irrigated in 1968. + +Primitive gravity irrigation is practiced on about nine-tenths of the +irrigated area. Water is distributed over the fields from unlined +earthen canals by means of furrows dug with a hoe. The work entails hard +manual labor, and a single worker can handle only about 1.25 to 2.5 +acres per day. The timing of the water application and the quantity of +water used are not properly adjusted to the needs of the various crops, +so that the increase in yields is only half as great as that obtained +under optimum conditions, and about half the water is wasted. The +network of irrigation ditches also impedes mechanical cultivation of the +fields. Improper irrigation and drainage techniques have raised the +groundwater level excessively in several districts and have caused +various degrees of soil salinization in areas totaling more than 39,000 +acres. + +The five-year plan program for new irrigated areas calls for the +construction of stationary sprinkler systems over 25,000 acres; 469,000 +acres are to be provided with portable sprinkler systems. Reconstruction +and modernization of existing basic facilities are to be limited to the +lining of canals. The ultimate longer term goal is to establish fully +automated stationary sprinkler systems in most irrigated districts. The +main problems in carrying out the irrigation program, in the view of an +irrigation authority official, are posed by the paucity of investment +funds allotted for this purpose and the contradictory nature of some of +the program's aims. Additional difficulties are presented by the +shortage of irrigation pipes and materials for their fabrication, +inadequate experience in the manufacture of advanced irrigation +equipment, and the lack of facilities for experimentation and testing. + + +Cropping Pattern + +The area of field crops amounted to almost 9 million acres in 1970; it +had declined by 887,000 acres after 1960. The proportions of this +acreage devoted to the major types of crops were: grains, 62.5 percent; +industrial crops, 14.6 percent; feed crops, 18.7 percent; and +vegetables, potatoes, and melons, 4.2 percent. In accord with the +government's policy of intensifying agricultural production, the acreage +of bread grains had steadily declined, so that in 1970 it constituted +somewhat less than half the total grain acreage. The area of feed grains +remained fairly stable; a decline in corn acreage was virtually balanced +by an increase in the acreage of barley. A slight reduction also took +place in the acreage of pulses, but the area under rice expanded by 70 +percent. + +Whereas the total area of industrial crops changed very little in the +1960-70 period, a significant shift took place in the relative size of +the individual crop areas. While the acreages of oilseeds and tobacco +expanded significantly, the acreages of fibers, particularly cotton, and +of essential oils and medicinal plants declined sharply. + +The area devoted to vegetables expanded by 20 percent. The tomato +acreage expanded at about twice that rate and accounted for one-fourth +of the vegetable acreage in 1970; tomatoes constitute an important +export crop. The potato acreage, on the other hand, declined by roughly +20 percent during the period. + +The area of fodder crops suffered a substantial decline, particularly in +the case of annual grasses and silage crops. The loss was only partially +offset by the expansion of the perennial grass acreage. + +Rapid expansion also took place in the areas of apple orchards and +vineyards. The acreage of bearing apple trees increased by about 70 +percent in the 1970-70 period. During the same period the acreage of +producing vineyards grew by 24 percent, while the acreage of table +grapes increased by 2.3 times. Fruits and grapes are also important +export commodities. Expansion of the total acreage under fruit trees and +berries, however, was much slower--17 percent in the 1960-68 period--and +a decline in the acreage set in after 1968. In the spring of 1973 Todor +Zhivkov, the communist party leader, called for decisive action to halt +the unfavorable trend. He reported that plans for orchard and berry +plantings were not fulfilled in 1972; that from 27,000 to 40,000 acres +of orchards had been uprooted over a period of a few years; and that the +vineyard acreage had declined by 25,000 acres compared with the acreage +in 1968. Reasons for these developments had not been made public. + +The little information available on the subject suggests that price +considerations have been the major reason for the crop acreage changes. +The price system and official regulations governing farm production have +not always operated in the manner planned by the government. Farms, for +instance, have steadfastly refused to enlarge the acreage of irrigated +corn to the extent demanded by the government, preferring to use +irrigation for more profitable crops. In 1971 the farms failed to plant +the prescribed acreage of feed crops or to expand the production of +vegetables. Public statements by the government on the reasons for these +problems have been most guarded. After a thorough review of the +situation in the spring of 1972, the Committee for State Control issued +a release that concluded by stating that the reasons for the problems +were analyzed in detail and that, after discussion, specific proposals +were made to the appropriate ministries. + + +ORGANIZATION + +The organizational structure of agriculture in all its aspects is in a +state of transition, which will not be completed for several years. The +reorganization was decided upon by the Central Committee of the BKP +(Bulgarian Communist Party--see Glossary) in April 1970 on the +initiative of Zhivkov. The latest of several laws and decrees published +in this context appeared in June 1972 with an effective date of January +1, 1973. The new organizational policy represents a tightening of +central controls over agriculture. + + +Agroindustrial Complexes + +The basic unit in the new organizational system, which is relied upon to +realize the leadership's agricultural policies, is the agroindustrial +complex. The agroindustrial complex is an organization comprising +several previously independent, contiguous collective and (or) state +farms having similar climatic and soil conditions. The complex may also +include other organizations that are engaged in the production, +processing, and distribution of farm products or in other activities +related predominantly to agriculture. + +In the fall of 1972 there were 170 agroindustrial complexes formed +through the consolidation of 845 collective farms and 170 state farms; +including the private plots of collective and state farmers, they +contained 92.5 percent of the cultivated land and accounted for 95.4 +percent of the farm output. Except for a few experimental units created +in 1969, most agroindustrial complexes were established toward the end +of 1970 and in early 1971. Only a small number of private farms located +in difficult mountain areas remained outside the new system. + +The average agroindustrial complex is composed of five or six farms +having a cultivated area variously reported as 59,000 to 68,000 acres +and a permanent work force of about 6,500 people. Although the large +size of the complexes has been questioned by several economists on +grounds of efficiency, Zhivkov was reported to have suggested the +possibility of eventually merging the existing complexes into only +twenty-eight districtwide units. + + +Types and Aims + +The announced purpose of the reorganization is to increase productivity +through concentration and specialization of agriculture on an industrial +basis in accord with the requirements of the current scientific and +technical revolution and with the achieved level of maturity of the +country's economy. The reorganization is intended to increase output, +improve quality, reduce costs, and increase the exportable surplus. It +is also expected to bring about social improvement in the countryside by +raising the farmworkers' incomes and helping to reduce the differences +between town and country. Government officials intend to complete the +transition to the new organizational structure by 1980. + +The original aim of the new farm policy in the late 1960s was to create +large-scale regional organizations to handle all aspects of the +production, processing, and distribution of foods and the supply of +machinery, fertilizers, and other farm needs through vertical +integration of the consolidated farm organizations with industrial and +distribution enterprises. This aspect of farm policy is to be realized +gradually over a period of years. In the meantime vertical integration +will be based predominantly on contractual relations. + +A first step in vertical integration of agriculture and the food +industry was taken in December 1972 with the establishment of an +agroindustrial trust called Bulgarian Sugar. Seven agroindustrial +complexes were to be created around an equal number of sugar mills +grouped in the newly formed trust. The complexes were to average 100,000 +acres in size, one-fourth of which would be used each year for the +production of sugar beets. The first such complex was established in +Ruse in January 1973. The crop rotation is to include wheat, corn, and +fodder crops which, together with by-products from the sugar production, +are to provide the feed base for livestock keeping. All farmlands in the +new organization are to become state property, and farmworkers are to +acquire the status of industrial workers subject to the provisions of +the Labor Code. + +Two basic types of agroindustrial complexes are provided for by the +regulations. The first type is a membership organization in which the +constituent farms retain their juridical identity and a certain measure +of economic independence. The second type is a centralized organization +in which the constituent farms are merged and lose their separate +identities. A further distinction is made depending upon the nature of +the constituent farms and other economic organizations. Agroindustrial +complexes composed only of collective farms and other collective +organizations are called cooperative complexes. Those constituted by +state farms and other state economic organizations are known as state +complexes. If both state and collective farms or other organizations +are members, the complex is referred to as state-cooperative. The +distinctions have both legal and economic implications. + +In early 1971 the form of the 139 agroindustrial complexes established +up to that time was: collective, seventy-seven; state, seven; and +state-cooperative, fifty-five. Six complexes were created as centralized +organizations in which the constituent farms lost their legal +independence. The largest of these complexes covered an area of 145,000 +acres. + + +Legal and Economic Aspects + +The legal and economic aspects of the farm consolidation are extremely +involved, and most of the problems raised by consolidation have not been +worked out even theoretically. Activities of cooperative and +state-cooperative complexes are governed by the Provisional Regulation +issued in October 1970 and by earlier regulations concerning collective +organizations in matters not covered by the Provisional Regulation. +State agroindustrial complexes are subject to the same regulations that +apply to all state economic associations (trusts). The Ministry of +Agriculture was directed to prepare a draft statute for agroindustrial +complexes by the end of 1972, which was to be submitted at an indefinite +future date to the first agroindustrial complex conference for +discussion and adoption. + +Official statements and documents have emphasized the voluntary and +democratic nature of agroindustrial complexes. Zhivkov's report to the +Central Committee plenum stated that farms would be free to opt whether +or not to join a complex and which complex to join if they decided to do +so. They were also to have freedom of decision concerning the +establishment of joint enterprises. The plenum's decision used a broader +formulation by referring only to voluntarism in the formation of +agroindustrial complexes on the basis of mutual advantage. The +Provisional Regulation contains a clause that permits farms and other +organizations to withdraw from the agroindustrial complex at their own +request. + +Other provisions governing the establishment of agroindustrial +complexes, however, conflicted with the principle of voluntarism. The +composition, size, and production specialization of each complex was to +have a scientific foundation, and arbitrary decisions--as they were +called--as to which farms to include in a particular complex were not to +be tolerated. The requirement of territorial unity also nullified the +right of independent choice for most farms. Except for those located on +the borders of adjoining complexes, farms had perforce to join the +complex formed in their area. The speed with which the agroindustrial +complexes were formed throughout the entire country, with considerable +loss of independence for the farms, also suggests that the voluntary +nature of the complexes is a fiction. Available sources have contained +no reference to any change in the affiliation of farms from one complex +to another, let alone to the withdrawal of any farm from a complex. The +decree on the organization and management of agriculture that went into +effect on January 1, 1973, contained no provision for a farm's +withdrawal from an agroindustrial complex. + +The major tasks assigned to the agroindustrial complexes include: the +creation of large specialized units for the various types of +agricultural production; the introduction of mechanized industrial +methods of production; the efficient application of human and material +resources; and the equitable distribution of income to workers and +managers in a manner that will provide an incentive for conscientious +work. Only preliminary official directives have been issued to guide the +agroindustrial complexes in these matters. Economists, agricultural +scientists, and officials have labored to develop a scientific basis for +the effective solution of the problems of transition. + +One of the basic issues raised by the creation of agroindustrial +complexes concerns the ownership of land in the new organizations, +particularly in complexes that unite collective and state farms. +Legally, collective farm members retained ownership of the land they +contributed to the collective, although they have been unable to +exercise any ownership rights. Until 1961 collective farm members +received a rental payment for the land in the annual distribution of the +farm's income. There is an apparent official reluctance for political +reasons abruptly to convert collective property to state ownership. +Public statements have indicated that the difference between collective +and state property may be eliminated by transforming both into national +property. Under the prevailing economic system the distinction between +state and national property is purely verbal. + + +Private Farm Plots + +In the current reorganization of agriculture there is no intention to +eliminate the time-honored institution of private subsidiary farm plots +held by collective farm members, state farm and industrial workers, +artisans, and other individuals. In the 1965-70 period private plots +constituted only 10 percent of the farmland, yet in 1968 they accounted +for 22 percent of the crop output and 33 percent of the livestock +output. In 1970 the proportions of livestock products contributed by the +private plots were: milk, 23 percent; meat and wool, 31 percent; eggs, +50 percent; honey, 70 percent; and silk, 89 percent. + +Despite the support of private farm plots by the leadership, many local +officials consider them to be incompatible with the socialist system and +place various obstacles, often illegal, in the way of their operation. +In the directives for the Sixth Five-Year Plan the party reaffirmed the +importance of private farm plots as a reserve for the increase of farm +output and particularly of livestock production. In a subsequently +published decree, which lifted restrictions on livestock rearing on +private plots, the party and government again stressed that private +plots will be an important source of products for their owners and for +sale to the state. + +The growing importance of private plots for collective farmers was +disclosed by income data published in the spring of 1973. In the 1960-70 +period the average annual income of permanently employed collective +farmers from private plots increased from 251 leva to 620 leva, while +the average remuneration for work performed on the collective property +rose from 458 leva to 847 leva. Whereas the growth of income from +collective farm work amounted to 85 percent, income from private plots +advanced by 147 percent. + + +PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT + +Agricultural planning has been highly centralized by the decree +effective January 1, 1973. The system of planning has been made to +conform to the system used for other sectors of the economy, with some +allowances for the specific conditions of agricultural organization and +production. Planning is to encompass long-range (ten to fifteen-years), +five-year, and annual plans that must be coordinated with a general plan +for regional development. + +Planning in agriculture is to be based on the balancing of inputs and +outputs and the use of government-determined long-range norms, limits, +and indexes. Wide use is to be made of econometric models in the search +for optimal solutions. The norms, limits, and indexes are to be +elaborated in direct relation to the natural and economic conditions of +individual agroindustrial complexes, crop varieties, kinds and breeds of +livestock, farm technology, and the availability of physical resources +and manpower. The norms, limits, and indexes are to be of such a nature +as to contribute to a continuous upgrading of agricultural efficiency, +that is, they will become increasingly more demanding as time +progresses. They are binding for planners and managers at all levels +from the central government authorities down to the farm. + +In essence the agricultural plan consists of state-imposed production +targets and estimates of resources to be allocated for their attainment, +together with detailed directives for the use of the resources and for +the introduction of technological improvements. Responsibility for +fulfilling the planned tasks rests upon the management of the +agroindustrial complexes. The planned targets and conditions for their +attainment are formulated for each individual complex by the State +Planning Committee together with the Ministry of Agriculture and the +local district people's council; all plans are approved by the Council +of Ministers. + +Ten groups of norms, limits, and indexes enter into the formulation of +plan targets. They specify progressive technical measures to be +introduced; the physical volume of each crop and livestock product to be +sold to the state; the volume of capital investment and its specific +uses; consumption norms for all materials, parts, and products in +accordance with a list approved by the Council of Ministers; allowable +expenditures for each 100 leva of farm products and for labor +remuneration per 100 leva of total income; norms for the formation of +various operating and reserve funds and for material incentives; and +limits for the development of social amenities within the agroindustrial +complex. + +The five-year plan tasks are broken down by years and may be changed +only in exceptional cases. The required changes may be made by the +Ministry of Agriculture, with the approval of the State Planning +Committee, upon request made by the executive committee of the district +people's council. Whenever a specific change is introduced, all +necessary corrections must be made to maintain the overall balance of +the plan. + +The agroindustrial complexes must distribute the planned tasks handed to +them from above among their constituent units in accordance with +standards and conditions spelled out by the Ministry of Agriculture. The +district people's councils are required to take an active part in the +process of coordinating the plan and in measures for its attainment +among the units of the agroindustrial complex. On the basis of the state +plan each agroindustrial complex and its constituent parts must prepare +what has been called a counterplan, that is, a plan that sets higher +goals than those officially established. + +The large size and diversified operations of the agroindustrial +complexes place a heavy demand upon the expertise of management. Most of +the available specialists do not have the requisite training to solve +the numerous problems posed by planning and operational direction under +the new conditions. Adaptation of agricultural school curricula to the +new requirements and speedy retraining of specialists are therefore +considered to be most urgent. + +Some optimistic agricultural officials place high hopes in the +introduction of computer-based automatic control systems. An electronic +computer center was established at the Ministry of Agriculture in 1969, +staffed by a group of 104 enthusiastic young specialists. They undertook +the task of developing a single automated control system for agriculture +and food production in the entire country by 1975, to be based on a +number of integrated local and regional computer centers. By the end of +1970 the computer center had worked out annual plans for several farms +and a plan for hothouse production in the country. It was in the process +of finding a solution to a basic problem of the feed industry--a +solution that would also drastically reduce the industry's +transportation costs. + +Considerable attention has also been given to the problem of +communication in connection with the internal direction of the +agroindustrial complexes' varied activities. Here, too, the idea has +been advanced for automated control centers from which instructions +would be issued to all operating divisions and workers in the field +through radiotelephones or similar equipment. In this context a +university instructor analyzing the management problems of +agroindustrial complexes remarked that it was premature to speak of +modern administrative and management methods as long as it was easier +and faster to go by car from the farm center to any of the neighboring +villages than to reach them by telephone. + + +LABOR AND WAGES + +Official data on manpower and employment in agriculture are incomplete +and incommensurate. The number of people gainfully employed in +agriculture in 1970 was reported to have been 35.2 percent of the total +in the economy, compared to 54.7 percent in 1960 and 44.9 percent in +1965. Full-time employment on farms of the agroindustrial complexes in +1970 was reported as 1,117,000 people--a reduction of 278,000 from the +1,395,000 employed in 1965. Yet the number of female collective +farmworkers alone in 1969 was reported to have been 1,682,000, more than +1 million of whom participated full or part time in the collective work +of the farms. No explanation concerning the discrepancies in these +reported figures was available. The Sixth Five-Year Plan is variously +reported to call for the transfer of an additional 220,000 or 350,000 +people from the farms to nonagricultural employment. + +The out-migration, mostly of young people, from agriculture brought +about a deterioration in the age structure of the remaining farm +population. The proportion of the sixteen- to twenty-five-year-old age +group on farms was only 9.2 percent in 1969, compared to 22.3 percent in +industry. Conversely, the proportion of persons fifty-five years and +older was 29.1 percent in agriculture, compared to 8.6 percent in +industry. The program for the modernization and intensification of +agricultural production and, more particularly, the planned high level +of mechanization demand the employment of large numbers of highly +skilled young people. A series of economic, social, and cultural +measures is therefore urgently needed to halt the drain of young +manpower from the farms. + +By 1971 the agricultural school system had not adapted its training +programs to the actual needs of the emerging agroindustrial complexes. +At the same time a serious problem in the employment of available +technicians was presented by the scornful attitude of many farm managers +toward specialists with secondary education. In 1971 farms employed more +than 4,000 people without the requisite training in various professional +positions. Although some of them may have compensated by experience for +the lack of training, the situation was considered deplorable by a +number of agricultural economists. + +Under previously prevailing conditions, payments to farmworkers differed +widely, depending upon the income levels of the individual farms. Under +the new law wages for all farmworkers are to be gradually standardized +on the principle of equal wages for equal work. Work input is to be +measured on the basis of uniform labor norms differentiated according to +natural conditions. In determining the wage level, consideration will +also be given to increases in productivity, cost reduction, and the +accumulation of investment funds by the farms. Distribution of the +farm's income is to be carried out on the basis of a resolution by the +Council of Ministers, details of which were not available in early 1973. +Its main import is that the total remuneration of farmworkers, over and +above their wages, will remain dependent upon the overall results of the +individual farms. All farmworkers are entitled to a minimum wage of 80 +leva per month, and members of previously independent collective farms +retain their right to advance payments against their estimated final +income shares. + +Little substantive information is available on the current practice of +remunerating people working on farms. The decree that went into effect +on January 1, 1973, directed that the formation and distribution of +incomes of all agroindustrial complexes and their constituent farms be +based on a uniform system and on the principle that each farm must be +fully self-supporting. Each farm must establish a wage fund calculated +as a percentage of its total income. In the event that this fund is +inadequate to cover legitimate wage requirements, the farms may draw +upon two other obligatory funds or resort to bank credits. + + +INVESTMENT AND MECHANIZATION + +Investment + +In the 1960-71 period annual investment in agriculture increased from +381 million to 548 million leva, but it declined as a proportion of +total investment from 28 to 15 percent. A substantial portion of the +agricultural investment was used to equip new state farms established on +previously collective farmlands. Investment funds were used for the +construction of farm buildings, machinery repair stations, and +irrigation facilities and for the acquisition of farm machinery. On the +basis of cultivated acreage, state farms received more investment than +collective farms, but the disproportion was gradually reduced and become +quite small by 1970. In that year state farms had about 15 percent more +fixed assets per acre of cultivated land than the collective farms. + +With the formation of agricultural complexes discrimination in +investment between the two types of farms is being eliminated along with +other distinctions. Investment plans are to be uniformly based on the +needs of the entire complex regardless of the former status of its +constituent farms. Needs will be evaluated mainly on the basis of +government programs for individual kinds of production, the availability +of manpower, and the natural conditions of the farms and complexes. + +Agricultural investment in the 1971-75 period was planned at about 2.7 +billion leva. This sum constitutes only 13.5 percent of the total +planned investment and implies the maintenance of annual agricultural +investment at the level of 1970. It also reflects the continued +underinvestment in agriculture in favor of industry, despite the +grandiose, plans for agricultural transformation, considering that +agriculture contributed 22 percent of the national income in 1970. In +that year a Soviet economist observed that the small proportion of +national resources allotted to agriculture in the past was responsible +for the slow growth of that important economic sector and that the +increase in the mechanization of farms was not sufficient to offset the +loss of manpower. The leadership's policy of placing agriculture on an +industrial footing and mechanizing production demands increased +investment in machinery and other physical facilities. The low +investment decreed for the 1971-75 period is not in keeping with that +policy. + +A national conference on construction in agriculture, convened in the +spring of 1972, was devoted to the study of shortcomings in capital +construction. The underlying causes of unsatisfactory performance were +analyzed, and persons responsible for the failures were identified. The +findings of the conference were not published, but an account of the +conference contained references to inadequate project planning, poor +design, acceptance of inferior equipment, delays in the completion of +construction, and cost overruns. A sympathetic foreign observer noted a +disproportionately large allocation of investment funds to building +construction compared with the funds allotted for farm machinery. + + +Mechanization + +At the beginning of 1971 Bulgarian agriculture possessed about 53,600 +tractors with a total of 1.4 million horsepower--the equivalent of about +sixteen horsepower per 100 acres of plowed land. The horsepower of the +tractor inventory increased by 2.3 times after 1960, but a portion of +that increase was offset by the loss of more than 358,000 horses and +buffalo. In 1970 Bulgaria had more tractor power per acre than any other +Eastern European communist country except Czechoslovakia and more horses +per acre than any of these countries with the exception of Hungary, +which had a slightly larger number. + +Grain combines on farms numbered 9,340, or 2.4 combines for each 1,000 +acres of grain crops. In this regard Bulgaria ranked above the Soviet +Union and at the average of the other Eastern European communist +countries. Nevertheless, according to the minister of agriculture, only +about 50 percent of the labor in wheat production was mechanized in +1972, even though wheat production was considered to be the most highly +mechanized branch of agriculture. In other production branches the level +of mechanization was extremely low. + +According to scattered Bulgarian press reports the supply of farm +machinery is inadequate for the needs, unbalanced as to composition, +and inferior in design and physical condition. Many of the available +tractors and combines are overage and obsolete. The situation is +aggravated by chronic shortages of spare parts for both domestic and +imported equipment. Production of parts is inhibited by its relatively +low profitability, despite incentives offered by the government. + +Under the Sixth Five-Year Plan farm machinery valued at 780 million leva +is to be delivered to agriculture from domestic sources and from the +Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON--see Glossary). This +machinery is to include more powerful tractors and grain combines, +milking machines, and sprinkler irrigation systems. Machinery is also to +be provided for the harvesting of corn, sugar beets, cotton, rice, +fruits, and vegetables and for the harvesting and processing of feed +crops. Adequate information on the progress of the mechanization program +during the first two years of the five-year period is not available, but +there is evidence that shortages of spare parts and trained operators +continued to immobilize substantial numbers of farm machines. + + +MARKETING + +The marketing of farm products has been geared to the fixed five-year +plan quotas for sales to the state. It is based on bilateral contracts +between trusts in the food-processing industry and agroindustrial +complexes or their constituent units. Contracts are concluded for a +five-year period and are broken down by years. They cover the entire +farm output specified in the counterplans at prices officially revised +on January 1, 1973. The price system includes bonuses for quality; these +bonuses are payable only after a specified portion of the contracted +quantity has been delivered and vary in relation to the total volume of +product delivered. The intent of the bonuses is to stimulate product +improvement without encouraging production beyond the planned limits. +Excess production would destroy the balance of the plan. + +Provisions of the marketing contracts were worked out by the Ministry of +Agriculture and the State Arbitration Commission with the agreement of +the government departments involved. Provisions concerning the +performance of contractual obligations were strengthened compared with +those previously in force. They established financial incentives and +sanctions not only for the contracting organizations but also for their +top managers as individuals, based upon the end results of their joint +work. + +Each food-processing trust engaged in the procurement of farm products +must establish a fund for the promotion of their production, for +improving farming methods, and for modernizing the farm's physical +facilities. The funds are to be used in the first place for stimulating +the output of products required on the domestic market and for export. +The allocation of promotional funds is to be in accord with a program +worked out jointly by the trust and the agroindustrial complex; the +program constitutes an integral part of the procurement contract. + +Farms, individual farmers, and private agricultural producers may sell +some of their products at retail directly to consumers in cooperative +markets at prices not exceeding those charged by state retail stores. In +some instances and for some products sale on a commission basis through +state and cooperative outlets is also allowed. The sale of meat, meat +products, and alcoholic beverages in cooperative markets is prohibited +as is also the sale of any product through middlemen. Cooperative +markets are subordinated to the trade organs of municipal authorities. +Violations of applicable regulations are subject to penalties the +severity of which depends upon the nature of the offenses. Information +on the total volume of direct sales by agricultural producers is not +available. The share of collective farms in cooperative market sales, +however, declined from 53 percent in 1959 to 16 percent in 1970. + + +PRODUCTION + +Growth and Structure + +As a result of continued emphasis on the country's industrialization, +the share of agriculture in national income (net material product) was +only 22 percent in 1970, compared to 31 percent ten years earlier. +According to official sources, however, output continued to rise. It +increased at an average annual rate of 4.8 percent in the 1960-67 +period, declined by 10 percent in 1968, and regained the 1967 level in +1970. An increase of 8 percent in the next two years raised the farm +output in 1972 to a level 50 percent above the output level in 1960. For +the entire period the average annual increase in farm output was 3.4 +percent. + +Livestock production was reported to have increased more rapidly than +crop production in the 1960-70 period; the respective average annual +rates of growth in output were 4.1 and 2.9 percent. Crop output in 1970 +was 33 percent larger than output in 1960, whereas livestock output was +50 percent higher. Available data are inadequate to reconcile the +reported growth in the value of livestock production with a seemingly +inconsistent rise in the physical output of livestock products and +changes in livestock herds. + +The structure of farm output in 1970 did not differ materially from the +structure in 1960. The share of crops in the total output declined from +67.3 to 64.7 percent, while the share of livestock production rose +correspondingly from 32.7 to 35.3 percent. The proportions of grains and +technical crops were identical in both years. The share of vegetables, +potatoes, and melons declined slightly, but the proportion of feed crops +dropped from 9.2 to 6.2 percent. The lag in the growth rate of feed +production has contributed to the difficulties in the livestock sector. + + +Crops + +With the exception of rye, potatoes, hemp, and cotton, output of all +major crops increased substantially in the 1960s (see table 16). The +production of rye declined sharply as a result of the diversion of rye +acreage to the production of more valuable crops. By 1970 rye output had +become insignificant--less than 1 percent of the volume of wheat +produced in that year. The decline in potato production was minor, but +the output of raw cotton declined by 15 percent. The largest increases +were attained in the production of alfalfa and table grapes--crops that +are important for livestock production and export, respectively. Barley +output, important for livestock and beer production, rose by 82 percent. +Wheat output surpassed 3 million tons in 1970; it reached 3.56 million +tons in 1972. + +_Table 16. Bulgaria, Production of Major Crops, Annual Average, Selected +Years, 1958-60 to 1966-70, and 1970_ (in thousands of tons) + + --------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------- + | Average | Average | Average | + Crops | 1958-60 | 1961-65 | 1966-70 | 1970 + --------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------- + Wheat | 2,376 | 2,208 | 2,919 | 3,032 + Rye | 97 | 58 | 35 | 28 + Barley | 542 | 694 | 986 | 1,167 + Corn (grain) | 1,298 | 1,601 | 2,147 | 2,375 + Sunflower seeds | 281 | 338 | 462 | 407 + Hemp (dry stem) | 62 | 49 | 62 | 55 + Cotton (raw) | 54 | 39 | 46 | 36 + Tobacco (oriental) | 77 | 101 | 109 | 112 + Sugar beets | 1,328 | 1,440 | 1,862 | 1,714 + Tomatoes | 525 | 738 | 716 | 685 + Potatoes | 383 | 400 | 380 | 374 + Alfalfa | 598 | 951 | 1,443 | 1,719 + Apples | 265 | 315 | 402 | 363 + Grapes | 721 | 1,006 | 1,133 | 884 + (Table grapes) | (135) | (267) | (313) | (263) + --------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------- + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1971_, Sofia, 1971, pp. + 120-122. + +Virtually all wheat grown in the country is a hard red winter wheat of +good quality, somewhat softer than durum wheat. Cultivation of durum +wheat has been almost completely abandoned because of its low yield. The +possibility has been suggested, however, that production of durum may be +resumed eventually on the basis of newly developed, more productive +varieties. Durum wheat requirements for the manufacture of noodles, +semolina, and other products have been imported against payment in +foreign currencies. + +Increases in the output and yields of crops were reported to have been +achieved through the introduction of improved plant varieties and seeds, +better cultivation practices, expanded irrigation, greater use of +fertilizers, and more effective disease and pest control. The supply of +fertilizers to agriculture, in terms of plant nutrients, increased from +about 49,000 tons in 1956 to 842,000 tons in 1968 but thereafter +declined sharply to only 692,000 tons in 1969 and 635,000 tons in 1971. +In 1972 the fertilizer supply improved by a mere 10,000 tons. The bulk +of the decline was in phosphates and potash, imports of which were +drastically curtailed after 1968, presumably because of the shortage of +foreign exchange. + +The supply of pesticides also depends very largely upon imports. +Deliveries to agriculture rose from less than 10,000 tons in 1960 to +almost 12,900 tons in 1965, declined to 11,150 tons in 1969, and then +surpassed the 1965 supply by 300 tons in 1971. The need for a drastic +increase in the use of pesticides and fungicides is indicated by the +official estimate that annual losses from crop diseases, pests, and +weeds amount to from 150 to 200 million leva. + +Despite the progress made, agricultural technicians continue to call +attention to the persistence of faulty practices in all phases of crop +production--practices that tend to lower crop yields and retard +agricultural growth. Traditionally a single variety of wheat has been +grown throughout the entire country, despite variations in soil and +climatic conditions. Although yields generally rose with the successive +introduction of better varieties, they remained low and of inferior +quality in areas poorly adapted for the cultivation of a particular +variety. Specialists have stressed the need for diversification of +varieties, particularly under conditions of regionally defined +agroindustrial complexes. + +A task force for scientific and technical aid to agriculture, formed by +the government at the end of 1965, uncovered the appearance and rapid +dispersion of new grain diseases. Dry rot, which had assumed significant +proportions in 1961, caused the most severe losses of wheat in 1970 and +1971, when 1.2 million acres were affected by the disease, mainly in the +northern grain-growing part of the country. Wheat flower blight, long +known in Bulgaria, became particularly widespread in 1965 after the +introduction of a new wheat variety highly susceptible to that disease. +Losses from this source reached about 15 to 20 percent. + +Propagation of diseases has been aided by faulty cultivation practices. +Excessively heavy seeding has been used increasingly to compensate for +inadequate soil preparation. The resultant overly thick stands of grain +are prone to lodging, which facilitates the spread of disease through +greater contact of the wheatstalks. The tendency to lodging and, thus, +to the spreading of disease is also encouraged by the improper use of +fertilizers. To compensate for the shortage of phosphatic fertilizers an +erroneous practice has developed of increasing the application of +nitrogenous fertilizers, thereby upsetting the proper balance of plant +nutrients. The resultant excessive vegetative growth weakens the grain +stalks and induces lodging of the grain. Lodging also causes heavy +losses through the germination of kernels and through major difficulties +in harvesting. + +Damage to wheat and barley crops from improper use of phosphatic +fertilizers has also been reported. Substantial losses have been +incurred in the production of sunflower seeds through inexpert use of +fertilizers and insecticides, inadequate thinning and weeding, improper +crop rotation, and poor harvesting methods. The basic underlying cause +of these difficulties is the widespread lack of familiarity with modern +production methods and the inadequate supply of technically trained +personnel to guide farmers. + + +Livestock and Livestock Products + +Despite repeated government decrees concerning measures for raising +livestock production, including various incentives, no significant +success was attained in increasing livestock herds in the period 1961 to +January 1971 (see table 17). The numbers of cattle, hogs, and rabbits +actually declined; the flocks of sheep grew by less than 4 percent; and +only the numbers of goats and poultry increased substantially. An +increase in all categories of livestock other than sheep, however, took +place in 1971. In comparison with 1948 the total number of cattle in +1971 was lower by 28 percent, and the number of cows had declined by 16 +percent. The poor performance of the livestock sector, particularly with +regard to cattle, has been a source of great concern for the leadership +because of the leadership's promise of a better standard of living for +the population and the obligation to meet export commitments to COMECON +partners, particularly the Soviet Union. Exports of livestock are also +important as a source of convertible foreign exchange. + +_Table 17. Bulgaria, Livestock Numbers, Selected Years, 1948-72_* (in +thousands) + + ----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+--------- + Livestock | 1948 | 1961 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 + ----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+--------- + Cattle | 1,783 | 1,452 | 1,255 | 1,279 | 1,379 + (Cows) | (703) | (547) | (574) | (589) | (607) + Hogs | 1,078 | 2,553 | 1,967 | 2,369 | 2,806 + Sheep | 9,266 | 9,333 | 9,223 | 9,678 | 10,127 + Goats | 720 | 246 | 350 | 335 | 318 + Rabbits | 128 | 470 | 164 | 277 | 350 + Poultry | 11,380 | 23,366 | 29,590 | 33,706 | 34,102 + ----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+--------- + * Figure for 1948 as of December 25; for all other years, January 1. + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1971_, Sofia, 1971, p. 124; + and _Statistical Yearbook, 1972_, Sofia, 1972, p. 236. + +Although agriculture is almost entirely socialized, substantial numbers +of livestock are nevertheless privately owned by farm and urban workers, +artisans, and the few remaining individual farmers. In 1971 these groups +possessed virtually all the goats and rabbits, more than half the +poultry, and about two-fifths of the sheep. They also owned 27 percent +of the hogs and 22 percent of the cattle, including 30 percent of the +cows. On socialized farms all types of livestock were reduced in numbers +during the 1961-70 period except for cows and poultry. Among private +owners the decline in the numbers of cattle and hogs was more +pronounced, but substantial gains were made in the stock of sheep, +goats, and poultry. Government policies concerning prices, incentives, +and feed allocation were mainly responsible for the differences in +development within the socialized and private sectors. + +Expansion of livestock herds and production has been hampered by an +inadequate feed supply. The feed shortage in the 1966-70 period was +estimated by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences to have approximated 30 +percent. Domestically produced feed concentrates have been of poor +quality and nutritionally unbalanced. In 1972 more than 45 percent of +the mixed feeds and concentrates were substandard, and requirements for +these feeds were met by less than 55 percent. + +The production of feed crops increased in absolute terms during the +1960-70 period, but its rate of growth lagged by comparison with other +crops and with official plans. In 1971 and 1972 the alfalfa acreage was +supposed to be 990,000 acres, but only 840,000 acres were actually +cropped. In 1972 only 57 percent of the requirements for alfalfa and +meadow hay were met on farms of the agroindustrial complexes, and the +quality of the hay was extremely low. The inadequacy of the feed supply +in relation to the government's livestock program has been designated by +the leadership as one of the most crucial problems of agriculture. + +In the 1971-75 period improvement in the feed supply is to be achieved +mainly through an increase in feed crop yields, but a certain increase +in acreage has also been planned. Results in the first two years of the +five-year period have jeopardized the attainment of the goal for 1975. +Substantial investment funds are to be provided for the modernization of +dairy barns and for the construction of feed mills with assistance from +the Soviet Union. With a view to raising productivity and output, +livestock production is to be increasingly concentrated on large +specialized farms. This policy ignored the demonstrated superiority of +livestock production on small farm plots. + +Major problems in the expansion of cattle herds and livestock production +are also posed by poor management and inadequate veterinary services. +The reproduction rate of cattle is abnormally low because of the high +percentage of old, sterile cows in the herds. The incidence of diseases +of the reproductive system and of mastitis among cows is rapidly +increasing, and mortality among cattle is high. Young breeding stock is +reared in unsuitable surroundings, is ill fed, and consequently remains +underdeveloped. A large proportion of newly born calves succumb to +various diseases. There is a shortage of trained veterinarians, but +veterinarians stationed on farms and in district veterinary hospitals +are reported to feel no responsibility for the deplorable conditions. +The care of livestock also suffers from a lack of adequately trained +workers and a high labor turnover in the livestock sections of the +agroindustrial complexes. Managers and specialists at the higher levels +of the agroindustrial complexes fail to provide systematic supervision +and guidance and often exhibit a lack of interest in the livestock +enterprise. These conditions were reported to the General Assembly by a +deputy minister of agriculture. + +Despite the shortage of feed, increased yields per animal were attained +in the 1960-71 period. For agriculture as a whole the output of milk per +cow rose from 1,482 to 2,281 quarts, the number of eggs per hen +increased from ninety-one to 115, and the amount of wool per sheep rose +from 5.3 to 7.4 pounds. In 1972, however, yields per cow and per hen +declined. In the socialized sector the decline in milk yield had begun +in 1968 and reached serious proportions in 1972; the egg yield remained +stable through 1970 (data for later years were not available in 1973). +In the private sector the milk yield continued to rise at least until +1970; the egg yield remained stable through 1969 and rose in 1970. In +the spring of 1973 several agricultural officials, including a deputy +minister of agriculture, were reprimanded by the Council of Ministers +Bureau for permitting the decline in yields of milk and eggs. + +A study of milk production during the 1965-67 period found that farms +having milk yields of 2,110 to 2,640 quarts per cow sustained an annual +loss of 56 leva for each animal, whereas farms with yields of 3,170 to +4,287 quarts earned a net income of 111 leva per cow. The reported +national average milk yield per cow therefore indicates that most farms +produced milk at a loss. + +The officially reported meat output increased by 74 percent in the +1960-68 period but declined by 11 percent in the next two years. By far +the largest increase in production to 1968--2.9 times--was reported for +beef and veal, while production of poultry meat and of sheep, and goat +meat almost doubled (see table 18). The decline in output after 1968 +affected all types of meat except for poultry and rabbits. For the +entire period of 1960 through 1970, meat output rose by 55 percent, +including production increases of 150 percent for beef and veal, 160 +percent for poultry, and 82 percent for sheep and goat meat. Pork +production, however, had risen by only 10 percent, and the output of +rabbit meat declined by about one-third. The reported increase in meat +production cannot be correlated with available data on changes in the +size of livestock herds. An improvement in the supply of all types of +meat other than beef and veal took place in 1971. + +Production of milk and eggs also increased substantially during the +1960-71 period (see table 19). Nevertheless, domestic market supplies of +livestock products remained chronically and seriously short of demand, +in part because of the magnitude of exports. Exports of agricultural raw +materials and processed foods exceeded 1 billion leva in 1970; they had +increased 2.7 times during the decade and were equivalent to 44 percent +of agriculture's contribution to the national income. Exports of food +products alone had increased more than 3.5 times during the decade to a +total of 732 million leva. + +_Table 18. Bulgaria, Production of Meat, Selected Years, 1948-71_ (in +thousands of tons) + + --------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------ + Meat | 1948 | 1960 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 + --------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------ + Beef and veal | 41 | 37 | 105 | 94 | 90 | 85 + Pork | 74 | 134 | 194 | 167 | 148 | 169 + Sheep and goat meat | 45 | 45 | 88 | 87 | 82 | 88 + Poultry | 17 | 36 | 70 | 78 | 93 | 111 + Other | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 + | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- + TOTAL[*+] | 178 | 257 | 460 | 428 | 416 | 457 + Edible offals | 29 | 50 | 73 | 65 | 60 | 64 + | === | === | === | === | === | === + GRAND TOTAL[+] | 208 | 307 | 534 | 493 | 476 | 521 + --------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------ + * Less offals. + + Columns may not add because of rounding. + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1971_, Sofia, 1971, p. 127; + and _Statistical Yearbook, 1972_, Sofia, 1972, p. 232. + +_Table 19. Bulgaria, Production of Milk, Eggs, and Wool, Selected Years, +1960-71_ + + -----+---------------+----------------+---------------+--------------- + Year | Milk | Cow's Milk | Raw Wool | Eggs + |(thousand tons)|(thousand tons) |(thousand tons)|(million dozen) + -----+---------------+----------------+---------------+--------------- + 1960 | 1,120 | 744 | 21 | 102 + 1967 | 1,609 | 1,210 | 27 | 140 + 1969 | 1,580 | 1,205 | 28 | 127 + 1970 | 1,631 | 1,250 | 29 | 135 + 1971 | 1,620 | 1,290 | 30 | 146 + -----+---------------+----------------+---------------+--------------- + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1971_, Sofia, 1971, p. 128; + and _Statistical Yearbook, 1972_, Sofia, 1972, p. 233. + + + + +CHAPTER 14 + +INDUSTRY + + +In mid-1973 industry continued to expand, though at a significantly +lower rate than in the mid-1960s. Industrial expansion was being +increasingly restrained by the inadequacy of domestic raw material and +skilled labor resources. Limits on an increase in imports of materials +and essential machinery were placed by the insufficiency of foreign +exchange reserve and by the need to reduce traditional exports of +consumer goods in short supply on the domestic market. The Soviet Union +continued to be the predominant supplier of raw materials, machinery, +and technical and technological assistance. + +To overcome the limitations on industrial expansion, the leadership of +the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary) and government sought +to raise industrial productivity through concentration and +specialization of production and through improvements in the management +of material and labor resources. Strong emphasis was placed on the +introduction of automation in both production and management processes. +Heavy stress was also laid on the need to raise the quality of +industrial products in order to increase their salability abroad and +their acceptance in the domestic market. + +The consolidation of industrial enterprises into a limited number of +trusts, introduced in 1971 as a measure for increased centralized +control in the search for greater efficiency, was being carried forward +by means of further regulatory and clarifying edicts. The leadership's +ultimate goal of an efficiently managed, technologically advanced, +low-cost industry remained the driving force behind all industrial +policy decisions. + + +ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE + +Virtually all industry is state owned. In 1970 state enterprises +possessed 98.6 percent of all industrial assets; they employed 88.8 +percent of the industrial work force and produced 89.7 percent of the +industrial output. Collective industrial enterprises owned the balance +of 1.4 percent of the assets, employed 11.2 percent of the workers, and +contributed 9.9 percent of the industrial output. Small private +enterprises, mostly artisan shops, accounted for only 0.4 percent of the +industrial output. + + +Organization + +Size and Location + +In 1970 the industrial establishment (excluding the private sector, +information on which is not available) consisted of 1,827 state +enterprises and 644 collective enterprises, employing about 1.02 million +and 129,000 people, respectively. More than one-half of the enterprises +in the state industry employed over 200 people, and almost one-fourth +employed more than 1,000 people. Enterprises with large numbers of +workers predominated in metallurgy; in the glass and china industry; in +clothing manufacture; and in the leather, shoe, and fur industry. +Beginning in 1971 previously independent enterprises were transformed +into branches of countrywide trusts organized along functional lines +(see ch. 12). + +The territorial distribution of industry during the 1950-70 period was +determined in large part by the priority development of heavy industry, +the location of which was dictated mainly by the sites of raw material +sources and the location of major consuming centers. In this process +several cities and districts, including Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, +and Ruse, experienced a large population influx from rural areas and +attendant shortages of housing and public services. At the same time +many villages were deprived of their inhabitants, and homes and public +facilities were abandoned. + +In 1970 the Central Committee of the BKP laid down guidelines for a +program of regional economic development, with a view to attaining an +optimal distribution of productive resources (capital and labor). The +aim of the program was to arrest excessive urban growth and the +associated demands on the country's resources for new housing and other +amenities and, at the same time, to help develop backward rural areas. +Within these guidelines, decentralization of industry has been +undertaken, and plans are being worked out for the socioeconomic +development of individual districts under the Seventh Five-Year Plan +(1976-80) and until 1990. + +In this context the construction of new industrial plants in heavily +populated areas has been restricted. Further production increases in +these areas are to be attained through modernization of existing +facilities and the introduction of more advanced technology. Special +measures have also been adopted to promote economic growth in the +relatively underdeveloped districts. In part, this program is +implemented through the transfer of industrial activities, equipment, +and labor from the congested cities and districts to rural areas. +Transfers of this kind decreed by the Council of Ministers Bureau in +December 1971 and July 1972 involved 195 production units and 25,000 +workers and an annual output of 225 million leva (for value of the +lev--see Glossary). Under existing plans lasting until 1975, however, +industry and employment will continue to expand in some of the most +heavily congested cities. + + +Supply System + +The organization of a smoothly functioning materials and equipment +supply system for industry has been an elusive goal of the leadership +ever since the inception of the controlled economy. Various approaches +to the problem over a period of years have not succeeded in +accomplishing the basic task of ensuring a dependable supply of material +resources to industrial producers. As a result, the economy has been +officially reported to suffer enormous losses through production +shutdowns, substitutions of materials that lower quality and increase +costs, and hoarding of scarce materials. Heavy losses have also been +incurred through improper storage of materials, careless use that +entails excessive waste, and pilferage. + +Adequate information on the organization and functioning of the +industrial supply system has not been available. The latest +reorganization of the supply system was undertaken at the end of 1971 +with a view to providing a normal flow of supplies for the economic +trusts beginning in 1972. Until 1971 the supply organizations had dealt +almost entirely with individual enterprises. The reorganization was +accompanied by extensive consultations with producers of raw materials, +importing organizations, and industrial consumers. The consultations +were held in order to clarify the needs of consumers, ensure the +availability of the needed supplies, and agree upon specific measures +for timely deliveries of materials and supplies. + +Particular attention in the reorganization was paid to the problem of +reducing the inventories of materials in enterprises and concentrating +them in the supply organizations. Decisive measures were taken to halt +the former practice of making deliveries of materials large enough to +cover requirements for three months or longer. Under the new system, +supply organizations are required to make periodic deliveries to +consumers on guaranteed time schedules, at short intervals, and in +quantities that do not exceed one month's requirements. Adherence to the +regulation is to be used as a standard in evaluating the performance of +supply organizations. + +One of the basic elements in industrial consumer-supplier relations has +been the annual contract for estimated material and equipment +requirements needed to complete the annual production quota. For a +variety of reasons both suppliers and users have often failed to honor +these contracts, and the penalties provided for breach of contract have +not been sufficient to deter this practice. Breaches of supply contracts +have been an important cause of economic difficulties. Supply +difficulties have been particularly disruptive because of the +traditionally stringent nature of the production plans and the limited +availability of resources. + +In 1972 the Ministry of Supply and State Reserves planned to take +energetic measures to strengthen contract discipline and to use +contracts as legal and economic instruments for exerting pressure on +both parties to fulfill their obligations. The minister considered it +particularly important to put an end to the practice of contract +cancellation, either under provisions of official regulations or by +mutual agreement of the parties concerned--a practice that, according to +the minister, caused huge losses to the national economy. + + +Structure + +Manufacturing is the dominant sector of industry in terms of employment +and output. In 1971 manufacturing accounted for 93.9 percent of the +total industrial output and provided employment to 88.3 percent of the +industrial labor force. Mining and energy production contributed 3.6 and +2.5 percent, respectively, of the industrial output and employed 10.3 +and 1.4 percent, respectively, of the labor force. More than half the +industrial establishment was devoted to the production of capital goods. +In 1971 the capital goods sector employed 52.5 percent of the industrial +labor force and produced 56 percent of the output. The relative +importance of the capital goods sector had been rising over a period of +years, from 36.7 percent of the output in 1948 and 47.2 percent in 1960. +During the same period the contribution of the consumer goods sector to +total output had declined from 63.3 percent in 1948 to 52.8 percent in +1960 and 44 percent in 1971. As a consequence of the priority +development of heavy industry, the supply of consumer goods on the +domestic market has been inadequate to meet consumer needs (see ch. 5). + +In terms of their employment shares, the largest state industry branches +in 1971 were: machine building and metalworking, 25.5 percent; food +processing, 14.4 percent; and textiles, 11.3 percent. Next in +importance, but with much lower levels of employment, were: timber and +woodworking, 7.4 percent; chemicals and rubber, 6.1 percent; and fuels, +5.5 percent. Industrial branches that experienced the most rapid growth +in the 1960-71 period included ferrous metallurgy, chemicals and rubber, +machine building and metalworking, and fuels. Among the slowest growing +branches were timber and wood processing, textiles, nonferrous +metallurgy, and food processing. + + +FUELS AND POWER + +Domestic resources of mineral fuels are inadequate for the needs of +industry. Through the limitation that it places on electric power +development, the fuel shortage--in the absence of a large hydroelectric +power potential--may become a major factor inhibiting industrial growth. +In 1968 the proportion of petroleum and natural gas in the fuel balance +was somewhat more than 42 percent; it is planned to rise to about 60 +percent in 1975 and to at least 65 percent in 1980. Virtually all +petroleum and natural gas must be imported. + + +Coal and Lignite + +Reserves of anthracite and bituminous coal are insignificant; their +production amounts to less than 2 percent of the annual coal output. +Brown coal deposits that can be mined economically are nearing +exhaustion, and brown coal production declined by about one-third in the +1960-70 period. Low-calorie lignite remains the major fuel base for +thermoelectric power stations. Reserves of this inferior fuel are large. + +Coal deposits are scattered in about twenty small deposits. Because of +difficult geological conditions, however, only a few of the deposits are +exploited. Anthracite is mined in the Svoge basin, located in the Iskur +gorge area of the Stara Planina, north of Sofia. Bituminous coal is +mined in the same mountain range, in the area between Gabrovo and +Sliven. The deposit at Sliven was reported to contain a very small +quantity of coking-grade coal--a quantity far below the needs of the +iron and steel industry. In addition to large annual imports of coking +coal, Bulgaria has also imported from 250,000 to 465,000 tons of coke +per year. + +The main source of brown coal for many years has been the Pernik basin +in the upper Struma valley, about nineteen miles southwest of Sofia. In +the 1971-75 period brown coal mining is to be substantially expanded at +the Bobov Dol deposit in the Rila mountain range, south of the Pernik +basin. The Babino mine in the Bobov Dol coalfield is scheduled to become +the largest underground coal mine in the Balkans. Reserves in this +deposit, however, are equivalent to only about five to six years' +production at the 1970 rate of brown coal output. + +Lignite is mined mainly in the Maritsa basin, near Dimitrovgrad in the +Thracian Plain, and in the Sofia Basin. The Maritsa basin, particularly +the area known as Maritsa-Iztok (Maritsa-East), has become the basic +source of coal production, contributing about 50 percent of the +country's output. Aside from planned new mine construction, the +Maritsa-Iztok complex is to be rebuilt and modernized. Production +problems at this mine have not yet been solved satisfactorily. +Coal-bearing strata have not been fully identified; equipment is +utilized to only about 40 percent of capacity; and the organization of +labor is poor. Substantial improvement also remains to be attained in +processing the coal for market, in view of its high ash and moisture +content. Unsolved problems also remain in the manufacture of coal +briquettes. + +In the 1971-75 period substantial investment is to be devoted to the +expansion and modernization of coal mines. New mines with an annual +capacity of about 4 million tons are to be built. Three-fourths of the +investment funds are to be concentrated on three major production +centers. The relative investment shares of these centers were planned to +be: Maritsa-Iztok complex, 41 percent; Bobov Dol complex, 25 percent; +and the Georgi Dimitrov mine at Pernik, 10 percent. + +Production of marketable coal increased by 83 percent in the 1960-70 +period to a level of about 29 million tons. The rise in output, however, +was confined to lignite production, which grew more than fourfold during +the decade. Production of bituminous and brown coal declined by 42 and +32 percent, respectively. Output of anthracite in 1970 equaled the +output in 1960 but was 9 percent below the production level in 1966. +Production of both anthracite and bituminous coal amounted to less than +400,000 tons in 1970. Strip mining has steadily grown in importance and +accounted for 73 percent of the output in 1970. + +The Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) calls for a rise in coal output to 33 +million tons--an increase of about 13 percent. In the view of the +minister of heavy industry, the planned increase is not large, but its +attainment is difficult considering the character and condition of the +mines. Experience has justified the minister's assessment. In the first +two years of the five-year period, coal output rose by less than 1 +percent. + + +Crude Oil and Natural Gas + +Deposits of crude oil are located at Tyulenovo in the Dobrudzha region +and at Dolni Dubnik, east of Pleven. Natural gas fields have been +discovered near Vratsa and in the area of Lovech, south of Pleven. +Reliable information on the magnitude of crude oil and natural gas +reserves is not available. Statistics on current imports and official +projections of import requirements, however, indicate that domestic +production of oil and natural gas will continue to cover only a small +fraction of needs. + +Production of crude oil rose from 200,000 tons in 1960 to 500,000 tons +in 1967 but declined thereafter to 305,000 tons in 1971. Natural gas +output, which had increased to 18.5 billion cubic feet in 1969, declined +to 16.7 billion cubic feet in 1970 and 11.6 billion cubic feet in 1971. +Imports of crude oil, mostly from the Soviet Union, increased almost +3-½ times between 1965 and 1971 to a level of 7.5 million tons. In +1972 the Soviet Union alone provided 95 percent of the country's +requirements for crude oil and petroleum products. Imports of natural +gas from the Soviet Union, through a pipeline still under construction, +are scheduled to begin in 1974 at a level of 35 billion cubic feet and +to continue at an annual rate of 106 billion cubic feet beginning in +1975. The planned 1975 import volume represents about three-fourths of +the estimated requirements in that year. + +Crude oil is processed in two refineries, located at Burgas and Pleven, +with daily throughput capacities of about 16,500 tons and 5,500 tons, +respectively. Except for the small domestic output, crude oil for the +Pleven refinery is moved by rail from Black Sea ports. A pipeline +network that will connect the refinery with the ports is under +construction and is scheduled to enter into full operation in 1975. By +that date the capacity of the Pleven refinery is planned to attain +16,500 tons per day. A pipeline under construction for the transport of +petroleum products from the Burgas refinery to consuming centers at +Stara Zagora and Plovdiv is to be completed sometime in 1973. + +The refinery output has not been sufficient to cover all the country's +requirements for petroleum products. Net imports of petroleum products +in 1970, including gasoline, fuel oils, and lubricating oils, amounted +to 2.5 million tons. Ninety percent of the imports originated in the +Soviet Union. + + +Electrical Energy + +Installed electric generating capacity and production of electrical +energy increased more than fourfold in the 1960-71 period but failed to +keep pace with the country's growing requirements. Installed capacity in +1971 was 4.48 million kilowatts, including 3.65 million kilowatts in +thermal and 0.83 million kilowatts in hydroelectric stations. During the +period the proportion of hydroelectric capacity declined from 50 to 18 +percent, and the production of electricity per kilowatt of hydroelectric +capacity dropped by more than one-third. The utilization of thermal +capacity declined by 13.5 percent. + +New power from generating plants scheduled to begin operation in the +1971-75 period totals about 3 million kilowatts. Major power stations to +be commissioned include: hydroelectric stations--with a capacity of 1 +million kilowatts--on the Sestrimo cascade, in the upper reaches of the +Maritsa River and at the Vucha cascade, southwest of Plovdiv; a thermal +power plant with a capacity of about 620,000 kilowatts at Bobov Dol, +fueled by local coal; and an atomic power station with a capacity of +880,000 kilowatts at Kozloduy on the Danube River, in the northwestern +corner of the country. According to government plans, total generating +capacity is scheduled to reach 7 million kilowatts in 1975 and 12 +million kilowatts in 1980. The more distant plans include the +construction, jointly with Romania, of a hydroelectric power complex on +the Danube, at Belene on the Bulgarian bank of the river and Ciora on +the Romanian side. The Soviet Union has provided large-scale technical +and material assistance in the development of the electric power system. + +Production of electrical energy amounted to 21 billion kilowatt-hours in +1971, of which 90 percent was generated by thermal stations. Energy +output in 1972 reached 22.3 billion kilowatt-hours. The Sixth Five-Year +Plan calls for an energy output of 30.5 billion kilowatt-hours in 1975, +which is equivalent to an average annual increase in output of 9.4 +percent during the five-year period. In the years 1971 and 1972 energy +output rose by an average of 6.9 percent per year, so that an average +annual rise of 11 percent will be needed in the remaining years to +attain the planned goal in 1975. Consumption of electrical energy in +1975 is planned to reach 33.5 billion kilowatt-hours. The planned +deficit of 3 billion kilowatt-hours is to be covered by imports from +Romania, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union. + +The electrical transmission network is well developed, and further major +improvements have been planned. The network is connected with the power +grids of Romania and Yugoslavia. A 400-kilovolt power line from the +Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union was reported to +have been completed in mid-1972. There was no evidence nine months later +that power had actually been transmitted over that line. + +Eighteen percent of the total electrical energy supply in 1971 was used +by the power stations or lost in transmission. Of the remaining net +supply, almost 70 percent was consumed in industry and construction; +agriculture received only 4 percent; and transport and communications +accounted for little more than 3 percent. Households were allotted about +16 percent of the net electrical supply, and the balance of 7 percent +was consumed in trade, public institutions, and street lighting. The +major industrial users of energy were metallurgical enterprises and the +producers of chemicals and rubber; each of these industrial branches +consumed one-fifth of the energy supply to industry. + +Expansion of electric-generating capacity and energy output at rates +planned by the government has been hampered by a chronic lag in new +construction and by inadequate maintenance of existing facilities. The +lack of preventive maintenance and disregard of technical requirements +in the operation of equipment result in frequent breakdowns requiring +major repairs. Such repairs, particularly those involving boilers, +turbines, and transformers, pose difficult problems because of the +shortage of technically qualified repair personnel and ineffective +organization of repair work. Efficiency of operation is also adversely +affected by a high labor turnover and the difficulty of finding +qualified replacements. + +The lag in the completion of new power stations, equipment breakdowns, +and insufficient water reserves for hydroelectric stations have caused +frequent power shortages, particularly at peak load hours. Elaborate +official measures have been introduced to regulate the consumption of +electricity and to eliminate waste, including a bonus system for saving +electricity. These measures have not proved sufficiently effective, and +some enterprises have been reported to earn bonuses by the simple +expedient of overstating their requirements in the formulation of the +annual economic plans. The State Inspectorate for Industrial Power and +Power Control, it was stated by officials, was not in a position to +solve the problem of economizing electric power without the active +cooperation of every enterprise, plant, and trade union. Additional +unspecified measures affecting industry were reported to have been taken +in 1973 to reduce peak power loads, and the population was advised to +use electricity more sparingly between 6:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M. + + +RAW MATERIALS + +In 1970 about 54 percent of the manufacturing industry's output was +based on industrial materials, and 46 percent was derived from +agricultural raw materials; the proportion of industrial materials in +manufacturing continued on its post-World War II upward trend in the +1960-70 period from a level of 24 percent in 1948 and 49 percent in +1960. This trend was sustained by the relatively rapid rise in the +production and imports of industrial materials compared to the slower +increase in agricultural output and imports. Because of the limitation +of domestic resources, further industrial expansion will necessitate +ever larger material imports. + + +Iron and Steel + +The main deposits of iron ore are located at Kremikovtsi, northeast of +Sofia, and at Krumovo in the lower Tundzha valley. Other small deposits +of little or no commercial value are scattered in the Strandzha +mountains, in the western Stara Planina, and at several locations in the +Rodopi (or Rhodope Mountains). The ore in the Kremikovtsi deposit is of +low grade; it has a mineral content of about 33 percent and requires +beneficiation. Reserves at Krumovo were reported to be of better grade +but much smaller. Available evidence suggests that mining at this +deposit was discontinued after the mid-1960s. Its site is far removed +from the country's two iron and steel mills. + +Reserves at Kremikovtsi were estimated a number of years ago to contain +from 200 million to 250 million tons of ore. An official +Russian-language survey of Bulgaria, published in 1969, cited a figure +of 317 million tons for total iron ore reserves but mentioned only the +Kremikovtsi deposit as one being mined. In a review of the country's +natural resources, published in a Bulgarian technical journal in +mid-1970, it was stated that known reserves of iron ore would last +another fifty years. At the average annual rate of iron ore output in +the years 1968 and 1969 the reported life span of the deposits indicates +a reserve of only 133 million tons as of 1970. Whatever the actual +reserves may be, domestic iron ore has had to be supplemented by imports +of about 1 million tons per year from the Soviet Union and Algeria to +meet the requirements of the metallurgical industry. + +Reserves of steel-alloying minerals are reported to be available, +particularly manganese, chromium, and molybdenum. The quality of the +manganese ores, however, is low, and reserves of chromium are +insufficient for the needs of the economy. Output data are available +only for manganese ore. Production of this mineral declined by about 60 +percent in the 1957-70 period, which suggests the depletion of known +reserves. The metal content of the manganese ore mined in 1970 amounted +to 10,300 tons. In that year the discovery of new manganese deposits in +the Obrocha area was reported, the eventual exploitation of which, it +was said, would not only provide for all domestic requirements but would +also make it possible to export manganese for an entire century. + +Although small amounts of ferroalloys are also obtained as by-products +of copper, lead, and zinc smelting, imports must be relied upon to cover +substantial deficits. Imports of manganese ores and concentrates in 1969 +and in 1970 were more than double the volume of domestic production, and +imports of chromium and chromite amounted to 3,400 tons in 1969. Nickel +and titanium were also imported. + +Steel is produced at the integrated Kremikovtsi metallurgical combine +and at the smaller integrated Lenin Steel Works in Pernik. With Soviet +assistance the Kremikovtsi combine is being expanded to a planned annual +capacity of 2 million tons of steel and 2.2 million tons of rolled +products by the end of 1975. A third coking plant was put into operation +in the spring of 1971, and the production of coke is scheduled to reach +1.4 million tons in 1975, compared to an output of 837,000 tons in 1970. +The steel mill at Pernik is to be modernized, also with Soviet +assistance. + +Production of pig iron and steel increased about sevenfold in the +1960-70 period, reaching levels of 1.25 million tons and 1.8 million +tons, respectively. The same was true of rolled steel products, the +volume of which rose to 1.42 million tons. Nevertheless, Bulgaria +remained a net importer of iron and steel throughout the entire period. +In 1970 the import surplus amounted to 272,000 tons of pig iron and +96,000 tons of steel. + + +Nonferrous Metals + +Reserves of nonferrous metals are reported to be more plentiful than +reserves of iron ore. Unofficial claims have been made that copper +reserves will meet requirements during the next fifty years despite the +planned rapid growth in output. Similarly, known reserves of lead and +zinc ores were said to be sufficient to supply the needs of available +smelters until 1990. A foreign observer, however, noted that plans for +large-scale expansion of nonferrous mining and smelting may be +frustrated by the deteriorating quality of the ores being mined and that +metal output may not rise much beyond the level attained in the late +1960s. In fact, mine output of lead and zinc in 1970 was not higher than +it had been in 1960, although the mine output of copper increased at an +annual rate of 7.1 percent from 1967 to 1971. In this context it is +noteworthy that data on nonferrous metals were omitted from the official +statistical yearbook published in 1972. + +In 1972 the minister of heavy industry pointed out that the relatively +small planned increase in the output of the nonferrous metals industry +in the 1971-75 period--22.8 percent--was dictated by inadequate +supplies of raw materials. He stated that prospecting for new deposits +would be intensified and stressed the urgent need to increase the degree +of metal recovery from ores and the need to utilize fully all ore +components. Nevertheless, the minister assured his audience that the +requirements of the economy for copper, lead, and zinc in the 1971-75 +period would be met from domestic production, except for 3 to 10 percent +of certain types of rolled metal. He called for the construction of +plants to extract the metal from the industry's tailings as a means for +partially eliminating the troublesome shortage. + +Copper is mined south of Burgas; in the Sredna Gora mountains near the +town of Panagyurishte; and in the western Stara Planina mountains, south +of Vratsa. A deposit is also being developed at Chelopets, near Sofia. +The ore is concentrated locally and is smelted and refined in plants at +Eliseyna, Pirdop, and the Medet complex near Panagyurishte. Production +of refined copper from ores and reused scrap increased from 14,000 tons +in 1960 to 24,000 tons in 1965 and 41,000 tons in 1971. More than half +the copper output is processed into copper profiles, sheet, and wire at +the Dimiter Ganev plant in Sofia--the only plant for manufacturing +rolled products. Bulgaria has both imported and exported copper and +copper products. + +Lead and zinc are obtained from mines near the towns of Madan and +Rudozem, in the eastern Rodopi, and in the western part of the Stara +Planina, at Eliseyna and Chiprovtsi. A new lead mine is under +development at Erma Reka, in the vicinity of Madan. The Rodopi mines +account for the major portion of the ore output. The ore is processed in +flotation plants near the sites of the mines and is refined at +Kurdzhali, Plovdiv, and Kurilo. + +Production of refined lead and zinc rose rapidly in the first half of +the 1960s but leveled off in the second. Substantial amounts of these +metals have been exported, mostly to Western Europe. Exports, however, +have been declining both in volume and as a proportion of output. The +decline has been more pronounced in the case of lead, and lead exports +dropped from 65 percent of output in 1960 to 22 percent in 1970. The +volume of lead exports fell from 53,500 tons to 22,100 tons in the +1965-70 period. Zinc exports declined from highs of 78 percent of output +in 1965 and 58,100 tons in 1966 to 64 percent of output and 48,100 tons +in volume in 1970. + +Bulgaria also possesses small reserves of gold, silver, and uranium. +Gold has been found near the town of Trun, not far from the border of +Yugoslavia. Silver and uranium deposits are located in the western Stara +Planina. The uranium ore is processed by the Rare Metals Combine near +Sofia. Gold and silver are also obtained as by-products in the smelting +of copper, lead, and zinc. Information on reserves and production of +these metals is not available. Aluminum and tin must be imported. + + +Other Raw Materials + +There are reported to be adequate resources of nonmetallic minerals for +the production of cement and other building materials, glass, and +ceramics. Asbestos, salt, sulfur, and cement are produced in quantities +large enough to allow some exports. The quality of asbestos, however, is +low, and better grades must be imported for some uses. Exports of cement +declined from 715,000 tons in 1965 to 153,000 tons in 1970. Timber and +wood pulp from domestic sources are in short supply. Under an agreement +with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria has supplied 8,000 workers to the timber +industry of the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic for the +development of Siberian timber resources, in return for which the Soviet +Union has undertaken to export to Bulgaria about 900,000 cubic yards of +timber in 1973 and up to 2 million cubic yards per year after 1975. +Similar arrangements exist with regard to paper pulp, iron and steel, +natural gas, and other raw materials. + +Domestic agriculture provides ample raw materials for the food +processing industry, but only a fraction of light industry's needs for +fibers and hides. In the 1968-70 period average annual imports of these +materials included cotton, 60,000 tons; wool, 2,900 tons; synthetic +fibers, 26,000 tons; and cattle hides, 7,700 tons. In addition to the +raw cotton, cotton textiles in the amount of 63,000 tons were imported +annually. + +Because of the general shortage of domestic raw materials and the need +to conserve scarce foreign exchange, strong emphasis has been placed on +recycling waste materials. A decree on this subject was issued in 1960, +and a special Secondary Raw Materials State Economic Trust was created +in 1965. Another comprehensive decree was issued in November 1971 +because, as stated in its preamble, the importance of collecting and +using waste materials had been underestimated, and the needs of the +economy were not being met. The new decree was intended to organize the +collection and processing of waste materials, including metals, paper, +rubber, textiles, and worn-out machinery and household equipment, on a +modern industrial basis under the direction of the waste materials +trust. Special provision was made in the decree concerning the handling +of unused machinery and surplus materials held by economic enterprises, +and sanctions were provided for failure to surrender or refusal to +purchase such surplus equipment and materials. + + +INVESTMENT + +Industry's share of total annual investment rose steadily from 34.2 +percent in 1960 to 47.3 percent in 1969 but declined in the next two +years to 43.9 percent. In absolute terms and in current prices, annual +investment in industry increased from 466.3 million leva in 1960 to 1.6 +billion leva in 1970 and declined to 1.58 billion leva in 1971. + +More than four-fifths of the industrial investment in the 1961-71 period +was devoted to the expansion of producer goods industries. The +proportion of investment funds allotted annually for this purpose was +slightly lower in the 1966-71 period than it had been in the preceding +five years; it ranged between 84.7 and 87.8 percent in the 1961-65 +period and between 81.2 and 85.5 percent thereafter, except for 1970, +when it declined to an atypical low of 78.5 percent. + +The bulk of industrial investment was channeled into heavy industry, +including fuel and energy production, ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, +chemicals, and machine building and metalworking. In the 1960-65 period +fuel and energy production were the major recipients of investment +funds; in subsequent years machine building and chemicals became the +primary targets of investment activity. Ferrous metallurgy was among the +five largest investment recipients through 1967, but nonferrous +metallurgy dropped from this group after 1964. Beginning in 1967 +substantial investment funds were also devoted to food processing--the +major export industry and earner of foreign exchange. + +Investment allotments to consumer goods industries ranged between 12.2 +and 18.8 percent of industrial investment, except for an unusually high +allocation of 21.5 percent in 1970. In 1971, however, the investment +share of consumer industries dropped sharply to only 14.5 percent. The +predominance of investment in heavy industry reflected the leadership's +basic economic policy tenet that, with minor temporary exceptions, the +production of capital goods must develop more rapidly than the output of +consumer goods. + +Construction of industrial plants has frequently fallen behind schedule, +causing losses of planned production and disruption of the five-year +plans. The situation became critical in the fall of 1972 because of the +failure to commission on time new facilities that were counted upon to +produce in 1973, among other products, 0.5 million tons of rolled steel; +0.4 million tons of mineral fertilizers; 30,000 tons of synthetic +fibers; 20,000 tons of cellulose; 11,000 tons of polyethylene; 0.3 +million kilowatts of electric generating capacity; and a large volume of +machinery and equipment. + +The main reasons for the construction lag were delays in the supply of +materials and a shortage of construction workers. In an effort to +expedite the completion of the most essential projects that were under +the direct supervision of the Council of Ministers because of their +national importance, the council created a special operational bureau +for the coordination and control of the construction activities +associated with these projects. At the same time 6,000 workers were +transferred to the priority projects from less important construction +jobs. These measures did little to solve the basic problems and merely +shifted the incidence of construction delays from one category of +projects to another. + + +LABOR + +The labor force in state and collective industry numbered 1.17 million +workers in 1971, of whom 542,000--or 46 percent--were women. The labor +force had increased by 54 percent compared with its size in 1960, and +the number of women workers more than doubled. About 88 percent of the +workers were employed in manufacturing; the remaining 12 percent were +engaged in mining and energy production. Production of capital goods +provided employment for 52.5 percent of the workers, and consumer goods +industries absorbed the remainder. One-fourth of the labor force was +concentrated in machine building and metalworking, and another +one-fourth was occupied in food processing and textile production (see +Organization and Structure, this ch.). + +By far the largest proportion of women workers--26 percent of their +total number--were employed in the textiles and clothing branches of +industry, where they constituted 77 percent of total employment. Women +constituted the majority of workers in food processing--53 percent--and +accounted for 21 percent of the workers in machine building and +metalworking. Substantial numbers of women were also employed in +chemical and rubber plants, in logging and woodworking, and in the +production of leather shoes and furs. Four-fifths of all women working +in industry were in blue-collar jobs. + +According to official statistics, 95 percent of the workers in 1971 were +directly engaged in production; the rest were employed in various +auxiliary occupations, such as maintenance and warehousing. Yet in +outlining means for raising industrial labor productivity in the fall of +1972, the minister of labor and social welfare included as an objective +a reduction in the proportion of auxiliary personnel to about 30 or 35 +percent of the number of production workers in industry. About 17 +percent of the production workers were in white-collar jobs; information +on the total number of white-collar workers has not been published. + +The majority of industrial workers are paid on a piecework basis, but +the importance of piecework has been declining and has varied widely +among industrial branches. In 1971 almost 62 percent of the workers were +paid on this basis--a significantly smaller proportion than the 80 +percent of workers remunerated in this manner in 1957. The proportion of +workers employed on the piecework basis in 1971 was highest in the +manufacture of clothing--89.5 percent--and lowest in the production of +coal and petroleum--25.2 percent. In construction, 84.6 percent of the +workers were paid on the piecework basis. + +The average annual wage of all industrial workers in 1971 was 1,526 +leva, compared to an average of 962 leva in 1960. On the whole, wages of +production workers were somewhat higher than wages of auxiliary +personnel, and the pay of white-collar production workers was higher +than that of blue-collar workers. The average wage of workers in +capital goods industries was 21 percent higher than the wage of workers +in consumer goods industries. The wage was highest in mining and lowest +in manufacturing. Within the state industrial branches, average annual +wages ranged from 2,009 leva in the production of coal and petroleum to +1,196 leva in the manufacture of clothing. Wages in collective industry +were generally lower than in state industry; the difference between the +average annual wages in these sectors was 12 percent. + +Industrial productivity and growth have suffered from a shortage of +trained workers and technical personnel. The supply of skilled workers +in the fall of 1972 was reported to be only half the number needed to +fill available positions. Responsibility for this situation has been +placed, in part, on the lack of coordination between the industrial +ministries and the Ministry of National Education concerning technical +and vocational training programs. There has been a pronounced +disproportion in the numbers of trainees in the various technical +specialities, and technical training generally has not been up to the +level demanded by modern technology. Enterprises themselves have been +slow in undertaking to train their own workers. The scarcity of skilled +personnel has been accentuated by the export of trained workers to the +Soviet Union to help develop the exportation of mineral and timber +resources in return for raw material imports. + +Poor labor discipline and excessive labor turnover have aggravated the +shortage of skilled workers. The turnover has been particularly high +among younger workers. Dissatisfaction with the job, or with living and +transportation conditions, and the search for better pay have been cited +as the main reasons for the turnover. Progressively severe measures have +been introduced to enforce stricter labor discipline, but their +effectiveness has been weakened by lax application. One of these +measures concerning movement of labor gave workers the right to quit +their jobs freely but stipulated that any worker seeking reemployment +had to do so through district labor bureaus set up for that purpose. The +bureaus would direct the job applicants to industries and positions +where labor was most urgently needed. Because of the shortage of skilled +labor, however, enterprise managers continued to hire new labor without +regard to the requirements of the law. + +The shortage of adequately trained personnel adversely affects the +utilization of available capacity; it entails frequent breakdowns of +machinery and inhibits multishift operation of plants. More than 20 +percent of worktime is usually lost through idling, and equipment is +used at no more than 50 to 60 percent of capacity. New plants completed +in 1967 had not reached full production in 1972. Productivity has also +been kept low by the lack of mechanization of auxiliary activities, such +as loading and unloading, inter- and intrashop transport, and +warehousing. In 1972 the minister of labor and social welfare stated +that labor productivity in Bulgarian metallurgy was only half as high +as in some of the advanced industrial states. + +The presence of unemployment has never been officially admitted, but a +certain degree of unemployment and underemployment, nevertheless, exists +in several rural areas of the country. Recognition of this fact was +evident in the decision of the BKP Central Committee plenum, published +in March 1970, on the territorial redistribution of production forces +(relocation of industry) and in subsequent economic studies concerning +this subject. + + +PRODUCTION + +Gross industrial output amounted to about 13.9 billion leva in 1970 and +reached 15 billion leva in 1971. According to official data, industrial +output more than tripled in the 1960-71 period. The high average annual +growth rate of 11.1 percent was accounted for, in part, by the low +initial level of industrial development, as a result of which relatively +small absolute increases in output were equivalent to high percentage +rates of growth. The contribution of industry to national income (net +material product) rose from 46 percent in 1960 to 50 percent in 1969 but +declined to 49 percent in 1970. + +The most rapid growth occurred in basic industries that were given +priority in the allocation of investment and labor. Production of the +iron and steel industry rose almost ninefold, and the output of fuels, +chemicals, and rubber increased more than sixfold. The output of machine +building and metalworking industries increased 5-½ times, and the +production of electric power, building materials, and cellulose and +paper rose about fourfold. Preferential development of basic industries +continued through 1972. + +The lowest growth rates among basic industries were attained by the +timber and woodworking industry and nonferrous metallurgy. Some foreign +observers have wondered when the available nonferrous ore reserves have +not been exploited more intensively. As for timber production, its +volume has been restricted by the limitation of forest resources. +Production by consumer goods industries generally increased by from 2.1 +to 2.7 times, except for glass and porcelain wares, the output of which +rose almost fivefold. + +By far the most important industries in terms of output value in 1970 +were food processing, and machine building and metalworking; these +industries accounted for 25.4 and 20.2 percent of total output, +respectively. Next in importance, with 9.1 percent and 7.5 percent of +the total were the textile and the chemical and rubber industries. The +output of the clothing industry--4.9 percent of total output--surpassed +the production of fuels. The contributions of other industries to the +total industrial output ranged from 0.9 to 3.7 percent. The structure of +industrial output in value terms reflects, in part, the system of prices +used in valuing the output. + +Although the country's industrial development has had a history of only +two decades, industry produces a wide variety of industrial and consumer +products, including machine tools, ships, computers, automatic telephone +exchanges, and television sets (see table 20). Bulgaria was also +reported to possess the largest plant in Europe, and second largest in +the world, for the production of electric forklifts and similar +industrial vehicles. The quality of many products, however, though +improving, has not measured up to average world standards. In 1972 the +chairman of the Administration for Quality Standardization, and +Metrology stated that his organization was confronted with a difficult +long-term task of developing an effective quality control system and of +catching up and keeping pace with the constantly rising world quality +standards. In his view, attainment of these goals required a fundamental +improvement of domestic quality standards, effective organizational and +technical measures, well-conceived incentives, and an enormous amount of +indoctrination of the personnel involved in production. The chairman was +confident, nevertheless, that the country's industry would eventually +outstrip the qualitative standards of developed industrial nations in +the same way that it had succeeded in outstripping these nations' +industries with regard to quantitative growth. + +_Table 20. Output of Selected Industrial Products in Bulgaria, Selected +Years, 1960-71_ + + -------------------+----------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + Product | Unit | 1960 | 1965 | 1968 | 1970 | 1971 + -------------------+----------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + Electric energy |million | | | | | + | kilowatt hours| 4,657 |10,244 |15,451 |19,513 |21,016 + Coal (cleaned)[1] |thousand | | | | | + | metric tons |10,630 |10,116 | 9,930 | 7,280 | 6,450 + Lignite | do | 5,356 |14,926 |20,967 |21,971 |20,558 + Coke | do | 20 | 733 | 817 | 837 | 1,091 + Crude oil | do | 200 | 229 | 475 | 334 | 305 + Natural gas | million | | | | | + | cubic yards | ... | 94 | 662 | 619 | 428 + Iron ore[2] |thousand | | | | | + | metric tons | 188 | 585 | 870 | 792 | 993 + Manganese ore[2] | do | 7 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 12 + Pig iron | do | 136 | 547 | 1,064 | 1,195 | 1,329 + Crude steel | do | 253 | 588 | 1,461 | 1,800 | 1,947 + Rolled steel | do | 193 | 431 | 1,028 | 1,420 | 1,752 + Steel tubes | do | 11 | 10 | 19 | 114 | 136 + Copper ore[2] | do | 11 | 30 | 37 | 42 | n.a. + Lead-zinc ore[2] | do | 173 | 180 | 168 | 173 | n.a. + Electrolytic copper| do | 14 | 24 | 37 | 38 | n.a. + Lead | do | 40 | 93 | 93 | 97 | n.a. + Zinc | do | 17 | 66 | 75 | 76 | n.a. + Cement | do | 1,568 | 2,681 | 3,512 | 3,668 | 3,880 + Timber |thousand | | | | | + | cubic yards | 5,046 | 5,680 | 5,140 | 5,166 | 4,923 + Paper |thousand | | | | | + | metric tons | 54 | 85 | 187 | 200 | 215 + Nitrogen | | | | | | + fertilizers[3] | do | 84 | 246 | 276 | 287 | 306 + Urea[3] | do | 2 | 15 | 228 | 315 | 256 + Superphosphate[4] | do | 41 | 94 | 136 | 148 | 146 + Pesticides[5] | do | 2 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 16 + Automobile tires | do | 172 | 327 | 333 | 546 | 730 + Internal combustion|thousand | | | | | + engines | horsepower | 155 | 179 | 280 | 229 | 250 + Metalcutting |thousand units | | | | | + machine tools | | 3,145 | 8,063 |11,160 |13,945 |14,636 + Presses | do | 203 | 609 | 944 | 977 | 763 + Textile looms | do | 505 | 555 | 1,088 | 676 | 437 + Tractors | do | ... | 2,800 | 2,961 | 3,493 | 4,668 + Freight cars | do | 2,007 | 1,583 | 1,550 | 1,991 | 2,016 + Electric forklift | do | 3,104 |16,562 |22,673 |29,641 |30,202 + Telephones | do | 80 | 57 | 245 | 349 | 416 + Ships | do | 12 | 11 | 26 | 27 | n.a. + Radio sets | do | 157 | 130 | 139 | 145 | 148 + Television sets | do |[6]... | 74 | 158 | 193 | 158 + Refrigerators | | | | | | + (domestic) | do | 3 | 41 | 91 | 134 | 140 + Electric washing | | | | | | + machines | | | | | | + (domestic)| | do | 38 | 89 | 184 | 56 | 57 + Cotton textiles |million yards | 239 | 355 | 349 | 349 | 355 + Woolen textiles | do | 20 | 31 | 25 | 29 | 31 + Footwear[7] |million pairs | 7,534 |10,062 |15,671 |13,627 |16,095 + Leather shoes | do |(4,251)|(5,154)|(5,781)|(4,105)|(4,694) + Rubber footwear | do |11,239 |12,683 |13,485 |12,805 |13,683 + -------------------+----------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + n.a.--not available. + 1: Anthracite, bituminous, and brown coal. + 2: Metal content. + 3: Nitrogen content. + 4: P_{2}O_{5} content + 5: Active ingredients. + 6: Fewer than 400 units. + 7: Excluding house slippers and rubber footwear. + + + + +SECTION IV. NATIONAL SECURITY + +CHAPTER 15 + +PUBLIC ORDER AND SECURITY + + +To maintain order and to retain control of the population, party and +governmental authorities rely on a number of police and security +organizations that are able to exert physical force and, also, upon a +group of large social organizations that are able to apply social +pressures. When individuals, in spite of the efforts of the law +enforcement agencies and the social organizations, engage in antisocial +or criminal behavior, the courts are charged with handing down +appropriate sentences, and the penal institutions are concerned with +rehabilitating the individuals for eventual return to society as +cooperative and productive members. + +People's Militia units throughout the country are the local police +forces that enforce the laws, combat crime, and monitor the population. +They are assisted in local law enforcement by part-time voluntary +paramilitary auxiliaries and, in serious situations, by a small, +centrally organized, full-time internal security force that can act as a +light infantry unit and move quickly to any part of the country. State +security police, evolved from the secret police of the 1940s and 1950s +but much reduced in size, deal with crimes that are national in scope or +that pose a threat to the society or its institutions. Authorities +credit the security police with having almost eliminated the possibility +of large-scale subversive activities. The militia, its volunteer +auxiliaries, and the security units are organized within the Ministry of +Internal Affairs. + +Border and construction troop organizations are administered separately. +The Border Troops, charged with defense of the country's boundaries and +with control of a border zone around the country's periphery, are a part +of the Bulgarian People's Army and are under the Ministry of National +Defense. The Construction Troops are labor forces, but the bulk of their +personnel comes from the annual military draft, and they are organized +into regular military units and are subject to military regulations and +discipline. + +The rights of the individual citizen are defended in the 1971 +Constitution and in the Criminal Code of 1968, which was not altered by +the constitution. The latter states that a crime can only be an act so +identified in the code and for which a punishment is prescribed. These +principles can and have been abused--the state is set above the +individual, and the judicial machinery is within an agency of the +executive branch of the government--but those who exercise the machinery +have become increasingly responsive to its guiding statutes. The limits +on punishments that are set down in the code allow somewhat greater +sentences to be handed down upon those committing crimes against the +state or state property than upon individuals or private property. + + +INTERNAL SECURITY + +State and Internal Security Forces + +During the time of readjustment after Joseph Stalin's death in 1953, +Bulgaria's police state period gradually came to a close. In the postwar +period until then, the country had had police machinery modeled on that +of Stalinist Soviet Union, with state security troops (secret police) +and garrisoned interior troops equipped like mobile army infantry units. +The state security troops, the garrisoned interior troops, and the +regular police forces are estimated to have totaled about 200,000 men. + +Although state and internal security organs have been shifted among +ministries and renamed, and there has been an occasional move to abolish +them, they continue to exist in Bulgaria. Although the organizational +form is probably much the same as before, that is, an internal security +force and a state security police, the security apparatus has only a +fraction of its former personnel and has been shorn of its more +arbitrary powers. According to some observers, Bulgaria has emerged from +a police state, wherein security forces held arbitrary powers of arrest +that instilled fear in the people, to a police bureaucracy in which the +militia meddles in peoples' lives to the point of public frustration. +People no longer have reason to fear the tyranny of a secret police, but +they have developed a strong resentment of the petty militia regulations +that affect their daily lives. + +State security functions--those that deal with espionage, treason, and +the group of so-called political crimes aimed at undermining or +upsetting the system--have been performed by a separate secret police +organization that was typical in communist systems, particularly during +the Stalinist period. An overriding preoccupation with state security +has not been as prevalent in Bulgaria as in many communist countries, +because the communist government had established itself firmly in +control of the country in a relatively short time. Nonetheless, a +sizable secret police force existed for many years and, after a reign of +terror lasting until 1948, the secret police contributed to a general +atmosphere of repression that lasted until the mid-1950s. After that +time most police functions were assumed by the People's Militia, and the +secret police faded into the background, greatly reduced in size and +importance but still functioning within one of the government +ministries. + +After the unsuccessful coup d'etat of April 1965, there was a resurgence +of secret police activity with the creation of the new Committee of +State Security. As the political situation stabilized in the late 1960s, +the Committee of State Security was reabsorbed into the Ministry of +Internal Affairs, where the remaining units of state security police +continue to operate. They are evidently considered necessary in order to +take care of relations with foreigners, to collect some military +intelligence at the governmental level, and to monitor any potential +espionage or criminal activities that might pose a threat to the state. +The day-to-day role of the small remnant of the internal security force +is unknown. This elite, militarized unit, however, is probably held as a +bulwark against any large-scale, organized dissension. + + +The People's Militia + +The People's Militia (local police) deals with crime and maintains +routine day-to-day contacts with the people. The militia operates under +the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and has intermediate +administrative offices at the level of the _okrug_ (district) and local +police stations at the _rayon_ (municipal) or _obshtina_ (urban borough +or village commune) level. Although the primary control descends from +the Ministry of Internal Affairs, all militia organizations have a +degree of responsibility to the people's councils at their levels. + +Local militia forces ordinarily work only in the areas under the +jurisdiction of their people's councils. In urgent circumstances they +may be called upon the Ministry of Internal Affairs to assist the +militia in neighboring areas, and they may even cross _okrug_ lines. To +operate outside their own areas on their own volition they must have the +permission of an agency in the ministry. + +The police are charged with maintaining order, enforcing the laws, +protecting personal and public property, and regulating traffic. They +assist governmental and party agencies in the execution of their various +resolutions, orders, and instructions. They monitor the rules of +residence and the collection of taxes. In the event of natural disasters +or major accidents they are equipped to rescue, to give first aid, and +to transport victims to medical facilities. They supervise observance of +quarantine measures imposed by health authorities. They monitor drinking +establishments to ascertain that alcoholic beverages are not served to +alcoholics, obviously drunken persons, juveniles, and drivers of motor +vehicles. They are instructed to combat rowdy and irresponsible +behavior--hooliganism, begging, and vagrancy--and other antisocial +manifestations. They see that unsupervised and stray children are +provided for. + +Many militia functions are peripheral to the primary police duties of +law enforcement and criminal investigation. Such functions include +social controls having diverse objectives ranging from gun control to +keeping undesirables off Sofia streets during visits of foreign +dignitaries. The police have unusual powers in dealing with beggars, +vagabonds, and others in the category that they classify as socially +dangerous. Some of the controls are directed at preventing crime; others +appear intended to reduce the possibility of incidents on occasions when +the presence of such persons could be embarrassing. The regulation +allows the police to prohibit individuals from visiting specified towns +or areas or even from leaving their residences for a twenty-four-hour +period. Some may be prohibited from meeting certain other specified +persons or from frequenting certain parts of towns. Such restrictions +can be for definite or for indefinite periods of time. Persons may be +denied the use of common carriers or the privilege of attending sports +events or of visiting certain public institutions. Some, prostitutes for +example, may be denied the right to become telephone subscribers. If +they think it advisable, the police may require some persons whom they +are monitoring to report to them on a daily or other regular basis. + +Individually held weapons, ammunition, and explosives are accounted for +and are registered with the militia. Certain forestry and farm +personnel, hunters, sportsmen, and youth organizations are authorized to +retain controlled weapons. Explosives are permitted when they are +required in, for example, construction projects. By law there is no +production of cold weapons--brass knuckles, daggers, scimitars, and the +like--in the country. + +The police collect or maintain a major share of local records for the +_obshtina_ people's councils. These records deal with vital statistics, +citizenship, identification, travel visas, registration of residences, +licenses and permits, and employment data. A person acquires Bulgarian +citizenship in the circumstances that are accepted in most other +countries--by ancestry, place of birth, or naturalization--but there may +be somewhat more than the usual number of situations in which he may +lose it. Persons are deprived of citizenship if they leave the country +unlawfully, leave lawfully but fail to return within a reasonable time +after their visas expire, go abroad to avoid military service, acquire +foreign citizenship in a manner not specified in Bulgarian law, or if +they conduct themselves abroad in ways that are contrary to Bulgaria's +interests or that are unworthy of a Bulgarian citizen. Persons not +ethnically Bulgarian are released from their citizenship upon +emigration, although they are not released unless all of their +obligations in the country are settled. + +Laws governing the stay of foreigners in the country also are +administered and enforced by the militia. According to the revised law +that took effect in 1972, the whereabouts of a foreigner is subject to +the same rules that apply to Bulgarian citizens. His hotel or other +local address, therefore, must be reported to the militia within +twenty-four hours of his arrival at each stop. Tourists are usually +unaware that such detailed records of their stays are being maintained, +because hotel personnel ordinarily take care of the reporting. If the +visitor stays at the home of a Bulgarian, that citizen must report his +presence on the same twenty-four-hour basis. + +A foreign visitor may travel freely otherwise, except that he may not go +to certain restricted areas or to the border zone at any place other +than at one of the designated crossing points. He must leave the country +when the time specified in his visa has expired unless he has a criminal +charge against him and is awaiting trial, has been sentenced and is +serving a term in prison or at a correctional labor camp, or has the +obligation to provide support for a person in the country. + + +Border Troops + +The Border Troops are part of the Bulgarian People's Army and are +organized within the Ministry of National Defense. Border units resemble +regular military forces more than they do the police. They are +considered militarized security units, and some 15,000 men serve in +them. + +Their mission is described as safeguarding the country's frontiers +against penetration or illegal crossing. Because they are a part of the +regular armed forces, it is presumed that in time of war they would work +in coordination with those forces. If the enemy were to penetrate into +Bulgaria, the Border Troops would be expected to control the area +immediately behind the ground forces. If Bulgarian armies were driving +the enemy beyond the borders, they would probably remain at the old +border or establish a new one if the leadership expected to retain any +newly occupied territory. + +The most strictly defended borders are those shared with Greece, Turkey, +and Yugoslavia, but the border with Romania is also defended. The Border +Troops operate a number of patrol boats, both on the Danube River, where +it forms the border with Romania, and along the Black Sea coast. The +troops also control the movement of people into and within a border +zone, which is a strip approximately eight miles wide in from the +border. Smuggling, however, even large-scale smuggling, is the concern +of the Ministry of Internal Affairs customs police and not of the Border +Troops. + + +Construction Troops + +A Bulgarian institution that is unique among the Eastern European +communist countries is the organization known as the Construction +Troops. Thousands of young men who are not called for service in the +regular armed forces are drafted into the Construction Troops, from +which the government derives productive labor at the same time that it +instills military discipline and political indoctrination into a large +segment of the young male population. Similar organizations have been +maintained since the establishment of the original Labor Service in the +early 1920s, which was a means of circumventing the World War I peace +terms that prohibited large conscript military forces. Obligatory +military service was restored during the 1930s and, as part of the +change, the Labor Service was militarized. It was made a part of the +army and remained so during World War II, when it became known as the +Labor Army. + +Two types of compulsory labor forces emerged after the communist seizure +of power in 1944. The Labor Army continued in existence and, following +the example of the Soviet Union under Stalin and of the other states in +the Soviet post-World War II orbit, Bulgaria also placed those of its +citizens considered politically dangerous in forced labor camps. These +were the prison colonies populated by victims of the secret police, +persons who might or might not have had proper trials but who were +considered to be enemies of the party or the government. Some camps were +temporarily located at sites where large numbers of manual laborers were +needed, but more often camps were at permanent locations. Buildings at +all camps were flimsy, and facilities were minimal. In the early period, +while the Communists were establishing their control over the country, +about 1 percent of the population was imprisoned at hard labor in such +camps at any given time. + +In the early 1970s the Construction Troops organization that had evolved +from the Labor Army was military in form and character. Its men were +provided from the annual draft and were subject to military regulations +and discipline. Its officers, who had regular military ranks, were +provided from the armed forces or had been prepared for that specific +assignment in the Construction Troops own school. The headquarters of +the organization, however, was a main administration responsible +directly to the Council of Ministers; it was not within either the +Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Internal Affairs. +Furthermore, the work of the organization was heavy construction and, at +least in peacetime, the greatest portion of it was unrelated to any +requirement of the armed forces. The Construction Troops worked on +various construction projects on a five-day-week basis but assumed a +military routine on Saturdays, which were devoted to platoon and company +drill and to political education classes. + +Until the mid-1960s the troops were used mainly in roadbuilding and land +reclamation. By the early 1970s more than one-half of their work was in +factory, housing, water supply, and other such construction. Its 1972 +projects included building a tire manufacturing plant and a resort hotel +complex and harnessing a river for hydroelectric power, recreation, and +supplies of irrigation water and city water. One of the organization's +spokesmen claimed that there was not a large-scale project underway +anywhere in the country where its troops were not at work. + +The men acquired in the annual draft serve two years, which satisfies +their military service obligation. Almost all of the conscripts in the +Construction Troops work as unskilled laborers. During or at the end of +their two-year tours, those who enjoy or show a special aptitude for +construction work may volunteer for extended duty tours and serve as +noncommissioned officers. Some of those who are accepted are sent to +technical schools for further education. + +Career officers who are educated in the Construction Troops service +academy are expected to serve for ten years after graduation. This +school, the full title of which is the General Blagony Ivanov People's +Military School for Officers in the Construction Troops, offers a +so-called semihigher course of instruction. Applicants to it must have +completed their secondary education, and its three-year course can be +used for undergraduate transfer credit toward a university-level degree +elsewhere. Many graduates continue their education at the Higher +Institute of Construction and Engineering in Sofia, from which they may +receive a further career specialization and bachelor's or advanced +degrees. + + +CIVIL DEFENSE + +Authorities responsible for the civil defense program justify their +efforts by arguing that modern warfare has virtually eliminated the +difference in importance between the armed forces at the front and their +support in the rear areas. They stress that it is essential to provide +for continued production and delivery of supplies, primarily foodstuffs, +that are needed for survival. Such arguments have been effective in +Bulgaria, and civil defense training is compulsory for all citizens from +twelve to sixty years of age. + +The civil defense organization is staffed at all administrative levels +in the country. It is within the Ministry of National Defense in the +national government and has committees under the people's councils in +each _okrug_ and _rayon_ or _obshtina_. Committees or working teams are +also set up in manufacturing plants, enterprises, schools, and +collectives. Indicative of the importance placed upon civil defense +activities, its national chief in the early 1970s was one of the deputy +ministers of national defense, a level shared with only the topmost +officers of the military establishment. + +Civil defense tasks are divided into three categories. The first +includes provision of shelters and defense for the population, providing +warning of attack, and training of the people for implementation of +dispersal and evacuation plans and for defense and salvage work. The +second includes implementation of measures intended to maintain +production and to keep transportation, communications media, and power +supplies in operation. The third includes industrial salvage, +restoration of production, fire fighting, decontamination, and provision +of medical assistance. + +Specific work assignments vary widely in differing locations and +enterprises. For example, industrial teams train to maintain or restore +production. Agricultural teams work to save crops, farm animals, or to +protect feed and watering spots. People's councils at all levels, party +and youth groups, and the mass organizations are instructed to assist in +specific ways and to volunteer in other ways as opportunities arise. + +Enthusiasm for civil defense activities varies widely. One town with a +population of just over 1,000, for example, built or modified areas to +shelter 6,000 people. In more typical situations tasks such as those of +civil defense that have little to contribute to the needs of the moment +receive much lower priority. + + +PUBLIC ORDER + +The Communist Party and Social Organizations + +The most important element in establishing control of the country at the +inception of the post-World War II communist government was the +Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary), with the iron discipline +it held over its carefully chosen members and its single-minded planning +and direction. After gaining control, the party attempted to retain its +exclusive character, insofar as possible recruiting as members only +those whose loyalty was unquestioned and who could organize and lead. + +To maintain control based on a broader segment of the population, the +party then encouraged the development of a number of social and +special-interest organizations, designed to appeal to the interests of +as many of the people as possible and to enlist them in activities that +shape public opinion, regulate the conduct of the people, and support +the party and its policies. These organizations ranged in size from the +extremely large Fatherland Front and the trade unions to the painters, +writers, and composers unions, whose memberships numbered between 100 +and 800 (see ch. 9). + +With the exceptions of the party, the Fatherland Front, and the small +artists unions, these groups are called mass organizations. The small +unions do not qualify because they are far from massive in size; the +party and the front have the requisite membership, but they are set +apart from the others. The Fatherland Front attempts to gather members +from all other socially or politically active organizations in the +country, combining as many as possible of them within it. Its membership +includes nearly one-half of the country's population. The party, +although ostensibly a member organization of the Fatherland Front, is +set above all other organizations. It controls and directs the others +and requires them to support it in general and specific ways (see ch. +9). + +The largest of the mass organizations are, in descending order, the +trade unions, the Bulgarian Red Cross, the Dimitrov Communist Youth +Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz--commonly referred to +as the Komsomol), the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sports, +and the Bulgarian Union of Tourists. Their memberships range from about +1 million to approximately 2.5 million. The Bulgarian Agrarian Union, +the Bulgarian Hunting and Fishing Union, the Teachers Union, and the +Scientific and Technical Union are much smaller, having memberships +between 100,000 and 200,000. The Fatherland Front attracts nearly 4 +million people; the party has 700,000 members. + + +Youth Programs + +The first sizable leftist youth organization in the country, then called +the Union of Working Youth, was formed in 1926, and by 1940 it had a +membership of approximately 15,000. It and the party furnished most of +the partisan fighters that harassed the Germans and the pro-German +government of the country during World War II. Both the party and the +youth group grew stronger during the war, largely because the partisan +cause was more popular than that of the government. + +The youth organization became the Dimitrov Communist Youth Union after +the war. The new name did not come about from a major reorganization or +reorientation of the group; transition to its postwar status was smooth, +but it saw fit to honor Georgi Dimitrov, who had by then become the most +powerful and famous of the party's leaders. Even after its renaming in +Dimitrov's honor, the organization has usually been referred to, in +official government communications as well as in conversation, as the +Komsomol, which is the name of the Soviet Union's youth organization. + +The Komsomol became the organization through which the party reached the +nation's youth. Its responsibilities were expanded, and its membership +grew rapidly. In the ideal situation the entire youth segment of the +population of eligible age, both male and female, would be members of +the organization. In 1970 its 1.16 million members did include about 77 +percent of those between fourteen and twenty-four years of age. Some of +the organization's leaders, instructors, and exceptionally active +members stay in the group beyond the upper age limit of twenty-four, but +their number is too small to alter the membership statistics +significantly. Male members outnumbered female members by a large +margin; 88 percent of the eligible males were members, only 66 percent +of the females. The disparity in membership by sex reflects the fact +that more of the organization's activities--sports and premilitary +training, for example--appeal to or are oriented toward the future +needs of the males. Membership is either a prerequisite for admission to +higher educational institutions or makes admission much easier. + +Statistics notwithstanding, party and other national leaders complain +that Komsomol membership is lower than it should be, but they have +greater concern about the number who are members merely for expediency +and who are apathetic toward the organization's activities. A low point +in the Komsomol's appeal was reached during the 1960s and, sensing an +urgent need to reattract the cooperation of the nation's youth, its +programs were given a major reevaluation and overhaul beginning in about +1968. + +The youth problem in 1968 was probably less serious in Bulgaria than it +was in many Western countries and other communist countries, but it had +reached proportions that warranted action. Among symptoms cited by the +authorities was apathy toward education, work, and party ideology. Young +people in rural areas seemed anxious to move to the cities, where +idleness, crime, and so-called parasitic living were increasing. +Consumption of alcohol by young people was up markedly. + +Many young people were described as silent nihilists, persons who were +characterized by unresponsiveness and vast indifference. No expression +of group youth protest, for example, was recorded between the inception +of the communist government and the late 1960s. When individual +complaints were solicited, however, they appeared to come out freely. +Some said that they would have cooperated but spoke of the anemic and +empty lives of the youth organizations where the dull, boring meetings +consisted largely of upbraiding sermons full of pious admonitions and +reprimands. Others assumed an offensive posture, indulging in +self-praise, pointing out shortcomings in party work, complaining about +the lack of individual freedom and the lack of opportunity for showing +initiative, and criticizing the older generation. + +Consumption of alcoholic beverages is common enough in typical families +so that early exposure to it is considered natural, but its use by young +people became excessive enough to be considered a national problem in +the mid-1960s. According to a survey published in 1971, more than 50 +percent of the students in Sofia secondary schools consumed alcohol +regularly. Percentages were considerably higher in provincial secondary +schools. Few of the youthful users had consumed it over a long enough +period to have become addicted, but more than one-half of the inebriated +persons brought to sobering-up facilities in Sofia hospitals and clinics +were young people. + +Authorities blame advertising of alcoholic beverages, imitation of +Western fashions, disillusionment, and monotony in daily living for most +of the increase in youthful drinking. They also blame lax parental +control, but the surveys concluded that the influence of contemporary +social habits and the pressures of peer groups were forces more +powerful than those exerted by the family. + +Measures have been undertaken to reduce the so-called parasitic element +that according to party and governmental spokesmen, is composed of those +who neither study nor work. As early as 1968 the minister of national +education was given six months to organize a nationwide program to cope +with the problem, and the Center for Amateur Scientific and Technical +Activities among Youth and Children was created to coordinate planning. +The Committee for Youth and Sports, the State Committee on Scientific +and Technical Progress (renamed the State Committee for Science, +Technical Progress, and Higher Education), the Komsomol, and the trade +unions were charged with contributing ideas and assistance. As a result +of the center's activities, the next year each _okrug_ was directed to +organize schools with three-month-long vocational training courses and +to canvass its area for young people who required the instruction. +Enterprises in the _okrug_ were directed to cooperate by indicating the +skills they most needed, by furnishing facilities and, finally, by +hiring those who completed the training. + +As of 1972 the program had achieved spotty or inconclusive results. Most +spokesmen considered it as satisfactory as could have been expected. +They did not consider that it reflected badly on the effort when a few +groups reported that about 30 percent of the students who completed +their classes never reported to the jobs for which they had been +prepared and that others stayed at work for only a short time. Other +observers consider that the authorities are concerned over a problem +much of which does not exist or that is blown out of proportion to its +seriousness. For example, 85 percent of the offending group were girls +or young women. A few of them were undoubtedly ideological malcontents, +members of youth gangs, prostitutes, or criminals, but a large majority +considered themselves living inoffensively at home or, at the worst, +were working at small family enterprises. In rural areas they might have +been attending the family's private agricultural plot or the privately +owned livestock. + + +CRIME AND JUSTICE + +Crime + +The country's most widely quoted authorities on crime view it as a +social phenomenon, that is, actions by people within society against the +interests of the society as a whole or against the principles directing +it. Combating crime, therefore, becomes a matter both of law enforcement +and of social edification and persuasion. Although they adhere to the +argument that in a developing communist society most of the crime is +related to holdover attitudes from the old society and to unavoidable +contacts with such societies still existing, they do not expect to +eradicate crime according to any existing timetable. + +Petty crime is an irritant to the leadership, not so much for the damage +or lasting effects of the individual criminal acts, but because such +acts reflect an attitude on the part of the perpetrators indicating that +they hold the society, if not in ridicule or contempt, at least in less +than proper respect. Such attitudes prompted an official in the Ministry +of Internal Affairs to state, "Social democracy does not take a +conciliatory attitude toward petty criminals, or tolerate individuals +who disturb the public order or who are engaged in a parasitical life." +The actual amount of petty crime is less worrisome to the authorities +than the fact that it is increasing. Also disturbing are statistics +showing that most of those apprehended for it are in the +eighteen-to-thirty-year age-group. + +Authorities have found themselves facing a problem in relation to petty +crime that is in no way unique to Bulgaria. Misuse of government +property, including theft and pilfering, has become rampant and is +considered forgivable by those who are guilty because "everybody does +it." The courts have become reluctant to hand down harsh sentences upon +people who consider that they have done no wrong and, at least in the +opinion of some government spokesmen, lenient court sentences have +helped foster a view that theft of public property is wrong only because +it is so described in certain of the laws. + +The authorities also point out that statistics accumulated on such +thefts reported in 1970 are revealing in other respects. Almost 90 +percent of those recorded fell into the category of petty crime, but +about one-half of them were carried out by overcoming locks or other +barriers protecting the property. Over one-half of the persons +apprehended for such thefts were repeaters. Analysis of other records +also indicated that in all but a very few cases the most serious crimes +were committed by individuals who had begun their criminal careers by +stealing. + +At the same time the courts were handing down sentences of the minimum +punishment for theft or even less than the prescribed minimum. More +often than not, the culprits were given suspended sentences. Of those +convicted of serious theft, less than one-half were sentenced to a +period of deprivation of freedom considered appropriate--that is, the +six months or more prescribed in the criminal code. + +More serious are the crimes of violence, political crimes, and economic +crimes involving abuse of management positions or large amounts of +property. In the period since the mid-1950s crimes of violence have +increased; political and serious economic crimes have decreased. + +Citizens convicted of political crimes no longer constitute the bulk of +the prison population, as they did during the early post-World War II +period. Active or aggressively vocal opposition to the regime is usually +called ideological subversion, diversion, or revisionism, and it is +described as activity or expression of thoughts related to the old +society and not in accord with the policies of the new. It is still +listed among the more serious crimes. Officials of the Ministry of +Internal Affairs blame both external influences and dissident internal +factions for having caused the Hungarian revolution in 1956 and the +Czechoslovak troubles in 1968. They say, however, that such events are +unlikely in Bulgaria because the ministry's state security agencies are +busy combating foreign intelligence efforts and the native elements that +would bore from within. The success of their efforts is credited with +having reduced political trials to only a few each year. + +Economic crimes include those of dishonest or illegal operation of an +enterprise, the misuse of socialist property by its management or +workers, currency manipulations, and improper sale or transfer of +property. If inefficient management practices are serious enough to +result in less than optimum production, they are considered criminal, +but sufficient guilt has been difficult to prove, and those accused are +rarely, if ever, prosecuted. They are occasionally reprimanded, +transferred, or dismissed for bureaucratic practices. Management +personnel who are brought before the courts are usually tried for +corruption, using their positions for personal enrichment, or violation +of administrative or financial regulations. + +Workers can be prosecuted for theft, waste, willful damage, or illegal +use of materials. Poor labor discipline, shirking on the job, or +nonmalicious negligence may result in individuals or entire work shifts +being brought before party groups or trade union committees. Action in +such cases usually involves counseling, social pressure, or the like. + +Consumption of alcohol is not excessive when compared with that of other +European countries, but it has been increasing steadily and has been a +major contributor to crime and antisocial behavior. During the 1960s per +capita consumption of absolute alcohol increased by a factor of nearly +50 percent, from 4.01 quarts per person annually to 5.93 quarts. +Strenuous efforts on the part of the country's leadership to combat the +trend resulted in a decrease between 1968 and 1970, but the dip in +consumption was temporary. Per capita consumption in 1971 reached the +highest level yet recorded. + +Police are involved in aspects of the programs combating the rise in +consumption of alcohol and alcoholism because alcohol has figured +increasingly in crime. Nearly 90 percent of those charged with rowdiness +or disturbing the peace were under its influence, as were increasing +percentages of those apprehended on rape, assault, and murder charges. + +Many more men than women have alcohol problems, but the percentage of +women problem drinkers has risen more rapidly. Similarly, consumption by +youths is less than that of adults, but the numbers of youths becoming +habitual drinkers has been increasing. Many of the campaigns against +the use of alcohol are also directed against smoking and drugs, although +neither of these is considered a cause of serious concern. Smoking is +viewed as an evil that may be damaging to the user's health but that has +no serious social consequences. By 1973 drugs had not become a serious +problem. + +The police monitor a large number of alcoholics whose conditions are +chronic but who can work. These persons get a period--ordinarily from +six months to a year--of compulsory treatment. This may include work +therapy in groups that are supervised to the degree necessary to prevent +the members from acquiring alcoholic beverages. + +Increasing tourism has resulted in special problems in resort areas. +Spokesmen note that what they refer to as petit bourgeois attitudes +toward moneymaking have shown up, especially at the new Black Sea +coastal resorts. Local people inflate prices for tourists, accept and +encourage tips, and buy and sell merchandise illegally. On some +occasions the Bulgarians exploit their guests; at other times the +foreigners exploit the local population. Most seriously viewed of the +adverse tourist influences are the introduction of unacceptable ideology +and foreign encouragement of moral laxity which, according to the +authorities, pervades the area. Occasionally, however, there is an +example of an ideological diversity in a direction opposite that of lax +morality. One group of tourists was evicted from the country after +distributing what the police described as forty Bibles and 150 godly +booklets. Many tourists enter the country by automobile; traffic has +become congested, and violations of traffic laws are more numerous than +the police can cope with. + + +Criminal Code + +The criminal code's preamble states that its purpose is to protect the +society and the state, the person and the rights of its citizens, the +economy, and the state's property and laws and to educate the citizens +in the rules of life in the socialist society. It defines crimes as +socially dangerous acts that are identified and declared by law as +punishable. + +In addition to the qualification that a crime must be set down as such +and declared punishable, the individual is further protected by the +stipulation that he may be punished only when he has been found guilty +of one of the listed crimes by a proper court. The punishment may be +only what is set down in the code and declared consistent with the +crime, and it may be imposed only by the court trying the case. + +Adults, eighteen years of age or older, are criminally liable. Minors, +between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, are criminally liable if they +are judged capable of understanding the act and its significance and of +controlling their actions. Juveniles under fourteen years of age and +mentally deficient persons unable to understand the nature or +significance of a criminal act are not criminally liable. + +Courts may hand down punishments of eleven different varieties. In +addition to fines, confiscation of property, and confinement, they may +sentence a guilty person to corrective labor or compulsory residence +without confinement. They may deprive an individual of the right to +occupy certain governmental or public positions, of the right to +practice certain professions or activities, of the right to residence in +a specified place, or of the right to earn decorations and awards. If he +is on duty with the military, a court may remove his rank. It may also +administer a public reprimand, alone or in combination with another type +of punishment. The sentence, however, should be within the upper and +lower limits in the amounts of fines or the time period for which the +other sentences may apply. Such limits are set down in the code. + +The death penalty is never a mandatory sentence in peacetime. It is +optional for a considerable number of crimes, but it is handed down only +if the circumstances of a particular crime that is before the court are +exceptionally serious. When the maximum sentence is deprivation of +freedom and does not include a possible death sentence, the duration of +the sentence will be no longer than fifteen years. If the maximum +sentence can be death, twenty years deprivation of freedom may be +substituted for execution. + +The stipulated sentences for crimes against the state tend to be more +severe than sentences for crimes against individuals. Theft of public +property is punishable by confinement of up to eight years, of private +property by no more than three years. Robbery involving public property +may result in a sentence of from three to ten years; if it involves +private property, the range is from three to eight years. + +Although the individual's rights appear to have more than ample +safeguards, the situation may be less utopian than the wording of the +criminal code would suggest. For example, a 1973 amendment to the laws +pertaining to personal property states that "when a citizen is found to +possess more property than he could reasonably have acquired from his +regular income, he is considered to have acquired it illegally unless he +can prove to the contrary." + + +Courts + +All of the formal judicial machinery of the country is within the +governmental organization under the Ministry of Justice, but special +courts--such as those of the military establishment--may be administered +separately and independently in their lower echelons. Although the +ministry serves as a part of the executive branch of the government, as +the interpreter of laws it can check upon their compatibility with the +constitution and other legislation. It might also function as a check +upon the powers of the legislature and upon the other ministries in the +executive branch. So far as is known, however, during the framing of +legislation its professional expertise is used only to provide technical +advice on the phrasing or structure of the text, to make sure that it +says in legal terms what the framers intend (see ch. 8). + +The Ministry of Justice is responsive to the policies of the BKP, +although the minister appears to be chosen for his professional +qualifications. In the early 1970s the incumbent was one of the very few +important officials in the government who did not also have a +high-ranking party position, and only one of his immediate staff was a +member of the Central Committee of the BKP. None of the others is +believed to have had an equivalent party status. + +Each people's council has a legal department or a group that provides it +with legal counsel. The chiefs of such departments at _obshtina_ level +are appointed and relieved by the _okrug_ people's council. + +The size and legal qualifications of the legal staff vary with the +population of the _okrug_ or _obshtina_. The departments at _okrug_ +level and those of the larger _obshtini_ have staffs that are relied +upon for competence in a wide range of criminal and administrative +procedures; the legal problems that are encountered by a remote rural +_obshtina_ are usually minor. + +Legal departments are charged with monitoring the activities of the +people's councils and their committees to keep them consistent with the +law; with interpreting laws for the people's councils and for +inhabitants in the area of their jurisdiction; with strengthening the +contractual and financial disciplines of the people's councils and of +enterprises within their areas; and, as a by-product, with tightening +the safeguards on public property. Most of the daily work of the +departments consists of giving legal counsel to the people's councils +and of reviewing the councils' resolutions to ensure that they conform +to national laws and party policies. + + +Penal Institutions + +The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the overall administration, +activities, and security of prisons. Outside guards are provided by the +Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to the regulations, the primary +responsibilities of prison administrators are to rehabilitate and to +reeducate inmates. + +Reeducation includes political reorientation, general education, and +vocational training. All inmates are obligated to receive political +indoctrination, which is intended to reorient them toward becoming +cooperating members of the community. All of them are also required to +perform useful labor--for vocational training, prison income, and +benefit to the state. General education is compulsory for all prisoners +under forty years of age who have not completed eight years of primary +schooling. Vocational training, other than that derived from prison +labor, varies with facilities available. + +The physical facilities for confinement are classified as prisons, +labor-correctional institutions, and correctional homes. The +correctional homes are for minors. According to the seriousness of the +offense and other factors, a prisoner may be confined in light, general, +strict, or enforced strict disciplinary regimes, one of which is +specified in his court sentence. The light regime is prescribed for +first offenders who are serving time for minor crimes. The enforced +strict regime is applied to recidivists, as an alternative to the death +sentence, or to those considered dangerous or willfully and excessively +uncooperative. The stricter regimes have less comfortable cells and +furnishings, more rigid discipline, fewer individual privileges, and +tighter security. + +Prisoners are segregated by age, sex, and disciplinary regime. Women and +minors serve their sentences in separate prisons or correctional homes. +They are subject to much the same schedules as those in the prisons for +male adults, except that theirs have no enforced strict regime. +According to the law, those serving in different regimes are to be +confined separately, and repeaters are to be confined in separate +prisons from first offenders. Because there are a limited number of +prisons, it may be necessary to meet the law's requirement for +separation of prisoners by having different regimes in wards or +buildings of the same prison complex. + +The law on prison labor states that prisoners have the right to +employment and political education and, at the same time, that they have +the obligation to do the work and receive the political indoctrination. +Inmates are given work assignments within seven days of their arrival at +a prison. Their wages are based on the norms for the same kind of work +done in enterprises throughout the country, and the same work and safety +regulations apply. Inmates receive 20 percent or more of their wages. +None except minors, incapacitated persons, or individuals who would work +but who are for some reason unemployed may receive money from the +outside. + +Prisoners have the right to communicate with the prosecutors and courts +that investigated and tried their cases and to submit petitions to them +and to the Ministry of Justice. They may also see the chiefs of their +prisons, correctional homes, or labor-correctional institutions in +person. Other rights include time outdoors, exercise, visitors, +correspondence, food parcels, possession of personal effects, and +meetings and special correspondence with lawyers or other persons having +a status or authority relative to their sentencing or confinement. The +amount of time outdoors and correspondence and the numbers of visitors +and parcels allowed vary with the severity of the inmate's disciplinary +regime. + +Correspondence and parcels are opened and inspected by prison officials. +Visits are monitored; conversation must be in Bulgarian unless the +administration has or can find a person who can understand the language +to be spoken. Inmates are not allowed to gamble, consume alcohol, use +narcotics, or sell or exchange personal property with other inmates. +Minors may not smoke. Prisoners and their property may be searched. + +Prisoners are rewarded for good behavior and punished for bad. When his +pattern of conduct has become apparent over a period of time and it +appears appropriate, a prisoner may be moved into a lighter or more +severe disciplinary regime. If he has insufficient time remaining in his +sentence to be moved into a different regime, he may be given extra +privileges or be denied some of those to which he would ordinarily be +entitled. Commitment to solitary confinement is limited to two weeks at +any one time. + +A number of sentences do not involve confinement. For a group of +offenses related to poor working discipline, an individual can be given +a corrective labor sentence. This usually involves harder work, somewhat +longer hours, and strict supervision on the job. The law also provides +for sentences that restrict the movement of an individual. In the most +severe of these, he may be banished to and be required to remain in one +certain area. In other situations he may be prohibited from visiting +specified areas or, in the least severe case, he may visit but not take +up residence in some specified locality. + +Another such sentence involves "internment without deprivation of +liberty." This sentence restricts the individual to his place of +residence or to another specified place. The term is usually from one to +three years but, in the case of a repeated crime or in some other +special circumstance, it can be for as long as five years. The essence +of the penalty is that it consists of a restriction to the confines of +the area within which the offender lives and works. He may not hold a +job outside of the area, but he does not live in a special billet, nor +is he isolated from his neighbors and local society. The usual +objective, when this type of sentence is handed down, is to keep the +individual in his home environment, where he retains responsibility for +his share of the family support and is subject to its influences. + + + + +CHAPTER 16 + +ARMED FORCES + + +Bulgaria's regular military forces are organized within the Bulgarian +People's Army (Bulgarska Narodna Armiya) and are subordinate in the +governmental system to the Ministry of National Defense. Approximately +80 percent of the personnel are in the ground forces. Of the remaining +20 percent about three-quarters are in air and air defense units, and +about one-quarter are naval forces. + +Although Bulgaria is possibly the most staunch and sympathetic of the +Soviet Union's allies in Eastern Europe, the country has no common +border with the Soviet Union nor with any other of its Warsaw Treaty +Organization (Warsaw Pact) allies except Romania. Because Romania has +succeeded in establishing a precedent prohibiting movement of any +foreign forces across its borders--even those of its closest +allies--Bulgaria is to a large degree isolated from pact affairs. Unable +to participate in more than token fashion in pact training, short of +skilled men to care for complex equipment, and possibly restricted from +an ability to become engaged during the early days of a combat +situation, Bulgaria has undoubtedly lost some Soviet matériel support. + +Because of this the forces have only small armored units, although the +military establishment as a whole is large in relation to the population +of the country. The air forces have been supplied with a few modern +aircraft, but most of its airplanes are older than those of its pact +allies. Naval forces are small. Even though logistic support has been +meager, morale has been considered good, and the men and their leaders +have been considered ideologically reliable. + + +HISTORICAL BACKGROUND + +The communist leadership considers only a few incidents in the history +and tradition of the armed forces before World War II to be significant. +Even in respect to that war, the sole esteemed service is that of the +partisans in their resistance movement against their own government and +against German troops in the country. Driving out the Turks to gain +national independence in 1878 is remembered, as is the abortive uprising +of the leftists against the government in September 1923. Emphasis on +only these few historical events is encouraged, at least in part, +because in much of their other warfare Bulgaria's fighting men +frequently experienced frustration or defeat, sometimes violent and +humiliating. + +As no indigenous armed forces had been allowed during the five centuries +of Ottoman occupation, there were no national forces at the time that +independence was gained. The uprising by the local population two years +earlier, in 1876, had been heroic, and it contributed to the weakening +of the Turkish grip on the land, but it was a failure at the time. It is +still, however, remembered. On ceremonial military occasions a roll call +of the local men killed in the uprising is read aloud at memorial rites. + +Participation in four wars between 1912 and 1945 produced negative +results for the country. Bulgarian forces were engaged in a major share +of the fighting during the First Balkan War (1912) but, from its +standpoint, the country received an inadequate share of the spoils at +the peace table. A year later, when Turkey and its former allies joined +forces against Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria was defeated. + +Allied with Germany in both world wars, Bulgaria experienced defeat +twice more, although the situation was somewhat different in World War +II. The government and nationalists bent on acquiring territory they +considered theirs--primarily from Greece and Yugoslavia--succeeded in +joining in the war on Germany's side. The population was generally far +more sympathetic to the Soviet Union, however, and during the years of +German success in the early part of the war, Bulgarian forces did little +in support of their ally. In the latter days of the war, as the Germans +were being driven back, the Bulgarians joined the armies of the Soviet +Union. In fact, the 30,000 casualties they claim to have suffered in +campaigns against the Germans were far more than were suffered in their +support (see ch. 2). + +After World War II, when the Communists had gained control of the +country, training and unit organization were modeled on those of the +Soviet army; heavy matériel items were supplied by the Soviet Union; and +all other equipment was made to adapt to Soviet specifications. +Personnel considered unreliable by the new regime were weeded out as +fast as possible, and rigorous measures were taken to ensure that +political orientation considered correct in the new atmosphere would be +adhered to by those who replaced them. + +Equipment received first was surplus to the needs of the Soviet Union as +three-quarters or more of its massive wartime forces were demobilized. +Replacement matériel came more slowly, having to await the reequipping +of Soviet units, but by the late 1950s the most essential combat weapons +had been upgraded. + + +GOVERNMENTAL AND PARTY CONTROL OVER THE ARMED FORCES + +The armed forces are subordinate to the Ministry of National Defense, +which is one of the governmental ministries whose chief is a member of +the Council of Ministers. Administration and routine operational +controls are accomplished through government channels. The party, +however, has policy authority and ultimate operational control. Division +of authority is more apparent than real because nearly all high-ranking +governmental officials are also important party members. The minister of +national defense in 1973, Army General Dobri Dzhurov, was also a member +of the party's Central Committee. Almost without exception the higher +ranking military officers are party members, as are nearly 85 percent of +the officers of all ranks. The 15 percent who are not in the party are +junior officers who are still members of the Dimitrov Communist Youth +Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz), commonly referred +to as the Komsomol. Only a small percentage of Komsomol members become +party members, but all except a very few of the young officers are +selected for party membership when it becomes apparent that they +probably will be successful career officers. + +Political education is given priority equal to that of combat training +at all levels in the military organization. Party cells are formed in +all units where there are three or more party members; Komsomol cells +exist in virtually all units. In 1972, 65 percent of the armed forces +participated in scientific-technical competitions, symposia, +conferences, reviews, exhibitions, and other Komsomol activities. + +One-man command has superseded the dual control system of the 1950s. In +those days a political officer was placed alongside the commanding +officer of all units to ensure the reliability of the forces. The +political officer was in many ways equal in authority to, and +independent of, the commander. The unit commander has allegedly +reassumed a position where he is described as the central figure, +leader, planner, and organizer; he is responsible for the discipline and +combat effectiveness of his unit and for fulfilling its party tasks. The +unit commander's deputy is still a political officer in most units and, +although there is no question of his subordinate position, the political +officer is still responsible in part directly to the Main Political +Administration of the army. + + +ORGANIZATION AND MISSION + +The several military forces under the Ministry of National Defense are +referred to collectively as the Bulgarian People's Army. The army +includes the ground, naval, and air and air defense forces and also the +Border Troops (see ch. 15). Tradition prevails in common usage and even +in official pronouncements, so that when the term _army_ is used alone, +it invariably refers to the ground forces or the directorates and +service organizations that are common to all of the forces. Naval and +air forces are frequently referred to as though they were separate +service branches. + +Uniformed military personnel permeate the Ministry of National Defense. +All deputy ministers and, with the exception of the medical branch, all +major administrative chiefs are military officers. During the early +1970s the first deputy minister of national defense was also chairman of +the General Staff and chief of the ground forces. One of the deputies +was chief of the air and air defense forces, and all of the others were +generals. Following the pattern of other Warsaw Pact armed forces +organizations, the political, rear services (logistics), training, +armor, artillery, communications, engineering, and chemical sections are +directorates, administrations, or branches responsible to the minister +of national defense. This is the case in spite of the facts that such +branches as armor and artillery are concerned primarily with the ground +forces and that others--training, for example--must be tailored to +widely different kinds of operations of all the individual services. + +Bulgaria is the point of contact between the Warsaw Pact nations and +Greece and Turkey, which are the North Atlantic Treaty Organization +(NATO) countries on the southern flank of the Soviet alliance. Although +little is known of Warsaw Pact war plans, it is probable that Bulgarian +forces would be charged with containing an attack from the south. +Statements of military leaders indicate that considerable thought has +been given to the problems they would face in a nuclear war. They +apparently anticipate involvement in the initial engagements but, if +nuclear weapons are used, they would employ holding tactics, staying +alert to exploit any opportunities that might develop. Their +pronouncements repeatedly affirm a determination to perform their pact +mission to the best of their capabilities. + + +Ground Forces + +The ground forces have approximately 120,000 men. Their major units +consist of eight motorized rifle divisions and five tank brigades. There +are also various smaller special purpose units and support +organizations. The forces are distributed among three territorial +commands having headquarters at Sofia, Plovdiv, and Sliven. The division +is the basic organizational unit in Warsaw Pact combat forces and has +about 10,000 men. Five of Bulgaria's divisions are believed to be near +combat strength, but three probably have only skeletal strengths and +would be built up with the mobilization that would accompany a major +national emergency. + +Each of the other Warsaw Pact armies has a number of tank divisions. The +fact that Bulgaria has only tank brigades, which are probably one-half +or less the strength of divisions, reflects the austerity of its armed +forces. Motorized rifle divisions have one tank regiment, one artillery +regiment, and three motorized rifle regiments. The tank brigades, +because they are smaller, probably have fewer tanks than the motorized +rifle divisions. + +Most of the tanks used by the Bulgarian army are the early post-World +War II model T-54. There are some newer models in the inventory, and a +few of the older World War II T-34s are still being retained. Artillery +pieces include guns and gun-howitzers from 82 mm to 152 mm, antitank +weapons up to 100 mm, and small antiaircraft guns. Some units are +equipped with short-range missiles and unguided rockets. There are +enough personnel carriers or self-propelled weapons so that all men in a +unit can be transported simultaneously. + + +Air and Air Defense Forces + +The air and air defense forces have approximately 20,000 men, 250 combat +aircraft, an assortment of antiaircraft guns, a few surface-to-air +missiles, and a modest quantity of air defense radar and communications +equipment. Combat aircraft are organized in squadrons, usually with +twelve airplanes each. In 1973 there were six fighter-bomber, twelve +fighter-interceptor, and three reconnaissance squadrons. + +The fighter-bomber squadrons use the MiG-17, an aircraft that is +obsolescent but that performs well in a ground support role. About +one-half of the fighter-interceptors are also MiG-17s, but three of the +interceptor squadrons have the newer MiG-21. The only bomber aircraft in +the air forces is the near-obsolete Il-28. The Il-28 squadron has a +reconnaissance role. A few old cargo or passenger planes provide a +minimal transport capability, but there are about forty helicopters that +can perform shorter range personnel and transport functions. + +Air defense forces are positioned to provide protection for the +country's periphery as well as for a few cities and air installations. +Ground and naval forces have antiaircraft weapons to defend their own +units. Early warning radars are located mainly along southern and +western borders, and their communications lines are presumably linked +with the Warsaw Pact air defense warning network. + + +Naval Forces + +Naval forces, with only about 7,000 men, constitute less than 5 percent +of the armed forces' personnel strength. They man a variety of vessels, +however, including escort ships, patrol boats, torpedo boats, two +submarines, and miscellaneous supply and service vessels. They also +include a contingent of naval infantry, or marines. Some of the smaller +craft make up a Danube River flotilla. Other than the torpedo- and +missile-carrying patrol boats, the major offensive strength consists of +the submarines, which are Soviet-built W-class medium boats, and about +twenty landing craft. All of the larger vessels built since World War II +have been Soviet built or designed. + +Although the naval mission includes tasks confined to the portion of the +Black Sea near Bulgaria's coastline, a few fleet units have joined the +Soviet fleet for maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea, and the naval cadet +training ship sails any of the high seas. For example, it visited Cuba +on its 1972 summer cruise. + + +FOREIGN MILITARY RELATIONS + +Bulgaria joined the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, +Romania, and Albania in bilateral treaties of friendship, cooperation, +and mutual assistance during the early post-World War II period and +added another with the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) a few +years later. This group became the tighter and more formal Warsaw Pact +military alliance in 1955. Albania dissociated itself from the pact in +the early 1960s, and its treaties with Bulgaria and the other members +have not been renewed since then. Bulgaria's treaties with the remainder +of the original allies have been renewed regularly and are the cause for +official observances each year on their anniversary dates. + +Although Bulgaria may be the most loyal and reliable of the Soviet +Union's allies, military cooperation between the two countries is +limited by their geographical separation. Even if Romania were to permit +Bulgaria's forces to cross its territory in order to participate in +Warsaw Pact training, it is probable that Bulgaria's role in a future +European war would be limited to southeastern Europe, an area that would +be of less immediate concern at the outset of a war between the Warsaw +Pact members and NATO. In any event, air and sea transport is in limited +supply and is not used for the delivery of large numbers of Bulgarian +troops to exercises in an area where they probably would not be +employed. As a consequence, Bulgaria sends only token forces and +observers to the larger pact exercises. + +Bulgaria is not a warm proponent of ideological coexistence but is +strongly in favor of arms reductions and limitations on future weapons. +It was a member of a United Nations disarmament committee in the early +1970s, and much space in the printed media is devoted to support of +proposals for restricting deployment and use of nuclear weapons in +certain areas. + + +MANPOWER, TRAINING, AND SUPPORT + +Manpower + +Interpolations of the United Nations estimate of the country's 1973 +population indicate that there were about 2.3 million males in the +fifteen- to forty-nine-year age-group, which Bulgarian authorities +consider military age. There were also about 70,000 in the annual groups +that were reaching the draft age of nineteen each year. Those +conscripted serve two- or three-year duty tours. The basic ground force +tour is two years; that of special units and air and naval forces is +three years. + +Approximately 70 percent of the military age groups, or 1.6 million +males, are considered physically and otherwise fit for military duty. +Any number of them could be called up in the event of an emergency +requiring total mobilization, but it is likely that many of the group +would be occupying positions having higher priority than basic military +duty. A somewhat larger proportion, or about 75 percent, of the +nineteen-year-olds are in satisfactory physical condition. Most of them +are drafted; a turnover of one-third of the 150,000-man regular armed +forces each year would require nearly all of the group. Because there is +very little room for flexibility, a young man's education is interrupted +unless he was actually enrolled in a university or college before he +reached the age of eighteen. In this case he continues his education but +serves his military obligation upon completion of his education. +Occupational deferments were eliminated by law in 1970, and other +deferments are given infrequently and reluctantly. Young men unfit for +military duty or for work in the Construction Troops, but who are fit to +earn a living in some other work, pay a military tax (see ch. 15). + +Those who have had military service and who have not reached the age of +fifty are considered reserves. Officers remain in the reserve until the +age of sixty. Various factors--primarily occupational situations, +physical condition, and lack of reserve training--operate to erode this +force, and those considered useful, or trained, reserves constitute +one-half or less of the group. Most of the some 250,000 men released in +the latest five-year period, however, are available, physically fit, and +familiar with the weapons and equipment in use by the armed forces. + + +Training + +In common with its Warsaw Pact allies, Bulgaria uses equipment that is +produced or designed in the Soviet Union or that is compatible with +Soviet designs. The training program is patterned after that of the +Soviet army because the Soviet equipment dictates the training required +to maintain and operate it, and joint maneuvers participated in by any +or all of the pact forces make it necessary to employ standard +procedures and tactics. + +The program is carried on in an annual cycle. Immediately after +induction a conscript's time is spent in so-called individual or basic +training. Physical exercise is rigorous, and the soldier is initiated +into the care and use of individual weapons, military drill, and the +various aspects of military existence with which he had not been +familiar and to which he must learn to adjust. He also learns individual +actions that may become necessary in group or combat situations, ranging +from personal combat techniques to first aid treatment for battle wounds +or exposure to gas or nuclear radiation. + +As the cycle progresses, the individual usually becomes part of a crew +manning a larger weapon or a more complex piece of equipment. When the +crew knows its equipment, it then becomes involved in exercises of +increasing size, in which it learns to employ weapons and equipment in +coordination with other systems. The training cycle culminates in late +summer or autumn with the largest of the year's maneuvers. Although the +more important Warsaw Pact maneuvers have been held in the northern +group of Eastern European countries, smaller exercises are held in +Bulgaria and are occasionally participated in by visiting Soviet or +Romanian forces. + +Air defense crews with small-caliber antiaircraft guns and tracking +radar practice in conjunction with the early warning network and air +defense communications. After target identification they practice +holding their weapons on the aircraft by radar or visual sighting. +Target aircraft average about 450 miles per hour and fly just above the +treetops. + +Ground forces train with a wide variety of weapons and in many +situations, but they claim special capabilities and excellence in +mountain and winter exercises. These maneuvers are scheduled to exploit +the long winter nights and fog, snow, or blizzard conditions to teach +troops how to achieve surprise in encircling movements. Troops +exercising in the snow are provided a white outergarment for camouflage. + +Combined arms exercises are held when all support units are engaged in +supporting offensive operations led by tank and motorized rifle groups. +In such exercises the equipment is used as realistically as possible, +with blank ammunition and training grenades. Ultra-shortwave +communication equipment, whose normal fifty- to sixty-mile range would +suffice more than adequately in small maneuver areas, is relayed over +long distances to simulate a more typical combat situation. + +Political education is the responsibility of a main administration of +the Ministry of National Defense and has status on a par with the other +most important ministry functions. The administration states its mission +as "cultivating moral-political and combat virtues that train men and +units for skillful and selfless action under the conditions of modern +warfare." Its leaders stress the point that, although large forces and +massive firepower are employed in modern combat, the complexity and use +of weapons is such that individual initiative is increasingly important. +A small group left alone to employ a highly complex weapon must be able +to make decisions and must be motivated to do the best that is possible +under any kind of unpleasant circumstances. + +Political indoctrination is also aimed at combating potentially +subversive elements. Political instructors urge stronger "ideological +vigilance" and act to counter the influences of, for example, Western +radio stations. + +Schools and the Komsomol, with the various youth clubs and organizations +that it sponsors, are charged with preparing predraft-age youths for +military service. A preliminary training program was reorganized and +revitalized in 1968. National leaders had noted that the physical +condition of the average conscript was becoming less satisfactory each +year and that the idea of serving in the armed forces appeared to be +meeting with resistance from a small but increasing number of youths. +They also were aware that juvenile crime was increasing. Sensing that +poor physical fitness, a reluctance to perform military duty, and +increasing crime could be related and have common causes, they +attributed much of the problem to a change in youth attitudes. Political +indoctrination and ideological subjects, presented in an attempt to +encourage a more proper attitude are, therefore, given highest +priorities in the new program. + +The formal portion of the program initiated in 1968 consists of a +schedule of premilitary training, obligatory for all young men and women +between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. Facilities for it were made +available in schools for those who were students and at cooperative +farms, enterprises, or anywhere that groups of working youths were +employed. Young army officers on active duty and reserve officers in the +local area were made available for classroom and field instruction. + +The party's Politburo issued a statement in March 1971 to the effect +that the Komsomol had successfully organized the required program. It +cited statistics on recreational facilities, among which were camps that +were preparing to accept 125,000 boys and girls for that summer. Camp +programs feature political instruction, physical training, sports +activities, military field training, and a wide variety of specialized +subjects. Other Komsomol cells sponsor aero clubs for those interested +in air force service and rowing, sailing, and diving clubs for those +interested in the navy. Radio communication, vehicle driving, +marksmanship, and many other subjects are sponsored at year-round +classes in local areas. + +Other than preinduction orientation, conscripts get their basic +training, weapons and skills specialization, and combat training while +in the service. Noncommissioned officers may also come up from the ranks +and be prepared for better positions at in-service schools, but they may +also attend special schools and enter regular military units for the +first time with a noncommissioned officer grade. Noncommissioned officer +secondary schools were provided for in a 1971 law. The schools were to +be available to acceptable applicants who had completed the eighth grade +and were seventeen years of age or younger. The courses would last a +minimum of three years, during which students would be considered to be +on active military duty and after which graduates could continue in the +service as noncommissioned officers. If an individual did not go on with +a military career, he would be credited with a completed secondary +school education and also with the completion of his regular required +military service. Under any but exceptional circumstances, however, +graduates would be obligated to serve in the armed forces for at least +ten more years. + +Cadet programs in several university-level higher military schools +provide officers for the services. Applicants to these schools must have +completed secondary school, be active members of the Komsomol, and +indicate an intention that, upon graduation, they would accept +appointment to serve in one of the armed services. They must also be +single, in excellent physical condition, and under twenty-four years of +age. Many apply during their tours of conscript service but are accepted +only if they have the prerequisite educational qualifications. + +Line officers for infantry or armored units and logistics officers have +four-year courses. Engineer, signal, transportation, artillery, +electronics, and other technical specialties are five-year courses, as +are those that fit candidates for air and naval careers. The men are +commissioned in a common ceremony shortly after they have graduated. + + +Morale and Conditions of Service + +The basic ingredients of good morale are present in good measure in +Bulgaria's armed forces. The vast majority of the troops believe in +their overall mission, take their obligation for granted, enjoy a +respected status, and receive valuable training. The country's principal +ally, the Soviet Union, is a long-standing friend and is held in high +esteem. Greece and Turkey, the countries that the men are taught to +expect to fight, are traditional enemies; so also is Yugoslavia. + +In addition to being obligatory, military service is nearly universal, +and it is difficult to evade. Service life is extolled in the media, and +no widespread criticism, either of the forces as a whole or of +individuals as servicemen, is aired. Military experience provides +vocational training, much of which is beneficial to the individual and +to the national economy. + +Special social benefits are available to the forces' personnel. If their +service results in unusual hardships for their dependents, the families +are given extra consideration. Monthly benefit payments to wives or +parents experiencing financial problems exceed those to nonmilitary +families by 30 percent. Wives who remain behind get preferential +treatment for prenatal or child care or while job hunting. As the men +come to the end of their duty tours, they are assisted in their +transition to civilian life, in their search for educational +opportunities, or in job placement. If disabled in the service, a +veteran gets a pension that is more liberal than usual for the same +disability acquired elsewhere and continuing assistance that includes +free transportation on public transport as well as medical treatment and +care of such things as orthopedic apparatus. + + +Medicine + +The medical service provides treatment and preventive medicine for +military personnel and, in certain circumstances, for dependents and for +persons employed by the military. Its services are also available to the +public at large during individual emergencies, if they are the most +immediately available, and on a larger scale during epidemics or natural +disasters. Military personnel may also avail themselves of emergency +facilities in nonmilitary hospitals or clinics. + +Since about 1960 the medical service has been upgraded in several major +respects. That year saw the formation of a higher military medical +institute, located on the site of the army's general hospital, for +advanced, specialized training of physicians. In addition to providing +better training for military doctors, the objective was to establish a +research center for in-depth study of the special military aspects of +medical science. A more pragmatic objective was to initiate long-overdue +improvement in medical services for the armed forces. In its first ten +years the institute gave advanced instruction to 6,500 medical personnel +and an additional specialty to some 200 medical officers. + +After the formation of the higher medical institute, the medical +services were given considerably broader authority over sanitation and +hygienic conditions throughout the military establishment. They +determine standards to be maintained and make inspections of living +quarters, food services, water supplies, bathing and laundry facilities, +and training and recreational areas; they give instruction in personal +and group hygiene. They also participate in the planning and design of +new barracks and any other buildings where troops work or train. + +Appropriate to the enhanced status and authority of the medical service, +its section of the ministry was upgraded and has become one of the dozen +more important branches under the minister of national defense. Its +chief has been a doctor, the only major staff member who has been +neither a general officer of one of the armed services nor a +high-ranking party official. + + +Military Justice + +Military courts, or tribunals, are special courts but are part of the +national judicial system and subject to the same codes as are the +civilian courts. In the same kind of relationship, military crimes are a +special category of crime but are listed within the overall Bulgarian +criminal code. The separation of military justice from the rest of the +judicial machinery is almost complete, however, although jurisdiction in +a criminal situation could be in question and, in its early treatment, a +case could be transferred from the jurisdiction of a military to a civil +court or vice versa. Once tried before a military tribunal, the +proceedings and sentence of a trial might be reviewed by a higher +military court or might go to the Supreme Court, but it would be +extremely rare for a case to be reviewed by a civil court. Within the +Supreme Court a review would be accomplished only by a military panel of +that court. + +Military crimes are those committed on military installations or those +that relate to the performance of military duty, to military property or +personnel, to military honor, or to certain aspects of national +security. Servicemen of all ranks, military reserves during their +training or whenever they are under military control, personnel of the +police or any of the other militarized security units, or any other +persons involved in military crimes are liable to military justice. In +general, sentences for military crimes are more severe than for +equivalent crimes tried before civilian courts. For example, failing to +carry out the order of a superior is punishable by up to two years' +deprivation of freedom, and conviction for "clearly indicating +dissatisfaction with an instruction" can result in a year's confinement. +On the other hand, in many such crimes the perpetrator's fate is subject +to the discretion of his commander. If the commander determines that the +offense does not "substantially affect military discipline," he may +administer some lesser punishment without a trial, or he may refer the +case to a Komsomol or party cell in his unit and allow it to take +whatever action it sees fit. In times of war or under combat conditions +possible sentences are much more severe, and the death penalty may be +handed down for many more crimes. + + +Logistics + +Bulgaria's armed forces cost the country considerably less per man than +do those of its allies, and the amount spent on equipment and +maintenance is relatively austere. This is also indicated by the +composition of its forces, in which all armored units, for example, are +of less than division strength. + +Nearly all heavier and more complex items of military hardware are +produced in the Soviet Union, and Bulgaria receives only those items +that are being replaced in the Soviet forces' inventory or that have +been produced in quantities greater than needed in Soviet units. Older +equipment, however, is seldom retained after it has become obsolete. +Armies engaged in combined operations must have compatible equipment, +and maintaining supply channels required for indefinite maintenance of +old items can become more costly than replacing them. + +Each of the Warsaw Pact allies produces ammunition, small arms, some +vehicles, and spare parts for a portion of its matériel that was +originally produced elsewhere. Bulgaria, with its less developed +industrial base, produces a relatively small amount of military +equipment locally. In order to preserve items on hand, much of the +training schedule is devoted to proper storage and handling of +equipment. Because the standard of living in the country is low, most of +the troops are familiar with few luxuries and get along with fewer +nonessentials than do the forces of its more relatively affluent allies. + + +Ranks, Uniforms, and Decorations + +Ground and air forces use the same system of ranks although, at least +during peacetime, the four-star army general rank has no equivalent in +the air or naval forces. Below the army general there are three general +grade, three field grade, and four company grade officer ranks. In +descending order the general grades are colonel general, lieutenant +general, and major general; the field grades are colonel, lieutenant +colonel, and major; and the company grades are captain, senior +lieutenant, lieutenant, and junior lieutenant. Naval officer ranks +include three admiral, four captain, and three lieutenant grades. The +ground and air forces have six enlisted grades: four sergeant and two +private. The naval forces have equivalent petty officer and seaman +grades. + +According to military spokesmen there has been a continuing program to +improve uniforms since about 1958, when the forces began to replace +Soviet World War II styles with locally designed and manufactured +models. Most of the changes adopted since the original change-over have +consisted of improvements in the materials used and increasing the +number of clothing items issued to each man. Until the early 1960s, for +example, the same uniform was used by several classes of draftees. Each +draftee now receives a complete new issue and receives new trousers and +footwear each year. + +New styles, several including changes in materials and minor changes in +color, were shown and tested in 1970. Issue of the newer varieties to +the forces was begun in 1972. Most changes involved tailoring details +and the use of more wrinkle-resistant and lighter, tighter woven cloth. +The aim has been to improve the appearance of the men with as little as +possible sacrifice in long-wearing qualities. + +Officers continue to wear a service uniform consisting of a tailored +blouse with patch pockets and trousers that tuck into high boots. A Sam +Browne belt and sidearms are optional. The styles introduced in the +early 1970s have a vent in the blouse to make it fit in a better +tailored fashion, and they are a lighter green than their predecessors. +Ground forces have stripes and piping on caps and rank insignia that +vary in color to identify their branch of service (armored forces, +infantry, transport, engineer, and others). The enlisted men's uniform +is similar in design but has different quality material and less ornate +trim. Air forces have the same uniforms but may be identified by their +blue stripes and piping. Naval personnel wear the traditional navy blues +and whites. + +Rank insignia on the uniforms seen most frequently consists of stars or +stripes on shoulder boards. Officer ranks are identified by varying +numbers of stars. The boards themselves become progressively more ornate +with higher rank. Those of the company grades are relatively plain; +those of the generals are highly ornate. Enlisted grades are shown by +stripes. Privates have none, their shoulder boards are plain; and the +number and width of the stripes increase with promotion to higher +grades. + +Decorations and medals are awarded profusely, and most of them are +ornate and colorful. The highest ranking and most respected, however, is +a simple gold star, which identifies its recipient as a Hero of the +People's Republic of Bulgaria. The Order of Georgi Dimitrov and the +newer Stara Planina medal, which has been declared equal to the former +in seniority, are the next most important. These three most highly +cherished decorations are awarded in only one class each. The highest +of the orders that are presented in several classes are the Order of the +People's Republic of Bulgaria and the Madarski Konnik medal, which are +equal in seniority. They are awarded in three and two classes, +respectively. + + +THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT AND THE NATIONAL ECONOMY + +Bulgaria's gross national product (GNP) is only about one-third the +average of the other Warsaw Pact allies, and during the late 1960s and +early 1970s Bulgaria spent a smaller proportion of its GNP on defense +than did any of its allies. Although its 1973 estimated population was +less than one-half the average of its allies, it maintained about +five-sixths as many men in its regular forces. On the surface, +therefore, it would appear that the armed forces were a +less-than-average financial burden but a greater-than-average manpower +burden. + +The appearances may be misleading to some degree. The country has been +the slowest of the pact nations to industrialize, and its standard of +living has been the lowest. It is probably, therefore, less able to +afford its relatively moderate defense costs. Its labor force is large +enough for the level of the country's industrialization, but there is a +shortage of skilled workers. The training and experience that young men +receive in the armed forces broaden their familiarity with complex +mechanical and electronic equipment and provide many of them with skills +that are of value to the national economy. The regime also considers +that the disciplinary habits and the political orientation acquired in +military service are of positive social value, outweighing the time that +young men are withheld from the labor force. + +When extraordinary measures are required in an emergency situation--such +as during the 1972 drought--the armed forces are able to provide a mass +labor force and to contribute the use of a considerable amount of heavy +mechanical equipment. In 1972 force units were called upon to get +maximum efficiency from irrigation systems and to add to the sources of +irrigation water whenever possible. Military units also do field work on +public projects. They are encouraged to contribute the days before +public holidays, the holidays themselves, and other time that does not +interfere with training schedules. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +Section I. Social + + _ABC World Airways Guide_, CDLV, May 1972, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, + England: ABC Travel Guides. + + Anderson, Raymond H. "Bulgarians Like Zip in Wash Cycle," _New York + Times_, May 21, 1973, 7. + + Apanasewicz, Nellie, and Rosen, Seymour M. _Studies in Comparative + Education._ (OE-14115.) Washington: U.S. Department of Health, + Education and Welfare, 1965. + + Baldwin, Godfrey (ed.). _International Population Reports._ (U.S. + Department of Commerce, Series P-91, No. 18.) Washington: GPO, 1969. + + "Big Prospects for Education," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XX, No. 8, + August 1971, 6. + + Blumenfeld, Yorick. _Seesaw: Cultural Life in Eastern Europe._ New + York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1968. + + Brown, James F. _Bulgaria Under Communist Rule._ New York: Praeger, + 1970. + + Bulgaria. State Information Office with the Council of Ministers. + _Statistical Pocket Book 1970._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970. + + "Bulgaria: History." Pages 385-400 in _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, IV. + Chicago: William Benton, 1969. + + "Bulgaria." Pages 41-50 in Moshe Sachs (ed.), _Worldmark Encyclopedia + of the Nations_, V: Europe. New York: Harper and Row, 1967. + + "Bulgaria." Pages 225-233 in _World Survey of Education_, V. Paris: + United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, + 1971. + + "The Buyers' Market," _East Europe_, XIV, No. 2, February 1965, 11-14. + + Carver, Elena Borikova. _Bulgarian Folk Tales._ New York: n. pub., + 1964. + + Cary, William. _Bulgaria Today._ New York: Exposition Press, 1965. + + Davis, Fitzroy. "Bulgarian Filmmakers: Looking for a Place in the + Cinematic Sun," _East Europe_, XX, No. 3, March 1971, 29-35. + + Dellin, L. A. D. (ed.) _Bulgaria: East-Central Europe Under the + Communists._ New York: Praeger, 1957. + + Egbert, Donald D. "Politics and the Arts in Communist Bulgaria," + _Slavic Review_, XXVI, No. 2, June 1967, 204, 216. + + The Europa Yearbook, 1972. London: Europa Publications, 1972. + + Evans, Stanley G. _A Short History of Bulgaria._ London: Lawrence and + Wishart, 1960. + + Georgeoff, John. "Elementary Education in Bulgaria," _School and + Society_, XCIV, February 5, 1966, 71-74. + + Georgeoff, Peter J. _The Social Education of Bulgaria Youth._ + Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1968. + + Georgiev, Emil, et al. _Bulgaria's Share in Human Culture._ Sofia: + Sofia Press, 1968. + + Grant, Nigel. "Education Reform in Bulgaria," _Comparative Education_, + VI, No. 3, November 1970, 179-191. + + ----. _Society, Schools and Progress in Eastern Europe._ Oxford: + Pergamon Press, 1969. + + "He Who Laughs," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XVI, No. 10, October 1967, + 25-26. + + Hoffman, George W. _The Balkans in Transition._ Princeton: Van + Nostrand, 1963. + + ----. "Transformation of Rural Settlement in Bulgaria," _Geographical + Review_, XL, No. 1, 1964, 45-65. + + Ivanov, Vicho. "Vladimir Dimitrov--The Master," _Bulgaria Today_ + [Sofia], XXI, No. 5, May 1972, 20-21. + + _Jane's World Railways_, 1968-69. (11th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill, + 1969. + + Jelavich, Charles, and Jelavich, Barbara (eds.). _The Balkans in + Transition._ (Russian and East European Studies.) Berkeley, + University of California Press, 1963. + + Jordanov, Lyubomir, and Nikolov, Yuri. _The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, + A Guide._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1971. + + Kaiser, Robert G., and Morgan, Dan. "Housing Blight Plagues Planners + in _East Europe_," _Washington Post_, December 19, 1972, A1, A20. + + Katsarova, Raina D. _Dances of Bulgaria._ New York: Crown, 1951. + + Kossev, D.; Hristov, H.; and Angelov, D. _A Short History of + Bulgaria._ Sofia: Foreign Languages Press, 1963. + + Lauwerys, Joseph A., and Scanlon, David G. "Education in Cities," _The + World Year Book of Education, 1970._ New York: Harcourt, Brace and + World, 1970. + + Manning, Clarence A., and Smal-Stocki, Roman. _The History of Modern + Bulgarian Literature._ New York: Bookman Associates, 1960. + + Mishev, Dimitur. _The Bulgarians in the Past._ New York: Arno Press, + 1971. + + Mladenov, Lyubomir. "International Recognition," _Bulgaria Today_ + [Sofia], XXI, No. 7, July 1972, 15. + + Monov, Georgi. "Semi-Boarding Schools," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XX, + No. 8, August 1971, 7-8. + + Morgan, Dan. "Bulgaria Moving Cautiously to Better U.S. Ties." + _Washington Post_, March 29, 1973, A15. + + Moser, Charles A. _A History of Bulgarian Literature 1865-1944._ New + York: Humanities Press, 1972. + + "National Revival Architecture," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XXI, No. + 7, July 1972, 16-17. + + "The New Architecture," _East Europe_, XIV, No. 4, April 1965, 7-15. + + Newman, Bernard. _Bulgaria Background._ London: Robert Hale, 1961. + + Olson, Kenneth E. _The History Makers._ Baton Rouge: Louisiana State + University Press, 1966. + + Oren, Nissan. _Bulgarian Communism._ New York: Columbia University + Press, 1971. + + ----. _Revolution Administered: Agrarianism and Communism in + Bulgaria._ Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973. + + Oshavkov, Zhivko. "Religious Belief in Bulgaria," _Bulgaria Today_ + [Sofia], XVI, No. 10, October 1967, 20-22. + + Parkin, Frank. _Class Inequality and Political Order._ New York: + Praeger, 1971. + + Perl, Lila. _Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria._ Camden: Thomas Nelson, + 1970. + + Petrov, Staian. _The Struggle of the Bulgarian Communist Party to + Organize the Social Basis of the Revolution._ Sofia: Sofia Press, + 1970. + + Pounds, Norman J. G. _Eastern Europe._ Chicago: Aldine, 1969. + + "The Professional Gap," _East Europe_, X, No. 10, October 1969, 40. + + Rizov, Alexander (ed.). _Bulgaria, A Survey._ Sofia: Foreign Languages + Press, 1965. + + Rose, Harold. _Your Guide to Bulgaria._ London: Alvin Redman, 1964. + + Rothschild, Joseph. _Communist Eastern Europe._ New York: Walker, + 1964. + + Rusinov, Spas. _Bulgaria: A Survey._ Sofia, Sofia Press, 1969. + + Sanders, Irwin T. _Balkan Village._ Lexington: University of Kentucky + Press, 1949. + + Schöpflin, George (ed.). _The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe._ New + York: Praeger, 1970. + + Severin, R. Keith. "Bulgaria's Agricultural Economy in Brief," U.S. + Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. _Foreign + Agriculture_, (ERS-Foreign 136.) September 1965, 1-11. + + Sharp, Samuel L., and Fedlam, Fruzsina H. _The Soviet Union and + Eastern Europe, 1972._ (The World Series.) Washington: Stryker-Post + Publications, 1972. + + Staar, Richard F. _The Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe_ (Rev. ed.) + Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1971. + + _The Statesman's Year Book, 1972-73._ (Ed., John Paxton.) London: + Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, 1972, 789-797. + + _Statistical Yearbook, 1971._ Sofia, National Information Office, + 1971. + + _Statistical Yearbook, 1972._ Sofia, National Information Office, + 1972. + + Stavrianos, Leften S. _Balkan Federation: A History of the Movement + Toward Balkan Unity in Modern Times._ (Smith College Studies in + History, XXVII, Nos. 1-4.) Northampton: Department of History, Smith + College, 1942. + + Stillman, Edmund (and the Editors of Life). _The Balkans_ (Life World + Library Series.) New York: _Time_, 1964. + + Stoyanov, Lludmil. "Poet, Humanist and Fighter," _Bulgaria Today_ + [Sofia], XXI, No. 7, July 1972, 22. + + Sylvester, Anthony. "The Bulgaria Paradox," _East Europe_, XVII, No. + 1, January 1968, 15-19. + + Todorov, Nikolai. "Pencho Koulekov, an Original Master of Graphic Art" + _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XXI, No. 5, May 1972, 32. + + _UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1971._ Paris: United Nations + Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1971, 59. + + U.S. Department of Army. _Communist Eastern Europe: Analytical Survey + of Literature._ (DA Pam 550-8) Washington: GPO, 1971. + + U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint + Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington). The following + items are from the JPRS series _Translations on Eastern Europe: + Economic and Industrial Affairs_. + + "Analysis of Changes in Average Family Budget Made," _Otechestven + Front_, Sofia, March 27, 1973. (JPRS 58,842, No. 874, 1973.) + + "Dynamics of Personal Income Described, 1965-70," _Ikonomicheski + Zhivot_, Sofia: December 16, 1970. (JPRS 52,476, No. 424, 1971.) + + "Household Income, Consumption Statistics Given," _Statistika_, + Sofia, No. 5, September-October 1970. (JPRS 52,106, No. 397, + 1971.) + + "Light Ministry Plans to Supply Lacking Goods Revealed," + _Otechestven Front_, Sofia, May 7, 1972. (JPRS 56,742, No. 727, + 1972.) + + U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint + Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington). The following + items are from the JPRS series _Translations on Eastern Europe: + Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs_. + + "Admission Rules to Foreign-Language High Schools," _Durzhaven + Vestnik_, Sofia, June 8, 1971. (JPRS 53,764, No. 396, 1971). + + "Aspects of Standard of Living Analyzed," _Statistika_, Sofia, No. + 3, 1969. (JPRS 48,717, No. 126, 1969). + + "Caloric Intake of Blue-Collar Workers and Cooperative Farm + Members," _Khranitelna Promishlenost_, Sofia, No. 2, 1968. (JPRS + 45,795, No. 8, 1968). + + "Causes for 1961-65 Infant Mortality Reviewed," _Statistika_, Sofia, + December 1969. (JPRS 49,929, No. 187, 1970). + + "Census Studies Bulgarian Educational Level," _Statistika_, Sofia, + November-December 1968. (JPRS 47,697, No. 81, 1969). + + "Class Influence on Consumption Analyzed," _Ikonomicheski Zhivot_, + Sofia, October 10, 1968. (JPRS 46,866, No. 42, 1968). + + "The Communists and the Family," _Partien Zhivot_, Sofia, XVI, + November 1971. (JPRS: 55,275, No. 485, 1972). + + "Decree on Post-Graduate Training for Specialists Issued," + _Durzhaven Vestnik_, Sofia, February 20, 1973. (JPRS 58,807, No. + 700, 1973). + + "Economics of Higher Education Reviewed," _Novo Vreme_, Sofia, + September 1970. (JPRS 50,328, No. 280, 1970). + + "Health Minister Describes Public Health Plans," _Zdraven Front_, + Sofia, June 19, 1971. (JPRS 54,178, No. 421, 1971). + + "Improvements in Standard of Living Traced," _Ikonomicheski Zhivot_, + Sofia, November 1970. (JPRS 52,321, No. 310, 1971). + + "Military Training for Secondary Students," _Narodna Mladezh_, + Sofia, March 20, 1972. (JPRS 55,828, No. 516, 1972). + + "Minister Cites Progress in Public Health Service," _Khigiena i + Zdraveopazvane_, Sofia, No. 1, January-February 1969. (JPRS + 48,333, No. 110, 1969.) + + "New Model for Secondary Polytechnical School," _Vecherni Novini_, + Sofia, January 25, 1972. (JPRS 55,447, No. 495, 1972). + + "Party Policy at Center of Educational Work," _Armeyski Komunist_, + Sofia, December 1972. (JPRS 58,368, No. 676, 1973). + + "Physicians' Attitude Toward Polyclinics Surveyed," _Suvremenna + Meditsina_, Sofia, No. 12, 1970. (JPRS 52,840, No. 337, 1971). + + "Religious Survey in Plovdiv Okrug Taken," _Filosofska Misul_, + Sofia, VI, June 1968. (JPRS 46,478, No. 30, 1968). + + "Schools Experiment with New Educational Program," _Zemedelsko + Zname_, Sofia, July 24, 1968. (JPRS 46,334, No. 25, 1968). + + "School Statistics," _Uchitelsko Delo_, Sofia, September 7, 1971. + (JPRS 54,419, No. 435, 1971). + + "Serious Shortage of Medical Personnel Reported," _Pogled_, Sofia, + July 19, 1971. (JPRS 54,004, No. 409, 1971). + + "Shortages of Schoolteachers in Some Areas Noted," _Trud_, Sofia, + August 21, 1971. (JPRS 54,094, No. 415, 1971). + + "Sociological Legal Analysis of Divorce," _Khigiena i + Zdraveopazvane_, Sofia, III, 1970. (JPRS 51,271, No. 250, 1970). + + "Specialization, Training of Polyclinic Physicians Discussed," + _Zdraven Front_, Sofia, June 12, 1971. (JPRS 53,958, No. 407, + 1971). + + "Statistics on Rising Living Standard Given," _Naruchnik na + Agitatore_, Sofia, No. 24, December 1972. (JPRS 58,480, No. 851, + 1973). + + "Status Prospects of Medical Science Discussed," _Zdraven Front_, + Sofia, April 24, 1971. (JPRS 53,482, No. 375, 1971). + + "Study of Services in Burgas Area Reviewed," _Narodni Suveti_, + Sofia, No. 1, 1970. (JPRS 50,150, No. 197, 1970). + + U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Intelligence and Research. + _Educational and Cultural Exchanges Between Communist and + Non-Communist Countries in 1970._ (Research Study RSES-34.) + Washington: 1971. + + U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs. Office of Media + Services. "Educational and Cultural Exchange Between Communist and + Non-Communist Countries in 1971." (News Release.) December 8, 1972. + + U.S. Department of State. Geographer. Office of Research in Economics + and Science. _Bulgaria-Greece Boundary._ (International Boundary + Study, No. 56). Washington: 1965. + + Wolff, Robert Lee. _The Balkans in Our Time._ Cambridge: Harvard + University Press, 1956. + + _World Christian Handbook, 1968._ (Eds., H. Wakelin Coxill and Kenneth + G. Grubb.) New York: Abingdon Press, 1967. + + _World of Learning, 1972-73._ London: Europa Publications, 1973, + 207-212. + + _World Population Data Sheet, 1972._ Washington: Population Reference + Bureau, 1972. + + Yovkov, Yordav. _Short Stories._ (Trans., Monco Mincoff and Marguerite + Alexieva.) Sofia: Foreign Language Press, 1965. + + (Various issues of the following periodicals were also used in the + preparation of this section: _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], 1967-1972; + and _East Europe_ [New York], 1965-1973.) + + +Section II. Political + + Antonoff, Nicolas. _The Bulgarian Crisis._ New York: Mid-European + Studies Center, 1953. + + ----. _The Constitutional Evolution of Bulgaria._ New York: + Mid-European Studies Center, 1953. + + Black, Cyril E. _The Establishment of Constitutional Government in + Bulgaria._ Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1943. + + Blemenfeld, Yorick. _Seesaw: Cultural Life in Eastern Europe._ New + York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1968. + + Bromke, Adam. "The CSCE and Eastern Europe," _World Today_ [London], + XXIX, No. 5, May 1973, 196-206. + + Brown, James F. "Bulgaria." Pages 11-15 in Richard F. Staar (ed.), + _Yearbook on International Communist Affairs, 1973._ Hoover + Institution Press, 1973. + + ----. _Bulgaria Under Communist Rule._ New York: Praeger, 1970. + + Bulgaria. Central Council of the Trade Unions. _Bulgaria Traditions_, + Sofia, 1971. + + Bulgaria. Laws, Statutes, etc. + + _Constitution of the People's Republic of Bulgaria._ Sofia: Sofia + Press, 1971. + + Bulgaria. State Information Office with the Council of Ministers. + _Statistical Pocket Book, 1970._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970. + + "Bulgaria," _East Europe_, XVII, No. 2, February 1968, 25-26. + + "Bulgaria: History". Pages 385-400 in _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, IV. + Chicago: William Benton, 1969. + + "Bulgaria: Introductory Survey." Pages 570-588 in _The Europa + Yearbook, 1972_, I. London: Europa Publications, 1972. + + "Bulgarian Books Abroad," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XVI, No. 10, + October 1967, 10. + + "Bulgarian Television," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XV, No. 2, February + 1966, 36-50. + + "Bulgaria." Pages 41-50 in Moshe Sachs (ed.), _Worldmark Encyclopedia + of the Nations_, V: Europe. New York: Harper and Row, 1967. + + "Bulgaria." Pages 789-796 in _Statesman's Yearbook, 1971-72_. London: + Macmillan, 1973. + + "Bulgaria." Pages 205-206 in _The World of Learning, 1972-73_. London: + Europa Publications, 1973. + + Cary, William. _Bulgaria Today._ New York: Exposition Press, 1965. + + Costello, Michael. "Bulgaria." Pages 135-157 in Adam Bromke and Teresa + Rakowska-Harmstone (eds.), _The Communist States in Disarray, + 1965-71_. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1972. + + Davis, Fitzroy, "Bulgarian Filmmakers: Looking for a Place in the + Cinematic Sun," _East Europe_, XX, No. 3, March 1971, 29-35. + + Dellin, L. A. D. (ed.) _Bulgaria: East-Central Europe Under the + Communists._ New York: Praeger, 1957. + + Dinkova, Maria. _The Social Progress of the Bulgarian Woman._ Sofia: + Sofia Press, 1972. + + Dobrev, Georgi Mihailov. "Library Organization in Bulgaria," _UNESCO + Bulletin for Libraries_, IX, No. 8-9, August-September 1955, + 161-164. + + _Editor and Publisher International Year Book, 1972._ New York: Editor + and Publisher, 1971. + + "Exposing the 'Pseudo-Marxists'," _East Europe_, XVIII, No. 7, July + 1969, 29-30. + + Feron, James. "Ideology on Decline in Eastern Europe," _New York + Times_, March 22, 1973, A-15. + + Fischer, Lewis A. "COMECON and the Brezhnev Doctrine," _East Europe_, + XXI, No. 10, October 1972, 4-7. + + Georgeoff, Peter J. _The Social Education of Bulgarian Youth._ + Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1968. + + Gloghinski, Bogdan (ed.). _Meet Bulgaria and Its Trade Unions._ + (Trans., Petko Drenkov, et al.) Sofia: Profizdat, 1966. + + Gsovski, V. (ed.) "Bulgaria: Motion Pictures Under New Regulations," + _Highlights of Current Legislation and Activities in Mid-Europe_, + II, No. 3, March 1, 1954, 55-60. + + Gyorgy, Andrew. "External Forces in Europe." Pages 221-235 in Adam + Bromke and Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone (eds.), _The Communist States + in Disarray 1965-71_. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, + 1972. + + Kane, Robert S. _Eastern Europe: A to Z._ New York: Doubleday, 1968. + + Karadelkov, Petko. "The Fires of Mount Bouzloudja," _Bulgaria Today_ + [Sofia], XX, No. 8, August 1971, 3-4. + + ----. "The Founders of the Bulgarian Communist Party," _Bulgaria + Today_ [Sofia], XX, No. 8, August 1971, 2. + + Kharalampi, Georgiev H. _The Bulgarian Agrarian Union: Seventy Years + Since the Foundation._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970. + + Koritarova, Roza. "The Role and the Position of Trade Unions in the + System of Social Administration at the Contemporary Stage: A + Report." (A report delivered by Roza Koritarova, President of the + Central Council of the Trade Unions at the Tenth Plenum of the + Central Council of the Bulgarian Trade Unions.) Sofia: Profizdat, + 1969. + + Kraus, Wolfgang. "Is Bulgaria Closing the Gap?" _East Europe_, XV, No. + 4, April 1966, 2-11. + + Larabee, F. Stephen. "Bulgaria's Politics of Conformity," _Problems of + Communism_, XXI, No. 4, February 20, 1972, 42-53. + + Lauwerys, Joseph A., and Scanlon, David G. "Education in Cities," _The + World Year Book of Education_, 1970. New York: Harcourt, Brace and + World, 1970. + + "Liberals Under Fire," _East Europe_, XXI, No. 5, May 1972, 35. + + Morgan, Dan. "Bulgaria Moving Cautiously to Better U.S. Ties," + _Washington Post_, March 29, 1973, A15. + + Mossechkov, Nedyalko. "University Library," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], + X, No. 7, July 1961, 25-26. + + Newman, Bernard. _Bulgarian Background._ London: Robert Hale, 1961. + + Olson, Kenneth E. _The History Makers._ Baton Rouge: Louisiana State + University Press, 1966. + + Oren, Nissan. _Revolution Administered: Agrarianism and Communism in + Bulgaria._ Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973. + + Ostoich, Peter D. _The Bulgarian Communist Party--Builder of a + People's Democratic State._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970. + + Perl, Lila. _Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria._ Camden: Thomas Nelson, + 1970. + + Popoff, Emil. "Bulgaria's Young: The Silent Nihilists," _East Europe_, + XVII, No. 7, July 1968, 7-11. + + Rakowska-Harmstone, Teresa. "Patterns of Political Change." Pages + 323-347 in Adam Bromke, and Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone (eds.), _The + Communist States in Disarray, 1965-71_. Minneapolis: University of + Minnesota Press, 1972. + + Rothschild, Joseph. _Communist Eastern Europe._ New York: Walker, + 1964. + + ----. _The Communist Party of Bulgaria: Origins and Development, + 1883-1936._ New York: Columbia University Press, 1959. + + Rusinov, Spas. _Bulgaria: A Survey._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1969. + + Schöpflin, George (ed.). _The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe._ New + York: Praeger, 1970. + + Sharp, Samuel L., and Fedlam, Fruzsina H. _The Soviet Union and + Eastern Europe, 1972._ (The World Series.) Washington: Stryker-Post + Publications, 1972. + + Sokolski, Alexander. "A Glance at the New Bulgarian Films," _Bulgaria + Today_ [Sofia], XXI, No. 7, July 1972, 28-29. + + Staar, Richard F. _The Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe._ Stanford: + Stanford University Press, 1967. + + ----. _The Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe._ (Rev. ed.) Stanford: + Stanford University Press, 1971. + + _The Statesman's Year Book, 1972-73._ (Ed., John Paxton.) London: + Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, 1972, 789-797. + + _Statistical Yearbook, 1972._ Sofia, National Information Office, + 1972. + + Stavrianos, Leften S. _Balkan Federation: A History of the Movement + Toward Balkan Unity in Modern Times._ (Smith College Studies in + History XXVII, Nos. 1-4.) Northampton: Department of History, Smith + College, 1942. + + Sylvester, Anthony. "The Bulgarian Paradox," _East Europe_, XVII, No. + 1, January 1968, 15-19. + + "Television in Eastern Europe," _East Europe_, XV, No. 4, April 1966, + 12-15. + + Toma, Peter A. (ed.) _The Changing Face of Communism in Eastern + Europe._ Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1970. + + Triska, Jan F. (ed.) _Constitutions of the Communist Party-States._ + Stanford: Hoover Institution, 1968. + + United Nations. "Delegations to the General Assembly and the Councils + Delegations to the Twenty-fifth Session of the General Assembly 15 + September-17 December 1970." Page 1083 in _Yearbook of the United + Nations_, 1970. New York: U.N. Office of Information, 1972. + + _UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1971._ Paris: United Nations + Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1972, 700-731. + + United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. + _World Communications: Press, Radio, Television, Film._ (4th ed.) + New York: UNESCO, 1964. + + United Nations. Office of Public Information. Press Section. "United + Nations Bodies and Their Membership, 1972." (Press Release ORG/ + 713.) May 1, 1972, 1-58. + + U.S. Department of the Army. _Communist Eastern Europe: Analytical + Survey of Literature._ (DA PAM 550-8.) Washington: GPO, 1971. + + U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint + Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington). The following + items are from the JPRS series _Translations on Eastern Europe: + Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs_. + + "Aspects of New Constitution Interpreted," _Novo Vreme_, Sofia, + January 1969, 1. (JPRS: 47,959, No. 93, 1969). + + "Attention Called to Problems of Working Women," _Trud_, Sofia, + March 14, 1972. (JPRS 55,798, No. 514, 1972). + + "BCP Greetings Message Outlines Tasks of Bulgarian Propaganda," + Sofia, December 3, 1971. (Speech by Georgi Bokov recorded on Sofia + Radio.) (JPRS 54,763, No. 458, December 22, 1971). + + "Book Publication Circumstances Criticized," _Partien Zhivot_, + Sofia, II, February 1970. (JPRS 50,510, No. 197, March 25, 1970). + + "Communist Party Courts Full Support of KOMSOMOL," _Rabotnichesko + Delo_, Sofia, March 27, 1971. (JPRS 52,862, No. 339, 1971). + + "Constitutional Problems of People's Councils Viewed," _Narodni + Suveti_, Sofia, No. 4, 1971. (JPRS: 54,667, No. 388, 1971). + + "Control Committee Scores Serious Lack of Textbooks," _Otechestven + Front_, Sofia, August 1, 1970. (JPRS 51,187, No. 246, August 18, + 1970). + + "Czechoslovak Normalization Process Discussed," _Literaturen Front_, + Sofia, No. 39, September 19, 1968. (JPRS 46,866, No. 42, November + 14, 1968). + + "Development of TV Relay Station Network Discussed," _Radio i + Televiziya Sofia_, No. 11, 1969. (JPRS 50,112, No. 268, March 20, + 1970). + + "The Effectiveness of Ideological Propaganda at the Contemporary + Stage," _Politichecka Prosveta_, Sofia, July 1972. (JPRS 57,025, + No. 592, 1972). + + "Facts, Figures on Printed Broadcast Media Published," + _Rabotnichesko Delo_, Sofia, November 25, 1971. (JPRS 54,716, No. + 456, December 16, 1971). + + "Further Upgrading of Role of Fatherland Front," _Novo Vreme_, + Sofia, No. 7, July 1970. (JPRS 51,271, No. 250, 1970). + + "Greater Role Urged for People's Councils," _Otechestven Front_, + Sofia, August 10, 1972. (JPRS: 57,149, No. 600, 1972). + + "Ideological Peaceful Coexistence Criticized," _Literaturen Front_, + Sofia, April 18, 1968. (JPRS 45,428, No. 346, May 17, 1968). + + "Importance of Leading Role of Party Emphasized," _Politicheska + Prosveta_, Sofia, December 1970. (JPRS 52,298, No. 309, 1971). + + "Improvement in Construction Troops Work Urged," _Trudovo Delo_, + Sofia, January 23, 1973. (JPRS 58,600, No. 690, 1973). + + "Increased National Assembly Role Foreseen," _Pravna Misul_, Sofia, + No. 2, 1971. (JPRS: 53,656, No. 387, 1971). + + "Medicosocial Problems of the Antialcoholism Campaign," _Nevrologiya + Psikhiatriya i Nevrokhirurgiya_, Sofia, XI, No. 2, 1972. (JPRS + 56,973, No. 589, September 7, 1972). + + "Military Training for Secondary Students," _Narodna Mladezh_, + Sofia, March 20, 1972. (JPRS 55,828, No. 516, 1972). + + "Minister Stoilov's Keynote Address at World Conference on + Pollution," BTA, Sofia, April 27, 1972. (JPRS 55,907, No. 520, May + 5, 1972). + + "National Conference on Party Propaganda Reviewed," _Politicheska + Prosveta_, Sofia, No. 5, May 1970. (JPRS 50,880, No. 233, 1970). + + "New Television Studio Opens in Ruse," _Zemedelsko Zname_, Sofia, + November 6, 1972. (JPRS 57,590, No. 631, November 24, 1972). + + "The Obshtina Party Committees and Organizations--Political + Leaderships," Partien Zhivot, Sofia, No. 18, December 1968. (JPRS + 47,447, No. 69, 1969). + + "Party Application of Democratic Centralism Discussed," _Partien + Zhivot_, Sofia, No. 8, June 1970. (JPRS 51,534, No. 257, 1970). + + "Party Guidance of the Fatherland Front," _Partien Zhivot_, Sofia, + No. 9, 1972. (JPRS 57,109, No. 598, 1972). + + "Patriotism and Internationalism Defined," _Trudovo Delo_, Sofia, + April 16, 1969. (JPRS 48,138, No. 100, 1969). + + "Political Knowledge of Working People Analyzed," _Partien Zhivot_, + Sofia, February 1972. (JPRS: 56,081, No. 530, 1972). + + "Qualifications for Party Membership Analyzed," _Novo Vreme_, Sofia, + April 1969. (JPRS 48,428, No. 114, 1969). + + "Radio, TV Development, Progress Viewed," _Transporten Glas_, Sofia, + April 7, 1971. (JPRS 53,205, No. 471, May 24, 1971). + + "Special TV Program for Tourists Inaugurated," _Otechestven Front_, + Sofia, July 30, 1972. (JPRS 56,813, No. 579, August 18, 1972). + + "State Council Formation Discussed," _Pravna Misul_, Sofia, No. 2, + 1971. (JPRS 53,656, No. 387, 1971). + + "Strengthening of Contemporary Ideological Struggle Needed," + _Rabotnichesko Delo_, Sofia, August 4, 1972. (JPRS 56,851, No. + 582, August 23, 1972). + + "Study of Religiousness of Socialist Society Made," _Politicheska + Prosveta_, Sofia, No. 10. (JPRS 47,047, No. 52, December 10, + 1968). + + "Twenty-Five Years of Publishing Reviewed," _Bulgarski Knigi_, + Sofia, September 1969. (JPRS 49,166, No. 152, October 30, 1969). + + "Youth Warned Against Western Psychological Warfare," _Mladezh_, + Sofia, No. I, January 1973. (JPRS 58,807, No. 700, April 19, + 1973). + + U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Intelligence and Research. + "Bulgaria." Pages 61-63 in _World Strength of the Communist Party + Organization_, (23rd annual edition.) Washington: GPO, 1971. + + U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs. Office of Media + Services. "Educational and Cultural Exchange Between Communist and + Non-Communist Countries in 1971." (News Release.) December 8, 1972. + + Verin, Velko. "Getting Into Print in Bulgaria," _East Europe_, XVIII, + No. 1, January 1969, 22-24. + + _Women in the People's Republic of Bulgaria._ Sofia: Sofia Press, + 1971. + + _World Radio-TV Handbook, 1973._ (Ed., J.M. Frost.) Hvidovre: World + Radio-TV Handbook, 1973. + + "Youth Time" _East Europe_, XXI, No. 10, October 1972, 23-24. + + +Section III. Economic + + Alton, Thad P. "Economic Structure and Growth in Eastern Europe." In + U.S. Congress. 91st, 2d session. Joint Economic Committee. + _Economic Development in Countries of Eastern Europe._ Washington: + GPO, 1970. + + Costello, Michael. "Bulgaria." Pages 135-157 in Adam Bromke, and + Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone (eds.), _Communist States in Disarray, + 1965-1971_. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1972. + + Dellin, L. A. D. (ed.) _Bulgaria: East-Central Europe Under the + Communists._ New York: Praeger, 1957. + + Dobrin, Boguslav. _Bulgarian Economic Development Since World War II._ + New York: Praeger, 1973. + + Koleva, M. "Size, Structure and Efficiency of Production Funds + Invested in Dairy Cattle Breeding." _Ikonomika Selskoto Stopanstvo_ + [Sofia], August 1971, 71-83. + + Narodna Respublika Bulgariya. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri + Ministerskiya Suvet. _Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika + Bulgariya, 1963._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1963. + + ----. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri Ministerskiya Suvet. + _Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika Bulgariya, 1966._ + Sofia: Sofia Press, 1966. + + ----. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri Ministerskiya Suvet. + _Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika Bulgariya, 1968._ + Sofia: Sofia Press, 1968. + + ----. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri Ministerskiya Suvet. + _Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika Bulgariya, 1971._ + Sofia: Sofia Press, 1971. + + ----. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri Ministerskiya Suvet. + _Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika Bulgariya, 1972._ + Sofia: Sofia Press, 1972. + + Osborne, R. H. _East-Central Europe._ New York: Praeger, 1967. + + Pick, Franz. _Pick's Currency Yearbook, 1972._ New York: Pick + Publication, 1972. + + Pounds, Norman J. G. _Eastern Europe._ Chicago: Aldine, 1969. + + Rusinov, Spas. _Bulgaria: A Survey._ Sofia, Sofia Press, 1969. + + Selucky, Radoslav. _Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe._ New York: + Praeger, 1972. + + Starodubrovskaya, V. N. _Kooperativnaya sobstvennost v selskom + khozyastve sotsialisticheskikh stran._ Moscow: Nauka, 1970. + + _Statistical Yearbook, 1971._ National Information Office, Sofia, + 1971. + + _Statistical Yearbook, 1972._ National Information Office, Sofia, + 1972. + + _Statisticheskii Ezhegodnik, 1971._ Moscow: Tipografiia Sekretariata + SEV, 1971. + + U.S. Congress. 91st, 2d Session. Joint Economic Committee. _Economic + Developments in Countries of Eastern Europe._ Washington: GPO, 1970. + + U.S. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service. _The + Agricultural Economy and Trade of Bulgaria._ (Bulletin ERS-Foreign + 256.) Washington: GPO, February 1969. + + U.S. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Mines. "The Mineral + Industry of Bulgaria." Washington: GPO, n.d. (Preprint from _1971 + Bureau of Mines Minerals Yearbook_.) + + Wilczynski, J. _Socialist Economic Development and Reforms._ New York: + Praeger, 1972. + + _Yearbook of National Account Statistics, 1971._ New York: United + Nations, 1973. + + +Section IV. National Security + + Baldwin, Godfrey (ed.). _International Population Reports._ (U.S. + Department of Commerce, Series p-91, No. 18.) Washington: GPO, + 1969. + + Bulgaria. State Information Office with the Council of Ministers. + _Statistical Pocket Book 1970._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970. + + Cary, William. _Bulgaria Today._ New York: Exposition Press, 1965. + + Dellin, L. A. D. (ed.) _Bulgaria: East-Central Europe Under the + Communists._ New York: Praeger, 1957. + + _The Military Balance, 1972-73._ London: Institute for Strategic + Studies, 1972. + + Newman, Bernard. _Bulgarian Background._ London: Robert Hale, 1961. + + Oren, Nissan. _Bulgarian Communism._ New York: Columbia University + Press, 1971. + + Perl, Lila. _Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria._ Camden: Thomas Nelson, + 1970. + + Popoff, Emil. "Bulgaria's Young: The Silent Nihilists," _East Europe_, + XVII, No. 7, July 1968, 7-11. + + Pounds, Norman J. G. _Eastern Europe._ Chicago: Aldine, 1969. + + Rothschild, Joseph. _Communist Eastern Europe._ New York: Walker, + 1964. + + U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint + Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington). The following + items are from the JPRS series _Translations on Eastern Europe: + Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs_. + + "Bulgarian Criminal Code," _Sbornik postanovleniya i + razporezhdaniya na Ministerskiya suvet na NRB_, Sofia, May 1968. + (JPRS: 45,757, No. 5, 1968). + + "Bulgarian Customs Operations," _Otechestven Front_, Sofia, 1971, + (JPRS: 55,110, No. 475, 1972). + + "Civil Defense Plans and Tasks," _Narodna Armiya_, Sofia, February + 21, 1972. (JPRS: 58,495, No. 685, 1973). + + "Crime Treatment in Socialist Society," _Filosofska Misul_, Sofia, + 1971. (JPRS: 53,920, No. 405, 1971). + + "Execution of Court Sentences," _Durzhaven Vestnik_, Sofia, April + 15, 1969. (JPRS: 48,065, No. 98, 1969). + + "History of Military Medical Institute," _Voenno Meditsinsko Delo_, + Sofia, No. 5, 1970. (JPRS: 52,242, No. 308, 1971). + + "Intermediate-Level Service School Entrance Exams," _Trudovo Delo_, + Sofia, May 12, 1970. (JPRS: 50,783, No. 228, 1970). + + "Internment Without Deprivation of Liberty," _Pravna Misul_, Sofia, + 1971. (JPRS: 56,452, No. 550, 1972). + + "Law Governing Stay of Foreigners in Belgium," _Durzhaven Vestnik_, + Sofia, November 28, 1972. (JPRS: 58,035, No. 658, 1973). + + "Law on Universal Military Service," _Durzhaven Vestnik_, Sofia, + August 11, 1970. (JPRS: 51,354, No. 257, 1970). + + "Medicosocial Problems of Alcoholism," _Nevrologiya Psikhiatriya i + Nevrokhirurgiya_, Sofia, 1972. (JPRS: 56,973, No. 589, 1972). + + "Military School Cadet Entrance Exams," _Narodna Armiya_, Sofia, May + 17, 1970. (JPRS. 50,687, No. 224, 1970). + + "Military Training for Secondary Students," _Narodna Mladezh_, + Sofia, March 20, 1972. (JPRS: 55,828, No. 516, 1972). + + "New Medals," _Armeyski Pregled_, Sofia, September 11, 1969. (JPRS: + 48,790, No. 129, 1969). + + "New Training Year," _Armeyski Pregled_, Sofia, December 1969. + (JPRS: 49,929, No. 187, 1970). + + "New Uniforms for Officers and Noncoms," _Pogled_, Sofia, March 22, + 1971. (JPRS: 53,014, No. 347, 1971). + + "Party Program for Defense," _Otechestven Front_, Sofia, July 8, + 1971. (JPRS: 53,641, No. 386, 1971). + + "People's Councils Legal Departments," _Durzhaven Vestnik_, Sofia, + March 6, 1970. (JPRS 50,415, No. 210, 1970). + + "Pre-Induction Military Training Reorganized," _Narodna Armiya_, + Sofia, August 8, 1968. (JPRS: 46,551, No. 31, 1968). + + "Provisions for Servicemen, Families," _Narodna Armiya_, Sofia, + February 8, 1973. (JPRS: 58,336, No. 676, 1973). + + "Regulations on Obshtina Militia," _Durzhaven Vestnik_, Sofia, May + 12, 1970. (JPRS: 50,920, No. 236, 1970). + + "Scientific Training for Youth," _Durzhaven Vestnik_, Sofia, + December 6, 1968. (JPRS: 47,136, No. 56, 1968). + + "Significance of CEMA Defense Programs," _Narodna Armiya_, Sofia, + September 22, 1971. (JPRS: 54,261, No. 549, 1971). + + "Winter Defense Exercise," _Armeyski Pregled_, Sofia, December 1969. + (JPRS: 49,929, No. 187, 1970). + + Wolff, Robert Lee. _The Balkans in Our Time._ Cambridge: Harvard + University Press, 1956. + + + + +GLOSSARY + + BKP--Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya (Bulgarian Communist Party). + Party dates its origins from the founding of the Bulgarian Social + Democratic Party in 1891. Through many years of factional splits, + coalitions, changes of designation, underground operations, and front + organizations, the BKP finally emerged from World War II (with Soviet + backing) as the only viable political force in the country. + + COMECON--Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Economic alliance + founded in 1949 to further cooperation among member states. Members + are Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Mongolia, + Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. Headquarters is in Moscow. + + Fatherland Front--An umbrella organization for all other mass + organizations; provides a structure for democratic electoral processes + but, actually, is controlled by the BKP. + + greenback--United States legal tender. Term used in international + monetary transactions since convertibility of the United States dollar + into gold was suspended on August 15, 1971. + + lev (pl., leva)--Basic unit of currency; divided into 100 stotinki + (_q.v._). Officially rated at the artificial level of 0.97 per US$1. + Lev is nonconvertible and is actually exchanged at several different + rates depending on type of transaction. + + stotinki (sing., stotinka)--100 stotinki equal one lev. + + Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact)--A military alliance founded + in 1955. The Soviet minister of defense is traditionally the supreme + commander of the joint pact forces. Members are Bulgaria, + Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet + Union. + + + + +INDEX + + + Academy of Agricultural Sciences: 135 + + Academy of Sciences: 135 + + Agitation and Propaganda Department (Agitprop): 160, 169, 187 + + Agrarian Party. _See_ Bulgarian Agrarian Union + + agriculture (_see also_ agroindustrial complexes): viii, 21, 160, + 225-247, 260; + civil defense teams, 276; + collectivization, 3, 33, 34, 52-53, 69, 74, 77, 204; + cropping pattern, 230-231; + erosion, 227-228; + faulty practices, 243-244, 245-246; + fertilizers and pesticides, 243-244, 266-267; + five-year plans, 228, 229, 234, 235, 236, 237, 240; + income, 84; + investment, 211, 238-239, 245; + irrigation, viii, 41, 42, 44, 226, 229-230, 231, 300; + labor, 207, 225, 237-238; + land protection, 227-229; + land use, viii, 45-46, 227-231; + livestock and livestock products, viii, 225, 234, 241, 242, 244-247, + 260; + marketing, 240-241; + mechanization, 239-240; + national income, 207, 241; + organization, 231-235; + planning and management, 235-237, 246; + private farm plots, 204, 225, 231, 234-235, 241, 245; + production, viii, 160, 225, 230, 241-247; + shortage of skilled workers, 225, 237, 244, 245, 246; + Thracian Plain, 45-46; + trade, 178, 222, 225, 247; + traditional, 76-77 + + agroindustrial complexes: viii, 5, 53, 203, 205, 225, 231-234; + communications problems, 236-237; + labor, viii, 232, 237, 238, 246; + land ownership, 234; + legal and economic aspects, 233-234; + marketing, 241; + planning and management, 236; + types, 232-233; + voluntary nature, 233 + + air and air defense forces: ix, 7, 287, 289, 290, 291, 298, 299; + training, 294, 295 + + airlines: ix, 62-63 + + Albania: 35, 172, 176, 179, 180, 292; + historic, 12, 14, 17 + + alcoholism: 190, 278, 281-282 + + Algeria: 257 + + Andonov, Ivan: 129 + + Angel, Isaac: 13 + + architecture: 133-135 + + armed forces (_see also_ air and air defense forces; army; navy): 7-8, + 287-300; + cadet programs, 295-296; + equipment, 288, 291, 298; + logistics, 298, 300; + manpower, 292-293; + medical service, 296-297; + military justice, viii, 297-298; + military service, 142, 274, 275, 292-293, 296; + morale, 287, 296; + officers, 8, 289, 293, 298-299; + officers' training, 275, 295; + political indoctrination, 8, 289, 294, 300; + ranks, uniforms, and decorations, 298-300; + reserves, 293; + social benefits, 296; + Soviet aid, 291, 298; + Soviet officers, 179; + state and party control, 146, 288-289; + training, 293-296, 300 + + Armenians: 2, 55, 65 + + army: ix, 7-8, 32, 290-291; + border troops, ix, 7, 269, 273, 289; + Bulgarian People's Army, ix, 273, 287, 289; + Construction Troops, 269, 273-275, 293; + equipment, 290-291; + Soviet model, 288, 293 + + art: 131-133; + National Revival, 131-132; + Turnovo School of, 131 + + artisans and craftsmen: 72, 73, 86-87, 204, 211, 245, 249; + historic, 12, 17 + + artistic and intellectual expression: 21, 123-135, 162; + First Congress on Culture--1967, 155; + Golden Age, 7, 12, 14, 121, 126, 131, 134; + government and party control, 7, 123, 124-125, 155, 187; + ideological messages, 124, 128; + library clubs, 125; + minority groups, vii; + National Revival, 18, 131-132, 134, 135; + National Theater, 123, 128; + prestige, 7, 123; + self-censorship, 7, 125; + Soviet model, 7, 124; + Stalinist period, 124; + subsidies, 123, 125, 127, 128; + unions, 7, 125, 187, 276 + + Asen: 13 + + Attila the Hun: 54 + + Australia, relations: 179 + + Austria, historic: 17 + + + Bagrianov, Ivan: 28 + + Balkan-Bulgarian Airlines (BALKAN): ix, 62-63 + + Balkan Pact: 26-27 + + Balkan wars, 1912, 1913: 21, 22-23, 288 + + banks and banking: viii, 204, 215-219; + Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank, viii, 215, 216, 219; + Bulgarian National Bank, viii, 215, 216, 219; + credit, 204, 216-217; + state lotteries, 217; + State Savings Bank, viii, 215-216, 217 + + Basil II: 13 + + Battle of Ankara: 17 + + Battle of Varna: 17 + + Belgium, relations: 178-179 + + Black Sea: viii; + effect on climate, 43, 44, 45, 46, 226; + patrol boats, 273; + ports, 54; + tourism, 196 + + Black Wind: 44 + + Blagoev, Dimiter: 30 + + Bobov Dol: 253-254, 255 + + Bokov, Georgi: 186 + + border troops: ix, 7, 269, 273, 289 + + Boris I: 11, 66 + + Boris III: 25, 26, 27, 28, 30 + + Botev: 196 + + Botev, Khristo: 126 + + boundaries: 2, 48-50; + Congress (Treaty) of Berlin--1878, 2, 22; + Greece, 49-50, 273; + post-World War I, 25, 49; + post-World War II, 29, 49; + Romania, 49, 50, 273; + Treaty of San Stefano--1878, 2, 20, 22; + Turkey, 49, 50, 273; + Yugoslavia, 49, 273 + + Boyana Church: 131 + + Bozhinov, Alexander: 132 + + Brezhnev, Leonid: 3, 156, 162 + + budget: 213-215 + + Bulgars: vii, 2 + + Bulgaranov, Boyan: 161 + + Bulgarian Academy of Sciences: 245 + + Bulgarian Agrarian Union: 21, 25, 26, 30, 31, 141, 150, 153, 163-164, + 165, 191; + membership, 163, 277; + organization, 163 + + Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP) (_see also_ Politburo; State Council; + Tenth Congress): 3, 25, 141, 157-163; + Central Committee, vii, 3, 4, 153, 157-158, 160, 191; + democratic centralism, 157, 166; + first secretary, vii, 4, 140, 143, 158, 160; + growth of, 30-36, 158-159; + membership, 158-160, 276; + New Course, 34; + news organization, 192; + nomination of candidates, 150-151; + organization, 157-158, 284; + Party Congresses, 3, 155, 157, 159, 160-163; + party uprising--1923, 25-26, 30; + pre-World War II, 25, 26; + purges, 32, 34, 35, 36, 159, 161; + Secretariat, vii, 3, 4, 153, 157, 158, 162-163; + Soviet leadership, 156, 157, 160, 171; + structure, 3, 137; + supremacy over all aspects of Bulgarian life, 156, 184, 276-277; + women members, 160, 168 + + Bulgarian Hunting and Fishing Union: 277 + + Bulgarian National Library: 187,199 + + Bulgarian Red Cross: 167, 277 + + Bulgarian Telegraph Agency: 186-187 + + Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sports: 277 + + Bulgarian Union of Tourists: 277 + + Bulgarians abroad: 55, 272 + + Bulgars: 9, 10, 11, 52 + + Burgas: 47, 54, 57, 62, 199, 227, 250, 254, 255 + + Byzantine Empire: 9, 10-11, 12-17 _passim_ + + + Canada, relations: 178 + + Carpathian Mountains: 38 + + caves: 40, 47 + + Central Leninist Party School: 121 + + Chelopets: 259 + + Chervenkov, Vulko: 3, 34, 35, 113, 115, 153, 159, 160, 161, 186 + + China, People's Republic of: 35, 160-161, 189 + + citizenship: 272 + + civil defense: 167, 275-276 + + civil rights: 142, 186, 283, 285-286 + + climate: vii, 37, 42-44, 226 + + Committee for Science, Art, and Culture: 106 + + Committee of Bulgarian Women: 168-169 + + Committee of State Security: 36, 271 + + Committee on Art and Culture: 125, 140, 155, 198, 199 + + communications. _See_ mass communications + + Communist Party. _See_ Bulgarian Communist Party + + Congress of Berlin: 2, 22 + + Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON): vii, 171, 176, + 179-180, 240; trade with, viii, 180, 222 + + Council of Ministers: vii, 4, 106, 137, 138, 141, 142, 144, 145-147, + 218-219, 220; + administration of ministries, viii, 5; + agricultural programs, 228, 238; + Department of Motion Pictures, 201; + establishment, 139; + functions, 5, 140, 145-147, 173, 174, 204, 205, 216, 235-236, 250, + 261, 274; + legislative initiative, 32, 140, 141; + organization (chart), 146; + police power, 146 + + Couve de Murville, Maurice: 178 + + crime: 190, 269-270, 273, 279-282; + criminal code, 282-283; + death penalty, 283, 298; + economic, 281; + juvenile, 280, 294; + military, 297-298; + penalties, 280, 283; + political, 142, 269, 270, 274, 280-281, 283 + + Crusades: 13 + + Cuba: 117, 180, 222 + + currency: viii, 14, 219-220; + exchange rates, 219, 221 + + Cyril: 11, 126 + + Czechoslovakia: 106, 172; + Bulgarian students, 117; + relations, 175, 222; + Soviet invasion, 1968, 155, 189-190 + + + dams: 42 + + Danube River: viii, 41, 44, 54, 61-62, 227; + as boundary, 49, 50; + Iron Gate, 38, 62; + patrol boats, 273, 291 + + Danubian plateau: 38, 39, 41, 43, 226-227; + population density, 57 + + Dimitrov, Georgi: 2-3, 25, 32, 34, 121, 165, 172 + + Dimitrov, Vladimir: 132 + + Dimitrov Communist Youth Union (Komsomol): 155, 166-168, 169, 185, + 277-278; + membership, 217-218; + officer training, 289; + premilitary training, 294-295; + source of manpower reserve, 167, 294 + + Dimitrovgrad: 55 + + Dimov, Dimitur: 127 + + divorce: 70, 190 + + Dobrudzha: 15, 27, 28, 29, 40, 43, 50, 226 + + Dolni Dubnik: 254 + + Dospevaki, Vladislav: 132 + + Dragoman Pass: 59 + + Dragoycheva, Tsola: 161 + + drainage: 38, 41-42 + + Dzhurov, Dobri: 289 + + + Economic Commission for Europe: 181 + + economy: viii, 5, 203-223; + automation, 203-204, 236-237, 249; + BKP policies, 215, 250; + Bulgaria's Great Leap Forward, 160-161; + decentralized management, 156, 205, 250; + five-year plans, viii, 154, 157, 160, 250, 254, 255; + investment, 210-213, 260-261; + national income, 204, 206-207, 210, 300; + New Economic Model, 156; + organization, 204-206; + Soviet aid, viii, 156, 175, 203, 212, 223; + State Planning Committee, 5; + trusts, 205-206, 220-221, 233, 251; + Twenty-Year Plan of Economic Development, 161; + World War I, 24; + World War II, 28 + + education: viii, 6-7, 21, 93-122; + abroad, 96, 97, 116-117; + administration, 96, 106-107; + adult, 97, 120, 121; + boarding schools, 120; + Center for Amateur Scientific and Technical Activities among Youth + and Children, 279; + Communist policies, 97-99, 113, 115; + ethnic minorities, 96, 99, 102; + financing, 107-108; + foreign student exchange, 94, 116-117; + graduate, 116; + higher (_see also_ students of worker or peasant origin, preference, + _infra_), 6-7, 21, 94-95, 97, 98, 100-101, 104, 105, 111, 113-118; + history, 21, 95-97; + ideological indoctrination, viii, 6, 97-99, 100, 115, 121, 159, 169, + 284, 285; + literacy, 21, 93, 95-96, 97, 98, 106, 120, 169; + of prisoners, 284; + polytechnic schools, 103, 104, 105, 110-111, 112; + private schools, 120-121; + reforms, 6-7, 96, 99-105, 109, 110, 159, 162; + religious, 94, 95, 96, 98-99, 100, 121; + scholarships, 102, 117; + science and technology, emphasis on, viii, 58, 93, 94, 117-118, 167, + 237, 263; + Soviet pattern, 93, 98, 100, 102, 115, 118, 119; + special, 113, 119-120; + state control, 76, 97-99, 100, 113, 120; + students of worker or peasant origin, preference, 6, 73, 74, 76, + 93-94, 99, 162; + teacher training, 101, 102, 103, 115, 118-119; + Teachers Union, 277; + technical and vocational schools, 96-97, 99, 100, 101-102, 104, 110, + 111, 112-113, 116, 121, 284; + Turkish period, 16; + work concept, 98, 101-102, 103, 109 + + elections: 3-4, 149-151; + BKP membership, 150; + Central Election Commission, 149-150; + Law of Election for the National Assembly, 149; + 1971 Constitution, 149; + nominations, 150, 165; + Secretariat, 158; + trade unions, 166 + + electric power: 255-257, 266; + hydroelectricity, 41, 42, 176, 180, 252, 255 + + Elin Pelin Bulgarian Bibliographical Institute: 199 + + Eliseyna: 259 + + ethnic groups: + Armenians, 2, 55, 65; + Bulgar, vii, 2; + Greek, vii, 2, 55, 58, 65, 106; + Jews, 2, 28, 34, 55, 58, 67, 106; + Macedonians, vii, 55, 58, 65, 66; + minority languages, vii, 97; + Romanians, vii, 2, 55, 58, 65; + Turks, vii, 2, 55, 65-66, 106, 177 + + European Conference for Security and Cooperation: 176 + + + family: 65, 67-71; + extended family (_zadruga_), 67-68, 70-71, 76; + family allowance payments, 90; + traditional, 67-69 + + Father Paisi: 18, 95, 126 + + Fatherland Front: 7, 33, 77, 100, 137-138, 139, 141, 165-166, 277; + BKP use of, 7, 166, 276; + _Izgrev_, official organization, 191; + National Council (Committee), 31, 137, 150, 164; + State Council, relationship, 164; + World War II, 1, 29, 31-32 + + Ferdinand, King: 22, 24, 25 + + films: viii, 91, 129, 184, 187, 200-202; + Soviet, 201 + + finance (_see also_ budget): viii, 21 + + folk arts: 126,130-131 + + folk songs: 18 + + forced labor camps: 273 + + foreign policy: 155, 171-181; + Chervenkov, 34; + Communist countries, 175-176; + conduct of, 173-175; + historical factors, 172-173; + irredentism, 1, 2, 9, 10, 13, 20, 21-22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 176; + military relations (_see also_ Warsaw Treaty Organization), 292; + noncommunist states, 175, 176-179; + Soviet model, 35, 171, 172, 173, 178; + Western Europe, 155, 178-179, 190 + + foreigners, laws governing stay of: 272-273 + + France: 178, 222 + + freedom of information: 186-187 + + French Revolution: 18 + + + Gabrovo: 253 + + Genkov, Genko: 133 + + Genov, Todor: 127 + + geography: v, vii, xiv, 2, 137 + + Georgiev, Iliya: 185 + + Georgiev, Kimon: 26, 29, 32 + + German Democratic Republic: 117, 172, 175, 222 + + Germany (_see also_ World War I; World War II): 9, 27 + + Germany, Federal Republic of: 178, 222 + + Ghiaurov, Nikolai: 129 + + Goths: 10 + + government (_see also_ Bulgarian Communist Party; Chervenkov; Council + of Ministers; Dimitrov, Georgi; National Assembly; State Council; + Zhivkov): vii, 3-5, 137-151; + BKP control, 137, 143, 149, 153; + central, 142-147; + Dimitrov constitution, 1947, 1, 32-33, 97-98, 100-101, 106, 139-140, + 143, 168, 186; + Fatherland Front coalition--1944-1947, 1, 2, 31-32, 139, 158, 163, + 165, 172; + interwar years, 25-27; + local, _see_ local government; + 1971 constitution, 137-138, 140-142, 145, 149, 156, 162, 163-164, + 168, 173, 186; + Soviet model, 137, 140; + structure (chart), 144; + Turkish rule, 16; + Turnovo Constitution--1879, 21, 32, 138-139; + unity of rule, 35, 138, 140, 141-142, 148, 149, 153, 157 + + Greece: 26-27, 35, 177, 290, 296; + Balkan Wars, 22-23; + historic, 9, 10, 11, 14; + radio relay lines, 195; + World War I, 23 + + Greeks: vii, 2, 55, 58, 65, 106 + + Grigorov, Mitko: 161 + + Gypsies: 55, 66, 106 + + + health: 79-83; + feldshers, 82; + hospitals, 80, 82; + life expectancy, 79-80; + physicians, 81, 82; + polyclinics, 80-82; + Public Health Service, 80-83 + + history (_see also_ Turkish rule): 9-36; + Balkan wars--1912 and 1913, 21, 22-23, 288; + Byzantine Empire, 9, 10, 11, 12-14, 17; + early, 9-15; + early migrations, 10; + feudalism, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16; + First and Second Bulgarian Kingdoms, 1, 9, 10, 11-15; + Golden Age, 7, 12, 121, 126, 131, 134; + independence, 21; + interwar years, 25-27; + monarchy abolished in 1946, 32; + postliberation, 20-21; + Slavs, 2, 9, 10, 11, 52 + + Holy Roman Empire: 14 + + housekeeping: 70, 91 + + housing: 85, 87-89, 211; + conveniences, 53, 79, 89; + rural, 88; + shortage, 71, 87-88, 213, 250 + + Hungary: 28, 172, 175; historic, 15, 17 + + Huns: 10, 11 + + hydroelectricity: 41, 42, 252, 255; + Danube River cooperative project, 176, 180, 255 + + + industry: viii, 3, 5, 24, 161, 222-223, 249-261; + civil defense teams, 276; + economic crime, 281; + forced labor camps, 273; + growth, 6, 21, 34, 264; + investment, 211, 253, 260-261; + labor, _see_ labor; + organization, 249-252; + production, 263, 264-265; + programs for improvement, viii, 5, 154, 160, 249, 250, 264; + quality, 264-265; + raw materials, 175, 252, 257-260; + raw materials, fuels and power shortages, 203, 249, 252, 257, 259, + 260, 261; + Soviet aid, 6, 175, 223, 249, 254, 255, 260; + State Inspectorate for Industrial Power and Power Control, 256; + state ownership, viii, 3, 32-33, 69, 249; + supply system, 251-252; + textile, 208, 264, 267; + trusts, 5-6, 203, 213, 249, 250, 251 + + Institute for the Improvement of Teachers: 118-119 + + Institute for Political Instruction: 121 + + international organizations: vii + + irredentism: 1, 2, 9, 10, 13, 20, 21-22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 176 + + Iskur River: 41, 42, 49 + + Italy: 9, 27, 28, 179, 222 + + Ivan Asen II: 14 + + Ivan Vazov State Library: 199 + + + Jews: 2, 28, 34, 55, 58, 67, 106; + emigration, 34, 58; + World War II, 28 + + Johnson, Lyndon B.: 177 + + judicial system: viii, 7, 138, 144, 148-149, 269, 283-284; + Chief Prosecutor, 138, 141, 144, 148-149; + district courts, 148; + military courts, viii, 148, 297-298; + party control, 149; + penal institutions, 7, 269, 284-286; + special courts, viii; + Supreme Court, viii, 141, 144, 148, 149, 297 + + + Kalarov, Vasil: 25, 32 + + Kaloyan: 14 + + Kamchiya River: 46 + + Karavelov, Lyuben: 126 + + Khristov, Boris: 129 + + Khrushchev, Nikita: 3, 34, 35, 102-103, 161, 173, 192 + + Komsomol. _See_ Dimitrov Communist Youth Union + + Kostov, Traicho: 34, 35 + + Koulekov, Pencho: 133 + + Kozloduy: 255 + + Kremikovtsi: 257 + + Krumovo: 257 + + Kurdzhali: 259 + + Kyustendil: 196 + + + labor: viii, 58, 207-210, 252, 261, 262-264, 300; + agricultural, viii, 207, 225, 232, 237-238, 246; + BKP membership, 159; + Construction Troops, 269, 273-275; + employment, 207, 264; + Labor Army, 274; + lack of incentive, 204; + preferential treatment of workers, 6, 73, 74, 76, 93-94, 99, 162; + shortage of skilled workers, viii, 203, 207-208, 225, 237, 244, 245, + 246, 256, 263, 300; + sickness and disability benefits, 89-90; + wages, 84, 208-210, 237-238, 262-263; + workweek, 91 + + language: vii, 97, 102; + Cyrillic alphabet, 12, 126; + foreign, education in, 113; + minorities, vii; + Russian, compulsory education, 109, 110 + + Lasarov, Ivan: 133 + + Levski, Vasil: 19 + + liberation, 1878: 1-2, 19-21, 52, 287, 288; + Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee, 19; + Congress (Treaty) of Berlin, 2, 22; + growth of nationalism, 17-20; + Internal Secret Revolutionary Organization, 19; + "moderates"-"radicals", 19; + revolution of 1876, 19-20, 288; + Russian role in, 1, 19, 20, 172; + Treaty of San Stefano, 1878, 2, 20, 22; + Turnovo Constitution, 21, 32, 138-139 + + libraries: 183-184, 199-200; + Cyril and Methodius Library, 187 + + literature: 125-128, 187; + historic, 12, 14, 15; + periodicals, 126, 128; + _Slav-Bulgarian History_, 18, 95, 126; + writers' revolt, 127-128; + Writers' Union, 125 + + living conditions (_see also_ health; housing): 79-91, 300; + Commission on the Living Standard, 84, 205; + consumer goods, shortage, 83, 84, 86; + cost of living, 83-84, 85; + leisure, 91; + rural, 53, 88; + special plenum on, viii, 83-84, 87, 203, 205, 209-210; + workers and peasants, 84, 85 + + local government: vii, 50-52, 137, 138, 140, 141, 147-148; + budget, 213; + cities and towns (_rayoni_), 50, 147, 271; + civil defense, 276; + districts (_okruzi_), vii, 50, 52, 107, 144, 147, 159, 236; + elections, 149; + legal departments, 284; + police, 148, 271; + townships (_obshtini_), vii, 50, 52, 147, 271 + + Lovech: 254 + + Lulchev, Kosta: 32, 33 + + + Macedonia: Bulgarian territorial claims, 1, 9, 13-14, 21-23, 24, 26, + 27, 28, 49, 176; + historic, 9, 12, 14, 15, 17, 20-23, 29; + Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), 22, 25, 26; + People's Republic of, 66 + + Macedonians: vii, 55, 58, 65, 66 + + Macedonian terrorism: 23, 25, 26 + + Madan: 55, 259 + + Magyars: 12, 13 + + Manov, Emil: 128 + + Maritsa-Iztok coalfield: 253 + + Maritsa River: 40, 42, 45, 49, 55, 59, 60, 226, 227, 255 + + Marxism-Leninism (_see also_ ideological indoctrination _under_ + education): 141, 167, 175 + + mass communications (_see also_ films; press; publishing; radio and + television): viii, 183-202; + administration, 187-188; + local groups, 185; + objectives, 183, 184-185; + party control, 183, 186; + pro-Soviet themes, 183, 188, 189, 191; + public opinion, 184; + relative popularity, 185; + state ownership and regulation, viii, 183; + themes, 183, 188-189, 191 + + mass organizations (_see also_ Dimitrov Communist Youth Group; + Fatherland Front): 7, 65, 76, 77, 164-169; + BKP control through, 7, 153, 164, 165, 166; + civil defense, 276; + ideological training, 169; + memberships, importance, 76; + public order role, ix, 276; + social pressure by, 269; + sources of popular opinion, 7; + trade unions, 89, 166, 185, 193, 276, 277; + youth groups, 8, 76, 167-168, 277-279 + + merchant marine: 62 + + Mesta River: 42, 49, 226 + + Methodius: 11, 126 + + Mihailov, Ivan: 161 + + Milev, Ivan: 132 + + mineral resources: 37, 47-48, 252-257 + + mineral waters: 48 + + Ministry of: Agriculture (and Food Industry), 193, 205, 228, 233, 235, + 236, 240; + Chemical Industry and Power Generation, 204; + Culture, 106, 195; + Education, 106; + Finance, viii, 89, 204, 213, 219, 221; + Foreign Affairs, 173-174; + Foreign Trade, viii, 173-175, 204, 219, 221; + Information and Communications, 187; + Interior, 32, 35, 154; + Internal Affairs, ix, 7, 148, 167, 269, 271, 273, 284; + Justice, viii, 7, 32, 283-284, 285; + National Defense, ix, 7, 8, 167, 193, 273, 275, 287, 288, 289-290, 294; + National Education, 106-107, 116, 167, 198, 208, 263; + Public Education, 96; + Public Health, 80; + Supply and State Reserves, 251-252; + Transport, 63 + + Montenegro: 22, 28 + + motor vehicles: 59 + + Murad I: 15 + + Murkvichka, Ivan: 132 + + music: 129-130 + + + National Assembly. (_See also_ State Council): vii, 4, 137, 138, 142, + 144, 147; + elections, 139, 147, 149, 150; + establishment, 139; + functions, 4, 5, 32, 139-140, 145, 147, 148, 149, 173, 213-214; + presidium, 139, 141, 143 + + National Liberation Army: 31 + + National School of Choreography: 113 + + national security (_see also_ armed forces; border troops; civil + defense; police): ix, 154, 269-286; + organization, 270; + police state period, 159, 270-271; + state security police, 7, 269, 270 + + nationalism: 189; historic, 16 + + naval base (Varna): 54 + + navy: ix, 7, 287, 289, 291, 295, 298, 299 + + Nedkova, Maria: 133 + + Nicephorus: 11 + + North Atlantic Treaty Organization: 290 + + + opera: 123, 129-130 + + _Otechestven Front_: 191, 192-193 + + Ottoman Turks (_see also_ Turkish rule): 15-16 + + + Panagyurishte: 259 + + _Partisan Song_: 132 + + Pavlov, Todor: 161, 187 + + Pavlovich, Nikola: 132 + + Peasant Union Party: 32 + + peasants (_see also_ Bulgarian Agrarian Union): 6, 67, 71, 72, 73, 74; + BKP membership, 159; + populism movement, 25; + postliberation period, 21; + preferential treatment for education, 6, 73, 74, 76; + Turkish rule, 16-17, 131 + + Pelin, Elin: 127 + + penal institutions: 7, 269, 284-286 + + pensions: 89, 90 + + Pernik coalfields: 253, 254 + + Peter, rebellion against Byzantine Empire: 13 + + Petkov, Nikolai: 32 + + Petrov, Ilia: 132 + + Philip of Macedon: 10, 54 + + Pioneers (Young Septembrists): 167-168 + + Pirdop: 259 + + Pirin range: 40, 42, 46, 57, 227 + + Pleven oil refinery: 254-255 + + Pliska: 11 + + Plovdiv: 45, 54, 226, 250, 255, 259; + libraries, 199; + railroads, 59, 60; + universities, 115 + + Poland: 172, 175 + + police: ix, 7, 269; People's Militia, 148, 269, 270, 271-273; + registration of weapons, etc., 272; + secret police (police state period), 159, 270-271; + voluntary paramilitary auxiliaries, 269 + + Politburo: vii, 3, 4, 5, 143, 153, 157, 158, 160, 161, 187; + composition, 154, 156, 162-163; + foreign policy role, 171 + + Pomaks: 16, 55, 67 + + Popov, Lyuben: 194 + + population (_see also_ ethnic groups): vii, 37, 55-58; + by age and sex, 55, 56; + exchanges, 57-58; + growth rate, vii, 57; + minorities, + percent, 37, 55, 65; + rural, 56, 57 + + ports: Black Sea (_see also_ Burgas; Varna): 54, 62 + + Preslav: 12 + + press: 183, 184, 190-193; BTA, 187, 188, 189; + circulation, 193; + foreign language, 188; + party control, 186-187, 190-191, 192; + periodicals, 193; + provincial, 192, 193; + public attitude, 185; + Sofia Press Agency, 187-188; + Soviet pattern, 191-192; + Union of Bulgarian Journalists, 186, 191 + + private ownership: 33, 140, 142, 204; + Law on Citizens' Property, 142 + + propaganda: 183, 184, 185, 187, 190, 191, 194; + anti-Western (_see also_ Western influence), 155, 169, 188-189, 190, + 191; + Soviet Press Agency, 187-188 + + publishing: viii, 183, 187, 197-199; + ideological content, 198-199; + party control, 187, 197, 198; + promotion of books abroad, 199; + textbooks, 197-198, 199; + translations, 197 + + + _Rabotnichesko Delo_: 191, 192 + + radio and television: 125, 183, 184, 193-196, 267; + color TV, 183, 196; + foreign language, 195, 196; + Intervision, 196; + party control and use, 187, 194, 195; + popularity, 185; + programming, 195, 196; + radio relay ties, 195; + TV subscribers, 196 + + railroads: viii, 59-61; + Orient Express, 59 + + rainfall: 43-44, 226 + + Rakovsky, Georgi: 19 + + religion: vii, 33, 65, 66-67, 189; + Bulgarian Orthodox Church, 15, 19, 33, 66, 95, 98, 99, 121; + Christianity, early, 12, 13, 14; + church schools, 94, 95, 96, 99, 100, 121; + Committee for Religious Affairs, 33; + freedom of, vii, 66-67, 142; + government control, 67; + Greek (Eastern) Orthodox Church, 12, 16, 95; + Jews, vii, 34, 67; + Moslem, vii, 16, 33, 67; + Protestants, vii, 33-34, 67; + religious art, 131; + Roman Catholics, vii, 14, 33, 67; + Russian Orthodox Church, 33; + Turkish era, 16, 66 + + Rila Monastery: 134 + + Rila mountains: 40, 41, 42, 46, 57, 226, 227; + mineral resources, 253; + Mount Musala, 40 + + Rilska River: 42 + + roads: 61 + + Rodopi (Rhodope) Mountains: 25, 39-40 _passim_, 55, 226, 227; + as boundary, 49; + mineral resources, 48, 257, 259; + Pomaks in, 67; + population density, 57 + + Romania: 26-27, 35, 172, 175, 176, 256, 287; + Balkan War--1913, 22-23; + border crossing, 50; + cooperative hydroelectric power complex, 176, 180, 255; + World War I, 24 + + Romanians: vii, 2, 55, 58, 65 + + Romans: 9-10, 11, 12, 54 + + Rositsa River: 42 + + Rumili (Rumelia): 16, 20 + + Ruse: 54, 115, 199, 232, 250; + railroads, 59, 60 + + Russia: 9, 17, 19, 22, 106, 172; + Revolution--1917, 24 + + + Saint Sophia church: 54 + + Saint Theodor of Plateina: 131 + + Sakar mountains: 40 + + Samuel, King: 13 + + Scientific and Technical Union: 277 + + sculpture: 133 + + Serbia: 12, 15, 17, 22, 23, 28 + + settlement patterns: 52-55 + + shipbuilding: 62 + + Shumen: 199 + + Simeon, regency for: 28 + + size: vii, 37 + + Slaveikov, Pencho: 127 + + Slaveikov, Petko: 126 + + Slavs: 2, 9, 10, 11, 52 + + Sliven: 253 + + Slunchev Bryag: 196 + + smuggling: 273 + + Smyrnenski, Khristo: 127 + + social benefits: 89-91, 142 + + Social Democratic Party: 21, 30, 31, 32, 33, 159, 191 + + social system: 6, 65-77; + BKP membership, 6, 75; + Communists, effect of, 65, 69, 73-77; + feudal, 11; + party elite, 6, 73-74, 75; + peasants (_see also_ peasants), 6, 71,72, 74; + rural-urban differences, 71-73; + social mobility, 6, 7, 75-76; + traditional, 6, 65, 72-73, 76-77; + urban intelligentsia, 72, 73 + + Socialist patriotism: 189 + + Sofia: 40, 53-54, 250; + Academy of Fine Arts, 132; + administrative district, 50; + Bulgarian National Library, 199; + climate, 44, 53; + education in, 107, 115, 117; + Higher Institute of Construction and Engineering, 275; + hot springs, 48, 53-54; + industry, 259; + libraries, 199; + media administrative center, 187; + mineral resources, 47, 48; + Radio Sofia, 195; + television, 196; + theaters, 128, 129; + transportation, ix, 59, 60, 63; + Turkish period, 16, 17; + University of, 96, 97, 113, 135; + World War II, 28, 29 + + Sofia Basin: 38, 41, 227 + + soils: 44-45, 226-227 + + Soviet Union: Bulgarian students, 116; + Bulgarian timber workers, 260, 263; + electricity imports from, 256; + influence, 3, 9, 10, 29-30, 155; + relations, 153-154, 156, 162, 171, 172, 175, 296; + trade, viii, 175, 180, 222, 244, 257; + World War II, 27, 28-29, 30-31, 288 + + sports: 91 + + Sredna Gora: 38, 42, 45, 259 + + Stalin, Joseph: 3, 34, 159, 172-173, 191-192, 270 + + Stambolisky, Alexander: 25, 163 + + Stara Planina: 38-46 _passim_, 226, 227; + Botev Peak, 38; + mineral resources, 47, 48, 253, 257, 259; + population density, 57 + + Stara Zagora: 194, 199, 255 + + State Committee for Education and Technical Progress: 116, 140 + + State Council: vii, 137, 147; + BKP membership, 143; + establishment, 156, 162; + executive council of Council of Ministers, 145, 174; + Fatherland Front, relationship, 164; + functions, 4-5, 143-145, 149, 173, 174; + legislative initiative, 138, 141, 144; + president, 143 + + Strandzha mountains: 40, 47, 227, 257 + + Strategic Arms Limitation Talks: 181 + + Struma River: 42, 49, 226, 227, 253 + + suffrage: 21, 138, 139, 149 + + Suleiman the Magnificent: 17 + + Svishtov: 97, 115 + + + Tarabanov, Milko: 180 + + Tatars: 15, 17 + + taxes: 84, 214 + + Tenth Party Congress: 140-141, 154, 156, 157, 161-163, 211, 212; + Soviet-Bulgarian relations, 173; + theme, 162 + + theater: 123, 125, 128-129 + + Thrace: 10, 14, 15, 20, 29; + Bulgarian territorial claims, 1, 9, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 49 + + Thracian Plain: 38-45 _passim_, 226, 227 + agriculture, viii, 45-46; + population density, 57 + + timber: 260, 266 + + Timok River: 49 + + Todorov, Stanko: 143, 161 + + topography: vii, 37-41 + + tourism: 133, 134; + laws on stay of foreigners, 272-273; + official currency exchange rate, 219; + special problems, 282; + television programs, 196 + + trade (_see also_ Council for Mutual Economic Assistance): 27, 179, + 207, 220-223, 259; + Arab countries, 179, 222; + balance of trade, 223; + foreign trade organizations, 220, 221; + historic, 14, 17, 18, 27; + imports of minerals, 253, 254, 257, 258, 260; + incentives and subsidies, 220-221; + Soviet Union, viii, 175, 180, 222, 244, 257; + state monopoly, viii, 220; U.S., 177-178 + + transportation: viii, 59-63, 86; + airways, ix, 62-63; + Berlin-to-Baghdad route, 59; + cargo, viii, 59, 61-62; + merchant marine, 59; + passenger, viii, 61; + railroads, viii, 59-61; + roads, viii, 61; + waterways, viii, 61-62 + + Traykov, Georgi: 164 + + Treaty of San Stefano: 2, 20, 22 + + Tsar Ivailo: 14 + + Tsar Simeon: 12 + + Tundzha River: 42, 45, 227 + + Turkey (_see also_ Turkish rule; Turks): 26-27, 177, 290, 296; + Balkan Wars, 22; + radio relay lines with Bulgaria, 195 + + Turkish rule (_see also_ liberation): 9, 13, 15-20, 52; + administration, 16; + culture, 15, 17, 123, 126, 130, 131, 134; + education, 16, 93; + reforms, 18-19; + religion, 16, 66; + rise of nationalism, 17-20 + + Turks: vii, 2, 55, 65-66, 106, 177; + emigration, 57-58, 66 + + Turnovo: 15, 199; Balkantourist Hotel, 134 + + Tyulenovo: 254 + + + Union of Working Youth: 277 + + United Nations: Committee on Disarmament, 181, 292; + membership, vii, 34, 172, 180; + participation, 180-181 + + United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: 181 + + United States relations: 34, 35, 177-178, 222 + + urban development: 53 + + Ustashi: 26 + + + Valley of Roses: 38, 45 + + Vaptsarov, Nikola: 127 + + Varna: 54, 57, 62, 199, 250; + radio and television, 195, 196; + railroads, 59, 60; + universities, 97, 115 + + Vazov, Ivan: 126-127 + + vegetation: 45-46 + + Velev, Angel: 150 + + Veliko Turnovo: 54 + + Velsko: 199 + + Vidin Kingdom: 15 + + Vietnam, North: 117, 222 + + Visigoths and Ostrogoths: 10 + + Vitosha mountains: 40 + + Vladigerov, Pancho: 130 + + Vratsa: 254 + + Vucha River: 42 + + + Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact): vii, 7, 171, 175, 179, 287, + 290, 292, 293-294, 298 + + Western influence: 18, 34, 176, 185, 294 + + wildlife: 47 + + women: 69-70; + alcoholism, 281; + BKP membership, 160; + Committee of Bulgarian Women, 168-169; + labor, 237, 262; + maternity leave, 90; + penal institutions, 285; + rights of, 142, 168; + traditional role, 68 + + Workers Party: 30 + + World War I: 23-25 + + World War II: 1, 9, 10, 23-25, 288; + declaration of war against Germany, 29; + effect, 29-30; + partisans, 30-31, 132, 277, 287; + relations with Soviet Union, 27, 30-31, 288; + Soviet occupation, 28-29, 31 + + + youth: crime, 280, 285, 294; + films on, 202; + ideological training, viii, 6, 97-99, 100, 115, 121, 159, 169, 284, + 285; + labor, 237; + news organization, 193; + nihilist attitude, 155-156, 167, 278-279, 295; + sources of information, 185 + + youth organizations (_see also_ Dimitrov Communist Youth Union): 8, 76, + 167-168, 277-279 + + Yovkov, Yordan: 127 + + Yugoslavia: 26, 35, 172, 256; + Macedonians, treatment of, 66; + relations, 26-27, 34-35, 176, 192, 296; + World War II, 28 + + Yugov, Anton: 35, 161 + + + Zakhariev, Vasil: 133 + + Zemen Monastery: 131 + + Zhivkov, Todor: 1, 3, 35-36; + agricultural policy, 230, 231-232, 233; + attempted coup against in 1965, 35-36, 153, 154, 156, 271; + Committee of Bulgarian Women, 168-169; + cultural policy, 124, 132; + economic reforms, 160, 206; + foreign policy, 35, 178; + head-of-state, 4-5, 143, 153, 158, 160, 161; + loyalty to Soviet Union, 1, 35, 153, 156, 171, 173, 175; + media restrictions, 186; + on education, 98, 103, 104; + on Politburo + membership, 162-163; + pension system, criticism of, 90; + reforms, 83, 154-155; + Tenth Party Congress, 162; + wage system reform, 208-209; + "Youth Theses", 155, 167 + + Zlatni Pyassutsi (Golden Sands): 55 + + Zveno (link) group: 26, 32 + + + + +PUBLISHED AREA HANDBOOKS + + 550-65 Afghanistan + + 550-98 Albania + + 550-44 Algeria + + 550-59 Angola + + 550-73 Argentina + + 550-66 Bolivia + + 550-20 Brazil + + 550-168 Bulgaria + + 550-61 Burma + + 550-83 Burundi + + 550-166 Cameroon + + 550-96 Ceylon + + 550-159 Chad + + 550-77 Chile + + 550-60 China, People's Rep. of + + 550-63 China, Rep. of + + 550-26 Colombia + + 550-67 Congo, Democratic Rep. of (Zaire) + + 550-91 Congo, People's Rep. of + + 550-90 Costa Rica + + 550-152 Cuba + + 550-22 Cyprus + + 550-158 Czechoslovakia + + 550-54 Dominican Republic + + 550-155 East Germany + + 550-52 Ecuador + + 550-150 El Salvador + + 550-28 Ethiopia + + 550-167 Finland + + 550-29 Germany + + 550-153 Ghana + + 550-87 Greece + + 550-78 Guatemala + + 550-82 Guyana + + 550-164 Haiti + + 550-151 Honduras + + 550-165 Hungary + + 550-21 India + + 550-154 Indian Ocean Territories + + 550-39 Indonesia + + 550-68 Iran + + 550-31 Iraq + + 550-25 Israel + + 550-69 Ivory Coast + + 550-30 Japan + + 550-34 Jordan + + 550-56 Kenya + + 550-50 Khmer Republic (Cambodia) + + 550-81 Korea, North + + 550-41 Korea, Republic of + + 550-58 Laos + + 550-24 Lebanon + + 550-38 Liberia + + 550-85 Libya + + 550-163 Malagasy Republic + + 550-45 Malaysia + + 550-161 Mauritania + + 550-79 Mexico + + 550-76 Mongolia + + 550-49 Morocco + + 550-64 Mozambique + + 550-35 Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim + + 550-88 Nicaragua + + 550-157 Nigeria + + 550-94 Oceania + + 550-48 Pakistan + + 550-46 Panama + + 550-156 Paraguay + + 550-92 Peripheral States of the Arabian Peninsula + + 550-42 Peru + + 550-72 Philippines + + 550-162 Poland + + 550-160 Romania + + 550-84 Rwanda + + 550-51 Saudi Arabia + + 550-70 Senegal + + 550-86 Somalia + + 550-93 South Africa, Republic of + + 550-95 Soviet Union + + 550-27 Sudan, Democratic Republic of + + 550-47 Syria + + 550-62 Tanzania + + 550-53 Thailand + + 550-89 Tunisia + + 550-80 Turkey + + 550-74 Uganda + + 550-43 United Arab Republic (Egypt) + + 550-97 Uruguay + + 550-71 Venezuela + + 550-57 Vietnam, North + + 550-55 Vietnam, South + + 550-99 Yugoslavia + + 550-75 Zambia + + + + ++-------------------------------------------------------+ +| Transcriber's Note: | +| | +| Typographical errors corrected in the text: | +| | +| Page 17 beseiged changed to besieged | +| Page 28 prisioners changed to prisoners | +| Page 83 footware changed to footwear | +| Page 86 knitware changed to knitwear | +| Page 105 knowlege changed to knowledge | +| Page 111 gymasium changed to gymnasium | +| Page 129 Ghiaourov changed to Ghiaurov | +| Page 168 activitists changed to activists | +| Page 193 Blageovgrad changed to Blagoevgrad | +| Page 205 offically changed to officially | +| Page 218 organizaton's changed to organization's | +| Page 240 officialy changed to officially | +| Page 255 billiion changed to billion | +| Page 256 bilowatt changed to kilowatt | +| Page 261 distruption changed to disruption | +| Page 302 Vladimer changed to Vladimir | +| Page 306 Youkov changed to Yovkov | +| Page 322 Ghiaourov changed to Ghiaurov | +| Page 322 hydroelecticity changed to hydroelectricity | +| Page 323 okrugi changed to okruzi | +| Page 324 Rabotnickesko changed to Rabotnichesko | ++-------------------------------------------------------+ + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AREA HANDBOOK FOR BULGARIA*** + + +******* This file should be named 32627-8.txt or 32627-8.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/2/6/2/32627 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Baluyut, William Giloane, Anne K. Long, James M. Moore, +and Neda A. Walpole</h1> +<pre> +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "http://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: Area Handbook for Bulgaria</p> +<p>Author: Eugene K. Keefe, Violeta D. Baluyut, William Giloane, Anne K. Long, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole</p> +<p>Release Date: May 31, 2010 [eBook #32627]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AREA HANDBOOK FOR BULGARIA***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3 class="pg">E-text prepared by Barbara Kosker, Juliet Sutherland,<br /> + and Project Gutenberg the Online Distributed Proofreading Team<br /> + (http://www.pgdp.net)</h3> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<p> </p> + +<h1>AREA HANDBOOK</h1> + +<h3>for</h3> + +<h1>BULGARIA</h1> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<h3><i>Coauthors</i><br /> +Eugene K. Keefe<br /> +Violeta D. Baluyut<br /> +William Giloane<br /> +Anne K. Long<br /> +James M. Moore, Jr.<br /> +Neda A. Walpole</h3> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<h4>Research completed August 1973<br /> + +<br /> +<br /> + +First Edition<br /> + Published 1974</h4> + +<p class="right" style="padding-right: 15%;"> DA Pam 550-168</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<p class="noin"> +<b>Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data</b><br /> +<br /> +<b>Keefe, Eugene K.</b><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Area handbook for Bulgaria.</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"DA Pam 550-168."</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">"One of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area Studies (FAS) of the American<br /> +University."</span><br /> +<br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Bibliography: p. 301-316</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">Supt. of Docs. no.: D 101.22:550-168</span><br /> +<span style="margin-left: 1.5em;">1. Bulgaria. I. American University, Washington, D.C. Foreign Area Studies. II. Title.</span><br /> +<br /></p> +<p class="cen"><b>DR90.K4 914.977 03'3 74-600028</b></p><br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<hr style="width: 80%;" /> +<p class="cen">For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office<br /> +Washington, D.C. 20402—Price $5.55</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iii" id="Page_iii">[Pg iii]</a></span> +<br /> +<h2>FOREWORD</h2> + + +<p>This volume is one of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area +Studies (FAS) of The American University, designed to be useful to +military and other personnel who need a convenient compilation of basic +facts about the social, economic, political, and military institutions +and practices of various countries. The emphasis is on objective +description of the nation's present society and the kinds of possible or +probable changes that might be expected in the future. The handbook +seeks to present as full and as balanced an integrated exposition as +limitations on space and research time permit. It was compiled from +information available in openly published material. An extensive +bibliography is provided to permit recourse to other published sources +for more detailed information. There has been no attempt to express any +specific point of view or to make policy recommendations. The contents +of the handbook represent the work of the authors and FAS and do not +represent the official view of the United States government.</p> + +<p>An effort has been made to make the handbook as comprehensive as +possible. It can be expected, however, that the material, +interpretations, and conclusions are subject to modification in the +light of new information and developments. Such corrections, additions, +and suggestions for factual, interpretive, or other change as readers +may have will be welcomed for use in future revisions. Comments may be +addressed to:</p> + +<div style="margin-left: 60%;"> +<p class="noin">The Director<br /> +Foreign Area Studies<br /> +The American University<br /> +5010 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W.<br /> +Washington, D.C. 20016</p> +</div> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_iv" id="Page_iv">[Pg iv]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_v" id="Page_v">[Pg v]</a></span> +<br /> +<h2>PREFACE</h2> + + +<p>Although many changes have swept across the Eastern European communist +countries, Bulgaria through the years has remained a bastion of +consistency. It is a loyal military ally of the Soviet Union as a member +of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact), and its economy is +inextricably linked to the Soviet Union through bilateral agreements as +well as through membership in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance +(COMECON). Of the six Eastern European members of the Warsaw Pact, +Bulgaria shares with the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) the +distinction of not having contiguous borders with the Soviet Union. It +is, however, important geographically because it anchors the +southeastern sector of the alliance and borders two member states of the +North Atlantic Treaty Organization—Greece and Turkey.</p> + +<p>The authors of the <i>Area Handbook for Bulgaria</i> have attempted to +describe, comprehensively and objectively, the workings of the economic, +political, social, and military systems dominant in the country in the +early 1970s as those systems have developed in the post-World War II +period. Despite the concentration on the communist era, important +historical factors are referred to wherever necessary for understanding +the modern scene, and a historical chapter is included to provide the +proper setting for the modern state.</p> + +<p>The spelling of place names conforms to the transliteration system used +by the United States Board on Geographic Names. The use of +abbreviations, acronyms, and foreign terms has been held to a minimum. +The one abbreviation that necessarily appears throughout the work is BKP +for Bulgarian Communist Party (Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya). All +tons are metric unless otherwise stated. A glossary is appended for +convenience, but all unfamiliar terms are explained on first use in the +text.</p> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vi" id="Page_vi">[Pg vi]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_vii" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</a></span> +<br /> +<h2>COUNTRY SUMMARY</h2> + + +<p>1. COUNTRY: People's Republic of Bulgaria. Proclaimed by the communist +party in the 1947 Constitution. Formerly, Kingdom of Bulgaria.</p> + +<p>2. SIZE AND LOCATION: Area 42,800 square miles. Located in eastern part +of Balkan Peninsula on Black Sea south of Danube River. Borders Romania, +Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey.</p> + +<p>3. TOPOGRAPHY: Mountains predominate in west and in ranges that run west +to east across the central and southern regions. Lower and more level +areas south of Danube River and between the mountain ranges permit +extensive cultivation.</p> + +<p>4. CLIMATE: Transitional between Eastern European continental and +Mediterranean. Northern regions have hot summers, cold winters; south is +more moderate but has hot, dry summers.</p> + +<p>5. POPULATION: About 8.7 million in 1973; density 203 persons per square +mile. Growth rate 0.7 percent annually.</p> + +<p>6. ETHNIC GROUPS AND LANGUAGES: 85 percent of population is Bulgar. +Persons of Turkish, Macedonian, Greek, Romanian, and other origins are +guaranteed the right to use their languages and to preserve their +cultural heritage, but Bulgarian, the official language, is spoken by +the entire population.</p> + +<p>7. RELIGION: 90 percent of population adheres to the Eastern Orthodox +faith. There are some 750,000 Moslems, 26,000 Protestants, 32,000 Roman +Catholics, and 3,000 to 7,000 Jews. Freedom of religion guaranteed, but +practice strictly controlled by state.</p> + +<p>8. GOVERNMENT: National Assembly is unicameral legislature. Council of +Ministers, performing governmental administrative functions, is +responsible to State Council, the supreme executive body. Real power +vested in communist party's first secretary, Politburo, Secretariat, and +Central Committee.</p> + +<p>9. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: Administration is by people's councils at +district (<i>okrug</i>) and township or borough (<i>obshtina</i>) levels. There +are twenty-eight districts, including one composed only of metropolitan +Sofia. Districts subdivided into about 1,150 townships and boroughs.</p> + +<p>10. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the Warsaw Treaty +Organization (Warsaw Pact); the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance +(COMECON); and the United Nations (UN), including several UN specialized +agencies.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_viii" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</a></span>11. JUSTICE: Three-level court system headed by Supreme Court. Military +and special courts responsible directly to Supreme Court. Judiciary +administered by Ministry of Justice within Council of Ministers.</p> + +<p>12. COMMUNICATIONS: Mass media are state owned and regulated. Little +latitude given subject matter produced locally; imports of foreign films +and publications are restricted.</p> + +<p>13. EDUCATION: Free and compulsory until age fifteen. Priority on +scientific, technological, and vocational curricula. Marxism-Leninism +stressed in all curricula.</p> + +<p>14. ECONOMY: Production, growth, and development programmed in five-year +plans, drawn up and monitored by party. The 1971-75 plan, dependent on +financial and technical aid from Soviet Union, recognizes need to raise +standard of living; improvement is conditional upon rising productivity.</p> + +<p>15. LABOR: Work force numbers about 4.4 million. About 27 percent (1.2 +million) of the total are in state and collective industries; 25 percent +(1.1 million) work full time on agroindustrial complexes. Skilled +workers in short supply.</p> + +<p>16. AGRICULTURE: Approximately 53 percent of land is agricultural, 69 +percent of which is cultivated. All but small mountain farms are +organized into 170 agroindustrial complexes. Grains predominate on +plains south of Danube River; irrigated Thracian Plain produces more +diversified crops. Livestock production inadequate for domestic needs +and exports.</p> + +<p>17. INDUSTRY: Virtually all state owned. Rapid expansion encouraged by +state, increasingly slowed by inadequate raw material resources and +skilled labor. Emphasis in early 1970s on improving unsatisfactory +productivity levels and quality of industrial products.</p> + +<p>18. FINANCE: Nonconvertible lev (see Glossary) has officially declared +values ranging from 0.59 to 1.65 leva per US$1; unofficial rates in +early 1973 were substantially higher. Banking system consists of +Bulgarian National Bank and subordinated Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank +and the State Savings Bank.</p> + +<p>19. FOREIGN TRADE: State monopoly administered by Ministry of Foreign +Trade, Ministry of Finance, and the state banks. Bulk of trade is with +Soviet Union and other COMECON countries.</p> + +<p>20. RAILROADS: Operational network totals about 2,620 miles, most of it +standard gauge. System carried bulk of long-distance domestic cargo and +passenger traffic.</p> + +<p>21. ROADS: Total mileage about 21,000, but less than one-half has +asphalt or other paved surface. Highway vehicles carry increasing +traffic, preponderance of short-haul cargo and passengers.</p> + +<p>22. INLAND WATERWAYS: Lower course of Danube River accommodates +2,500-ton vessels. Black Sea and ocean commerce increasing rapidly.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_ix" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</a></span>23. CIVIL AVIATION: State-owned Balkan-Bulgarian Airlines (BALKAN) +connects Sofia with about a dozen cities on internal routes and almost +twice as many foreign capitals.</p> + +<p>24. ARMED FORCES: Bulgarian People's Army is subordinate to Ministry of +National Defense. Ground forces have 80 percent of its personnel; air +and naval forces, included in the army, have only about 15 and 5 +percent, respectively, of total strength.</p> + +<p>25. SECURITY: Ministry of Internal Affairs controls police and security +organizations, except Border Troops, which are part of army. Party and +mass organizations apply pressures on behalf of public order and in +defense of the system.</p> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_x" id="Page_x">[Pg x]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xi" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</a></span> +<br /> +<h2>BULGARIA</h2> + +<br /> +<br /> + +<h2>TABLE OF CONTENTS</h2> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="90%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table of Contents"> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" width="15%"> </td> + <td class="tdl" width="70%"> </td> + <td class="tdr" width="15%" style="font-size: 80%;">Page</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="2">FOREWORD</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_iii">iii</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="2">PREFACE</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_v">v</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="2">COUNTRY SUMMARY</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_vii">vii</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="3">SECTION I. SOCIAL</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">Chapter 1.</td> + <td class="tdlp">General Character of the Society</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_1">1</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">2.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Historical Setting</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_9">9</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Early History—Turkish Rule—The Rise of + Nationalism—Liberation and Its Aftermath—World War I—The Interwar + Years—World War II—The Communist State</td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">3.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Physical Environment and Population</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_37">37</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Natural Features—Boundaries and Political + Subdivisions—Settlement Patterns—Population—Transportation</td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">4.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Social System</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_65">65</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Ethnic and Religious Composition—The + Family—Social Stratification—Other Social Groups</td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">5.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Living Conditions</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_79">79</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Health—Personal Income and + Expenditures—Housing—Social Benefits—Work and Leisure</td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">6.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Education</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_93">93</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> History of Education—Communist Educational + Policies—Educational Reforms—Literacy—The Educational System—Teacher + Training—Other Education</td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">7.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Artistic and Intellectual Expresssion</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_123">123</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> The Arts and Sciences under + Communism—Literature—Theater—Films—Music—Folk + Arts—Painting and Sculpture—Architecture —Scholarship and Science</td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="3">SECTION II. POLITICAL</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">Chapter 8.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Governmental System</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_137">137</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Constitutional Evolution—Structure and Function + of the Government—Judicial Procedure—The Electoral Procedure</td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">9.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Political Dynamics</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_153">153</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Major Political Developments, 1965-71—The + Bulgarian Communist Party—The Bulgarian Agrarian Union—Mass Organizations</td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">10.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Foreign Relations</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_171">171</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Determinants of Foreign Policy—Conduct of + Foreign Affairs—International Relations—Membership in Regional and + International Organizations</td> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xii" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</a></span>11.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Mass Communications</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_183">183</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Background—Objectives of Mass + Communications—Freedom of Information—Administration of the Mass + Communications System—Themes of the Media—The + Press—Radio—Television—Publishing—Libraries—Films</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="3">SECTION III. ECONOMIC</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">Chapter 12.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Character and Structure of the Economy</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_203">203</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Organization—Structure and + Growth—Labor—Investment—Budget—Banking and Currency—Foreign + Trade</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">13.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Agriculture</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_225">225</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Climate and Soils—Land + Use—Organization—Planning and Management—Labor and Wages—Investment + and Mechanization—Marketing—Production</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">14.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Industry</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_249">249</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Organization and Structure—Fuels and + Power—Raw Materials —Investment—Labor—Production</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="3">SECTION IV. NATIONAL SECURITY</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">Chapter 15.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Public Order and Security</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_269">269</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Internal Security—Civil Defense—Public + Order—Crime and Justice</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr">16.</td> + <td class="tdlp">Armed Forces</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_287">287</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdr"> </td> + <td class="tdlp"> Historical Background—Governmental and Party + Control Over the Armed Forces—Organization and Mission—Foreign Military + Relations—Manpower, Training, and Support—The Military Establishment and the + National Economy</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="2">BIBLIOGRAPHY</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_301">301</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="2">GLOSSARY</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_317">317</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="2">INDEX</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#Page_319">319</a></td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<h2>LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS</h2> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations"> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" width="10%" style="font-size: 80%;">Figure</td> + <td class="tdlp" width="80%"> </td> + <td class="tdr" width="10%" style="font-size: 80%;">Page</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">1</td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#imagepxiv">xiv</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">2</td> + <td class="tdlp">Topography of Bulgaria</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#imagep039">39</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">3</td> + <td class="tdlp">Political Subdivisions of Bulgaria, 1973</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#imagep051">51</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">4</td> + <td class="tdlp">Communications Systems of Bulgaria, 1973</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#imagep060">60</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">5</td> + <td class="tdlp">The Bulgarian School System, 1973</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#imagep111">111</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">6</td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Structure of Government, 1973</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#imagep144">144</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">7</td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Organization of the Council of Ministers, 1973</td> + <td class="tdr"><a href="#imagep146">146</a></td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<h2>LIST OF TABLES</h2> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Tables"> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" width="10%" style="font-size: 80%;">Table</td> + <td class="tdl" width="80%"> </td> + <td class="tdr" width="10%" style="font-size: 80%;">Page</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">1</td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Population by Age and Sex, 1973 Estimate</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_56">56</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">2</td> + <td class="tdlp">Use of Transportation Facilities in Bulgaria, 1960 and 1970</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_61">61</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiii" id="Page_xiii">[Pg xiii]</a></span>3</td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Percentage Distribution of Household Expenditures by Population + Group, 1962 and 1971</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">4</td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Actual and Desired Annual Consumption Levels</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_87">87</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">5</td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Percentage of Housing Units Equipped with Various Amenities, + Decemer 1965</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_89">89</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">6</td> + <td class="tdlp">Number of Schools in Bulgaria, Selected Years, 1938-70</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">7</td> + <td class="tdlp">Number of Students in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, 1938-70</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_101">101</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">8</td> + <td class="tdlp">Number of Teachers in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, 1938-70</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_102">102</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">9</td> + <td class="tdlp">Number and Proportion of Students in Various Bulgarian University Faculties, + Selected Years, 1939-71</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_114">114</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">10 </td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Newspaper Circulation by Frequency of Issue, 1971</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_192">192</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">11 </td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Circulation of Newspapers and Periodicals, Selected Years, 1939-71</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_193">193</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">12 </td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Number of Radio Stations and Subscribers, Selected Years, 1939-71</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_194">194</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">13 </td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Book and Pamphlet Publication, 1971</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_198">198</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">14 </td> + <td class="tdlp">Libraries in Bulgaria, 1971</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_200">200</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">15 </td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Films Produced and Translated, Selected Years, 1939-71</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_201">201</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">16 </td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Production of Major Crops, Annual Average, Selected Years, + 1958-60 to 1966-70, and 1970</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_242">242</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">17 </td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Livestock Numbers, Selected Years, 1948-72</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_244">244</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">18 </td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Production of Meat, Selected Years, 1948-71</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_247">247</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">19 </td> + <td class="tdlp">Bulgaria, Production of Milk, Eggs and Wool, Selected Years, 1960-71</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_247">247</a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdct">20 </td> + <td class="tdlp">Output of Selected Industrial Products in Bulgaria, Selected Years, 1960-71</td> + <td class="tdrb"><a href="#Page_266">266</a></td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_xiv" id="Page_xiv">[Pg xiv]</a></span><br /> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagepxiv" id="imagepxiv"></a> +<a href="images/imagepxiv.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagepxiv.jpg" width="85%" alt="Figure 1. Bulgaria" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>Figure 1. Bulgaria</i></p> +</div> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_1" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>SECTION I. SOCIAL</h2> + +<h2>CHAPTER 1</h2> + +<h3>GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SOCIETY</h3> + + +<p>In mid-1973 Bulgaria was under the complete control of the Bulgarian +Communist Party (BKP—see Glossary) as it had been since the latter days +of World War II. As that war came to a close, the Kingdom of Bulgaria +was occupied by the Soviet army and was governed by a coalition under +the communist-dominated Fatherland Front. By 1947 the monarchy had been +deposed, a new constitution had been promulgated, and the country had +become the People's Republic of Bulgaria under the BKP. Todor Zhivkov, +who became first secretary of the party in 1954, retained that position +in 1973 and, with nineteen years' tenure, was senior in length of +service among the top leaders of the Soviet-aligned, communist countries +of Eastern Europe. Zhivkov, who weathered several years of intraparty +struggles after assuming the secretaryship, has led an apparently stable +regime since an abortive coup d'etat failed to dislodge him in 1965. The +hallmark of Zhivkov's leadership has been his intense loyalty to the +leaders of the Soviet Union.</p> + +<p>Zhivkov's critics accuse him of what they call subservience to the +Soviet Union, stating that he relies on Soviet backing to remain in +power. His supporters, on the other hand, commend him for his loyalty to +the Soviet Union, pointing out the historical affinity between the +Bulgarians and the Russians that dates back to the nineteenth-century +Russian role in the liberation of Bulgaria from 500 years of Turkish +rule. Whether he should be condemned or praised for it, the fact is that +Zhivkov has guided his ship of state in very close conformity with +directions first taken by the Soviet Union.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria, motivated mainly by irredentism, fought on the German side +during both world wars. The lands that Bulgaria coveted and pressed +ancient claims for were Macedonia (which had become part of Yugoslavia) +and parts of Thrace (which had become Greek territory). Its claims to +these lands date back to the glorious days of Bulgarian kingdoms in the +Middle Ages, when its territory stretched from the Black Sea in the east +to the Adriatic Sea in the west and from the Carpathian Mountains in the +north to the Aegean Sea in the south. Five hundred years of Turkish rule +failed to erase the Bulgarian ideas of territorial grandeur.</p> + +<p>The 1877-78 Russo-Turkish war that liberated Bulgaria ended in the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_2" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</a></span>Treaty of San Stefano, which reestablished a Bulgarian kingdom using the +ancient boundaries; but the treaty was never put into effect because the +European powers feared a large Russian client-state in the Balkans. +Meeting in the Congress of Berlin in 1878, the powers nullified the +Treaty of San Stefano and decreed Bulgarian boundaries that drastically +reduced the size of the newly liberated country. Bulgaria seethed with +irredentism and fought wars over the so-called lost territories until +World War II, from which it emerged with a communist-dominated coalition +government but confined to almost the same boundaries. After the +Communists took complete control, irredentism was overshadowed by +Marxist ideas of internationalism; but the dream of a greater Bulgaria +did not die, and irredentist opinions were commonly expressed until +1972, when they were muted, probably on the insistence of the Soviet +Union.</p> + +<p>The original Bulgars were of an Asian tribe that moved into the Balkan +Peninsula as conquerors during the seventh century A.D. The occupants of +the area at the time were mostly Slavs who had been migrating to that +region for more than a century, absorbing former inhabitants as they +settled. Within about two centuries of their conquest, the Bulgars also +had been completely absorbed by the much more numerous Slavs, leaving +only their name to mark the land they had conquered. From the ninth +century A.D. on, Bulgarian history is the story of this amalgamated +nation of Bulgar-Slavs who enjoyed two different epochs of independent +glory under medieval Bulgarian kingdoms but who also suffered invasion +and defeat and, eventually, 500 years of domination by Ottoman Turks. In +1878 Turkish rule was finally ended, and a truncated Bulgaria reappeared +on the map of Europe. After five centuries of foreign domination, +Bulgaria was backward, underdeveloped, and poor.</p> + +<p>The descendants of the Bulgar-Slavs made up the majority of the +approximately 8.7 million people living in Bulgaria in 1973. The largest +minority group, which numbered about 0.7 million people, was Turkish. +The few Greeks, Romanians, Armenians, and Jews in the population +collectively accounted for only about 1 percent of the total. These +modern Bulgarians live in a country that is almost rectangular in shape +and covers roughly 42,800 square miles of the lower Balkan Peninsula. +Their country is bounded on the east by the Black Sea, on the south by +Greece and the part of Turkey that is in Europe, on the west by +Yugoslavia, and on the north by Romania.</p> + +<p>The most prominent communist leader of Bulgaria was Georgi Dimitrov, a +native-born Bulgarian who had lived in exile during most of the period +between the two world wars and had become a Soviet citizen in 1935. +Dimitrov was prominent in the international communist movement and, +while resident in Moscow, had served as secretary general of the +Comintern (Communist International), founded under Lenin's guidance in +1919. Dimitrov returned to his homeland in late <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_3" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</a></span>1945, resumed his +Bulgarian citizenship, and took over the leadership of the BKP and the +government. He was instrumental in developing the 1947 Constitution +(usually referred to as the Dimitrov Constitution) and set about +remaking his country's economic, political, and social structures in the +Soviet image. Nationalization of all means of production, +collectivization of agriculture, and an ambitious program of +industrialization all commenced under Dimitrov.</p> + +<p>Dimitrov died in 1949 but, before he died, his programs were well under +way, the Moscow-oriented BKP was in complete control, and the country +was firmly in the Soviet orbit. Several years later, even though the +term <i>satellite</i> was no longer used to describe the Eastern European +countries aligned with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria was considered to be +the most rigidly loyal of all former Soviet satellites. Shortly after +the death of Dimitrov, the top position of leadership was secured by +Vulko Chervenkov who, over the next few years, earned a reputation as +Bulgaria's version of Stalin. After Stalin died, Chervenkov's power base +eroded to the point that he was forced to give up the top party post in +favor of Zhivkov; Chervenkov retained the top position in the +government, however, and remained on the scene as an opposing locus of +political power. The intraparty factional strife that ensued lasted into +the 1960s, but Zhivkov, who had established a close relationship with +Soviet party leader Nikita Khrushchev, eventually overcame the +opposition and stabilized his regime. Zhivkov also managed to establish +close relations with the Soviet leaders who ousted Khrushchev and has +apparently maintained good rapport with Leonid Brezhnev, the general +secretary of the Soviet party.</p> + +<p>The BKP in 1973 was structured very much like the Communist Party of the +Soviet Union. The structure is pyramidal in form, the general membership +making up the base and the office of first secretary occupying the apex. +Between the two extremes the most important bodies from bottom to top +are the Party Congress, the Central Committee, the Secretariat, and the +Politburo. The Party Congress is a large gathering of delegates, +representing the rank and file, that meets every five years, +theoretically, to make party policy, amend party statutes if necessary, +and determine the party program for the ensuing five-year period. +Actually the congress is a large, unwieldy body (over 1,500 delegates at +the 1971 congress), which meets to demonstrate solidarity rather than to +make policy. The congress, by party statute, elects the Central +Committee, which is a permanently sitting body that acts in the name of +the congress during the long intervals when the larger body is not in +session. The so-called election of the Central Committee is, in fact, a +ratification of preselected members. The same holds true for the +election of the Politburo and the Secretariat by the Central +Committee—in effect, the Politburo has already determined its own +membership and that of the Secretariat, and the election process by the +Central Committee is unanimous confirmation <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_4" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</a></span>rather than election, +making the Politburo a self-perpetuating body.</p> + +<p>The Politburo for policymaking and the Secretariat for policy +implementation are the true centers of power in the overall +party-government system. The Central Committee is an operating body and +is made up of important members of the party, although they rank below +the small group that has reached the top echelons of the structure. It +is the interlocking of various party and government positions that +really concentrates power in the hands of a few individuals and permits +the ultimate leader, Zhivkov, to control the entire apparatus. Zhivkov +himself is an example of the interlocking in that, since 1971, he has +been the first secretary of the party and a member of the Politburo at +the same time that he was the president of the governmental State +Council. Only one other individual in 1973 combined membership in the +party's most prestigious bodies—Politburo and Secretariat—with +membership in the government's leading body—the State Council. Two +other party secretaries were candidate (nonvoting) members of the +Politburo, but they did not concurrently hold any high government +office.</p> + +<p>The government established under the Dimitrov Constitution, as changed +by the Constitution of 1971, is the instrument through which the party +administers the country. The central government consists, essentially, +of the National Assembly, the State Council, and the Council of +Ministers. The unicameral National Assembly is described in the +constitution as "a supreme body of state power," whereas the State +Council is described as "a supreme constantly functioning body of state +power." In practice, if one or the other were to be described as the +single supreme body of state power, it would be the State Council, the +membership of which in 1973 included seven (out of twenty-four) members +or candidate members of the party Politburo and the operations of which, +during its first two years of existence, have stamped it with the mark +of supreme authority.</p> + +<p>The role of the National Assembly as a legislative body is circumscribed +by the infrequency of its meetings. The assembly is popularly elected +from a single list of nominees at five-year intervals, but it is +required to meet only three times annually. The sessions of the assembly +are usually so brief that it functions as an after-the-fact approving +body rather than as a legislature. The development and initiation of new +legislation, therefore, is handled outside of the actual legislature, +primarily by the State Council and the Council of Ministers.</p> + +<p>At its first session after general elections the National Assembly +elects the State Council, but it would be highly unlikely if not +impossible for the assembly to refuse to elect the complete slate of +nominees that has been preselected by the party hierarchy. The election +of the State Council, therefore, as is the case with various party +elections, is a unanimous vote of approval rather than a true election. +The State Council is the true center of the government. When it was +created by the 1971 Constitution, Zhivkov chose to relinquish his +governmental <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span>post as chairman of the Council of Ministers (the +country's premier) and assume the position of president of the State +Council, leaving no doubt about where real governmental power lay. The +State Council, in effect, is a collective executive body that, because +the National Assembly meets so infrequently, also becomes a major +initiator of legislation.</p> + +<p>The Council of Ministers, also elected by the National Assembly in the +same manner as the State Council, functions as the administrative arm of +the government. Here again, party influence is pervasive. In 1973 the +chairman of the council (premier) and four deputy chairmen were +concurrently members of the party Politburo, the minister of internal +affairs was a candidate member of the Politburo, and most other +ministers were members of the Central Committee.</p> + +<p>Matters of state—such as defense, foreign affairs, education, and +welfare—usually associated with the central government of any country +are handled by individual ministries and are overseen by the Council of +Ministers. In addition to such affairs of state, however, various +ministries, as well as the council itself, are charged with +administering the country's entire economy, as is the case in other +communist-ruled states. In mid-1973 eleven ministries out of a total of +twenty-two dealt exclusively with economic matters. In addition, the +State Planning Committee, the chairman of which holds ministerial rank, +is of great importance in the overall economic structure.</p> + +<p>The economic ministries control virtually every aspect of the country's +economy. The goals of nationalization of all industry and +collectivization of agriculture were achieved early in the communist +era, and the efforts of the party-government ever since have been toward +increased efficiency. In Bulgaria the quest for greater production has +led to ever greater centralization of control. In the early 1970s this +quest has brought about the reorganization of industry wherein +industrial enterprises have been grouped into huge trusts at the same +time that collective and state farms have been similarly grouped into +so-called agroindustrial complexes.</p> + +<p>The consolidation of agriculture into extremely large complexes, begun +in 1970, was intended to raise productivity through concentration of +effort, specialization of production, and increased control by the +central government. The reorganization is a long-range program that is +expected to be completed by 1980, at which time authorities predict that +farm incomes will have risen to equal industrial incomes and, because +agricultural enterprises will be run just like factories, the social +differences between peasants and workers will have been eliminated. By +1973 results of the reorganization that had already occurred were mixed, +and it was still too early to assess the long-range value of the +agroindustrial complexes.</p> + +<p>In the industrial sector the consolidation of various enterprises into +trusts was undertaken in the early 1970s for the same reasons that the +agroindustrial complexes were formed, that is, greater efficiency +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span>through concentration, specialization, and increased control. Bulgarian +industrial growth since World War II had been remarkable, considering +particularly the inadequate base of skilled labor and natural resources +in a country that had been predominantly agricultural. Bulgaria's need +for raw materials, machinery, and technological assistance during its +long period of industrialization and the Soviet Union's willingness to +supply them accounted in large measure for the extremely close economic +ties between the two countries. Because the growth rate had begun to +slow toward the end of the 1960s, the BKP decided to try a massive +reorganization of the economic structure as a remedy for the situation.</p> + +<p>In addition to the political and economic systems of the country, the +social system has been a major concern of the party and government ever +since the BKP took power. Social restructuring has resulted in a system +wherein the party elite occupies the highest level. This group is small +and represents the apex of the social pyramid. The next level down, +which is much broader, includes lesser party functionaries, +professionals, administrators and managers, technicians, and all +white-collar workers. The next level is made up of blue-collar +industrial workers, who constitute the largest group in the society. At +the bottom of the structure are the peasants. There are, of course, +gradations of power, privilege, and prestige within all of the social +groupings. The society has been very mobile since World War II with +rapid upward mobility based mainly on the expanding economy, +industrialization, and modernization. Toward the end of the 1960s, as +the economic growth rate slowed, so also did the social mobility, and +there was evidence that social groups were stabilizing.</p> + +<p>Education has been the key to upward mobility and, since coming to +power, the Communists have given preference in educational opportunity +to formerly underprivileged groups. At the beginning of the 1970s, +however, the percentage of students of worker and peasant origin +enrolled in institutions of higher learning was far below the percentage +of workers and peasants in the population. Students from the lower +income groups have not competed favorably against those from more +advantaged backgrounds and, although upward mobility is not blocked, it +has been becoming more difficult. Membership in the BKP remains +important for persons desiring to move upward in the social structure.</p> + +<p>For the leadership the importance of education lies in the fact that it +is the best means for orienting the people in the official ideology as +well as for training the professionals, technicians, and skilled workers +needed to run the country. The ideological indoctrination is pervasive +throughout the entire school system, but the concurrent goal of meeting +the needs of the economy has suffered because the system of higher +education has not expanded rapidly enough to absorb most secondary +school graduates who are desirous and capable of pursuing higher +studies. Many educational reforms have been enacted over the years, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span>but +they have been cautious and limited and have not attacked the major +problem of providing much greater funding for higher education.</p> + +<p>In the cultural sphere the party and government have promoted pride in +the ancient Bulgarian heritage but have regulated art, music, and +literature in order to bring about conformity with the Soviet-developed +doctrine of Socialist Realism. Throughout the communist era there have +been periods of freeze and thaw in the controls imposed on artists and +intellectuals, but the periods of greatest restriction in later years +have not equaled the severity of the Stalinist times. In the 1960s and +early 1970s control has been exercised primarily through publishers, art +galleries, theaters, and other outlets. Artists and intellectuals know +that their work must pass through state-owned outlets if it is to be +seen or heard; therefore, they exercise self-censorship to ensure +acceptability. Other means of control are the professional unions that +all artists, writers, and actors must join if their work is to be +exhibited or published. The unions are run by the BKP and, in effect, +become instruments through which the party promotes its cultural +policies. For some artists conformity with ideological goals leads to +upward social mobility, and some enjoy privileges and life-styles that +are usually reserved for the ruling elite.</p> + +<p>For control of the general population the government relies on the +regular police, court, and penal systems, which are supplemented by +state security police, paramilitary police auxiliaries, and militarized +border guards. The regular police forces, the auxiliaries, and the state +security police are all under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of +Internal Affairs, whereas the border guards are subordinated to the army +and are regulated by the Ministry of National Defense. Courts and penal +institutions are under the Ministry of Justice.</p> + +<p>Also as means of control, the government sanctions and the party +operates a number of mass organizations that affect or influence the +lives of most people in the country. The Fatherland Front is a large +umbrella organization that includes all other groups as well as +individual members. The other mass organizations include trade unions, +youth groups, athletic societies, and similar interest groups. Other +than these officially sanctioned groups, there are no organizations +permitted and, because the party retains control through the leadership +positions, all organized activity in the country comes under BKP +supervision. Such organizations also serve as upward channels of +information through which the party hierarchy is able to keep in touch +with popular opinion.</p> + +<p>Militarily, Bulgaria in 1973 maintained about 160,000 men in its armed +forces, which are committed to the Soviet-dominated alliance known as +the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact). Ground forces constitute +the great bulk of the so-called Bulgarian People's Army, but it also +includes a small air and air defense force, a small naval force, and the +border guards. All of the armed forces are under <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>the supervision of the +Ministry of National Defense, but top-level policymaking is a +prerogative of the BKP. The party maintains great influence in the armed +forces through the officer corps, 85 percent of which is made up of +party members. Those officers who are not party members usually belong +to the communist youth organization. Many career noncommissioned +officers are also party members and, for the conscript in the ranks, +political indoctrination is as regular as his military training.</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER 2</h2> + +<h3>HISTORICAL SETTING</h3> + + +<p>The history of Bulgaria is marked by four interrelated motifs or themes. +The first motif is that of regional rivalry coupled with irredentism. +The second is Bulgaria's strategic significance for the leading powers +of Europe and the varying relationships with those powers. The third +theme is Bulgaria's constant conflict between loyalty to, and alliances +with, the East—particularly Russia and the Soviet Union—on the one +hand and to the West—particularly Italy and Germany—on the other. The +fourth major theme in Bulgarian history is the influence exerted by +Russia (and the Soviet Union) on the internal and external affairs of +Bulgaria. This influence was intermittent from the late nineteenth +century until World War II but was constant after that war.</p> + +<p>From its earliest history Bulgaria was in continual conflict with its +Balkan neighbors. The area that eventually became Bulgaria was the +object of regional disputes as early as the fourth century B.C. Later, +when that area was taken over by the Slavs in the sixth century A.D. and +the Bulgars in the seventh, a state evolved that proceeded to encroach +on the territory of the mighty Byzantine Empire itself. Despite +successful raids and conquests during the periods of the First Bulgarian +Kingdom and the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, Bulgaria was eventually +reduced to subject status by the Byzantines and later by the Ottoman +Turks. During Turkish rule the country was not only under constant +attack by neighbors but was also utilized by the Turks as a base for +Turkish expansion. When Bulgaria was finally liberated from the Turks by +the Russians, irredentism and regional rivalry became the prime focus of +its foreign policy. Macedonia, a much-valued land throughout Bulgarian +history, became the major object of Bulgaria's irredentist campaigns, +although eventually most of the land reverted to Serbia and was later +incorporated into Yugoslavia. Macedonia, in addition to Thrace, which +was valued because it provided access to the sea, was the primary motive +for Bulgaria's role not only in the two Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913 but +also in the two world wars.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria was not only struggling for power throughout its history; it +was also a pawn in the power struggles of the so-called great powers. +Before the Christian era the area was conquered first by Greece and +later by Rome and was influenced strongly by both of these early +cultures. Later, when the Slavs and Bulgars succeeded in forming a +united state, the country was still besieged by both Byzantium and +Rome. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span>Although the Romans eventually lost their hold over Bulgaria, the +Byzantine Empire took both political and religious control of the +country for two centuries. When Bulgaria managed to reassert its +autonomy in the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, independence was +short lived, and the country again fell under alien control, this time +to the Ottoman Turks. The Turks dominated Bulgaria for five centuries, +until liberation by the Russians temporarily gave the country full +sovereignty. Before each of the two world wars of the twentieth century, +Bulgaria was actively courted by both sides as a potentially strategic +ally. Realizing Bulgaria's territorial aspirations, Germany played upon +Bulgarian irredentism in order to gain its collaboration in the wars, +and both times Bulgaria emerged on the losing side. When World War II +ended for Bulgaria in 1944, it fell under Soviet influence, where it has +remained ever since.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">EARLY HISTORY</p> + +<p>The history of the country that became modern Bulgaria can be traced +back many hundreds of years before the time of Christ, predating by +fifteen or more centuries the arrival of the people known as Bulgars, +from whom the country ultimately took its name. The earliest people to +have a viable political organization in the area were the Thracians, +whose loosely organized tribes occupied and controlled much of the +Balkan Peninsula. Later, when their society began to disintegrate, the +Thracians fell under Greek influence and joined forces with Athens to +overrun neighboring Macedonia. In the fourth century B.C., however, +Philip of Macedon, competing with the Greeks in a power struggle over +Thrace, conquered Thrace and made the Thracians a subject people.</p> + +<p>This invasion was followed in the second century B.C. by a Roman +invasion of Macedonia and a subsequent conquest of Thrace. By the first +century A.D. the Romans totally dominated the area. Despite their strict +and unpopular military control over the population, under their tutelage +cities grew, roads were constructed, and mining and farming were +developed.</p> + +<p>In the third century A.D. a series of mass migrations into the Balkans +began; these migrations lasted for several centuries (see ch. 3). The +Goths came in four separate waves during the third century. In the +fourth century the Huns swept across the country, razing cities and +villages. They were followed in the fourth and fifth centuries by the +Visigoths and Ostrogoths who, like the Huns, continued to ravage the +country. These invasions culminated in the eventual conquest and +settlement by the relatively civilized Slavs in the sixth century.</p> + +<p>In A.D. 330 the Emperor Constantine established what was to be +considered a second Rome and named it Constantinople. In this period the +Roman Empire in the Balkans was split into two parts: in the east, +Thrace was once again under Greek domination, and the west was +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span>dominated by the Romans. Constantinople was growing in power, and Greek +influence was eroding the political and cultural influence of the +Romans. By the mid-fourth century Rome and Constantinople were actively +struggling for domination over the Balkans.</p> + +<p>In the sixth century A.D. the Slavs crossed the Danube River and +occupied much of the Balkan Peninsula. Although the Byzantines built +fortresses to protect themselves, they were unable to hold the Slavs at +bay. Once the Slavs had taken over most of the Balkan Peninsula, they +succeeded in destroying the existing social system, rapidly replacing it +with their own. Soon the entire Thracian population became slavicized.</p> + +<p>In the seventh century A.D. the Bulgars in turn began to migrate into +the Balkans. They had come originally from central Asia and were said to +be related to the Huns. They were of the same stock as the Turks and +spoke a language similar to Turkish. Before migrating to the Balkans, +they had lived north of the Black Sea. Their social order was vastly +different from that of the Slavs, although eventually the Slavic system +became dominant. The Bulgars, unlike the Slavs who repudiated the +concept of kingship, were governed autocratically by khans. The Bulgars +were warriors who fought on horseback, and their customs and dress were +Asiatic.</p> + +<p>When the Bulgars overran what is now northeastern Bulgaria, they found +Slavic tribes already established and quickly made peace with them in +order to strengthen themselves against the Byzantines. As the Slavs were +far more numerous than the Bulgars, the latter were assimilated, and +within two centuries the Bulgars had been completely slavicized. The +Slavic language and culture were adopted, although the Bulgarian name +and political structure were retained. A Slav-Bulgarian state was formed +with the capital at Pliska.</p> + +<p>The First Bulgarian Kingdom lasted from A.D. 679 to A.D. 1018, when it +fell to Byzantium. During this period the social system resembled the +feudal system of Western Europe. The king, or tsar, was the leading +nobleman. As the political situation of the period varied, he was +alternately supported or opposed by the boyars (large landowners). The +great majority of the people were serfs.</p> + +<p>During the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. the Bulgarians consolidated +and further reinforced their power. By the ninth century they were so +powerful that they challenged the Byzantine Empire itself. Twice in this +period the Bulgarians controlled areas of Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia, +Romania, and even Russia. In a battle in 811 the Bulgars completely +devastated the Byzantine army that had invaded their country; killed the +Byzantine emperor, Nicephorus; and went on to lay siege to +Constantinople itself. The siege failed, but Bulgaria had established +itself as a power with which to be reckoned.</p> + +<p>During the ninth century A.D. Bulgaria once again became the focus of +Greek and Roman cultural and political rivalry. The dispute was finally +terminated when Bulgaria, under King Boris I, accepted <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span>Christianity +from Constantinople rather than from Rome. As early as 836 the Byzantine +Empire had sent two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, to convert the Slavs. +When the brothers were in Venice, they argued in favor of church +services and literature in the Slavic language, opposing the Roman +bishops who believed that only Hebrew, Greek, and Latin were suitable +languages for worship. This dialogue further exacerbated the tensions +between Byzantium and Rome. By 870 Boris made Orthodox Christianity the +official religion of the state. At this juncture Bulgaria fell under the +Byzantine sphere of influence, completing—for the moment—its break +with the Roman religion and culture.</p> + +<p>The influence of Cyril and Methodius upon the Bulgarian language and +culture is incalculable. They not only carried a new liturgical form to +Bulgaria but also devised a new alphabet known as Cyrillic. This new +alphabet soon replaced Latin and Greek as the only form of writing, and +on its base a new Slavic literature and culture grew up.</p> + +<p>When Bulgaria adopted Christianity from Byzantium, it also adopted +Byzantium's territorial ambitions. Under Tsar Simeon (A.D. 893-927), a +period known as the Golden Age, Bulgaria extended its territories from +the Black Sea in the east to the southern Carpathian Mountains in the +north, to the Sava River in the west, and to Macedonia in the southwest. +It was in this period that Bulgaria reached the peak of its territorial +expansion, penetrating deep into the Byzantine Empire. Macedonia and +Albania became Bulgaria's new frontiers; in 924 Serbia fell under +Bulgarian rule. With these victories Simeon claimed the title tsar of +all the Bulgarians and the Greeks.</p> + +<p>With the territorial expansion came a domestic flourishing in the arts +and an increase in trade. The arts and architecture of the period were +significant for their beauty and vitality. Preslav, then the capital +city, became the center of culture. Crafts, such as goldsmithing, +pottery, stonemasonry, and blacksmithing grew, and shops sprang up +everywhere. At the same time literature flourished, and education and +scholarship took on a new importance. Knowledge of Slavic literature +became widespread, and writers treated such varied topics as religion, +grammar, logic, and patriotism.</p> + +<p>By the end of the tenth century A.D., however, the First Bulgarian +Kingdom was beginning to decline. Internally, the local population was +weary from continual warring and from the oppression of feudalism. The +boyars continued to struggle against the king and his council for their +own autonomy. Because of the internal weakness of the country, +Bulgaria's neighbors began to encroach on her borders. The Magyars +(Hungarians) attacked from the northwest, seizing territory north of the +Danube River. The Byzantines in 967 formed an alliance with the prince +of Kiev in Russia and, because of this alliance, succeeded in invading +Bulgaria repeatedly.</p> + +<p>In the late tenth century there was a brief revival of Bulgarian <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>power +under Samuel, when the Bulgarians succeeded in liberating the +northeastern sector of the country from Byzantine control and captured +southern Macedonia. But the revival was short lived. The Byzantine +emperor, Basil II, was determined to regain his lost land and once again +recaptured the northeastern sector. In 1014 Basil again invaded +Bulgaria; defeated Samuel's army; and, in an act of matchless cruelty, +blinded 14,000 Bulgarian soldiers. From 1018 until 1185 all of Bulgaria +was under Byzantine rule.</p> + +<p>The eleventh and twelfth centuries witnessed a period of extreme +hardship for the country. Byzantine domination was harsh and punitive. +Monetary taxes, which added to the already heavy burdens of the +peasantry, were levied in 1040. Bulgarian feudalism was replaced by +Byzantine feudalism. The Byzantine church itself was a vehicle of +oppression as it was later to become under Turkish rule; the church +owned entire estates and villages and the people who inhabited them. +There were a series of revolts during the eleventh century, but none +were successful in overthrowing Byzantine tyranny. During this period +the first and second crusades made their way through the Balkan +Peninsula, wreaking havoc among the local populations.</p> + +<p>The Second Bulgarian Kingdom was established in 1186 and lasted until +1396, when—like the First Bulgarian Kingdom—it was conquered by a +powerful enemy and neighbor. Ironically, history came full circle to +spell defeat for the Bulgarians. In the twelfth century, when the +Byzantine Empire was declining because of internal weakness, the +Bulgarians were able to free themselves from domination. In the +fourteenth century, when Bulgaria itself was weakened by domestic +strife, it was conquered by an enemy whose oppression was greater than +that of the Byzantine Empire: the Ottoman Turks.</p> + +<p>At the close of the twelfth century the internal situation in Bulgaria +was deteriorating. Taxes had been increased, and the burden borne by the +peasants became still heavier. The feudal lords openly began to proclaim +their independence from Byzantium, whose empire was by now steadily +declining. Bulgaria was surrounded by its enemies: the Ottoman Turks, +the Magyars, and the Normans. In 1183 the Magyars invaded, penetrating +as far as Sofia. Realizing the vulnerability of the Byzantine Empire, +the Bulgarians rebelled under the leadership of two brothers, Asen and +Peter. The brothers first liberated northeastern Bulgaria and then +proceeded into Thrace, where they were opposed by Isaac Angel, then +emperor of Byzantium. In 1187 a peace treaty was concluded in which +Byzantium conceded autonomy to Bulgaria.</p> + +<p>Despite the peace treaty, however, the Bulgarians continued to wage war +against the empire, hoping to regain northern Bulgaria and Macedonia—a +contested territory and bitterly disputed issue throughout Bulgarian +history. In 1201 the empire again concluded a peace treaty with the +Bulgarians, ceding all of northern Bulgaria and a <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span>large part of +Macedonia. Eventually, in 1207 Constantinople recognized the complete +independence of Bulgaria, and Bulgarian freedom was firmly established.</p> + +<p>This new-found independence, however, did not extend to the Bulgarian +church, which was still under the aegis of the empire. For that reason +Kaloyan, the Bulgarian ruler, negotiated with the Roman pope, Innocent +III, in order to ally the Bulgarian church with the church of Rome. The +motives of Rome and those of Kaloyan were similar: to isolate the +influence of Byzantium from Bulgaria. In 1204 Kaloyan was crowned king +by the papal nuncio in Turnovo. Although this union lasted only briefly, +it served the purpose for which it was designed, and Bulgaria was +effectively cut off from Byzantium.</p> + +<p>During the thirteenth century the Holy Roman Empire replaced the +Byzantine Empire on the borders of Bulgaria, and Byzantine aggression +was replaced by that of the Holy Roman Empire. When Rome declared war on +Bulgaria, the Bulgarians invaded Thrace, defeating the crusaders at +Adrianople in 1205. The reestablishment of the Bulgarian patriarchate in +1235 represented the end of the short-lived alliance between the +Bulgarian church and Rome.</p> + +<p>Under the reign of Ivan Asen II in the mid-thirteenth century peace was +again restored, and the country once more extended its territories. The +Bulgarians succeeded in capturing eastern Thrace, the Aegean coast, +Albania, and Macedonia. Bulgarian territory at this time was as great as +under the reign of Tsar Simeon; with these conquests Bulgaria became the +largest state in the Balkans. The country was now surrounded by three +seas—the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, and the Adriatic Sea—opening the +country's doors to foreign trade and culture.</p> + +<p>Again, as in the time of Simeon, the arts and cultural life of the +country flourished. Monasteries, churches, and fortresses were +constructed. Religious literature and art achieved a high level of +excellence, and secular works became popular. The first chronicle of +Bulgarian history was written, and an interest in history grew among the +people. The first Bulgarian coins were minted at this time. Trade, +particularly with Italy, increased greatly because of Bulgaria's free +access to the sea. Merchants and ambassadors came to Bulgaria from +abroad, lending their influence to Bulgaria's economic and cultural +life.</p> + +<p>By the second half of the thirteenth century, however, internal +conditions in the country had deteriorated. The feudal system, which had +been further consolidated during the thirteenth century, had exacerbated +the tensions of the peasants, and hostilities among the boyars +increased. The throne was contested between 1257 and 1277 and was +eventually taken forcibly by Ivailo, known as the swineherd tsar because +of his leadership of a peasant uprising in 1277.</p> + +<p>Meanwhile, Bulgaria's neighbors again sensed an opportune time to attack +because of the internal divisions in the country. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span>Byzantines +conquered several parts of Macedonia and Thrace, and the Hungarians and +Tatars invaded on another front. At one point the Hungarian king +declared himself king of Bulgaria. In 1242 there was a large-scale +Mongol invasion. Tatar raids went on continually between 1241 and 1300. +The country was totally fragmented; each separate area attempted to ally +itself with its former enemies, whether Russian, Hungarian, or Tatar, in +order to prevent widespread damage.</p> + +<p>By the fourteenth century the Turks began to envision the conquest of +Bulgaria. Internally the boyars continued to fight among themselves, and +externally the country was threatened alternately by Byzantium and by +Serbia. By the mid-fourteenth century all of Macedonia was under Serbian +control, and the Serbian tsar—much like the Hungarian king before +him—called himself the tsar of the Bulgars. The area of the country +retained by the Bulgars by this time was divided into three parts: the +last Bulgarian tsar maintained his capital at Turnovo in the central +highlands; the so-called Vidin Kingdom, ruled by the tsar's brother, +existed in the far northwest; and a principality of Dobrudzha was +established in the northeast.</p> + +<p>At the same time the Ottoman Turks were beginning to advance. Having +seized areas of Asia Minor, they proceeded to raid the Balkans from 1326 +to 1352. Under their leader, Murad I, they began to attack Thrace, +Macedonia, and parts of Bulgaria. By 1371 they were attacking +territories in northeastern Thrace. At this point they marched against +Sofia and, despite active resistance, succeeded in capturing it. Despite +an alliance with the Serbs, the Bulgarians were too weak to resist +further; in 1388 the Turks easily won a battle against the Serbs. The +fall of Turnovo was followed by the fall of Vidin and Dobrudzha. By 1396 +all of Bulgaria was under Turkish domination.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">TURKISH RULE</p> + +<p>The Second Bulgarian Kingdom, like the first, had ended in total defeat, +and the darkest period in Bulgarian history began with the Turkish +conquest. Only the priests of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church—despite its +takeover by the Greeks—were able to preserve Bulgarian national +literature and culture to some degree. The Bulgarians once again were +subjected to foreign domination, only this time foreign rule lasted for +five centuries. Historians agree that Turkish rule was a death blow to +the creative forces that had been responsible for the development of the +country to that time. With Turkish domination the normal economic, +political, and social life of Bulgaria ground to a halt.</p> + +<p>The Ottoman Turks were at a far lower stage of social development than +either the Byzantine Empire, which preceded them in their occupation of +the Balkans, or the Balkan states themselves. The Turks lived an almost +nomadic life in primitive communal systems that were headed by tribal +chiefs. When the Turks occupied Bulgaria, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span>they replaced the established +feudal system with their own more rudimentary and conservative +feudalism. Many boyars were executed or rendered powerless if they +failed to convert to Islam. The peasants were more completely under the +feudal yoke than they had ever been under Byzantine rule. The Turks +imposed heavy taxes and hard labor on the people of the conquered +country, whom they considered cattle. Young boys were taken from their +homes, proclaimed Muslims, and conscripted into the army.</p> + +<p>The Turks ruled Bulgaria by means of a sharply delineated administrative +system. Bulgaria as an entity did not exist for the Turks; the entire +Balkan Peninsula was known as Rumili (Rumelia) and was ruled for the +sultan by a <i>beylerbey</i> (governor general) whose headquarters was +located in Sofia. Rumili was divided into <i>vilayetlar</i> (sing., +<i>vilayet</i>), which were further subdivided into <i>sanjaklar</i> (sing., +<i>sanjak</i>), each in turn ruled by lesser officials. Bulgaria itself was +divided into five <i>sanjaklar</i>: Kyustendil, Nikopol, Silistra, Sofia, and +Vidin. Although all land was considered to be the property of the +sultan, on the local level the land was distributed to feudal lords and +was tilled by non-Muslim serfs.</p> + +<p>A second vehicle for both administration and oppression that the Turks +employed—in addition to the land administrators—was the Greek Orthodox +Church. By 1394, before the final conquest, the See of Turnovo had been +subordinated to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, where it remained +until 1870. Greek bishops replaced Bulgarians, as Greek liturgy replaced +the Slavic. The patriarchate, in turn, was totally subordinate to the +sultan. The Greek clergy destroyed Bulgarian books and banned Slavic +liturgy. The Bulgarian language and all Slavic literature were +forbidden. Greek became the language in all schools.</p> + +<p>The hellenization of the Bulgarian church was used by the Turks as a +means to negate the nationalism of the people and thus dominate them. +The Turks attempted to some extent to convert the Bulgarians to Islam in +order to assimilate them more fully. Although many Bulgarians fled to +the mountains with the coming of the Turks, others stayed on and +accepted the Muslim faith, often for purely opportunistic purposes. +Those who did were generally placed in strategically significant +positions; frequently, as a reward for their conversion, they paid no +taxes to the state. The Bulgarian converts to Islam were called Pomaks +(see ch. 4).</p> + +<p>The plight of the peasants grew worse. Agricultural production dropped +as their exploitation continued. Although landowners were not persecuted +to the same degree as the peasantry, they were frequently displaced from +the land. Turkish cattle breeders entered the country to settle on their +lands. Lands were also taken to reward army commanders, provincial +governors, and knights in the service of the sultan. Still other lands +were given to immigrant Turkish peasants. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span>The only food that was not +subject to requisition by the conquerors was pork, which was not allowed +in the Muslim diet.</p> + +<p>As the life of the Bulgarian countryside declined, so too did urban +life. Bulgarians were expelled from most urban centers and replaced by +Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Turks. By the end of the sixteenth century +two-thirds of Sofia's population was Turkish. Trade was virtually halted +for a time, and, when resumed, it also was dominated by Greeks, +Armenians, and Jews rather than Bulgarians. The towns themselves were in +a state of deterioration. The crafts had declined, economic life was +stagnant, and the Black Sea was closed to all foreign ships.</p> + +<p>As life within Bulgaria declined, the Turks began to perceive the +country as a springboard for further aggression against other +territories. Although Bulgarian hopes rose briefly when it appeared that +the Turks might be destroyed by their enemies, such hopes eventually +were dashed when the Turks emerged victorious throughout a period of two +centuries of conquest and aggression.</p> + +<p>In the early years of Turkish domination, the Turks waged continuous war +with Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia, and what remained of +the Byzantine Empire. Bulgarian hopes of liberation were fueled by the +Turkish defeat at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, when the Turkish army +was defeated by the Tatars. Resistance was eventually crushed, however, +and the Turks began to renew their conquests after capturing Salonica in +1430. In the Battle of Varna the Turks succeeded in capturing +Constantinople itself.</p> + +<p>After the defeat of Constantinople the Turks overran Serbia, Wallachia, +Bosnia, and Albania. Their conquests expanded to include Mesopotamia, +Syria, Arabia, and North Africa. In the sixteenth century Turkish +conquests continued under Suleiman the Magnificent, who succeeded in +capturing Serbia and Hungary in 1526. This triumphant expansion of the +Turkish state caused Bulgarian dreams to be destroyed, although sporadic +struggling within the country continued intermittently.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">THE RISE OF NATIONALISM</p> + +<p>During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the first seeds of real +resistance to Turkish rule were planted in Bulgaria. On the foreign +front the Turks were constantly besieged by the Austrians and the +Russians. By 1683 the Austrian army succeeded in liberating Hungary and +Transylvania; they also were able to penetrate areas of Bulgaria and +Macedonia. These victories over the Turks again sparked Bulgarian hopes.</p> + +<p>During the same period the internal situation in Bulgaria continued to +signal the eventual decline of Turkish power and the rise of a Bulgarian +national spirit. Because of the increase in corruption and oppression by +the Turks, the Bulgarians began to rebel openly. In the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span>1590s, the +1680s, and the 1730s significant local uprisings took place. Although +these rebellions were not successful, they gave rise to the <i>haiduk</i> +(forest outlaw) movement, which continued to carry out acts of rebellion +against the Turkish overlords. The people praised their acts of daring +and wrote folk songs detailing their adventures and exploits. In +addition to the revolutionaries the <i>chorbadzhi</i> (squires), who were on +the whole a progressive force, were able to gain some concessions from +the Turks.</p> + +<p>In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries this latent nationalism grew +swiftly under the influence of outside forces penetrating the country. +The French Revolution—with its democratic ideals—had a widespread and +vital impact on Bulgarian national sentiment. Western concepts and +standards penetrated the country mainly by means of trade, an activity +that Bulgarian traders realized could only be expanded when Turkish rule +was terminated. In addition Bulgarian students studying in foreign +universities as well as Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries +brought back tales of Western life and ideals. At the same time, +currents of Russian revolutionary thought, as well as contact with +Polish refugees from the revolution of 1848, were sweeping Bulgaria. All +these factors coalesced and spurred the rising tide of nationalism +within the country.</p> + +<p>During this period of the so-called Bulgarian National Revival, a +cultural rebirth—which also stirred Bulgarian national sentiment—took +place on the national scene. In 1762 Father Paisi, a Macedonian monk, +wrote a treatise called <i>The Slav-Bulgarian History</i> that appealed to +Bulgarians to recognize their national culture and to fight for their +own land and beliefs. Although the book was not published until after +his death, Father Paisi spread his credo by preaching his ideas in small +villages and towns. His message carried weight with many Bulgarians, and +his idealism promoted many to become politically active against their +Turkish oppressors.</p> + +<p>The Turks, during this period of growing Bulgarian nationalism, +attempted to recoup their losses by effecting some moderate reforms. +Although most of these acts came too late, they did succeed in enacting +administrative, social, and financial legislation that improved the lot +of the Bulgarians. Native leaders were consulted by their Turkish +overseers, and in one case a Bulgarian governor was appointed. +Provincial assemblies began to meet on a regular basis, and by 1876 it +was determined by the Turks that some degree of self-rule should be +granted the Bulgarians.</p> + +<p>The Turks were by this period in an inevitable decline. Although Turkish +rule extended over parts of three continents, the Turks continued to +expand their conquests. Military expenses became a staggering burden. +The Turkish economy was in an unfavorable position, and the Turks were +beginning to lose battles to increasingly well trained European armies. +The original Spartan life-style of the sultans <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span>and army officers was +becoming one of luxury and indulgence. All the signals for the fall of +the Turks were in evidence.</p> + +<p>As the movement toward national revolution grew up in the mid-nineteenth +century in Bulgaria, an ideological schism separated the movement into +two schools. The "moderates," led by a Bulgarian group in +Constantinople, favored negotiations with the Turks. The "radicals" felt +that such an approach would lead to inevitable failure. Although the +radicals turned to the West—France, Great Britain, Italy, and +Switzerland—for models of revolution and to Russia for practical +assistance in freeing Bulgaria from the Turks, in fact they hoped to +free the country from all foreign domination. Ironically, in light of +Bulgaria's later history, one radical leader wrote, "If Russia comes to +liberate, she will be met with great sympathy, but if she comes to rule, +she will find many enemies."</p> + +<p>The leaders of the radicals were Georgi Rakovsky and Vasil Levski. +Rakovsky continued for twenty-five years to organize armed detachments +along the borders of neighboring countries. Levski, for his part, +realized that a social revolution as well as a national revolution was +imperative for the true liberation of the Bulgarian people. He worked +sub rosa in Bulgarian villages and organized a network of committees for +the revolution, known as the Internal Secret Revolutionary Organization. +In 1873 he was captured by the Turks and hanged.</p> + +<p>By the early 1870s the seeds of revolution were sown as Bulgarians won +some political victories over their conquerors. In 1870, primarily +because of the activity of the Bulgarian priests, the Bulgarian Orthodox +Church was reestablished. Although the Bulgarian clergy was in large +part responsible for this action, it was probably tolerated by the Turks +because of their anger with the Greeks, who were then embroiled in a +revolt in Crete. In 1872 the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee +was formed in Bucharest; by 1875 this group became active in the +uprisings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, uprisings that were not easily +quelled by the Turks.</p> + +<p>As Bulgarian revolutionary sentiments grew, the Bulgarians turned to +Russia to help win freedom from the Turks. Although the motives of the +Russians and the Bulgarians were not identical, both wanted to rid the +Balkans of Turkish oppression. The Russians perceived the Ottoman Empire +as a very dangerous rival that they hoped to annihilate, thus gaining +control of Western European trade. The Bulgarians, although their +motives were also pragmatic, felt a deep sense of kinship with the +Russian people. The Russians, like the Bulgarians, were Slavs. Their +religion was identical. Even their language was similar. Thus, they +sensed a commonality not only of interests but also of cultures.</p> + +<p>The precursor to the liberation in 1878 was an unsuccessful uprising in +1876. The Bulgarians, at this point, were ill prepared for <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span>war, +politically and strategically. Thousands of Bulgarians were killed in +April of that year. Soon thereafter Turkish reprisals followed. Fifteen +thousand Bulgarians were massacred in Plovdiv alone. The savagery of +these reprisals was so brutal that Western public leaders spoke out in +protest. The governments of the West, however, fearing an increased +Russian penetration in the area, refused to act against the Turks.</p> + +<p>Although the revolution of 1876 had met with failure, it had succeeded +in loosening the Turkish grip on the country and in increasing the +feeling of the Russians that the time to attack was imminent. Finally, +after the Russo-Turkish war of 1877, the Russians invaded Bulgaria, +liquidating the Turkish army by March 1878. In these battles for +Bulgarian liberation, the Russians lost over 200,000 lives, a sacrifice +the Bulgarians never failed to recognize.</p> + +<p>The results of 1878 were mixed, and the outcome of the original peace +treaty was reversed within five months of its signing. Bulgaria became +an autonomous tributary of the Turkish sultan; complete independence was +not established until 1908. The original peace treaty, the Treaty of San +Stefano, signed on March 3, 1878, granted Bulgaria additional +territories, including Thrace and the much-valued Macedonia. This treaty +was reversed, primarily because of Western fear of Russian encroachment, +by the Congress of Berlin; the Treaty of Berlin, signed on July 13, +1878, unlike the Treaty of San Stefano, delimited Bulgarian territories. +The Bulgarians were forced to give Thrace and Macedonia back to the +Turks. Bulgaria itself was carved into two separate entities: the +principality of Bulgaria, including northern Bulgaria and Sofia, and +eastern Rumelia, or southern Bulgaria.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">LIBERATION AND ITS AFTERMATH</p> + +<p>Although the 1877-78 war freed Bulgaria from Turkish rule, the outcome +of the Congress of Berlin once again denied to Bulgaria the land that it +perceived to be rightfully Bulgarian, thus setting the tone for an +irredentist foreign policy that lasted through World War II. Because the +West, particularly Great Britain, played a significant role in carving +up the Balkans, and Bulgaria in particular, in hopes of curbing Russian +power, many historians speculate that Bulgaria's alliances with Germany +in both World War I and World War II were products of irredentist +sentiment that grew out of the Treaty of Berlin.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria moved to recapture its lost territory only seven years after +the Treaty of Berlin. In 1885 it annexed eastern Rumelia—or southern +Bulgaria—by means of a military coup. The British were in favor of the +annexation as it represented an obstacle to Russian ambitions in the +Balkans; the Russians quite naturally were disturbed by the act. This +was the first in a series of Bulgarian moves designed to reestablish +earlier boundaries.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span>The establishment of a Bulgarian government in 1878 was relatively +easily accomplished, and that government achieved a certain degree of +stability in the aftermath of Turkish rule. The Turnovo Constitution +(1879)—originally drafted by the Russians but rewritten by +Bulgarians—established an essentially advanced and democratic system. +It set up a unicameral parliament, which was to be elected on the basis +of universal suffrage; the parliament was to control the executive. The +monarchy, which lasted from the 1880s until World War II, was +established at this time under a Germany dynasty that was acceptable to +the European powers. Although the first prince was forced to abdicate by +the Russians, his successor established firm and advanced economic and +administrative institutions in the country. Eventually, because of a +crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country was able to declare itself +an independent kingdom in 1908.</p> + +<p>One historian has described the postliberation period as the "only +prolonged period of peaceful development" for Bulgaria. After the +liberation, land rose in value. Peasants were able to purchase land from +the Turks, and agricultural production rose markedly. Modern industry +grew up at a relatively rapid pace, although the country remained +primarily agrarian. The state began to take steps in education and +culture. All levels of education were expanded; students of higher +education studied both in Bulgaria and abroad; and illiteracy, which was +overwhelming at the period of liberation, was reduced to 76 percent by +1900 and to 54 percent by 1920. Science and the arts were actively +encouraged, and literature flourished once again.</p> + +<p>Financial burdens, however, escalated rapidly between 1886 and 1911. In +1911 the national debt was actually more than three times the size of +the national budget. At the same time, as industry increased, two +antagonistic groups developed: the urban middle class—composed of +merchants and white-collar workers—and the poor, who were generally +laborers or peasants. Working conditions in factories were nearly +intolerable, causing factory workers to interest themselves in the cause +of socialism, while on the farms the peasants began to organize a +movement known as the Bulgarian Agrarian Union (also called the Agrarian +Party), which was designed to offset the growing power of the urban +groups. In 1891 the Social Democratic Party was established; this party +later formed the base of the communist party in Bulgaria.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">The Macedonian Issue</p> + +<p>By the early twentieth century the country was once again embroiled in +war; the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913 impeded economic and social +development in the country. Once again, as in the case of eastern +Rumelia, irredentism was the Bulgarian motive for war. Both eastern +Thrace and Macedonia, the lands ceded to Bulgaria by the Treaty of San +Stefano, were still under Turkish rule. The lands had <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span>not only large +Bulgarian populations but also strategic and economic significance. +Macedonia, more than Thrace, was of extreme importance to Bulgaria; +Bulgarians believed the population of Macedonia to be composed almost +exclusively of Bulgarians. The issue of Macedonia was, in fact, a focal +point around which Bulgarian political life revolved after 1878, because +that issue was seen by the Bulgarians as involving the territorial +integrity of their nation.</p> + +<p>Between the tenth and fourteenth centuries Macedonia was alternately +occupied by the Bulgarians, the Serbs, and the Turks. At the time of +liberation Macedonia was ceded to the Bulgarians by the Treaty of San +Stefano, only to be returned to the Turks by the Treaty of Berlin. In +1893 the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) was +founded. This terrorist organization, with the battle slogan "Liberty or +Death for Macedonia," fought a continual underground war of terrorism +against the Turks. In 1903 there was a major Macedonian uprising in +which two factions participated. Although the predominant faction +favored Bulgarian annexation of Macedonia, another group favored +complete autonomy for Macedonia. In 1908, when King Ferdinand proclaimed +Bulgaria completely independent, memories of the medieval Bulgarian +empire, which included Macedonia, were rekindled.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">The Balkan Wars</p> + +<p>The tumultuous history of Macedonia set the stage for the two Balkan +wars. In 1912, at the onset of the First Balkan War, Serbia, Bulgaria, +Montenegro, and Greece formed an alliance to drive the Turks from +Europe. Turkey, who was at war with Italy at the time, was weak and +disunited. Macedonia and Thrace were hotbeds of internal disorder. In +October 1912 Turkey declared war on Serbia and Bulgaria, a move that was +countered by a Greek declaration of war on Turkey. In 1913 the +Bulgarians succeeded in capturing Adrianople, and the Greeks captured +Salonica, Crete, and Samos. Eventually, the Turks were badly defeated. +But the question of Macedonia remained. Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria all +laid claim to the land at the end of the first Balkan War. Eventually a +compromise was reached: the northern section went to Serbia and the +eastern section, to Bulgaria.</p> + +<p>Despite this compromise, the Serbs and Greeks remained wary of the +Bulgarians. In 1913 the Second Balkan War began, the Greeks, +Montenegrins, Serbs, and Romanians joining forces with their previous +enemy, the Turks, against their former ally, the Bulgarians. This +rivalry had been fostered by both Austria and Russia. Eventually, the +Bulgarians turned to the Russians for arbitration and finally signed a +mutual defense treaty with Russia. When the Romanians crossed into +Bulgaria, the Bulgarians—who were simultaneously fighting in Macedonia +and were therefore weakened by fighting on two <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span>fronts—were forced to +surrender. As a result of this loss, when the peace treaty of Bucharest +was signed in August 1913 and Macedonia was partitioned between Greece +and Serbia, Bulgaria managed to retain only a tiny fragment in the +eastern sector.</p> + +<p>Macedonia, however, remained an issue for Bulgaria. In World War I +Bulgaria succeeded in invading Macedonia. During the interwar period +Macedonia was divided between Greece, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia, +Yugoslavia retaining the largest portion of the land. In the 1923-34 +period Macedonian terrorism plagued the country and wreaked havoc on +Bulgarian political and social life. During World War II the Bulgarians +invaded both Greek Macedonia and Yugoslav Macedonia once again. Although +the Macedonians themselves were divided in their sentiments between +loyalties to Greeks, Yugoslavs, and Bulgarians, the land eventually +reverted to Yugoslavia during World War II. As an issue, however, it +still burns in the minds of the Bulgarians. The Macedonian question has +been aptly referred to as "that eternal Balkan sore spot of rival +nationalism."</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">WORLD WAR I</p> + +<p>As was the case in the Balkan wars, Bulgaria's primary motivation for +engagement in World War I was irredentism. Again the country was +determined to regain the two lands that had escaped her grasp in the +past: Macedonia and Thrace. Although Macedonia was prized for political +and social reasons, Thrace represented a strategically more significant +objective. In order to develop foreign trade, Bulgaria required an +outlet to the sea; Thrace represented that outlet.</p> + +<p>The domestic situation in the country before World War I was mixed. +Although Bulgaria's army had been demobilized at the end of the Second +Balkan War (1913) and economic conditions were rapidly improving, the +mood of the monarchy and the middle class was one of vindictiveness and +retaliation against those countries that had stripped Bulgaria of its +territories. The country became divided between those who wanted closer +relations with Russia and the Triple Entente and those who preferred an +alliance with the Central Powers. As the war neared, the struggle +between these camps intensified.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria, of all the Balkan states, was the only one to join the Central +Powers, led by Germany and Austria, in World War I. It was deeply ironic +that Bulgaria chose to side with her former enemy and oppressor, Turkey, +and against her former friend and protector, Russia. Again, the issue +for Bulgaria was the Macedonian question. Serbia and Greece, which had +triumphed over Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War, were allied with the +entente powers. Bulgaria chose to fight against these enemies in order +to regain Macedonia. Although the entente powers hoped to woo Bulgaria +to their side, they refused—because of Serb and Greek pressures—to +cede Macedonia to Bulgaria. The Central Powers, on the other hand, who +were already at war with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>Serbia, were willing to promise Macedonia to +the Bulgarians in exchange for their collaboration.</p> + +<p>In the early stages of the war Germany won victories in France and on +the eastern front. Although the government then ruling Bulgaria was +already inclined to join the Central Powers, these early successes made +German promises even more appealing. In August 1915 a secret treaty of +alliance was signed by Bulgaria and Germany, containing a clause that +promised Serbian, Greek, and Romanian territories to the Bulgarians. +Thus the quadripartite alliance was born, composed of Germany, +Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria.</p> + +<p>By September 1915 Bulgarian troops were mobilized and began to deploy +along the borders of Greece and Serbia. On October 1, 1915, Bulgaria +declared war on Serbia and, with the assistance of Austrian and German +troops, succeeded in defeating the Serbian army. At the same time the +Bulgarian army began to advance on Macedonia. There the local +population, a proportion of which was openly sympathetic to Bulgarian +aspirations, joined in the fighting on the side of the Bulgarians. +Although the Bulgarian army attempted to drive the entente forces from +southern Macedonia, it met with failure. This defeat was followed by a +period of prolonged trench warfare on the Balkan front. By 1916 Bulgaria +was also at war with Romania and, with the help of German and Austrian +units, managed a victory over the Romanians.</p> + +<p>While the war dragged on, the internal political situation was rapidly +deteriorating. The country was in a state of economic chaos, and the +living conditions of laborers and peasants continued to decline. Farm +production dropped quickly, resulting in famine and soaring prices. +These dire conditions gave a strong impetus to the growing antiwar +movement in the country. The movement was headed by the left-wing +Socialists, who attempted to correlate the antiwar movement with +socialist propaganda. The Russian Revolution of 1917 stirred some +elements of the Bulgarian population who, like the Russian people, felt +that their government failed to represent their interests and was +unresponsive to their needs. There were open revolts in the towns and +villages; underground activities were growing within the Bulgarian army +itself.</p> + +<p>By 1918 Bulgaria and the Central Powers were defeated, leaving Bulgaria +in a worse position than before the war. Hopes of regaining Thrace and +Macedonia were dashed, and the country was immeasurably weakened by +external fighting and internal division. The people were frustrated and +bitter. Although the war had stimulated Bulgaria's industry—there were +345 industrial enterprises in 1911 and 1,404 in 1924—it had been costly +in other respects. Bulgaria was forced to pay both reparations and +payments for the allied occupation that followed. Taxes rose, and the +value of the currency declined. As a result, King Ferdinand was forced +to abdicate in 1918, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span>shortly before the armistice was signed.</p> + +<p>The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine was signed on November 27, 1919, ending +Bulgaria's role in the war and establishing her boundaries. Once more +Bulgaria had entered a war on the losing side, and once more its +irredentist ambitions had resulted in no territorial gains. At the end +of the war Bulgaria lost Thrace to Greece—thus failing in her attempts +to gain access to the sea—and a small area in the Rodopi (or Rhodope +Mountains) and a portion of its western frontier to Yugoslavia. As a +result of these losses, Bulgaria was left with a still greater sense of +frustration and hostility toward its Balkan neighbors.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">THE INTERWAR YEARS</p> + +<p>The period between the first and second world wars was one of political +unrest and Macedonian terrorism. The country was in an almost untenable +economic situation at the close of the war: prices skyrocketed, people +died of starvation, and strikes were almost continuous. Out of this +situation two extreme political groups grew up. On the extreme Right was +a faction of the IMRO, which at that time demanded the annexation of +Greek and Yugoslav Macedonia. On the Left was the Bulgarian Agrarian +Union, the only party at the time more popular than the Communists.</p> + +<p>When Ferdinand was forced to abdicate, he was succeeded by his son, +Boris III. Real political power was, however, in the hands of Alexander +Stambolisky, the leader of the Bulgarian Agrarian Union. He led the +country as its prime minister from 1919 to 1923. When Stambolisky took +power, the peasants formed 80 percent of the population. Stambolisky and +the Bulgarian Agrarian Union were dedicated to improving the lot of +these people; in his words "to raising the standards both economic and +educational, of the desperately poor and depressed peasant class."</p> + +<p>Stambolisky, on behalf of the peasant populism movement, made several +sweeping reforms. He instituted various social reforms, spread +education, and built roads. His strong dislike of the commercial and +professional classes in the cities led him toward the objective of a +peasant republic. When in power he instituted tax and land reforms and +radically altered the legal system. His domestic policies were not +popular with all strata of society; his foreign policies were even less +popular. He favored reconciliation with Yugoslavia over the Macedonian +issue. In 1923 he was overthrown by a group composed of IMRO, military, +and other factions and was beheaded.</p> + +<p>The murder of Stambolisky was followed by a communist attempt to foment +revolution in the country. The leaders were Georgi Dimitrov and Vasil +Kalarov, later leading figures in the Bulgarian communist state. The +country was in a state of civil war, which was subsequently crushed by +the right-wing political factions of the country. Thousands of +Bulgarians were killed, and Dimitrov and Kalarov were exiled. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span>In 1925 +the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see Glossary) was officially +outlawed. Although Boris continued as monarch, the country was ruled by +coalition governments and military dictatorships for a decade following +Stambolisky's death.</p> + +<p>From 1923 until the putsch of 1934 IMRO terrorism dominated the country. +Bulgaria's position toward Macedonia was clear and unequivocal: it +sought to annex Macedonia completely as it considered the land to be +Bulgarian and the people to be Bulgarians. In the Bulgarian sector of +Macedonia the Macedonians were given a high degree of latitude, some +Macedonians even holding high offices in Bulgaria. In the Yugoslavian +sectors of Macedonia, however, most Macedonians felt oppressed and +restricted. As a result of this mixed status and treatment, there was a +certain ambivalence in Macedonian sentiment, the IMRO terrorists +favoring complete independence and self-rule. Among Macedonian patriots, +two predominant factions grew up. The federalists favored an autonomous +Macedonia—which could, if necessary, be allied with Yugoslavia and +Bulgaria—and the Supremists sought to incorporate Macedonia within +Bulgaria, with aspirations of dominating the entire Balkan area. The +results of these divergent opinions were expressed in acts of violence +and terrorism that wreaked havoc in Bulgaria and eventually culminated +in federalist collaboration with the Ustashi—a group of Croat +separatists—and the murder of King Alexander of Yugoslavia.</p> + +<p>Macedonian terrorism was virtually ended by the putsch of 1934. The +government, the People's Bloc, which was a coalition of four parties +including the Bulgarian Agrarian Union was overthrown by the so-called +Zveno—or link—group. The Zveno group was headed by Kimon Georgiev and +was aided by the League of Reserve Officers. As soon as it seized power, +Zveno suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament. The king was +left with only nominal powers. Although the group did succeed for the +most part in ridding the country of Macedonian terrorism, its rule was +overtly authoritarian. By 1935 the king, with the aid of the military, +had regained his power and replaced the Zveno group with a more moderate +government.</p> + +<p>With the reestablishment of the monarchy, a royal dictatorship took +power and ruled over Bulgaria until 1943, when Boris died. There were at +this time no forces left to oppose the king, political parties were +negligible, and only a shadow parliament existed. Ironically, the +military, which had aided the Zveno in the overthrow of the king, now +was an instrument of his control.</p> + +<p>Foreign relations under Boris III before World War II were leading the +country again inevitably into a war that would bring it to total defeat. +In 1934, despite the suppression of IMRO by the newly formed government, +Romania, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey, as in the Second Balkan War, +were once again wary of Bulgaria's irredentist ambitions. In that year +the four powers signed the Balkan Pact, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span>from which Bulgaria naturally +was excluded, in order to prevent Bulgarian encroachment in the area. +Although Bulgaria and Yugoslavia later established a rapprochement in +1937, the potential of a Bulgarian annexation of Macedonia was still +considered a threat by its neighbors.</p> + +<p>During the 1930s, while Bulgaria was viewed with suspicion by its +neighbors, it began to form new friendships with Germany and Italy. +Boris had married the daughter of King Victor Emanuel of Italy, a +country that had already become fascist, thus strengthening ties with +that country. At the same time, Bulgaria began to solidify its ties with +Germany, principally by means of trade. A new-founded prosperity was +based almost exclusively on German trade, an arrangement that eventually +weakened the country. Within a short period German agents were pouring +into the country. Thus, Bulgaria was on one side alienated from its +neighbors and on the other being drawn into the nazi-fascist camp.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">WORLD WAR II</p> + +<p>Bulgaria's motives for entering World War II were once again based on +irredentism, coupled with almost total economic dependence on Germany. +Once more it hoped to regain the lands of Thrace and Macedonia, which +were lost after the Treaty of San Stefano was reversed by the Congress +of Berlin. The lesson of the two subsequent Balkan wars and World War I +had fallen on deaf ears. Bulgaria was still estranged from its Balkan +neighbors and once more was being courted by the former ally of World +War I, Germany. Germany, again realizing Bulgaria's territorial +aspirations, hoped to bribe the Bulgarian leadership with southern +Dobrudzha, which was eventually ceded to Bulgaria in 1940.</p> + +<p>In December 1941 Bulgaria placed herself squarely on the German side by +declaring war on Great Britain and the United States and joining the +Rome-Berlin Axis. This alignment, which derived primarily from +Bulgaria's irredentist policy, was given further force by dislike of the +British, who were held to blame by the Bulgarians for the loss of +Macedonia to Yugoslavia and Greece.</p> + +<p>Despite the declaration of war against Great Britain and the United +States, Bulgaria refused throughout World War II to declare war on the +Soviet Union. The Russians, unlike the British and Americans, were +popular with the Bulgarian people. They were still remembered for their +assistance to the Bulgarians in the past and were viewed by the people +as their liberators from Turkish rule. Not only did Bulgaria refuse to +declare war on its former liberator, but it also refused to make its +army available to Adolf Hitler for his eastern campaign. When Germany +declared war on Russia, Bulgaria continued to retain neutrality toward, +and to maintain diplomatic relations with, the Soviet Union.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span>In the early stages of the war, before Bulgaria had declared war on the +Allies, it had already begun to regain some of the land lost during the +Balkan wars and World War I. Southern Dobrudzha, which had been ceded to +Romania in 1913, reverted to Bulgaria by August 1940. In the spring of +1941, supporting Germany against Yugoslavia and Greece, Bulgaria +regained Macedonia and part of Greek Thrace. When Bulgaria was rewarded +with these lands by the Nazis, Bulgarians perceived their gains as a +"historical national unification." By 1941 Yugoslavia was overrun, and +some of its territories were taken by Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria. +Italy received Montenegro, Hungary took part of northern Yugoslavia, and +Bulgaria gained, in addition to the much-prized Macedonia, the frontiers +of southeastern Serbia. The Bulgarians at this point were once again +approaching the frontiers that had been established by the Treaty of San +Stefano.</p> + +<p>Internally, the country was in relatively good condition during the +early stages of the war. The economy, based primarily on active trade +with the Germans, was booming. The Bulgarian people perceived the +fighting as essentially a "paper war" and were generally apathetic +regarding their role in the war. There was little suffering within +Bulgarian boundaries and little expression of hatred toward Bulgaria's +ostensible enemies. Despite Bulgaria's alliance with the Nazis and +Fascists, within the country Jews were for the most part protected +rather than persecuted.</p> + +<p>By 1943, however, the war began to change for the Bulgarians. Slowly the +Allies began to turn back German power. At this time Bulgaria was hit +frequently by British and United States air raids. Because of Bulgaria's +strategic significance and its declaration of war, albeit symbolic, +against Great Britain and the United States, Sofia and other major +Bulgarian cities became targets for American and British bombers. Sofia +was reduced to little more than rubble at one point, and over 30,000 +casualties were suffered by the Bulgarians.</p> + +<p>In 1943 Boris died and was succeeded by his six-year-old son, Simeon. In +fact, however, a three-man regency retained power, with Ivan Bagrianov +as premier. The regency was less actively pro-Axis in orientation than +was the late king; with its coming to power, thousands of political +prisoners were released from jail, and all persecution of Jews was +terminated.</p> + +<p>By 1944, when Germany and its allies were clearly losing the war, the +Bulgarian leaders sought to reverse the earlier decision of the king and +to seek peace with the Allies as well as with the Greek and Yugoslav +governments-in-exile. Despite sub rosa attempts to release itself from +agreements with the Axis, Bulgaria was unable to extricate itself from +the alliance. On August 22, 1944, the Bulgarian government publicly +announced that it was ready for a peace agreement with the Allies.</p> + +<p>The war was ended for Bulgaria when, on September 4, 1944, the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span>Soviets, +after taking over Romania, entered Bulgaria. The exact sequence of +events has been interpreted differently by various historians. There +are, however, two major interpretations. One suggests that, once the +Soviets had occupied Romania and declared war on Bulgaria, +Bulgaria—under a hastily formed anti-Axis coalition +government—immediately quit the pact with the Axis and declared war on +its former ally, Germany. The other interpretation posits the theory +that, on August 26, the Bulgarian government had declared itself +neutral, thus withdrawing from the war. At this time it ordered German +troops on its soil to disarm. When Soviet troops arrived in Bulgaria, +they found this so-called neutrality unacceptable and insisted on a +Bulgarian declaration of war against Germany. This declaration was +promptly carried out on the eve of the day that it was requested.</p> + +<p>When the Soviets occupied the country in September 1944, the government +of the so-called Fatherland Front (Otechestven Front) seized power from +the existing government within five days of the occupation. On September +9, 1944, the Fatherland Front—under the leadership of +Georgiev—officially took control of the country on what was then termed +an interim basis. On October 28, 1944, an armistice was signed between +Bulgaria and the Soviet Union, which stated that all territories gained +by Bulgaria since 1941 would be surrendered. Only southern Dobrudzha, +taken from Romania in 1940, was to be retained. The agreement also +established the Allied Control Commission in Sofia under direct Soviet +control.</p> + +<p>The results of the war for Bulgaria were mixed. In terms of financial +burdens Bulgaria's position was relatively favorable compared with that +of other countries on the losing side. In terms of territorial losses, +which resulted in a legacy of bitterness and continued irredentism, its +position was poor. As Bulgaria had suffered over 30,000 casualties in +the war, the Allies imposed relatively light peace terms. The Soviet +Union extracted no reparations from Bulgaria, despite the fact that +reparations were demanded from Germany, Hungary, and Romania. Yugoslavia +also canceled Bulgaria's debts. Overall war damages to the country +itself were generally moderate.</p> + +<p>In terms of losses, however, Bulgaria not only lost most of the +territories it had regained at the beginning of the war but also +ultimately lost its constitutional monarchy and became a Soviet +satellite. Although it was allowed to retain southern Dobrudzha, all the +territories that were of significance to Bulgaria's sense of nationhood +were gone. Macedonia reverted to Yugoslavia, and Thrace to Greece. The +Treaty of Paris, signed in February 1947, confirmed Bulgaria's pre-1941 +boundaries. Not only had Bulgaria lost these prized territories, but her +sovereignty as a nation was severely curtailed by the Soviet military +occupation. Both the armistice agreement of September 1944 and the +British-Soviet agreement of October of that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span>year recognized Soviet +dominance in the country. Although this power over the country was not +expected by the Western powers to endure indefinitely, this illusion was +dispelled as Bulgaria soon succumbed completely to Soviet influence.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">THE COMMUNIST STATE</p> + +<p class="cen">Growth of the Communist Party</p> + +<p>In 1891 the Social Democratic Party was founded; the Communist party was +eventually an offshoot of this movement. By 1903 the Social Democrats +had begun to split into what were known as the "broad" and "narrow" +factions. The broad faction retained the ideology of social democracy, +but the narrow faction became the Bulgarian counterpart of the Russian +Bolsheviks; its leader was Dimiter Blagoev, the so-called father of +Bulgarian communism. In 1919 the narrow faction split off from the +Second Socialist International and assumed the name Bulgarian Communist +Party (BKP). Although the party had great prestige abroad, it failed to +enjoy domestic popularity. The most popular party at the time—and that +favored by the peasant class, which was predominant in this +still-agrarian society—was the Bulgarian Agrarian Union. The BKP, on +the other hand, was composed almost exclusively of intellectuals and +students and held little appeal for the working and peasant classes.</p> + +<p>In 1923 there was an unsuccessful attempt by the Communists to bring the +country to revolution. When this uprising was quelled, the Communists +turned to terrorism in order to gain their goals, and in 1925 a plot to +assassinate King Boris was formulated. Once again the Communists met +with failure, as the king not only lived but grew more powerful. In the +last half of the 1920s the party faded from the scene, but by the early +1930s it was again revived and grew in popularity.</p> + +<p>During the late 1930s the party went underground as the king increased +his power. In 1939 the Communists reappeared and merged with the +left-wing Workers Party; in the 1939 elections the party doubled its +representation and took on an air of greater respectability. In 1941, +while the war was under way, the Communists realized that Bulgaria was +falling into the German camp. Although they were powerless to stop this +alliance, their activity in evoking pro-Soviet sentiment was successful +to the extent that—coupled with the basically favorable sentiments of +the Bulgarian people toward the Russians—it prevented the monarchy from +declaring war against the Soviet Union.</p> + +<p>Once the Germans began to invade the Soviet Union itself, the Bulgarian +Communists committed themselves to a policy of armed resistance, known +as the partisan movement. Historians dispute the extent of partisan +activity; some state that it did not become active until the Soviet +victory at Stalingrad in 1943, and others claim that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span>the movement was +active from the onset of the German invasion of the Soviet Union.</p> + +<p>In 1942, on the initiative of Dimitrov, the Fatherland Front was +established. The organization was essentially a coalition, composed of +members of the Workers Party, the Bulgarian Agrarian Union, the Social +Democratic Party and the BKP. Its purpose was to overthrow Boris and rid +the country of the Germans, simultaneously forming a new government that +could more adequately meet the needs of the workers and the peasants.</p> + +<p>In 1943 the National Committee of the Fatherland Front was formed, and +this committee became the vehicle for the communist takeover in 1944. In +the same year the so-called National Liberation Army, composed of +partisans and certain units of the Bulgarian army who had joined forces +with them, was established. In the fall of 1944 there were approximately +18,000 people in the National Liberation Army, augmented by some 200,000 +people who sheltered and assisted them.</p> + +<p>Before 1944, however, the Communists were still not widely popular. The +apathy of a large portion of the population was due primarily to the +fact that the country had remained relatively untouched by the war; but, +as the country was not actually at war with the Soviet Union, little +rationale was provided to the Soviet-backed Communists in their attempts +to enlist the support of the partisans. The Bulgarian army and police +were active in hunting down the known Communists. All of these factors +precluded the possibility of the country becoming totally committed to +either the communist cause or armed resistance. By 1944, however, when +Soviet troops entered Romania, activity became widespread within +Bulgaria. In August 1944 Romania completely capitulated. By early +September the Soviet Union declared war on the Bulgarian government, an +act more symbolic than real, as Soviet armies met no Bulgarian +resistance. On September 9, 1944, the Fatherland Front was installed, +and the Communists were firmly entrenched in the country.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Development Since World War II</p> + +<p>At the time of the Fatherland Front takeover in Bulgaria the Soviets, +with the assistance of the partisans and units of the National +Liberation Army, occupied many Bulgarian towns and cities. It is said +that they were received by the people with gifts of bread and salt, a +traditional Bulgarian gift of welcome (see ch. 7). At the same time, on +the political front, the Soviets and their Bulgarian collaborators took +over the key ministries in the capital city and arrested members of the +government.</p> + +<p>The Fatherland Front—a coalition composed at that time of Communists, +members of the left wing of the Bulgarian Agrarian Union, members of the +left wing of the Social Democratic Party, and the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span>Zveno group—was led +by Georgiev as the new premier. Dimitrov and Kalarov returned from +Moscow, where they had been in exile since 1925, to assist the new +government in its takeover. The Communists proceeded to rid the +coalition of certain opposing elements within its ranks. Nikolai Petkov +of the Peasant Union and Kosta Lulchev of the Social Democratic Party +were temporarily retired from the coalition. Large-scale purges were +initiated against German collaborators and sympathizers; many thousands +were either executed or imprisoned by the Communists.</p> + +<p>When plans for elections were made in 1945, both Great Britain and the +United States made a strong bid for the holding of popular elections. +Their hopes were temporarily defeated when, on November 18, 1945, +communist-controlled elections were held. The Fatherland Front won a +decided victory, eventually resulting in Georgiev's formal installation +as premier. His tenure in office was brief, and he was quickly succeeded +by Dimitrov. At this point Great Britain and the United States +protested, insisting that the Communists broaden their governmental +base. Thus, although the two leading figures of the BKP, Dimitrov and +Kalarov, were installed eventually as premier and president, +respectively, Petkov and Lulchev were allowed to take over control of +the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice, two vital +organs of the government.</p> + +<p>By 1946, however, the Communists had whittled down all opposition. In +July 1946 control over the army had been transferred from noncommunist +members of the ostensible coalition government to exclusively communist +control. At this time 2,000 so-called reactionary army officers were +dismissed. A plebiscite held in September abolished the monarchy, +declared Bulgaria a republic, and gave all power to Dimitrov as premier. +He officially took the title on November 4, 1946, and held it until his +death in 1949. When Dimitrov took power, any opposition that remained +was quickly eliminated. Once the United States had ratified the +Bulgarian Peace Treaty—a moment for which the Communists waited +anxiously in order to rid themselves of all Western control over +Bulgarian affairs of state—Petkov was summarily arrested and executed. +His party, the Peasant Union, had been dissolved one month before his +death.</p> + +<p>On December 4, 1947, a new constitution was adopted. It was called, +after the premier, the Dimitrov Constitution and was modeled on the +Soviet Constitution of 1936 (see ch. 8). One historian claims that, at +its first drafting, it closely resembled the Turnovo Constitution of the +late 1800s but was later amended to parallel more closely the +constitution of the Soviet Union. The Dimitrov Constitution created the +National Assembly as a legislative body. In fact, however, laws were +proposed by the Council of Ministers and passed pro forma by the +National Assembly. The constitution was approved by the National +Assembly in 1947. It defined collective ownership of production, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span>stated +that the regime held the power to nationalize any and all enterprises, +and declared that private property was subject to restrictions and +expropriation by the state.</p> + +<p>By 1948 the small forces that continued to oppose the Communists were +finally eliminated. Many opposition Socialists and their leader, +Lulchev, were arrested, and the Socialist Party was abolished. The only +remaining Socialist party—the Fatherland Front Socialists—was forced +to merge with the Communists in August 1948. Thus, absolute communist +control was achieved within four years of the seizure of power.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria underwent a series of rapid changes in the early years as a +communist state. Agricultural collectivization—initiated in 1946—was +begun in the form of cooperative farming. By the end of 1947 +nationalization of banks, industry, and mines was well under way. +Nationalization was not a new phenomenon for the country, as railroads, +ports, and mines had been under state control since 1878, but it was +greatly extended by the Communists (see ch. 13; ch. 14).</p> + +<p>Religion was viewed by the Communists as a means for manipulating and +indoctrinating the people, much as it had been during the periods of +Byzantine and Turkish rule. Since its founding in the ninth century, the +Bulgarian Orthodox Church had claimed most of the population as members. +The Communists perceived a dual purpose in their cooptation of this +institution. On the one hand, by patronizing the Bulgarian church, they +believed that they would receive support from its members. On the other +hand, they sought to unify the churches by placing the Bulgarian +Orthodox Church under close control of the Russian Orthodox Church. +Therefore, the regime reestablished the Bulgarian patriarchate; the +patriarch, in turn, required all church members to support governmental +policies.</p> + +<p>Minority religions were treated as separate entities, although all of +them had to register with the Committee for Religious Affairs, a body +attached to the Council of Ministers. The leadership of all churches was +considered responsible ultimately to the state. The churches became +financially dependent upon the government as all church funds were in +the hands of the bureaucracy. A certain percentage of Muslims—who +constituted the largest minority religion—were expelled from the +country. Those Muslims who remained were organized into small +communities, and their religious leader, the grand mufti, was allowed to +retain his position as long as he remained subservient to the state.</p> + +<p>As far as other minority religions were concerned, their churches were, +for the most part, closed, and their leaders were either harassed or +executed. Roman Catholic churches were closed, the church hierarchy was +abolished, and in 1952 forty leading Catholics were tried and sentenced +to death. The Protestants were allowed slightly more latitude. Although +all Protestant schools were immediately closed, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span>five Protestant +denominations were allowed to merge into the United Evangelical Church. +In 1949, however, fifteen Protestant pastors were executed. Some Jews +were allowed to emigrate to Israel in the early period of communist +rule, but in Bulgaria the grand rabbi, like the Moslem grand mufti, was +rendered completely subordinate to the state.</p> + +<p>In 1949 Dimitrov died and was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Vulko +Chervenkov, known as the Stalin of Bulgaria, who controlled the +government from 1950 until 1956. His was a one-man rule, patterned +completely on the rule of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. He was both +the premier and the First Secretary for the six years of his rule. There +was an increase in industrial production under Chervenkov. Production +plans, however, appeared to be conceived more in the light of Soviet +five-year plans than with regard to Bulgaria's economic needs. +Agriculture was almost completely collectivized, although production +goals were not achieved, and the standard of living declined appreciably +under Chervenkov's rule.</p> + +<p>In foreign policy Bulgaria under Chervenkov continued to follow the +Soviet example. International communism dominated all Bulgaria's foreign +policies. In the early 1950s Bulgaria supported the abortive communist +uprising in Greece. Chervenkov attempted to rid the country of all +Western influence and severed diplomatic relations with the United +States in 1950. After Chervenkov's term relations were reestablished in +1960 and promoted from legation to embassy status in 1966. Again, +following the example of the Soviet Union, which was then on strained +terms with the nationalistic Yugoslavs, Chervenkov purged 100,000 +nationalists from the party and executed Traicho Kostov, the deputy +premier, on the grounds that he was a Titoist. Because of Bulgaria's +antisocial behavior in the world community, the country was excluded +from the United Nations until 1955.</p> + +<p>Although Stalin died in 1953, Chervenkov retained his office as premier +until 1956 but held only nominal powers. He was ultimately purged in +1962. Chervenkov, in the post-Stalin period, was openly charged with +supporting the personality cult policies of Stalin. After Stalin's death +there was a degree of political relaxation under a policy known as the +New Course. Police terrorism abated, and there was greater freedom of +movement in the society as a whole. Travel abroad was tolerated to a +greater degree, and an increased interest in the welfare of the people +was manifested. The government actively courted the peasants in order to +win them over to its policy of collectivization. The working classes, +office workers, and even artisans were given more latitude by the +government. On the foreign front, following the example of Nikita +Khrushchev, who sought reconciliation with Tito, and despite Bulgaria's +reluctance over the still-fiery Macedonian issue, Bulgaria made some +efforts at reconciliation with Yugoslavia. In order to establish better +relations both with the Yugoslavs and with the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span>Bulgarian nationalists, +Kostov was posthumously rehabilitated in 1956.</p> + +<p>In 1954 Chervenkov gave up his title as first secretary of the party, +thus setting a new precedent for separation of party and state posts and +dispelling the concept of one-man rule. Although Chervenkov retained his +title as premier temporarily, Todor Zhivkov became the first secretary. +Shortly thereafter, Chervenkov was replaced as premier by Anton Yugov. +As Zhivkov, despite his backing by Khrushchev, was not firmly in control +of the party, his takeover was followed by widespread purges.</p> + +<p>Zhivkov's rule, like that of his predecessor, emulated the Soviet model. +Unlike Chervenkov, however, Zhivkov based his government on the +principle of collective leadership. In the early years of his rule he +based his foreign policy on allegiance to the Soviet Union. He strongly +supported the Soviets in their border conflicts with the People's +Republic of China (PRC). Bulgaria, despite basic sentiments concerning +Macedonia, still attempted to renew its friendship with Yugoslavia, +again following the Khrushchev example.</p> + +<p>In 1962 Zhivkov purged the party of both Chervenkov and Yugov and made +himself premier as well as first secretary, thus reestablishing the +principle of unity of rule (see ch. 9). At the same time, this move +increased Zhivkov's control over the party. Internal problems continued +to plague the Zhivkov government. There were, in the 1960s, severe +shortages of food, housing, and consumer goods.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria's foreign policy under Zhivkov, however, continued on an even, +strongly Soviet, keel. Bulgaria's foreign policy has been assessed by +some observers as "a carbon copy of Moscow's." Bulgaria was, and is, +considered to be the most reliable partner of the Soviet Union in the +Balkans. In contrast, Albania has supported the PRC, Romania has pressed +its case for independence, and Yugoslavia has essentially followed a +nationalistic policy.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria's relations with Greece, which had been basically negative for +twenty years, became more positive in 1964 when trade, air traffic, +communications, and tourist agreements were signed. Because of the issue +of Macedonia, relations with Yugoslavia were, for the most part, cool, +although Zhivkov attempted to improve them from time to time. Relations +with the United States remained cool but correct.</p> + +<p>In 1965, shortly after Khrushchev's ouster in the Soviet Union, there +was an attempted coup against Zhivkov. The government tried in vain to +silence the story but, when pressed, stated that the conspirators in the +plot were Maoists, alienated by Bulgaria's anti-PRC policies. As the +coup was attempted only five months after Khrushchev's removal from +office, Zhivkov—whose power had been based to a large extent on +Khrushchev's support—was in a highly vulnerable position. For this +reason many attributed the conspiracy to those opposed to Zhivkov's +government itself and particularly those opposed to its subservience to +the Soviet Union. The conspirators <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span>included Bulgarian Communists, army +officers, and World War II partisans. The discovery of this plot +resulted in purges, the suicide of one of the leading conspirators, and +the reorganization of the Ministry of the Interior and the transfer of +its security functions to the new Committee of State Security, which +fell directly under Zhivkov's personal control.</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER 3</h2> + +<h3>PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND POPULATION</h3> + + +<p>Bulgaria occupies 42,800 square miles of the Balkan Peninsula, and its +1973 population was estimated at 8.7 million (see fig. 1). It is a +member of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact), together with +five other Eastern European countries to its north and northwest and the +Soviet Union. Bulgaria's location is such that its natural features are +combinations of those found in the western Soviet Union and in southern +Europe. Its climate is transitional between that of the Mediterranean +countries and that of north-central Europe. The blend of the various +geographic influences is unique, however, and gives the country a degree +of individuality that is not anticipated until it is explored in some +detail.</p> + +<p>It is a land of unusual scenic beauty, having picturesque mountains, +wooded hills, beautiful valleys, grain-producing plains, and a seacoast +that has both rocky cliffs and long sandy beaches. Soil and climate are +adequate to permit production of a variety of crops. Although only a few +mineral resources are present in quantity or in good quality ores, the +country has a number of them. Large quantities of brown coal and lignite +are available, but resources of the better fuels are limited.</p> + +<p>The people of the country have been influenced by its location, which is +close to the point of contact between Europe and the Orient. The area +had been overrun by so many conquerors and occupied for so long that +only since liberation in 1878 have a majority of the peasants dared come +out of the hills to farm the better land of the plains and valleys.</p> + +<p>The country fared poorly in the distribution of the spoils after the +First Balkan War in 1912. It was then on the losing side of the Second +Balkan War in 1913 and of the two great wars since. In spite of this, +its boundaries contain most of the Bulgarian people in the area, and +only some 10 to 15 percent of the population within its borders is not +ethnically Bulgarian. It has until recently been predominantly +agricultural. Industrialization was undertaken late, and it was not +until 1969 that the urban population equaled that of the rural areas +(see ch. 2).</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">NATURAL FEATURES</p> + +<p class="cen">Topography</p> + +<p>Alternating bands of high and low terrain extend generally east to west +across the country. The four most prominent of these from <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span>north to +south are the Danubian plateau, the Stara Planina (Old Mountain), or +Balkan Mountains, the central Thracian Plain, and the Rodopi (or Rhodope +Mountains). The western part of the country, however, consists almost +entirely of higher land, and the individual mountain ranges in the east +tend to taper into hills and gentle uplands as they approach the Black +Sea (see fig. 2).</p> + +<p>The Danubian plateau, also called a plain or a tableland, extends from +the Yugoslav border to the Black Sea. It encompasses the area between +the Danube River, which forms most of the country's northern border, and +the Stara Planina to the south. The plateau rises from cliffs along the +river, which are typically 300 to 600 feet high, and abuts against the +mountains at elevations on the order of 1,200 to 1,500 feet. The region +slopes gently but perceptibly from the river southward to the mountains. +The western portion is lower and more dissected; in the east it becomes +regular but somewhat higher, better resembling a plateau. Bulgarians +name local areas within it, but they do not name the region as a whole. +It is a fertile area with undulating hills and is the granary of the +country.</p> + +<p>The southern edge of the Danubian plateau blends into the foothills of +the Stara Planina, the Bulgarian extension of the Carpathian Mountains. +The Carpathians resemble a reversed S as they run eastward from +Czechoslovakia across the northern portion of Romania, swinging +southward to the middle of that country, where they run westward and +cross Romania as the Transylvanian Alps. At a famous gorge of the Danube +River known as the Iron Gate, which forms part of the Romania-Yugoslavia +border, the Carpathians again sweep eastward, becoming Bulgaria's Stara +Planina range.</p> + +<p>Considered in its local context, the Stara Planina originates at the +Timok Valley in Yugoslavia, continues southeastward as it becomes the +northern boundary of the Sofia Basin, and then turns more directly +eastward to terminate at Cape Emine on the Black Sea. It is some 370 +miles in length, and some twelve to thirty miles in width. It retains +its height well into the central part of the country, where Botev Peak, +its highest point, rises to about 7,800 feet. The range is still +apparent until its rocky cliffs fall into the Black Sea. Over most of +its length, its ridge is the divide between drainage to the Danube River +and to the Aegean Sea. In the east small areas drain directly to the +Black Sea.</p> + +<p>Sometimes considered a part of the foothills of the Stara Planina, but +separated from the main range by a long geological trench that contains +the Valley of Roses, is the Sredna Gora (Middle Forest). The Sredna Gora +is a ridge running almost precisely east to west, about 100 miles long. +Its elevations run to only a little more than 5,000 feet, but it is +narrow and achieves an impression of greater height.</p> + +<p>The southern slopes of the Stara Planina and the Sredna Gora give way to +the Thracian Plain. The plain is roughly triangular in shape, +originating at a point east of the mountains that ring the Sofia Basin +and broadening as it proceeds eastward to the Black Sea. It +encompasses the Maritsa River basin and the lowlands that extend from it +to the Black Sea. As is the case with the Danubian plateau, a great deal +of this area is not a plain in strict terms. Most of its terrain is +moderate enough to allow cultivation, but there are variations greater +than those of a typical plain.</p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span><br /> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep039" id="imagep039"></a> +<a href="images/imagep039.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep039.jpg" width="85%" alt="Figure 2. Topography of Bulgaria" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>Figure 2. Topography of Bulgaria</i></p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span>The Rodopi occupies the area between the Thracian Plain and the Greek +border. This range is commonly described as including the Rila mountain +range south of Sophia and the Pirin range in the southwestern corner of +the country. As such, the Rodopi is the most outstanding topographic +feature, not only of the country, but also of the entire Balkan +Peninsula. The Rila contains Mount Musala—called Mount Stalin for a few +years—whose 9,500-foot peak is the highest in the Balkans. About a +dozen other peaks in the Rila are over 9,000 feet. They feature a few +bare rocks and remote lakes above the tree line, but the lower peaks are +covered with Alpine meadows, and the general aspect of the range is one +of green beauty.</p> + +<p>The Vitosha range is an outlier of the Rila. A symmetrical, 7,500-foot +high, isolated peak in the range is a landmark on the outskirts of +Sofia. Snow covers its conical summit most of the year, and its steep +sides are forested.</p> + +<p>The Pirin is characterized by rocky peaks and stony slopes. An +impression of the landscape is provided by a local legend, which says +that when the earth was being created God was flying over the peninsula +with a bag of huge boulders. The rocks were too heavy for the bag, and +it broke over southwestern Bulgaria.</p> + +<p>Some Bulgarian geographers refer to the western Rodopi and the Pirin as +the Thracian-Macedonian massif. In this context, the Rodopi includes +only the mountains south of the Maritsa River basin. There is some basis +for such a division. The Rila is largely volcanic in origin. The Pirin +was formed at a different time by fracturing of the earth's crust. The +uplands east of the Maritsa River are not of the same stature as the +major ranges.</p> + +<p>Sizable areas in the western and central Stara Planina and smaller areas +in the Pirin and in Dobrudzha have extensive layers of limestone. There +are some 2,000 caves in these deposits. The public has become more +interested in the caves during the past three or four decades, but only +about 400 of them have been completely explored and charted.</p> + +<p>To the east of the higher Rodopi and east of the Maritsa River are the +Sakar and Strandzha mountains. They extend the length of the Rodopi +along the Turkish border to the Black Sea but are themselves +comparatively insignificant. At one point they have a spot elevation of +about 2,800 feet, but they rarely exceed 1,500 feet elsewhere.</p> + +<p>Formation of the Balkan landmasses involved a number of earth crust +foldings and volcanic actions that either dammed rivers or forced them +into new courses. The flat basins that occur throughout the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span>country +were created when river waters receded from the temporary lakes that +existed while the rivers were cutting their new channels. The largest of +these is the Sofia Basin, which includes the city and the area about +fifteen miles wide and sixty miles long to its northwest and southeast. +Other valleys between the Stara Planina and the Sredna Gora ranges +contain a series of smaller basins, and similar ones occur at intervals +in the valleys of a number of the larger rivers.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Drainage</p> + +<p>From a drainage standpoint, the country is divided into two nearly equal +parts. The slightly larger one drains to the Black Sea, the other to the +Aegean. The northern watershed of the Stara Planina, all of the Danubian +plateau, and the thirty to fifty miles inland from the coastline drain +to the Black Sea. The Thracian Plain and most of the higher lands of the +south and southwest drain to the Aegean Sea. Although only the Danube is +navigable, many of the other rivers and streams have a high potential +for the production of hydroelectric power and are sources of irrigation +water. Many are already being exploited.</p> + +<p>Insignificant when compared with the watersheds that drain to the seas, +about 125 square miles of the country drain into a few small salt lakes +that have no outflowing water. The largest such lake has a surface area +of 2.5 square miles.</p> + +<p>By far the greater part of the country that drains to the Black Sea does +so through the Danube. Most of its major tributaries in the country +(from west to east, the Ogosta, Iskur, Vit, Osum, Yantra, and Lom) carry +more water than do the combination of the Provadiyska, Kamchiya, +Fakiyska, and Veleka rivers, all of which flow directly into the Black +Sea. Of the Danube's Bulgarian tributaries, all but the Iskur rise in +the Stara Planina. The Iskur rises in the Rila and flows northward +through a narrow basin. Territory not far from the river on both sides +of it drains in the opposite direction, to the south. The Iskur passes +through Sofia's eastern suburbs and cuts a valley through the Stara +Planina on its way to join the Danube.</p> + +<p>The Iskur and the other of the Danube's north-flowing tributaries have +cut deep valleys through the Danubian plateau. The eastern banks tend to +rise sharply from the rivers; the western parts of the valleys may have +broad fields with alluvial soils. The peculiar, though consistent, +pattern is caused by forces resulting from the earth's rotation; these +forces give the water a motion that tends to undercut the right banks of +the streams. Some of these rivers are sizable streams, but the Danube +gets only a little more than 4 percent of its total volume from its +Bulgarian tributaries. As it flows along the northern border, the Danube +averages one to 1.5 miles in width. Its highest water levels are usually +reached during June floods, and in normal seasons it is frozen over for +about forty days.</p> + +<p>Several major rivers flow directly to the Aegean Sea, although the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span>Maritsa with its tributaries is by far the largest. The Maritsa drains +all of the western Thracian Plain, all of the Sredna Gora, the southern +slopes of the Stara Planina, and the northern slopes of the eastern +Rodopi. Other than the Maritsa, the Struma in the west and the Mesta +(which separates the Pirin from the main Rodopi ranges) are the two +largest of the rivers that rise in Bulgaria and flow to the Aegean. Most +of these streams fall swiftly from the mountains and have cut deep, +scenic gorges. The Struma and Mesta reach the sea through Greece. The +Maritsa forms most of the Greek-Turkish border after it leaves Bulgaria.</p> + +<p>About 3,750 square miles of agricultural land have access to irrigation +waters. Dams provide the water for about one-half of the acreage; +diversions from rivers and streams serve about one-third; and water +pumped from the ground and from streams accounts for the remainder.</p> + +<p>Of the dams, ninety-two are termed large state dams. Their combined +capacity is three times that of some 2,000 smaller dams. The sources of +four large rivers—the Maritsa, Iskur, Mesta, and Rilska (a major +tributary of the Struma)—are within a few miles of each other in the +high Rila. Water from the upper courses of these and several other +streams supplies the Sofia area with both water and electricity, and +they have a potential for further development. There are major dams on +the Tundzha, Iskur, Rositsa, and Struma rivers. The Danube is too +massive a stream to harness, and damming the Maritsa along most of its +course would flood too much valuable land. The rivers flowing north +across the Danubian plateau also tend to be overly difficult to use in +the areas where they are most needed.</p> + +<p>The Vucha River, flowing from the Rodopi into the Maritsa River, is +often used to illustrate how rivers have been effectively harnessed to +provide a variety of benefits. Its cascade system of hydroelectric +development employs six dams having the capacity to generate over +600,000 kilowatts of electricity. The water they back up serves the +municipal water systems in Plovdiv and a number of other towns in its +vicinity, and the dams provide irrigation water for nearly 250,000 acres +of cropland. The reservoirs themselves are being developed as +recreational areas and mountain resorts.</p> + +<p>Where a stream is difficult to dam or to divert, water is pumped from +it. This has been feasible only since about 1950, when low-cost diesel +engines and sufficient hydroelectric power became available from newly +constructed dams on other streams. About eighty-five huge pumping +stations have been set up along the Danube River, which furnishes about +three-quarters of the water acquired by this method; and in 1970 there +were about 1,200 lesser stations operating on smaller streams, most of +them on the Thracian Plain.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Climate</p> + +<p>For so small an area, the climate varies widely and is unusually +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span>complex. Depending upon the depth to which they study the area, +climatologists list six or more climatic subzones. The country lies on +the line of transition between the strongly contrasting Eastern European +continental and the Mediterranean climatic zones, and its mountains and +valleys are local factors that act as barriers or channels to the air +masses, contributing to sharp contrasts in weather over relatively short +distances. The Black Sea, although too small to be a primary influence +over much of the country's weather, also affects the immediate area +along its coastline.</p> + +<p>In general, continental systems prevail in the north. They are +characterized by hot summers, cold winters, and precipitation well +distributed throughout the year, a major portion of it in early summer +thunderstorms. The Mediterranean climate that is influential most of the +time in the south has mild, damp winters but hot, dry, rain-free +summers. The Stara Planina marks the lower limits of the area in which +continental air masses circulate freely in typical circumstances. In the +area between them and the Danube River there is an extension of the +climate that is common to east-central Europe and adjoining regions of +the Soviet Union.</p> + +<p>In the same fashion, the Rodopi marks the northern limits of domination +by Mediterranean weather systems. The southern slopes of these mountains +are sufficiently mild to merit the region's being called the Green +Greece or Bulgarian California.</p> + +<p>The area in between, which includes the Thracian Plain, is influenced by +both types of climate, but more of the time by continental systems. The +result is a plains climate resembling that of the corn belt in the +United States, which is characterized by long summers and high humidity. +The climate is generally more severe than that of Spain and the portions +of Italy, France, and Soviet Georgia that are in the same latitude. +Because it is a transitional area and the Mediterranean systems may +prevail for most of some seasons or retreat from the scene altogether in +other seasons, average temperatures and precipitation are erratic and +may vary widely from year to year.</p> + +<p>Precipitation over the country averages about twenty-five inches a year +and, when it is distributed normally throughout the seasons, it is +satisfactory for most agricultural crops. Dobrudzha, in the northeast, +the Black Sea coastal area, and parts of the Thracian Plain usually +receive less than twenty inches. The remainder of the Thracian Plain and +the Danubian plateau get less than the country average. Higher +elevations are the most generously watered, in some places receiving +forty inches or more.</p> + +<p>Although a low figure of 7.6 inches was recorded in Dobrudzha for one +year and the normal precipitation is marginal, both Dobrudzha and the +Danubian plateau are in the continental climate zone and usually receive +most of their rainfall during crop-growing seasons. The Thracian Plain, +however, has frequent seasons when it is under <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span>Mediterranean influences +and, when this is the case, it may experience prolonged summer droughts. +Irrigation is, therefore, necessary for dependable agricultural +production.</p> + +<p>A few sheltered pockets in the higher mountains may remain covered with +snow all year, and much of the other higher land remains white well into +springtime. Lower elevations are snow covered an average of twenty-five +to thirty days a year. Average cloudiness is about 55 percent, and +average relative humidity is as high as 70 to 75 percent.</p> + +<p>The many valley basins throughout the uplands frequently have +temperature inversions resulting in stagnant air. The Sofia area, for +example, is occasionally troubled by smog. The city's elevation of about +1,800 feet, however, tends to moderate summer temperatures and to +relieve the oppressive quality of the high humidity. It is also +sheltered from the northern European winds by the mountains that ring +the basin. Its temperatures in January average about 29°F, and in August +they average about 70°F. Its rainfall is near the country average, and +the overall result of the several contributing features is a rather +unexpectedly pleasant climate.</p> + +<p>The climate of the coast is moderated by the Black Sea, but there are +many windy days and violent local storms during the winter. The area +along the Danube River experiences bitterly cold winters, and sheltered +valleys opening to the south along the Greek and Turkish borders may, in +contrast, be as mild as though they were on the Mediterranean or Aegean +coasts. The so-called Black Wind, a local phenomenon similar to the +African sirocco, consists of hard-blowing, hot, very dry air and wreaks +havoc on crops. It gets its name from the quantities of dust it carries, +which often darken the skies.</p> + +<p>Regions in the Rodopi and the higher elevations around Sofia feature sun +and snow in a pleasant combination for about four months a year. Several +places have good and reasonably dependable skiing and are being +developed into holiday resorts.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Soils</p> + +<p>Fine, dark chernozem (black earth) soils, rich in loess and humus, occur +over a considerable portion of the northern Danubian plateau. They are +fertile, easy to work, and compare with the best soils in Europe. Away +from the river, approaching the mountains, there is a broader area that +is basically similar, but the subsoils are more porous and have allowed +the humus and loess to leach downward from the surface. The resulting +gray soil no longer rates among the finest, but it yields good crops in +some areas and, where it is less satisfactory, the land is forested.</p> + +<p>The Thracian Plain has comparatively little of the finest soils, but it +has much soil that is more than adequate to produce reasonably good +crops. The best on the plain is locally called <i>smolnitsa</i>. It is +basically a chernozem, but it is less fully matured and coarser than the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span>darker variety along the Danube. The plain also features fairly +extensive areas of good brown and brown forest soils. Meadow soils occur +in large areas in the vicinity of Plovdiv. Some are irrigated and +cultivated.</p> + +<p>Meadow and layered podzol (gray forest) soils occur in most of the +higher elevations throughout the country. Intermediate elevations +usually have brown forest soils, some of which are excellent. The +Maritsa and Tundzha and the major rivers that flow into the Danube have +wide valleys with alluvial soils. They may be coarse, but most of them +are fertile, drain well, and are extensively cultivated.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Vegetation</p> + +<p>Both the natural vegetation and the cultivated crops that have replaced +it on all areas that could be put to agricultural use reflect the +transitional climate of the country. North of the Stara Planina the +original flora was a continuation of that on the Russian steppe. The +steppe influence was greatest in the east, giving way to deciduous +forests farther to the west.</p> + +<p>Lands south of the mountains, sheltered from the colder extremes of the +continental weather systems, have been able to support plant life that +could not exist on the steppe. Areas along the Black Sea coast and in +valleys of the Rodopi that open to the south experience further +moderation. Many Mediterranean and subtropical species have existed in +them naturally, and others introduced by man have thrived.</p> + +<p>What remains of the original vegetation on the Danubian plateau is found +mainly along the river, where the land has been difficult to cultivate. +It includes brush grass, reeds, and licorice. The last two have +commercial value. Most of the original lowland deciduous forests have +been removed, and grain flourishes on the level expanses where the soils +are favorable. Other food and fodder crops are grown to satisfy local +requirements. The foothills of the Stara Planina are dotted with +orchards; plums are the most prevalent fruit in these northern areas.</p> + +<p>The depression, or geological trench, between the Stara Planina and the +Sredna Gora ranges, which is at the near center point of the country and +contains the upper valleys of the Tundzha, Stryama, and Topolnitsa +rivers, is sheltered and very humid and is ideal for the raising of +roses. One in particular, Rosa Alba, has become known as Bulgaria's +gold. Its flower is not an especially lovely variety, but it is +extremely rich in the rose oil that is the basic fragrance in many +perfumes and a flavor in certain liqueurs. Fields of them flourish in +the Kazanluk area, the so-called Valley of Roses.</p> + +<p>The Thracian Plain, between the Sredna Gora and the Rodopi, originally +featured a mixture of midlatitude forest and Mediterranean flora. The +forests have been removed from the level lands and have been replaced by +a diversification of crops, including truck vegetables, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span>fruit orchards, +strawberries, raspberries, vineyards, tobacco, and cotton. The plain +also produces a variety of herbs and medicine derivatives. Digitalis is +produced from foxgloves; menthol, from peppermint; opium, from a species +of poppy; linseed oil, from flaxseed; laxatives, from iris and rhubarb; +and castor oil, from the castor bean. All of them are grown on this +plain.</p> + +<p>Where the plain touches the Black Sea, varieties of tropical or +subtropical vegetation appear. Vegetation is dense along the Kamchiya +River and on the banks of a few of the smaller streams as they approach +the sea. Reeds, lianas, exotic flowers, and huge old trees that grow +nowhere else in the country flourish in this region.</p> + +<p>In the southern Rodopi, where a few of the river valleys—those of the +Struma, Mesta, and Maritsa, for example—open to the south, the +vegetation is typically Mediterranean. Natural species include the +Mediterranean scrubby underbrush, maquis, and an assortment of flowering +plants and shrubs. Vineyards and subtropical fruit grow well in these +valleys. Such areas produce the country's peaches, figs, and peanuts.</p> + +<p>Mountainous regions feature Alpine meadows and pastures above the tree +line, where the terrain permits, and conifer forests immediately below +the tree line. Deciduous trees are native to all of the uplands of the +country with tolerable elevations. Beech predominates at intermediate +elevations, particularly on northern slopes, and oak, on the lower +foothills. There are dense elm, oak, and ash forests at lower elevations +in the Kamchiya River valley where it descends from the eastern part of +the Stara Planina. Scrub and brush prevail at all upland elevations +where terrain and soil conditions are poor or where the original forest +has been removed and has not been replaced.</p> + +<p>The Stara Planina has grassy meadowland and pastures on rounded summits +and higher slopes. In the springtime these higher lands may also be +brilliant with wild flowers and flowering shrubs. Cherry laurel, for +example, grows wild over wide areas. The meadows usually give way to +beech and to other mixed deciduous forests at lower elevations. Mixed +forests may contain varieties of oak, chestnut, hornbeam, elm, and ash.</p> + +<p>The most valuable forests are in the Rodopi, although many of them are +interspersed among inaccessible craggy hills. A majority of the +country's conifers, both the natural forest and those that have been +planted in preference to the slower growing deciduous, are in the higher +Rodopi, including the Rila and the Pirin. The most common of the +conifers are pine and fir. At elevations beneath those dominated by the +conifers, the mixture of broad-leaved deciduous trees is similar to that +of the Stara Planina. Of the forest area, only about one-half has tall +timber. Scrub on the remainder, however, serves to stabilize the soil of +the forest lands against erosion and to slow the runoff of water. The +rare and exotic edelweiss can be found on the higher slopes of the +Pirin.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span>Wildlife</p> + +<p>The clearing of forestland and the increase in human population have +driven most of the larger wildlife from their natural habitats, except +in the higher and more rugged terrain. Of the larger species, some +bears, wild boars, wild goats, wolves, elk, and several species of deer +continue to exist naturally. Foxes, wildcats, polecats, squirrels and +other rodents, and hare—better able to adjust to existing +conditions—are also surviving.</p> + +<p>Quail, turtledoves, wild fowl, and other game birds are hunted in +restricted seasons. Hunting seasons are also provided for some of the +deer species; the seasons usually last between two and four months, +depending upon the need to protect the animal, between the months of +August and February. There are bounties on wolves and foxes. Wildcats, +falcons, and hawks are also considered harmful and may be killed at any +time. The polecat—in Europe the <i>Mustela putorius</i>, a fetid-smelling +member of the weasel and otter family—is a bloodthirsty, insatiable +hunter that terrorizes poultry. It also may be exterminated.</p> + +<p>The many caves in limestone-dominated regions have given rise to various +types of blind fauna. The largest of them are crabs, but most are +insects, including mosquitoes, butterflies, spiders, locusts, and common +flies. Although they are blind, exposure to light is usually fatal to +such species.</p> + +<p>Rivers contain several kinds of freshwater fish, the most plentiful of +which are sturgeon, whitefish, and European carp. Mackerel account for +the largest percentage of fish taken from the Black Sea. There are no +sharks or other dangerous fish in these waters, but a rare Black Sea +seal breeds along the rocky coast north of Varna.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Mineral Resources</p> + +<p>The country's mountains contain a variety of metallic and nonmetallic +minerals. A few are of good quality, but most of these occur in very +small quantities. Iron and coal, which are basic to a metallurgical +industry, are mined, but neither of them is of the proper variety or +quality nor are they available in adequate quantities to be used +economically.</p> + +<p>Largest deposits of iron ore occur in the far western Stara Planina and +the Strandzha mountain range. There are smaller deposits in the vicinity +of Burgas, along the Black Sea coast, and near Sofia to the north and +west of the city. Estimated reserves total in excess of 10 million tons.</p> + +<p>Coal has been located in some twenty small deposits. There is an +anthracite basin in the Stara Planina twenty miles north of Sofia and +another in the extreme northwest end of the range. Bituminous coal +occurs in a larger basin in the central Stara Planina, but brown coals +and lignite are much more abundant.</p> + +<p>Copper, lead, and zinc are mined in quantities that exceed domestic +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span>requirements. Bulgaria ranks high in the production of them among the +eastern and southeastern European countries and exports small amounts of +them. Among the other metallic ores, Bulgaria has three of the more +important alloying metals—manganese, molybdenum, and chromium—but the +manganese is of poor quality. Uranium has been discovered in several +deposits near Sofia and is being extracted from one or more of them. +Gold occurs in a number of locations but in small quantities.</p> + +<p>Of the fuels, coal is by far the most abundant and most important to the +economy. The search for oil and natural gas resources was intensive in +the early post-World War II years, and what were hoped to be valuable +fields were discovered in the early 1960s. Production, however, reached +a peak in the latter part of that decade. If it becomes economic to +exploit them, there are oil-bearing shales west of Sofia and in the +northwestern region of the country. The extent of these shales appears +to be limited, but their potential is believed to be considerably +greater than that of the oil-bearing formations where the crude product +is extracted by pumping.</p> + +<p>Other minerals extracted include salt, kaolin, chalk, talc, asbestos, +gypsum, mica, fluorite, quartzite, antimony, lime, sandstone, slate, and +pyrites. The pyrites are plentiful and produce exportable quantities of +sulfur and sulfur products. Fuel resources tend to be concentrated in +basins and on lower lands; most other resources, both metal and +nonmetal, are more frequently found in the Rodopi, the western Stara +Planina, and in the other western highlands.</p> + +<p>Mineral waters are locally considered to be an important resource. The +country boasts some 500 mineral springs, about one-half of which are +warm or hot. Their mineral content varies, as does the concentration of +the chemicals. The stronger of those considered medicinal are used for +drinking only. The milder are used for drinking and bathing. Sofia has +active hot springs that have been in use and have attracted people to +the area for centuries. Its first settlement was built around such a +spring.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">BOUNDARIES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS</p> + +<p class="cen">Boundaries</p> + +<p>Bulgaria has had nearly a century of modern independence, during which +its borders have invariably been imposed upon it by others. This has +been the case partly because the Balkan Peninsula was for many years a +pawn in the balance-of-power politics of the more powerful European +nations and also because Bulgaria has been on the losing side in three +of its four major wars. It even fared badly at the peace table after the +only war in which it emerged victorious (see ch. 2).</p> + +<p>In spite of these circumstances, the country has boundaries that have +many natural physical characteristics and that have imposed no <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span>serious +economic hardship on any significant group of people. They also contain +a large percentage of the Bulgarian people, although numerous population +resettlement movements have contributed to this end. None of its borders +are officially disputed.</p> + +<p>The total boundary of Bulgaria is about 1,415 miles long. Rivers account +for about 425 miles of it, the Black Sea coast for 248 miles, and a +great portion of the remainder adheres to ridges in high terrain.</p> + +<p>The western and northern boundaries are shared with Yugoslavia and +Romania, respectively, and the Black Sea coastline constitutes the +entire eastern border. The southern boundary is shared with Greece and +Turkey.</p> + +<p>Nationalists have territorial ambitions stemming from the size of the +Middle Ages Bulgarian empire that encompassed about one-half of the +Balkan Peninsula but, in the local political climate that has existed +since World War II, such ambitions are not seriously considered.</p> + +<p>The post-World War I boundaries were established in rough detail by the +Treaty of Peace between the Allied and associated powers and Bulgaria, +signed in 1919 at Neuilly-sur-Seine. They were demarcated by +international commissions between 1919 and 1922, formalized by the +Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, and reconfirmed by the Treaty of Paris in +1947.</p> + +<p>During World War II, again as an ally of Germany, Bulgaria briefly +reacquired the coveted portions of Macedonia and Thrace, but the +interwar boundaries were restored without much deliberation in 1947 with +the agreement of the Soviet Union as well as all of the other major +victorious allies. Small deviations from the borders established in the +early 1920s have been made for local reasons, but none of them have been +of national significance.</p> + +<p>The 335-mile border with Yugoslavia was drawn in an attempt to follow +the high ridges separating the watersheds of the Morava and Vardar river +valleys in Yugoslavia from those of the Iskur and Struma valleys in +Bulgaria. The border starts in the north at the junction of the Timok +River and the Danube, but it follows the river for only about ten miles. +Leaving the Timok (with a few exceptions when it must cross river +valleys), it remains on high ground until it reaches the tripoint with +Greece. Although nationalist Bulgarians continue to feel that Bulgaria's +share of Macedonia—which it shares with both Yugoslavia and Greece—is +less than just, there are no overt official disputes of the boundary.</p> + +<p>The border with Greece is 307 miles long—all but forty-nine miles of +which are overland. The major portion of it follows higher elevations +and ridges in the Rodopi. East of the Struma and Mesta river valleys, +insofar as it is feasible, the border is at the dividing line between +the Maritsa River basin and those of the streams that flow southward to +the Aegean Sea.</p> + +<p>Following an official visit by the Greek foreign minister to Sofia in +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span>1946, the Bulgarian premier stated that "all territorial claims [between +Greece and Bulgaria] are excluded forever." This statement indicates +that boundary frictions that had persisted for many years were +officially eliminated at that time, and as of 1973 the border was not +disputed.</p> + +<p>The Turkish border is 149 miles long. It follows small rivers and +streams for more than 40 percent of its length, but neither they nor the +overland sections constitute physical boundaries or barriers of any +consequence.</p> + +<p>The Romanian border follows the Danube River for about 290 miles from +the northwestern corner of the country to the city of Silistra and then +cuts to the east-southeast for about eighty-five miles across the old +province of Dobrudzha. The Danube, with steep bluffs on the Bulgarian +side and a wide area of swamps and marshes along much of the Romanian, +is one of the better natural river boundaries in Europe. Most of the +river islands that might be expected to bridge the gap between the +countries are damp and covered with marsh vegetation. They are subject +to regular inundation by floodwaters and, therefore, are uninhabited. +The line across Dobrudzha is arbitrary and has been redrawn on several +occasions. The population of the area that has changed hands is mixed, +but most of those who have strong national preferences have been +resettled in the country of their choice.</p> + +<p>A joint resolution adopted between Bulgaria and Romania in April 1971 +allowed somewhat easier transit of their border. A passport was still +required, but residents of the twelve-mile-wide zone on each side of the +border became able to make one crossing each month without a visa. Each +visit was limited to six days, and the destination and residence to be +visited were subject to the approval of local police. The agreement made +no changes in custom regulations and was not, therefore, intended to +change trade relations between the countries.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Political Subdivisions</p> + +<p>The country is subdivided into twenty-eight <i>okruzi</i> (sing., <i>okrug</i>), +which are usually translated as districts, and has some 200 towns and +cities and approximately 5,500 villages or settlements. The cities and +larger towns are subdivided into <i>rayoni</i> (sing., <i>rayon</i>), and the +smaller villages are grouped together into <i>obshtini</i> (sing., +<i>obshtina</i>). The <i>rayoni</i> and <i>obshtini</i> are the urban boroughs and +village communes that are the smallest units of local government, that +is, those that have people's councils (see fig. 3).</p> + +<p>The twenty-eight <i>okruzi</i> include one for the city of Sofia and its +immediate vicinity as well as one for a larger Sofia district. Each +<i>okrug</i> is named for the city that is its administrative center. They +have areas ranging from 794 to 2,916 square miles and populations of +about 130,000 to about 650,000.</p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span><br /> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep051" id="imagep051"></a> +<a href="images/imagep051.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep051.jpg" width="85%" alt="Figure 3. Political Subdivisions of Bulgaria, 1973" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>Figure 3. Political Subdivisions of Bulgaria, 1973</i></p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span>The number of <i>okruzi</i> has been changed only at times of major +governmental reorganization, the most recent of which was in 1959. The +<i>obshtini</i>, on the other hand, are in a state of relatively constant +change. Cities grow, towns become cities, new enterprises are set up and +attract population, and other factors affect the need for local +administration. Since the reorganization of 1959, when the <i>obshtini</i> +were reduced by nearly one-half—from about 1,950 to just over +1,000—their number has tended to grow again. By the late 1960s there +were about 1,150 of them.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">SETTLEMENT PATTERNS</p> + +<p>The Bulgarians, who were mounted archers from the steppes of central +Asia, rode into the area between the Danube River and the Stara Planina +in the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. They interbred with the Slavs +and adopted a Slavic language and many Slavic customs, but they retained +enough individuality to remain readily identifiable. In spite of +horrifying defeats and treatment at the hands of Byzantines and +Ottomans, they were in the land to stay and never relinquished their +title to a share of the peninsula.</p> + +<p>For several centuries before their independence from the Turks, the +people preferred to live in the hills, motivated by the sheer necessity +of having to escape the notice of their oppressive occupiers. They +returned to the fertile plains and valleys in large numbers only after +independence in 1878. Since 1945 there has been a major movement of +people to the cities as the country has become industrialized, and there +has been a lesser movement of the rural population resulting from the +collectivization of agricultural lands.</p> + +<p>Each major movement has brought about some improvement over the +conditions of the period that preceded it. Settlement in the back hills +was particularly necessary during the last years of Turkish control, +when the Ottoman Empire was in decline and its local controls and +taxation became increasingly oppressive. To avoid attracting attention +to themselves, the people settled into small hamlets and built their +homes as bare and unattractive as possible.</p> + +<p>With independence life on the plains was safer and easier. For a time +there was plenty of good land available but, as the population grew, +inevitably the land became occupied, and the size of individual +landholdings decreased. Between the turn of the century and the +mid-1980s, for example, the average landholding decreased from 18.2 to +12.2 acres, a size that was agriculturally uneconomic and that +overpopulated the rural areas. People remained poor and, although it was +no longer necessary to keep them plain, peasant homes amounted to little +more than small, bare, essential shelter.</p> + +<p>Under the communist government, the first near-complete collectivization +program served to increase the size of farmland units in collective and +state farms to an average of about 10,000 acres each. In 1970, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span>with an +average of less than 1,100 fully employed farmers at each of the larger +units, the ratio of farmers to acres of arable land had fallen sharply. +In 1973 the agricultural lands were again recombined, this time into +about 170 units called agroindustrial complexes. The rural population is +still, however, for the most part clustered in unplanned, nucleated +villages or hamlets. Long, single-street villages are rare. Many +villages are situated in valleys for shelter from cold winter winds. A +gradual movement to housing at the agroindustrial centers will +undoubtedly take place, but there was no indication in 1973 that the +movement would be a rapid one or that the government intended to make it +a matter of urgent priority.</p> + +<p>Post-World War II emphasis on educational and cultural pursuits and +rural development has made more community life and more amenities +available to the rural areas. Dwelling space remains meager, with only a +little more than 500 feet of floorspace per dwelling. By 1970 central +water supplies were available to over 90 percent of the population, but +fewer than one half of the dwellings had individual service. Nearly all +dwellings have electricity.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria has been primarily agricultural and has been overrun, pillaged, +and occupied by so many conquerors that its cities have suffered, and +their inhabitants have had less opportunity than have those in most +European countries to develop a culture. There are relatively few cities +with noteworthy associations with the country's past. There are, +however, a few notable exceptions, and some of their histories antedate +the introduction of the Bulgar people into the region. There are others +that, if not altogether new, have had rapid and well-planned growth +during the country's recent history. Modern city growth has been +accompanied by the construction of large numbers of apartment houses, +many of them built as rapidly as possible to recover space destroyed +during World War II and to accommodate the heavy influx of people to +urban areas.</p> + +<p>Sofia was founded by the Thracians and has had a continuous history of +some importance for 2,000 years. No trace of its original founders +remains in the city, although it retained its Thracian name, Serdica, +while it was a part of the Roman Empire. It is situated in a sheltered +basin at the base of the Vitosha range, a location that has been both +strategically and esthetically desirable. Long-established +communications routes cross at the city. The most traveled and most +famous is that from Belgrade to Istanbul. It is Sofia's main street for +that portion of its route. At the city it crosses the north-south route +from the Aegean Sea to the Danube River that uses the Struma and Iskur +river valleys. Some of the other routes that radiate from the city, +particularly those to the Black Sea coastal cities, are of more local +importance than the international routes. Sofia's pleasant climate, plus +its strategic location, made the city a contender in the selection of a +capital for Rome in Emperor Constantine's reign. Its hot springs were an +added <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span>attraction to the Romans, and their baths remain.</p> + +<p>Sofia was a thriving city under the Romans. Attila the Hun destroyed it +in the fifth century A.D., but it was rebuilt in the sixth and seventh +centuries, when its population grew to about 40,000. It declined again +under the Ottomans, and in 1878, when it was liberated, it had only some +15,000-20,000 inhabitants. It has grown rapidly since becoming the +capital of the modern state.</p> + +<p>Sofia is the city's fourth name. Saint Sophia's sixth-century church +occupies the highest land in the city and is one of the most famous of +its landmarks, although the city was named for her several centuries +after the church was built. As the capital, the city has most of the +nation's administration and has become the educational and cultural +center of the country. It retains much charm and beauty, in spite of its +rapid growth. From its hundreds of small parks and thousands of trees, +it claims the right to call itself the garden city.</p> + +<p>Plovdiv is the second most important city. It is older than Sofia, +having been established in the fourth century B.C. by Philip of Macedon; +it was first named Philippopolis after him. On the plain and astride the +route from Belgrade to Istanbul, it has been exposed to all who have +passed that way, for good or ill, and this is reflected in its violent +history. It has been captured and devastated in turn by Greeks, Romans, +Goths, Huns, and Turks. It was also ravished on four different occasions +by Christian armies during the Crusades.</p> + +<p>Plovdiv has continued to be an important commercial city, having more +rail lines radiating from it than Sofia. It also has a university and +some of the country's most important museums and art treasures. The old +town center is typically Macedonian and, although it was severely +damaged by an earthquake in 1928, part of it has been termed a national +monument, to be reworked only for its restoration.</p> + +<p>Veliko Turnovo, situated astride a mountain stream on the northern +slopes of the central Stara Planina, was the fortress capital of the +medieval Second Bulgarian Kingdom. It was also the site of the first +constituent assembly held as the country was liberated from the Turks, +and the Turnovo Constitution was adopted there in 1879. It remains an +artistic and cultural center, and some of its fine examples of Bulgarian +renaissance architecture have survived.</p> + +<p>Varna and Burgas are the chief Black Sea ports, and Ruse is the only +major Bulgarian port on the Danube River. Burgas is a young city, +growing to most of its size in the late 1800s, and it was a more +important port than Varna until the 1950s. Varna, however, attracted the +naval academy, has become the naval base, and has acquired most of the +shipbuilding industry. Ruse has also grown rapidly. In addition to its +river trade, the first bridge across the river between Bulgaria and +Romania was built just north of the city.</p> + +<p>A number of new towns have been built since World War II, in some cases +from the ground up. These include some at industrial complexes, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span>others +at resorts. Madan is a new mining center in the Rodopi; Dimitrovgrad is +a new industrial town on the Maritsa River; and there are several +mountain and seaside resort cities. Zlatni Pyassutsi (Golden Sands), +opened in 1956, is one of a group of Black Sea resort cities that, upon +opening, could accommodate tens of thousands of holiday vacationers.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">POPULATION</p> + +<p class="cen">Structure</p> + +<p>In spite of its three most recent wars, comparatively few Bulgarians +live outside the country in the areas adjacent to its boundaries. +Bulgarian sources estimate the total number of Bulgarians abroad at +approximately 1 million. Many of these are in Greek and Yugoslav +Macedonia and are, in fact, Macedonians who may or may not prefer to be +called Bulgarians. Other Bulgarians are in Greek Thrace, and a few are +in Romanian Dobrudzha and in Soviet Bessarabia. A scattering are settled +in other Eastern European countries, Australia, and North and South +America. There are only a few in the United States.</p> + +<p>When The Macedonians and Gypsies in the country—whom Bulgarian official +sources include as fully integrated into the Bulgarian population—are +not counted separately, Bulgarians constitute about 91 percent of the +population. The approximately 700,000 Turks out-number all other +non-Bulgarians in the population by a large margin. Small numbers of +Greeks, Romanians, Armenians, and Jews make up a total of only about 1 +percent (see ch. 4).</p> + +<p>In the absence of official statistics, the number of Macedonians and +Gypsies are impossible to estimate accurately. It is probable that there +are a few more Gypsies than Macedonians and that they total about 5 +percent of the population. Pomaks (Muslim Bulgarians), who tend to live +separately, have been persecuted on occasion and have represented a +social problem. Some authorities have listed them as a separate ethnic +group but, with diminishing emphasis on religion, local authorities +attempt to make no distinctions between them and the rest of the +population.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria is one of an extremely few countries in the world where the +males in the population have outnumbered the females over a considerable +portion of its modern history. This has been a phenomenon that could not +be adequately explained by events or circumstances; but of nine censuses +taken between 1887 and 1965, only in those taken in 1920 and 1947 did +the females constitute a majority. These two years following the great +wars were undoubtedly atypical in that, although Bulgaria did not suffer +great manpower losses from war casualties, the males were probably more +mobile, and many of them may not have returned to the country or, in the +immediate aftermath of the wars, may not yet have settled down (see +table 1).</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span><i>Table 1. Bulgaria, Population by Age and Sex, 1973 Estimate</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="90%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 1"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcy8" width="17%"> </td> + <td class="tdcxy8" width="21%">Number of People</td> + <td class="tdcxy8" width="17%"> </td> + <td class="tdcxy8" width="14%"> </td> + <td class="tdcxy8" width="14%"> </td> + <td class="tdcxy8" width="17%"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc"> </td> + <td class="tdcx8">in Age Group</td> + <td class="tdcx8">Percentage of</td> + <td class="tdcx8">Male</td> + <td class="tdcx8">Female</td> + <td class="tdcx8">Females per</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdcz8">Age Group</td> + <td class="tdcxz8">(in thousands)</td> + <td class="tdcxz8">Total Population</td> + <td class="tdcxz8" colspan="2" style="border-top: .5pt black solid;">(in thousands)</td> + <td class="tdcxz8">100 Males</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Under 5</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 676</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.8</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 348</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 328</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 94</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">5-9</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 609</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 313</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 296</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 94</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">10-14</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 647</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.5</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 331</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 316</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 95</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">15-19</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 665</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 340</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 325</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 96</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">20-24</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 703</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 8.1</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 357</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 346</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 97</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">25-29</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 629</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 317</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 312</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 98</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">30-34</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 558</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 6.4</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 280</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 278</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 99</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">35-39</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 616</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.1</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 310</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 306</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 99</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">40-44</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 649</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.5</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 327</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 322</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 98</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">45-49</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 668</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 334</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 334</td> + <td class="tdcx">100</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">50-54</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 467</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5.4</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 231</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 236</td> + <td class="tdcx">102</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">55-59</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 421</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4.9</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 210</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 211</td> + <td class="tdcx">100</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">60-64</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 460</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 225</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 235</td> + <td class="tdcx">104</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">65-69</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 372</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 178</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 194</td> + <td class="tdcx">109</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">70-74</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 264</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 122</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 142</td> + <td class="tdcx">116</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">75 year</td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> and over</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline"> 263</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline"> 3.0</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline"> 110</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline"> 153</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline">139</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz">TOTAL</td> + <td class="tdcxz">8,667</td> + <td class="tdcxz">100.0</td> + <td class="tdcxz">4,333</td> + <td class="tdcxz">4,334</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 100*</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="6">* Overall ratio for total population.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="6">Source: Adapted from Godfrey Baldwin, (ed.), <i>International + Population Reports</i>, (U.S. Department of Commerce, Series P-91, No. 18), Washington, + 1969.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p>The male majority, however, narrowed and has apparently evaporated for +the foreseeable future. The reversal reflects a change in life +expectancy statistics. Around the turn of the century average life +expectancy was forty years, and females are estimated to have outlived +males by less than six months. Seventy years later, average life +expectancy had increased by twenty-five years, but females were +outliving males by an average of about four years. Projected from the +1965 census and from vital statistics information accumulated since that +time, numerical equality between the sexes came about in the late 1960s, +and in mid-1973 it was estimated that females outnumbered males by the +small majority of 4.334 million to 4.333 million.</p> + +<p>Another exceptional feature of the Bulgarian population is the unusual +number of very old people. Nearly 1 percent of the population in 1970 +was eighty years old or older, and more than 500 people were +centenarians. Of these, three-fifths were women.</p> + +<p>People in rural areas, after having long outnumbered those in cities and +towns, became the minority in 1969. More than four-fifths of the +population was rural at the time of independence in 1878, and more than +three-quarters was still rural in 1947. The movement to the towns +accelerated with the post-World War II industrialization. Towns that +attracted industries have grown by factors of five or more since 1920, +and by far the most dramatic growth has occurred since 1947.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span>With 8.7 million people occupying 42,800 square miles in 1972, the +average population density for the country was 203 persons per square +mile. Regions where the densities were highest include the Sofia Basin +and the southwestern portion of the Thracian Plain. The population was +more dense than average in the western and central portion of the +Danubian plateau, in the lower eastern Rodopi, and in the vicinities of +Varna and Burgas on the Black Sea coast. It was least dense in the +higher mountains, particularly in the high western Rodopi, the Pirin and +the Rila, and along the narrow high ridge of the Stara Planina.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Dynamics</p> + +<p>Warfare that was endemic to the Balkan Peninsula throughout much of its +early history, exploitation by the Ottomans, and living conditions that +contributed to a short life expectancy served to hold down the +population of the area before independence. Since 1878, although the +country has participated in four wars and most migratory movements have +been at Bulgaria's expense, the population has tripled.</p> + +<p>Growth has been comparatively steady during the century of independence. +Its rate has fluctuated but not widely. Until 1910 it was high. It +dropped during the 1910-20 decade, which included the Balkan wars and +World War I. The period of greatest growth occurred between the great +wars, and the three decades since 1941 have been the periods of least +growth.</p> + +<p>Vital statistics supplied by the Bulgarian government to the United +Nations in 1972 indicated an annual growth rate of 0.7 percent. This was +based on 16.3 births per each 1,000 of the population, as against 9.1 +deaths. Infant mortality, included in the overall death rate, was 27.3 +deaths during the first year for each 1,000 live births. In early 1973 +the government was alarmed at an apparent change in the statistical +trend. Complete information for 1971 showed that, instead of 16.3 births +per 1,000, the actual figure was 15.9. Indications were that in 1972 it +was dropping to 15.4.</p> + +<p>Internal migrations since 1878 have consisted largely of the initial +movement of the rural population from the hills to the plains and the +later movement of people from the rural areas to the towns. External +migrations have been more complex. The earliest occurred in the +aftermath of the liberation; later ones have resulted from the +animosities and territorial changes associated with the various wars in +which the country has been involved.</p> + +<p>Having occupied the territory, Turks left in wholesale numbers when they +lost control of it. More of them departed during the Balkan wars. Large +groups emigrated in the 1920s and 1930s, and more were forced to leave +after World War II. Estimates as to the numbers involved in each move +vary widely; the two largest after 1880 were those in the 1920s and +after World War II, and the total in all emigrations of Turks probably +equals or exceeds the 700,000 that remain in the country. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span>Natural +population increases have been such that, over the long term, the actual +number of Turks in the country has changed relatively little.</p> + +<p>There have been smaller population exchanges with each of the other +neighbors. In the mid-1920s about 250,000 Bulgarians moved from Greek +Thrace into Bulgaria, and about 40,000 Greeks left Bulgaria for Greece. +After 1940, when southern Dobrudzha was annexed from Romania, some +110,000 Romanians were exchanged for about 62,000 Bulgarians. +Macedonians, also in considerable numbers, have chosen between Bulgaria +and Yugoslavia, requiring many of them to move.</p> + +<p>The Jewish people, faring much better in Bulgaria during World War II +than they did in Adolph Hitler's Germany or in most of the countries +overrun by the Germans, have nonetheless emigrated to Israel in large +numbers. Before that war there were about 50,000 of them in the country, +but 90 percent or more of them emigrated during the early postwar years.</p> + +<p>All of the major emigrations were completed before 1960. There appear to +be no reasons why others of similar proportions should occur in the +foreseeable future.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Working Force</p> + +<p>In mid-1972 there were 5.8 million people in the working-age group +(fifteen to sixty-four years), although the legal retirement age in most +employment situations is sixty or sixty-five for males and five years +younger for females. About 4.4 million—just over one-half of the total +population and three-quarters of those of working age—constituted the +labor force. Population projections indicate that in the ten-year period +after 1972 the working-age group will increase by 0.3 million, but a +large percentage of the increase will be in the segment of the group +aged fifty to sixty-four.</p> + +<p>About 95 percent of the males between twenty-five and sixty-four years +of age are economically active. The percentage of economically active +females is lower, but they have constituted over 40 percent of the labor +force. About 36.5 percent of the economically active are employed in +agricultural fields; of the remaining 63.5 percent, about one-half are +employed in industry. The others are in various service, administrative, +or other miscellaneous activities.</p> + +<p>Because the country was late in emerging from a predominantly +agricultural economy, its working force has had little technological +experience. Since World War II, however, schools have been increasingly +oriented to train young people to become technologically competent, and +some success in this direction has been achieved. Whether or not the +working force is being used as effectively as is possible under the +circumstances is being debated, but the government finds a decrease in +the birthrate and its possible limiting effect on industrial production +a cause for considerable concern.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span>TRANSPORTATION</p> + +<p class="cen">Railroads</p> + +<p>The first railroad built in the country was constructed by the British +in 1866 and connected Ruse on the Danube River with Varna on the Black +Sea. The famous and romantic Orient Express and the Berlin-to-Baghdad +route have used a common line through Bulgaria, entering the country +from Belgrade. The route crosses the western mountains at the Dragoman +Pass, continues through Sofia, Plovdiv, and down the Maritsa River +valley to Edirne and Istanbul in Turkey.</p> + +<p>The rail network consists of about 3,775 miles of track, about 2,620 of +which were being operated in 1970. Of the portion in use, about 2,470 +miles were standard gauge, and 150 were narrow gauge. Approximately 135 +miles were double track, and a little more than 500 had been +electrified. Because of the terrain, the system has a large number of +bridges and tunnels and has been constructed with tighter curves and +steeper gradients than are allowed when terrain features are less +extreme. Most of the some 1,600 bridges are short, but at Ruse, where +the Danube is crossed, the river is 1-½ miles wide. Most of the +approximately 175 tunnels are also short. One is 3-½ miles in length, +but they total only about thirty miles (see fig. 4).</p> + +<p>Route mileage is adequate to meet the requirements of the country. It +will probably not be expanded further; shorter spurs become uneconomic +and are abandoned as motor transport takes over short-haul traffic. +Programmed modernization includes improving roadbeds, ties, and track to +achieve a higher load-bearing capacity. Quantity installation of +continuously welded rail is also underway, and the busiest of the lines +are being electrified.</p> + +<p>Although the system is adequate, performs its services reasonably well, +and continues to be the backbone of domestic transport, it suffers in +bare statistical comparisons with the other carriers. Highway transport +may carry a cargo to the rail station and get credit for a second +shipment when it moves the same goods from the train to its final +destination. Trucks also carry local freight more directly and much more +simply than railroads for short hauls. Ton mileage statistics of the +merchant marine are similarly misleading. Although the railroads remain +by far the most important domestic carrier, their share of total cargo +carried and their share of ton mileage continues to decrease (see table +2).</p> + +<p>The railroads also continue to give way to motor vehicles in numbers of +passengers carried. Between 1960 and 1970 the situation changed +radically; on the earlier date the railroads carried more passengers +than buses did, but a decade later they carried hardly more than +one-third as many. In long-distance passenger travel, the railroads +remained the major carrier by a narrow margin in 1970, although the +difference was narrowing.</p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span><br /> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep060" id="imagep060"></a> +<a href="images/imagep060.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep060.jpg" width="85%" alt="Figure 4. Communications Systems of Bulgaria, 1973" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>Figure 4. Communications Systems of Bulgaria, 1973</i></p> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span><i>Table 2. Use of Transportation Facilities in Bulgaria, 1960 and 1970</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 2"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcy8"> </td> + <td class="tdcxy8" colspan="2">Total Freight¹</td> + <td class="tdcxy8" colspan="2">Ton Miles²</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdcz8" width="28%">Cargo Traffic:</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1960</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1970</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1960</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="21%">1970</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Railroads</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 38.4 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 68.2 </td> + <td class="tdcx">4,360 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 8,650</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Motor transport</td> + <td class="tdcx">128.3 </td> + <td class="tdcx">492.8 </td> + <td class="tdcx">1,270 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4,940</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Seaborne shipping</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.1 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 14.5 </td> + <td class="tdcx">1,530 </td> + <td class="tdcx">24,375</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Inland waterways</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.6 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3.7 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 384 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,145</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz">Air transport</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 0.007</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 0.083</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 0.2</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 9</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc" colspan="5"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdcy8"> </td> + <td class="tdcxy8" colspan="2">Total Passengers²</td> + <td class="tdcxy8" colspan="2">Passenger Miles²</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdcz8" width="40%">Passenger Traffic:</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1960</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1970</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1960</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1970</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Railroads</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 79.0 </td> + <td class="tdcx">106.1 </td> + <td class="tdcx">2,260 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3,890</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Motor transport</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 72.6 </td> + <td class="tdcx">282.0³ </td> + <td class="tdcx">1,020 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3,740³</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Seaborne shipping</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 0.6 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 0.6 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 12 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 17</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Inland waterways</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 0.8 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 0.3 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 29 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 19</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz">Air transport</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 0.2 </td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 1.1 </td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 56 </td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 750</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">¹ In million tons.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">² In millions.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">³ 1969 information.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">Source: Adapted from <i>Statistical Yearbook, 1971</i>, + Sofia, 1971.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p>Conversion from steam to diesel and electric locomotives is proceeding +rapidly. As late as 1962 the country had no diesel locomotives and only +a few passenger-carrying electric trains. By 1972, about 80 percent of +the freight and a larger proportion of passenger traffic were carried on +diesel or electric trains. Steam locomotives will probably have been +replaced completely by 1978.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Roads</p> + +<p>Construction is expensive, engineering problems are frequently +challenging, and the roads are difficult to maintain on the mountainous +terrain, with its many narrow and steep gorges. Ice and snow close most +routes at times during the winter months. Spring thaws and floods damage +the best roads and make the poorer roads impassable for considerable +periods. Of the approximately 21,000 miles of roadway, about 8,000 are +paved, another 8,000 have surfaces hardened with stone or gravel, but +nearly 5,000 remain dirt surfaced.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Waterways</p> + +<p>The 290 miles of the Danube River that flow along the northern border +are navigable. Other streams are too short, too shallow, or have too +great gradients to use or to allow development as waterways. The fact +that the Danube leaves the country to exit into the Black Sea from +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span>Romania limits its potential as an avenue to seagoing trade, and the +fact that it flows along the country's periphery keeps it from being the +central feature that it is, for example, in Hungary. Bulgaria's entire +portion of the river is, however, downstream from the Iron Gate and thus +can handle 2,500-ton vessels. There are no locks or dams in this area +and, although it freezes for a short time in the winter and floods +during the spring, it is usable for an average of about 300 days per +year.</p> + +<p>The Black Sea is more commercially significant to Bulgaria. Burgas and +Varna are thriving ports. Burgas has been a busy port for a longer time, +but Varna has developed rapidly and by 1970 had surpassed Burgas as the +major port and had become the center of maritime industry in the +country. Between 1971 and 1975, for example, the city expects to produce +23,000-ton and 38,000-ton dry cargo ships in series production and to +build one, and possibly more, 80,000-ton tankers.</p> + +<p>By 1970 inland waterways—which consisted exclusively of the Danube +River—were carrying only about 0.6 percent of the country's freight +cargo. Because the distances that the average cargo was transported +exceeded those of rail or road transport, however, they accounted for +about 2.5 percent of the total ton mileage. Seaborne shipping carried +about 2.5 percent of the total cargo weight but, because of the far +greater shipping distances, it accounted for nearly two-thirds of the +total ton mileage. Traffic transported by inland waterway remained +relatively constant during the late 1960s and early 1970s; traffic +carried on seagoing vessels was increasing rapidly.</p> + +<p>United Nations reports in 1971 credited Bulgaria with the fastest +developing shipbuilding industry in the world. The pronouncement is less +meaningful than it might appear, however, because the industry started +from very little. Moreover, a major portion of the products are for +export, and much of the industry's local impact is as a production, +rather than as a transportation, enterprise. Nonetheless, the country's +capability for sea shipment increased by more than five times during the +1960s. There are no large passenger vessels in the fleet, but several +hydrofoils, some having capacities to carry more than 100 passengers, +operate between the Danube River ports.</p> + +<p>By 1972 the merchant marine consisted of more than 100 ships, having a +total of nearly 1 million deadweight tons. It has increased at an +average rate of about 6 percent a year between 1967 and 1971, the rates +of increase accelerating in the latter part of the period.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Airways</p> + +<p>Civil aviation was carried on by Bulgarian Civil Air Transport before +1970, when that entity was reorganized as Balkan-Bulgarian Airlines +(BALKAN). Its airplanes, all of Soviet manufacture, are identified by +BALKAN inset within a five-pointed star that is elongated to give <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>the +impression of flight. BALKAN operates under the Ministry of Transport.</p> + +<p>Sofia is the center of all the air operations. International routes stop +at the capitals of the six other Warsaw Pact countries and at sixteen +other cities in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The 1973 +scheduled flights also connected Sofia with eleven other cities within +Bulgaria, most of them on a daily basis.</p> + +<p>Percentages of total cargo and passenger traffic carried by air are +insignificant, and the rates of increase in the utilization of air +transportation have been erratic. Air cargo shipments, for example, +increased by a factor of seven between 1960 and 1967 but increased +little the following year and decreased for the remainder of the +decade.</p> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<hr /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER 4</h2> + +<h3>SOCIAL SYSTEM</h3> + + +<p>In 1878 Bulgaria emerged from Turkish rule as a homogeneous, egalitarian +peasant society centered in the family and the community. Through the +introduction of foreign economic and social ideas and institutions, the +society gradually changed during the period between the two world wars. +At the time of World War II Bulgaria actually had two social systems: +the traditional peasant society, changing but still focused on the +family and the community, and a growing urban society that focused on +the economy and the state. When the Communists took power in 1944, they +set out to destroy the old social order and replace it with one that +would reflect communist ideology. The resulting changes have been far +reaching and basic. The traditional economic and value base has been +destroyed by the elimination of private property. Social distinctions +were introduced and magnified where none or few existed. Traditional +institutions, such as the church and the family, were weakened; and new +institutions, such as mass organizations, were introduced to take their +place. Many segments of the population benefited materially from changes +that opened new opportunities for education and social advancement; +however, the price paid for these benefits was the loss of such +important motivating forces as freedom of choice, independence of +action, and the right to own income-producing property.</p> + +<p>By the early 1970s the rate of change was slowing down, and the society +was settling into a discernible pattern. Some aspects of the old social +order seem to have survived, providing a continuity between the old and +the new. The changes that continue to affect the society are more the +result of economic growth than of social engineering.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS COMPOSITION</p> + +<p>The Bulgarian population is homogeneous in both ethnic and religious +composition. Approximately 85 percent is Bulgarian, and some 90 percent +adheres at least nominally to the Eastern Orthodox faith. The most +significant ethnic minorities are the Turks, who number about 700,000, +or 8 percent of the population; the Gypsies, estimated at 200,000, or +2.5 percent of the population; and the Macedonians, who also number +approximately 200,000. The remainder are Greeks, Romanians, Armenians, +and Jews.</p> + +<p>The Turkish minority, once considerably more substantial in size, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span>dates +back to the centuries of Turkish rule (see ch. 2). A steady emigration +of Turks from Bulgaria to Turkey after World War I and the expulsion of +some 150,000 in the 1950-51 period reduced their number. Most of the +remaining Turks are tobacco growers or artisans, who live in rural areas +in the eastern third of the country and along the Danube River. Their +traditional peasant conservatism, bolstered by their Islamic faith, has +made them less willing to adapt to the contemporary social order than +the rest of the population. A majority would like to emigrate to Turkey, +but the Bulgarian government has been unwilling to let them go because +the country cannot afford such a population loss.</p> + +<p>Turkey, for its part, could not absorb the Bulgarian Turks without +seriously endangering its own economy and therefore has not encouraged +their desires. By agreement between the two governments, about 30,000 +close relatives of Turks who left Bulgaria in the 1950-51 period will be +allowed to emigrate during the 1970s. The majority of Bulgarian Turks, +however, have little hope of leaving in the foreseeable future. In spite +of the desire of its members to leave the country, the Turkish minority +has posed no serious problem to the Bulgarian government. The government +has made an effort to integrate the minority into national life, at the +same time preserving its cultural distinctions, which are guaranteed by +the constitution.</p> + +<p>Gypsies are not considered a national minority by the state, although +they consider themselves such. Strongly attached to their nomadic way of +life, the Gypsies have been reluctant to settle in a permanent place and +to integrate themselves into the national society. They continue to +follow their traditional occupations as musicians, tinsmiths, and +horsemen.</p> + +<p>The existence of a Macedonian minority has been disputed over many +decades by Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. Bulgaria has consistently claimed +that Macedonians are ethnically Bulgarians, that their language is a +dialect of Bulgarian, and that their land is a part of Bulgaria. +Yugoslavia, on the other hand, has given legal recognition to a +Macedonian nationality by establishing the People's Republic of +Macedonia and by designating the Macedonian language one of the official +languages of the federal republic (see ch. 2; ch. 10).</p> + +<p>The vast majority of Bulgarians have been born into the Bulgarian +Orthodox Church ever since the ninth century, when Boris I adopted +Christianity for his people. Until World War II a person had no legal +existence without a baptismal certificate from the church. In keeping +with Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is an +independent national church. It is inseparably linked with Bulgarian +nationhood in the minds of most Bulgarians because of the role it played +in preserving a national consciousness during the centuries of Turkish +rule and in spearheading a national revival in the nineteenth century +(see ch. 2).</p> + +<p>A tradition of religious freedom and tolerance allowed religious +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span>minorities to exist without friction. Even during World War II the Jews +in Bulgaria suffered little persecution in comparison with those in +other parts of Eastern Europe. No census of religious affiliation has +been taken since the Communists took power; however, according to +various estimates in 1965 there were about 750,000 Muslims; 26,000 +Protestants; 32,000 Roman Catholics; and between 3,000 and 7,000 Jews. +The Muslim population included most Turks and some 50,000 Pomaks +(Bulgarians who converted to Islam during Turkish rule) living in the +rugged Rodopi mountain range.</p> + +<p>Religious freedom is guaranteed by the constitution, but churches are +subject to strict governmental control. Formal religious education is +restricted to the training of priests. Children, however, continue to be +instructed in the rudiments of faith and ritual by their families. +Despite government efforts to secularize the milestones in the life +cycle, a large percentage of Bulgarians continue to regard the priest as +an essential officiant at baptisms, weddings, and funerals. Churchgoing +and the strict fasts prescribed by the Eastern Orthodox church have not +been carefully observed by most Bulgarians since the 1930s; +nevertheless, the people often exhibit strong religious feelings +tempered by traditional beliefs in the powers of nature, the evil eye, +and other forces. A survey conducted by the Bulgarian Academy of +Sciences in the mid-1960s classified 35.5 percent of those surveyed as +religious and 64.4 percent as nonreligious. The criteria used to +determine whether a person was religious or not was either a verbal +expression of religious conviction or regular attendance at church +services and regular prayer.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">THE FAMILY</p> + +<p>Until the time of World War I Bulgarian society was frequently +characterized as familistic, that is, personal interests and +prerogatives of an individual were subordinated to the values and +demands of the family. The family was the focal unit in society; it was +the chief training ground for the young and played the leading part in +molding the individual into the accepted pattern. The family was the +center of economic life also, particularly for the peasants, who lived +relatively self-sufficient lives. Relations with other social units and +institutions were carried out through the family rather than by the +individual. An individual had no standing in society apart from that of +his family, and individual behavior and prestige reflected on the family +as a whole. Individualism, therefore, was discouraged by constant +pressure from the family to conform to custom and tradition.</p> + +<p>The traditional family was patriarchal and strongly authoritarian. It +reflected many features characteristic of the <i>zadruga</i>, the extended +family that formed the basis of social organization of the South Slavs, +including the Bulgarians, until its gradual decline in the late +nineteenth century. A <i>zadruga</i> consisted of the male offspring of the +same parents and perhaps grandparents, with their wives and children, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span>living together and jointly owning and working the ancestral lands. The +group was ruled by the elected head, usually the oldest and most capable +male, who was responsible for directing the work, for settling disputes, +and generally for providing for the well-being of the <i>zadruga</i> as a +whole and for each of its members.</p> + +<p>By law and by custom, even after the passing of the <i>zadruga</i> as a +social institution, authority over all matters concerning the family +rested with the father. In the village married sons with their wives and +children and unmarried children all tended to live under the father's +roof until his death, at which time the oldest son took over the family +homestead, and the others built their own houses nearby. The authority +of the patriarch rested, in no small measure, on his ownership and +control of the means of livelihood of the family. Sons submitted to +their father's will in order to inherit their fair shares of the +patrimony.</p> + +<p>Close family relations were maintained not only with blood relatives but +with relatives by marriage and with godparents. The bond between two +families also related by marriage was as close, formally, as the bond +with blood relatives; it included not only the parents of the married +couple but also the brothers and sisters. For that reason parents took +great interest in their children's choice of mates. Similarly, the bond +between godparents and the family of the godchild was considered as +close as that of blood kin. The strong relationship between the two +families was developed partly because the same family usually provided +the godparents for another family for generations. Reciprocity of +godparenthood, however, was not allowed because a family tie was +established with the first christening. Members of families who were +related through godparenthood or through marriage could not marry +because that would have been tantamount to incest.</p> + +<p>Age and sex determined the individual's role within the family and his +relations with other members. Men occupied a superior position, and +women were expected to show deference to their husbands and to older +male relatives. A frequently cited image of Bulgaria at that time was +the man riding a horse or donkey empty-handed while his wife walked +behind carrying a heavy load. The position and influence of the wife, +however, was far greater than this image implies. Few husbands made +decisions or took action affecting the family without prior consultation +with their wives.</p> + +<p>Age was respected because it represented the accumulation of wisdom and +experience. This greater wisdom and experience also gave the older +members of the family authority over the younger ones. Children were +highly valued as tokens of successful marriages and as economic assets, +but they were not fussed over. Although they were expected to take their +places as active members of the family at a relatively early age by +performing light household tasks, running errands, and tending animals, +they were also given considerable freedom to play. Until they <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span>reached +maturity, children were expected to do what they were told by their +parents or by other adults without question.</p> + +<p>This traditional family system provided for great stability. Each member +knew his place in society and knew what was expected of him, and he +generally felt secure and satisfied.</p> + +<p>The gradual industrialization and urbanization that took place between +the two world wars slowly introduced changes into the traditional family +system—at first among the urban population and eventually among the +peasantry. Most notable among the changes was the shift toward the +nuclear family unit and the disappearance of the extended family +household. This reduced the authority of the father over his adult +children, who now formed an independent economic and social unit. It +also gave greater freedom to young people in choosing their mates and, +thereby, in their relations with each other. Within the nuclear family +the relationship between husband and wife became a more egalitarian one. +Relations between parents and children also became less authoritarian, +although the father's relations to his children continued to be rather +formal.</p> + +<p>The changes in family life and in the role of the family in society that +began to take place between the two world wars accelerated during World +War II in keeping with the rapid rate of economic change. The greatest +assault on the traditional system, however, came in the second half of +the 1940s and early 1950s when the new communist government set out to +revamp Bulgarian society. The already dying patriarchal system was dealt +its final blow with the elimination of inheritance through +nationalization of industry and commerce and collectivization of +agriculture. After the patrimony had been eliminated, a major incentive +for submission to the patriarch had disappeared.</p> + +<p>Another factor that contributed to the end of the patriarchal family and +to the end of parental authoritarianism was the government's appeal to +youth's desire for independence. Young people are taught to believe that +they are the foundation of the new Bulgaria and that their elders' +traditional ways are outmoded and should be discarded. In this way a +generation gap has been created, and youths wanting to escape parental +influence can count on the state for support. Their escape has been +facilitated through the expansion of educational facilities, the +expansion of employment opportunities resulting from economic and +bureaucratic expansion, and by the many youth organizations and youth +activities—all of which enable young people to spend much time away +from home and act independently of their parents.</p> + +<p>The role of women, which had begun to change in the 1930s, was greatly +altered under the influence of ideology and of economic realities. In +social doctrine and law, women are considered equal to men and are +continually urged to demand their rights in the home and in the +community. They have also gained considerable independence of movement +through the expanded employment opportunities available <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span>to them in a +developing economy. In 1968, 80 percent of employable women worked +outside the home. A large percentage of them worked because of the +necessity to supplement the family income rather than through choice; +nevertheless, the fact that they do work outside the home has altered +the pattern of family life and the relationships of family members. +Working mothers must leave their young children in state-operated +nurseries or with relatives and thereby relinquish much of their +influence in molding the children into adults. Evidence indicates that +few mothers like to leave young children in nurseries, preferring to +leave them in the care of trusted relatives or friends. Fathers appear +to be playing a greater role in the raising of children than they did in +the traditional family.</p> + +<p>Housekeeping is still considered to be entirely or predominantly the +responsibility of women, whether they work or not. The working woman +spends much time every day after work standing in line at food markets +and other stores, buying the daily necessities. Household appliances and +convenience foods are scarce luxuries; therefore, housekeeping is a +time-consuming and tiring activity. Even peasant women must take care of +their households and children after putting in the required hours in +cooperative labor, whereas formerly they could fit their field work in +and around their other responsibilities.</p> + +<p>As a consequence of these changes, the traditional roles of family +members have been altered. The dominance of the head of the family has +given way to a greater distribution of decisionmaking and a greater +independence on the part of other family members. As family members +spend less time together, the emphasis in daily life is shifted from the +family to the outside world. Persons come to be looked at more as +individuals than as members of a certain family. Individuality and +personal achievement become as important as family background in +determining the status of an individual and his nuclear family. +Similarly, individual action or personal status no longer reflects on +the larger family.</p> + +<p>In the eyes of the state, marriage is a secular matter governed by civil +law. Religious ceremonies are permitted but must be preceded by a civil +marriage. The minimum age for marriage without parental consent or +special permission from the local authorities is eighteen for both men +and women. The urban marriage rate in the 1960s was considerably higher +than the rural one, reflecting the higher percentage of young people +living in urban centers. Men generally marry between twenty and thirty +years of age, and women, between fifteen and twenty-five. The law +assigns equal rights and obligations to both partners in a marriage. +Divorce is relatively easy to obtain and no longer carries the social +stigma of former times; the divorce rate in the early 1970s was average +for Eastern Europe.</p> + +<p>Despite changing patterns of family life, most observers find that the +cohesive force of the extended family continues to be a factor in +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span>contemporary society. In many cases the cohesiveness is perpetuated or +even strengthened by modern phenomena, such as the chronic housing +shortage and the need for grandparents or other relatives to care for +the children of working mothers. The housing shortage has revived the +traditional system of several generations of a family sharing the same +roof. The pressures of change and the burdens of daily life hold +families together, and the traditional sense of family loyalty also +seems to survive. Members of such extended families assist each other in +finding employment, in gaining admission to special schools, or in +obtaining scarce items of food or clothing.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">SOCIAL STRATIFICATION</p> + +<p>Before World War II Bulgaria had a basically egalitarian peasant society +with a simple social structure. A rural-urban division was more +significant than class distinctions, which were just beginning to +emerge. The Bulgarian nobility of the Middle Ages had been destroyed +under Turkish rule and was not restored with the return to monarchy; the +small middle class of merchants, industrialists, bureaucrats, and +professionals had come into existence since independence in 1878 and +lacked tradition; an urban working class was just emerging. Few +Bulgarians were more than one or two generations removed from their +peasant ancestors, which gave most people a common background.</p> + +<p>The rural-urban differentiation was socially significant in that it +formed what amounted to two social systems with differing values, +controls, and institutions. The rural society focused on the family and +the community; its outlook was parochial. The urban society focused on +commerce, industry, and government; its outlook was national and often +international, and it was subject to continuous influences from abroad. +The two systems, however, were closely interrelated because most urban +dwellers had their roots in the village and because both the economy and +the government depended heavily on the peasant as a supporter and as a +client.</p> + +<p>The narrower focus of rural society provided few opportunities for +choice, and custom over the years set a pattern that was accepted as a +matter of course. Social standing depended to a large extent on how well +an individual performed within the established pattern, and the +gradations were very slight. The wider focus of urban society, on the +other hand, offered far greater opportunity for choice and freedom of +action. This made for greater differentiation between individuals than +was possible in the village.</p> + +<p>The greater freedom and the opportunity for economic and social +advancement offered by the urban society were most noticeable in the +social contrast between the urban worker and his peasant relatives. +Although most workers had a very low standard of living, they considered +themselves emancipated from the restrictions of rural society and, +therefore, better off. When they returned to the village to visit +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span>relatives, they were looked up to as persons who had enlarged their +horizons and bettered their lot in life.</p> + +<p>The social contrast between the educated urban +intelligentsia—white-collar workers and professionals with a secondary +or a higher education—and the peasant was even greater. Some members of +the intelligentsia maintained a romanticized attachment to their village +origins, but most of them tried to build up their own status by +disparaging the rural population. Even the village schoolteacher and +rural physician were seen as unsophisticated country bumpkins, although +they had the same education as their city counterparts.</p> + +<p>The urban intelligentsia saw itself and was seen by others as the top +group in society, just below the royal family, which occupied the apex +of the social pyramid. The top level of the intelligentsia, that is, the +leaders in the political, economic, and cultural spheres, became a small +entourage surrounding the king and thereby gained additional prestige +and power. The economic position of most of the intelligentsia, however, +was very precarious because there was an oversupply of graduates for +whom government employment was virtually the only outlet. Those who had +an official position held on to it against all odds. Others, who could +not find employment appropriate to their presumed qualifications, sat +around cafés waiting for openings rather than returning to their home +villages to put their education to use there.</p> + +<p>The peasant, for his part, was distrustful of the city and of city ways. +He did not feel inferior—even to the intelligentsia whose education he +greatly admired. The peasant took pride in his land, in his +self-sufficiency, and in his adherence to custom and tradition. He was +conscious of belonging to the large mass of peasantry that shared his +point of view, his way of life, and his strong sense of tradition. +Differences in wealth and economic independence were recognized among +peasant families but did not affect their relationships, which were +basically egalitarian.</p> + +<p>The village, town, and city in pre-World War II Bulgaria each had its +somewhat different social structure. Village structure distinguished +between peasants, artisans, and intelligentsia. Innkeepers and +storekeepers were sometimes identified with the artisans but more +frequently with the peasants because they were usually peasants who had +sold their land to engage in commerce. Artisans, on the other hand, +underwent special training to prepare them for their calling. These +special skills and the fact that artisans did not have to toil long +hours in the sun or rain put them in a higher social category than +peasants. The elite group was the village intelligentsia—the teacher, +doctor, priest, mayor, and other officials who had more than an +elementary education. Their prestige derived from their education, and +their power derived from their positions. Through their ties to the +wider world, the village intelligentsia bridged the gap between rural +and urban societies.</p> + +<p>The social structure of towns distinguished between artisans, merchants, +and intelligentsia. In the preindustrial Bulgaria of the 1930s, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span>the +artisans and peasants together formed the backbone of the economy. The +guild system of progression from apprentice to masterworkman still +prevailed and fostered social distinctions among the artisan group. +Merchants occupied a higher rung on the social ladder than did artisans, +primarily because they did no manual work to earn a living. The +distinction, however, was not great, and members of the two groups +generally associated with each other. The elite group in town, as in the +village, was the intelligentsia. Because towns were usually government +administrative centers and, often, garrison posts, the intelligentsia +was often quite numerous. It included all the white-collar workers, +professionals, and army officers. The town intelligentsia was a +self-contained group whose members mostly associated only with each +other. Within the group, however, distinction was made on the basis of +education and rank in the government hierarchy.</p> + +<p>The city social structure resembled that of the towns but had additional +strata reflecting the wider range of economic activity found in the +city. The most economically and socially disadvantaged were the workers, +including industrial and domestic workers. Just above them were petty +government employees, such as janitors, messengers, and railroad men, +whose standard of living was extremely low but who could look forward to +a secure old age with a government pension and who took pride in being +civil servants. Above these lowest groups were the artisans, shopkeepers +and merchants, and the intelligentsia, as in the social structure of +towns. A few industrialists ranked among the highest because of their +economic power, but even they paid respect to university professors for +their intellect and to higher government officials for the status and +power connected with their offices.</p> + +<p>When the Communists took power in 1944 they set out to destroy the old +social system and replace it with one based on Marxist-Leninist +ideology. The period of so-called socialist reconstruction that followed +resulted in a general leveling of social strata through the demotion of +formerly privileged groups and the promotion of formerly underprivileged +groups. Persons of peasant or worker origin received preferential +treatment in the allocation of housing and of other necessities of life +that were in short supply, in the appointment to jobs, and in access to +higher education. At the same time persons of middle-class or upper +class background were deprived of their housing, removed from key jobs, +and denied educational opportunities for their children through a +discriminatory quota system at secondary and higher schools. A policy of +equalization of incomes made little distinction between different levels +of education or skill, thus eliminating material rewards as a basis for +social stratification. The small political and economic elite that had +developed from the peasant society before 1944 was decimated and +replaced by a group of party stalwarts, most of them from lower class or +middle-class background, who rose rapidly to the top positions of +administrative and political power and became the new ruling elite. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span>Membership in the Bulgarian Communist Party and complete loyalty to the +leadership were the main criteria for occupying any position of +responsibility.</p> + +<p>The peasants appreciated some of the material benefits granted by the +new government, such as educational opportunities for their children and +expanded industrial employment that offered new outlets for +underemployed rural youth. As a whole, however, the peasantry bitterly +resented being grouped with workers in the ideological frame of +reference of the new leaders. To the peasant, landless workers who +lacked tradition and security occupied a lower social position than he, +and he saw this grouping together as a debasement of his own status. The +blow to his pride and to his traditional position in society was +complete when collectivization deprived him of his precious land. Were +it not for the private farm plot, which allows the peasant to continue +on a very small scale his cherished way of life and thereby perpetuate +his values, the cooperative peasant would be little more than an +agricultural worker.</p> + +<p>In the restructured Bulgarian society the peasantry, encompassing +roughly 30 percent of the population, forms the bottom of the social +pyramid. Although it derives some benefits from the educational, health, +and welfare services instituted by the government, the peasantry is the +forgotten and most disadvantaged segment of the population. Peasants +continue to work hard and long for very meager rewards, and they no +longer have the pride and satisfaction of owning their own land and of +being independent.</p> + +<p>The next social stratum, the industrial working class, has been the +object of much glorification by the regime and has benefited most by the +social measures passed since 1944. In terms of their standard of living +and their social status, workers occupy the lowest level of urban +society; however, the educational benefits available to them and the +growing job market offer prospects for betterment and advancement. The +group has grown more rapidly than any other social class as a result of +the crash industrialization program and constitute between 40 and 50 +percent of the population, as compared to about 29 percent in the +mid-1950s. Most members of the working class are peasants who have left +the village to find a better life in the growing cities and towns. Some +workers are members of the former middle or upper classes who have been +demoted by the new social order. Many members of the small prewar +working class were propelled upward out of the working class into +managerial and administrative positions of industry.</p> + +<p>Within the working class differentiation is made according to education +and skill, which is reflected in income and prestige. Skilled workers +are still in relatively short supply; therefore, they command +considerably higher wages and are likely to receive special housing and +other privileges and inducements from employers. The higher <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span>standard of +living that these material advantages can provide and the higher level +of education required to be skilled workers enhance their prestige in +relation to the semiskilled and unskilled workers. Workers in certain +industries, such as mining and heavy industry, are favored regardless of +their level of skill. They benefit from the special status assigned to +these industries in the overall economic plan.</p> + +<p>The middle level of contemporary society encompasses all persons in +nonmanual occupations who are not members of the ruling elite. It +includes administrators, managers, professionals, technicians, and all +categories of white-collar personnel. Next to the working class, this +has been the fastest growing social group. As a result, most of its +members are relatively young, and their social origins represent the +entire spectrum of precommunist society. Within the middle class further +differentiation is made in terms of income and prestige between persons +in the upper levels of management and the professions, who have a higher +education and those in the lower levels of technical and white-collar +employment, who have only a secondary education. The group as a whole +probably constitutes almost 20 percent of the population. The relative +size of the upper and lower levels was not known, although the lower +level was probably larger.</p> + +<p>At the top of the social pyramid is the small ruling elite composed of +the top leadership of the party, government, security forces, mass +organizations, and the various branches of the economy. The ruling elite +also includes members of the cultural and intellectual elite who, by +virtue of their political loyalty and willingness to serve the regime, +share in the privileges usually reserved to the top leadership. By +lending their talents to the party cause, however, these individuals +often lose some of the prestige and deference traditionally enjoyed by +the intellectual elite. The main criterion for membership in the ruling +elite is power derived from approved ideological orientation and +political manipulation. Most members come from peasant or worker +families and are veterans of the communist movement of the interwar +period. Membership in the ruling elite is accompanied by considerable +insecurity because it is highly dependent on political loyalty and +correct interpretation of ideology. A change in official policy can +deprive a member of his status and of all his privileges.</p> + +<p>Since the end of World War II, Bulgarian society has been extremely +mobile. Industrialization and socialization of the economy have created +thousands of new blue- and white-collar jobs. The attendant increase in +educational opportunities has made it possible for individuals to gain +the skill and background required to fill these jobs and, thereby, move +up the social ladder. This mobility has been aided by the government's +determined effort to reshuffle society by improving the social status +and opportunities of the formerly underprivileged groups and by denying +them to the formerly privileged ones. Because education has +traditionally been the main determinant of status, social mobility <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span>has +been directed by the state through strict control over educational +opportunities. Preference in admission to higher education has been +given to children of peasants and workers, children of long-standing +party members and children of persons killed in the resistance against +the Germans in World War II (see ch. 6). The political orientation of +the student himself and his membership in mass organizations such as the +youth union are also important factors in determining his admission to +an institution of higher learning.</p> + +<p>In the late 1960s there was some evidence that social mobility was +slowing down and that the society was beginning to stabilize into +self-perpetuating social groups. With the slowing of economic growth the +number of job openings in the higher levels has been reduced, and the +intelligentsia can satisfy from its own ranks most of the demand for +professional and managerial personnel. The social mix of students in +higher education in the late 1960s was far from representative of the +population as a whole—only about 39 percent of the students were from +peasant or worker families, although these groups constituted about 78 +percent of the population. In spite of all their admission advantages, +children of lower income families have not been able to compete +effectively with those of higher income background. Given education as a +main channel of mobility, disadvantage in educational opportunities +means lower possibility for social advancement. Political loyalty, +however, can still override all other considerations and propel a person +up the social ladder. Membership in the party, therefore, continues to +afford considerable advantage.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">OTHER SOCIAL GROUPS</p> + +<p>Bulgarians are not by nature joiners. Formal organizations were of +little significance in national life before the 1940s. Although a wide +variety of groups existed, mostly in the towns and cities, membership +was generally small and was based on strictly utilitarian +considerations. Individuals joined to derive the benefits provided by +the organization, such as easy credit, professional standing, use of +libraries and other cultural facilities, or use of sports facilities. +Few members were actively involved in the operation or the activities of +the organizations to which they belonged.</p> + +<p>Banding together for a common purpose, however, was far from alien to +Bulgarian culture; but social organizations and informal groupings that +emerged from such banding together usually were based on kinship or on +close personal ties. The most important formal traditional organization +was the <i>zadruga</i> (see The Family, this ch.). In a less formal vein, +wool-cording and spinning bees were important features of rural social +life before collectivization. In fact, many agricultural activities, +such as hoeing and harvesting, were undertaken by groups of friends and +relatives who joined together to take turns working on each other's +land. This joining together for the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span>accomplishment of necessary tasks +served an important social, as well as economic, function. While working +together in such groups, individuals exchanged ideas, passed on +information and, thereby, either reinforced each other's traditional +values and mores or helped develop new ones.</p> + +<p>The cooperative farm of contemporary Bulgaria tries to derive the same +economic advantages from cooperation as did the traditional work groups. +The traditional groups, however, were based on a voluntary joining +together of friends and relatives, whereas the grouping on the +cooperative farm is forced and impersonal. The spirit of reciprocity, +which was so important in the former work groups, has also been lost on +the cooperative farm, where the peasant works land that, in his eyes, +does not belong to him but to an impersonal entity.</p> + +<p>In keeping with communist practice, the government and the Bulgarian +Communist Party have introduced a network of mass organizations designed +to serve specific interest groups. Most prominent among them are the +trade unions, the youth organizations, the women's organizations, and +other member organizations of the Fatherland Front (see ch. 9). Some, +such as sports clubs, discussion groups, and cultural clubs of various +kinds, are organized on community or enterprise bases. Intended to cater +to specific interests of individuals, these groups attempt to attract a +large percentage of the population into formal organizations that can be +used to promote desired norms and values or undertake specific +activities. Major emphasis is placed on collectivism, that is, working +together as a group rather than as individuals. Structurally, the +organizations are usually divided into small groups that are intended to +act as focal social units. These units engage the attention and loyalty +of an individual and then act on his behalf in relation to other social +units or larger institutions, much as the family did in traditional +Bulgarian society. The political purpose of the mass organizations, +however, makes them unattractive to most Bulgarians who have never had +much interest in organizational activities. As a result, membership in +most has been far below desired levels. As was the case with earlier +organizations, Bulgarians join them in order to derive the benefits that +they afford. Membership in a youth organization or in a trade union, for +instance, is often required to gain admission to a school or to obtain a +job.</p> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER 5</h2> + +<h3>LIVING CONDITIONS</h3> + + +<p>After a period of austerity during which the population's needs were +neglected in favor of rapid industrialization, the standard of living of +Bulgarians began to improve in the early 1960s as more goods and +services became available. The physical well-being of most of the +population has been improving steadily since the end of World War II. +Morbidity has declined noticeably, and declines in the overall death +rate and in the infant mortality rate have resulted in increased life +expectancy. Electricity and water supplies have become available even in +remote rural areas. In comparison with other Eastern European countries, +however, and particularly in comparison with Western Europe, the +standard of living in Bulgaria in 1973 was low.</p> + +<p>Increasing exposure to living conditions in the rest of Europe and +growing incomes of most Bulgarians created pressures to improve their +own quality of life. In December 1972 the country's leadership proposed +an extensive program for improving the standard of living and satisfying +the rising expectations of the population over the next ten years (see +ch. 12). An important element of the program is the elimination of the +continuing disparity in living conditions of the rural and urban +populations.</p> + +<p>In keeping with the socialist ideology of the state, the population is +entitled to free health care and an extensive system of social benefits. +Although these have greatly benefited the population in terms of their +physical and material well-being, their bureaucratic and inefficient +administration has been a source of considerable frustration and +dissatisfaction.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">HEALTH</p> + +<p class="cen">Death and Morbidity</p> + +<p>Life expectancy at birth in the late 1960s was about sixty-nine years +for males and seventy-three for females. This was a 35-percent increase +over pre-World War II figures. Although Bulgarians have had a reputation +for longevity, which has been attributed to their diet, a high infant +mortality rate and a high incidence of morbidity had combined until the +mid-1950s to keep the life expectancy relatively low. Those who survived +to middle age tended to become octogenarians or older; but they were in +a minority. Proportionately, however, there were <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span>more older people in +Bulgaria than in most other countries in the world.</p> + +<p>The increase in life expectancy since World War II has been brought +about by a drop in the death rate from 12.2 per 1,000 in 1939 to seven +per 1,000 in 1970 for the urban population and from 13.7 per 1,000 in +1939 to 11.4 per 1,000 in 1970 for the rural population. During the same +period, infant mortality dropped from 139 per 1,000 live births to +twenty-seven per 1,000 live births. In the late 1960s the incidence of +infant mortality was 39 percent higher among rural infants than among +urban ones. More than one-half of the deaths of children under one year +of age were the result of pneumonia. The second major cause of infant +mortality was birth trauma, despite the fact that 98 percent of the +births took place in a public health facility under medical supervision.</p> + +<p>The three major causes of death in 1970 were diseases of the heart and +circulatory system, which accounted for 252 per 1,000 deaths; +cerebrovascular diseases, which accounted for 206 per 1,000 deaths; and +cancer, which accounted for 146 per 1,000 deaths. A program of +systematic treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, which were +once widespread, has either brought them under control or eradicated +them completely. The law requires that all cases of contagious diseases +be registered with the public health service. In 1971 the greatest +incidence was reported for influenza, mumps, chicken pox, dysentery, +infectious hepatitis, and measles.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">The Public Health Service</p> + +<p>The public health service, modeled after that of the Soviet Union, is +based on the premise that the state has the responsibility to provide +free health care for the population and that such care should be uniform +and readily available. The health service is financed by the state, +supervised by the Ministry of Public Health, and administered by the +public health departments of the district people's councils. Free health +care is available to all citizens; medicine required for outpatient +treatment, however, must be paid for by the patient.</p> + +<p>The cornerstone of the health service is the polyclinic, which provides +general and specialized outpatient aid and consultation. Polyclinics may +be attached to a hospital or may be independent units serving a +designated geographic area. A separate network of polyclinics is +attached to industrial mining, transport, and construction enterprises +to serve their workers. Each polyclinic is divided into departments for +the various specialties in medicine, and each department is staffed by +one or more doctors and auxiliary personnel. Not all polyclinics, +however, have departments for all the major fields of medicine; many +have only sections for internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, +pediatrics, and surgery. Patients needing consultation or treatment by +other specialists are referred to the nearest hospital.</p> + +<p>The health care provided by the polyclinic was under serious attack <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span>in +the early 1970s both from the doctors who work there and from the +patients. The main problem seemed to be overburdening and inefficiency +imposed by the system of health care. One polyclinic in Sofia, for +example, was responsible for the health care of 70,000 inhabitants of +its area. Its physicians gave routine examinations to prospective +students and job applicants, certified the legitimacy of claims for sick +leave, and diagnosed and treated all complaints from the common cold to +the most serious illness. During four hours each day, patients were seen +on a first-come-first-served basis, except in emergencies. Waiting rooms +were jammed, and people often waited for hours without seeing a doctor +because the allotted time for office consultations had expired before +their turn came.</p> + +<p>Studies have indicated that one physician sees an average of thirty to +forty patients in the four-hour period of office consultations, and then +one-half again as many in a three-hour period of house calls, which +often cover a wide geographic area. The average consultation between +doctor and patient is six minutes, a time much too short for proper +diagnosis. The result has been frequently wrong diagnosis and wrong or +inadequate treatment.</p> + +<p>A survey of polyclinic physicians conducted in 1970 revealed that over +50 percent of those surveyed considered the outpatient treatment +provided by the polyclinic to be ineffective. They blamed poor +organization and procedure in handling patients' needs, which resulted +in the inefficient use of physicians' time, overloading of physicians, +and shortage of drugs and equipment needed for complex treatment. More +than two-thirds of the physicians questioned indicated that they would +prefer to practice at a hospital or other medical unit and that they +planned to leave the polyclinic as soon as another opportunity was +available. The physicians recommended that their work schedule and +method of handling patients be revised to make the system more +efficient; that social workers be assigned to polyclinics to handle some +of the patients' social problems that aggravated their medical problems; +that polyclinic doctors be given more specialized training in rapid +diagnosis and other skills required by them and not by hospital +physicians; and that the remuneration of polyclinic physicians be +brought in line with their arduous assignment.</p> + +<p>The patient's response to the inadequacy and inefficiency of polyclinic +health care has been to seek out a physician with a private practice and +pay the necessary fee. Approximately one-fourth of the polyclinic +physicians have a private practice during nonduty hours, as do almost +all specialists. By consulting a private physician rather than the free +polyclinic, the patient can choose his own doctor and establish a +personal relationship with him, hoping to develop confidence and receive +more effective treatment.</p> + +<p>The outpatient work of the polyclinics is supplemented by a network of +special dispensaries that provide long-term care for persons <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span>suffering +from tuberculosis, venereal disease, tumors and psychoneurotic +disturbances. The sixty-one dispensaries in 1971 also had a total of +3,670 beds for inpatient care.</p> + +<p>A network of hospitals provides inpatient treatment and specialized +diagnostic and clinical facilities. All hospitals are also teaching +centers for physicians, nurses, and auxiliary medical personnel. In 1971 +there were 195 hospitals throughout the country, at least one in each +district. Certain districts, however, were inadequately equipped with +hospital facilities. The total number of beds was 57,053, or 7.6 beds +per 1,000 inhabitants. One hundred and fifty-four of the hospitals, with +a total of 47,839 beds, were general hospitals. There were also fifteen +special tuberculosis hospitals and fifteen psychoneurological hospitals +with a total of slightly over 3,000 beds in each category; five +pediatric hospitals with a total of 480 beds; four obstetric and +gynecological hospitals with a total of 740 beds; one hospital for +infectious diseases; and one for orthopedic and plastic surgery. In +addition to these district-supported hospitals, the central government +operated six hospitals with a total bed capacity of 1,036 in connection +with the special medical research institutes. Extended care and physical +therapy for patients suffering from chronic ailments were offered by 182 +sanatoriums and health spas with a total bed capacity of 16,104.</p> + +<p>The Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) envisages increasing the number of +hospital beds to 8.4 per 1,000 inhabitants and focusing on those areas +of the country that are underserved. An increase in operating funds for +the hospitals is to be channeled mostly into improving plant and +equipment. Although most hospitals suffer from poor or outmoded plant +and equipment, they also suffer seriously from a shortage of staff, +particularly of nurses and auxiliary medical personnel. The plan states +specifically that alleviation of that shortage will have to be delayed.</p> + +<p>In 1971 the country had a total of 16,183 physicians, 1.9 for every +1,000 inhabitants. The number of physicians had more than doubled in the +twenty years since 1952; most of them, therefore, were between the ages +of twenty-five and forty-five. The number of other medical personnel had +expanded along the same lines. In 1971 there were 2,464 pharmacists; +26,381 nurses; 6,016 midwives; and 5,012 feldshers. Feldshers are +paramedics trained to perform a variety of medical functions, including +simple surgery, in the absence of a fully qualified physician. Many +rural health centers are in the charge of feldshers and receive periodic +visits from specialized physicians.</p> + +<p>Physicians and auxiliary medical personnel are all employed by the state +in the national health service. They are classed as nonproductive +workers, therefore their salary scales are lower than those for +productive workers. This has been causing a great deal of +dissatisfaction and is the principal reason for the serious shortage of +medical personnel. One Bulgarian newspaper in 1971 reported the case of +a hospital administrator trying to recruit women streetcleaners to fill +the many <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span>vacancies for nurses and aides in the hospital. The +streetcleaners refused because their wages and working conditions were +better than those for the more highly skilled positions in the hospital.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">PERSONAL INCOME AND EXPENDITURES</p> + +<p class="cen">Cost of Living</p> + +<p>Incomes and retail prices are controlled by the government and set in +accordance with the overall economic plan. The cost of living, +therefore, is also controlled and has been relatively stable. Several +increases in the minimum wage during the 1960s were paralleled by price +increases for some of the essential commodities and services. In 1973 +the minimum monthly wage was raised to 80 leva per month (for value of +the lev—see Glossary), and basic wages for the lowest categories of +workers and employees were also raised to bring them into line with +wages in comparable kinds of work. At the same time, prices of certain +foods were reduced, whereas prices of some other essential goods were +raised.</p> + +<p>Although the incomes of most Bulgarians have generally kept pace with +the rise in the cost of living, a chronic scarcity of consumer goods and +services and periodic food shortages have forced a comparatively low +standard of living on the population. As in other communist countries, +the consumer industry has been neglected in favor of other branches of +the economy. Even after the government began to place greater emphasis +on the production of consumer goods in the 1960s, rising demand +outstripped production capabilities. Even the basic needs of the +population often could not be met because of poor planning or the +inflexibility of the central planning system, which does not react +effectively to changing market conditions. It is not uncommon to have +excessive inventories of certain sizes of clothing or footwear while +other sizes are in short supply. Retail outlets are either unwilling or +unable to replenish their supplies of missing sizes until the overall +stock of the item is almost depleted, regardless of consumer demand.</p> + +<p>The government has for some time indicated concern over the low standard +of living in Bulgaria as compared with other Eastern European countries. +One of the aims of the Sixth Five-Year Plan is to increase production of +consumer goods and meet the needs and rising demands of the population. +Limited production capacity, however, and shortages of certain raw +materials will seriously restrict the extent of possible improvements.</p> + +<p>In December 1972 the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party +held a special plenum on improving the standard of living of the people. +This unprecedented move showed the importance that the leadership was +attaching to this subject. In an extensive report to the plenum, party +chief Todor Zhivkov presented a far-reaching program <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span>of steps to be +taken, starting in 1973, to improve the standard of living. To implement +the decisions of the plenum over the long run, the Commission on the +Living Standard was established under prominent Bulgarian Communist +Party (BKP—see Glossary) leadership.</p> + +<p>As envisaged by the plenum, the standard of living will be raised by +pursuing a three-pronged policy: gradually increasing wages; keeping +prices stable; and making available an adequate supply of consumer goods +and services, including luxury goods and services to satisfy the demand +of those who are willing to pay the higher price. In the past, luxury +goods and services have been considered superfluous and undesirable in +an egalitarian socialist country. Higher incomes and exposure to the +living standards in other Eastern European and Western European +countries, however, have created pressure for more than just the +satisfaction of basic needs. According to some government officials, +Bulgarians are no longer satisfied with just any washing machine or +electric appliance; they want the latest automatic model and are willing +to pay for it.</p> + +<p>In the program for increasing wages, special attention will be paid to +narrowing the gap between incomes of cooperative peasants and those of +workers. In the mid-1950s a cooperative peasant's income was only 60 +percent of a worker's income. By 1971 the peasant's income had increased +to 85 percent of that of a worker, but this amount was still considered +too low by the government. To accelerate the growth of peasants' +incomes, a nontaxable minimum income was to be introduced in 1973, and +the same system of income tax was to cover both peasants and workers. +The system of remuneration on cooperative farms was to be made the same +as that on state farms, where agricultural workers are classed as +workers, not as farmers. Fringe benefits, such as pensions and +supplements for children, were also to be brought into line with those +of workers by 1975.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Consumption</p> + +<p>According to official figures, consumption has grown steadily since the +early 1960s, in spite of continued shortages of some goods. As incomes +rose and consumer goods and services became more readily available, a +greater percentage of household budgets was being spent on them. All +segments of the population spent a greater share of their income in 1971 +on household equipment and on cultural and educational pursuits, which +included such durable goods as household appliances and radios and +television sets, than they did in 1962. Changes in proportionate +expenditures for other nonessentials during the 1960s reflected the +income differences and taste preferences of the different social +categories as well as their rural or urban residence.</p> + +<p>The largest share of consumer expenditures in 1971 went for food, +ranging from 42.5 percent of total expenditures for peasants to 38.8 +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span>percent of total expenditures for white-collar workers (see table 3). +In calculating expenditures for food, the value of food production for +personal consumption was included. The relative share of expenditures on +food has been dropping since 1962. At the same time, the quality of the +diet for all population groups has improved.</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><i>Table 3. Bulgaria, Percentage Distribution of Household Expenditures by +Population Group,<br /> 1962 and 1971</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 3"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcy8"> </td> + <td class="tdcxy8" colspan="2">Blue Collar</td> + <td class="tdcxy8" colspan="2">White Collar</td> + <td class="tdcxy8" colspan="2">Co-op Farm Member</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdcz8" width="30%">Item</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="11%">1962</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="11%">1971</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="12%">1962</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="12%">1971</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="12%">1962</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="12%">1971</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Food</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 46.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 42.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 44.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 38.8</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 46.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 42.5</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Alcoholic beverages</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.9</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3.4</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.1</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.1</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 6.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5.1</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Tobacco</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.9</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.5</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.3</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Clothing</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 13.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 11.4</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 14.7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 11.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 13.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 10.3</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Housing</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 9.9</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 8.7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.9</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 11.4</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 9.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 8.8</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Household furnishings</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3.5</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Culture and</td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> entertainment</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 6.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.8</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.8</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5.4</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Health and hygiene</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.2</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.8</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.7</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Communication and</td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> transportation</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.8</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3.4</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.5</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.7</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Taxes and fees</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5.4</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 6.2</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 6.2</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Other</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 8.2</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 11.1</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 7.7</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 9.1</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 12.3</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 16.2</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz"> TOTAL</td> + <td class="tdcxz">100.0</td> + <td class="tdcxz">100.0</td> + <td class="tdcxz">100.0</td> + <td class="tdcxz">100.0</td> + <td class="tdcxz">100.0</td> + <td class="tdcxz">100.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="7">Source: Adapted from <i>Statistical Yearbook, 1972</i>, + Sofia, 1972, p. 412.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p>Relative expenditures on clothing were roughly the same for all +population groups, although peasants spent a somewhat smaller proportion +of their budget than families influenced by urban life-styles. The share +of the budget spent on clothing has dropped since 1962.</p> + +<p>The relative share of expenditures for housing went down between 1962 +and 1971 for the two lower income groups, who spent almost the same +proportion of their budget for that purpose. The higher income +white-collar group, however, spent over 3 percent more on housing in +1971 than it did in 1962. This group has been investing in its own +private housing rather than living in state- or industry-supplied +housing. Expenditures for household furnishings and equipment were +approximately the same for all segments of the population in 1971. They +occupied a greater share of the household budget than in 1962, +particularly among blue-collar workers.</p> + +<p>In addition to devoting a considerably higher portion of their budget to +housing than other social groups, white-collar workers also devote more +of their budget to culture and entertainment and to health and hygiene. +This is clearly a reflection of more sophisticated tastes and a higher +standard of living. The life-style of this group includes regular +attendance at the theater, operas, and concerts; the purchase of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span>books +and records; and a higher education for their children. This, also, is +the group that prefers to consult a private physician, who sets his own +rates, rather than to use the free public clinic.</p> + +<p>Relative expenditures for communication and transportation services have +remained stable over the years. They vary by population group, consuming +a greater portion of the budget as one rises on the social ladder. The +proportionately higher expenditures of blue- and white-collar workers +are probably due to the expense of commuting to and from a job. The even +higher share of such expenditures in the budgets of white-collar workers +is attributable to private telephones and travel.</p> + +<p>The greatest variation in consumption patterns between the different +population groups is evident in the proportion of expenditures devoted +to other than the enumerated categories. Although there is no indication +in the statistical material as to what kind of expenditures are +included, this entry must certainly include expenses incurred in the +cultivation of private plots and the raising of animals in the private +sector for domestic consumption and expenses incurred in providing +private services. Therefore, these expenditures take a high share of the +total expenditures of peasants and workers.</p> + +<p>Despite expanding consumption, neither the government nor the population +is satisfied with the supply and quality of the goods and services +available. Some items, such as meat, housewares, furniture, building +materials, and various kinds of clothing and knitwear, are in chronic +short supply. Other items, such as fruits, vegetables, and dairy +products, are subject to periodic shortages. In addition, the quality +and selection of many goods do not meet the desired levels. An official +document published in 1972 decried the common practice of producing +high-quality goods for export and lower quality goods for the domestic +market. The same document also called for changing export priorities so +that the domestic needs could be met before scarce goods were exported.</p> + +<p>Another factor limiting the satisfaction of demands for goods and +services has been the small size and inefficiency of the domestic trade +network and of the service industry. Retail outlets are state owned and +have received very low priority in the allocation of funds. As a result, +they are too few in number and are seriously understaffed, making +shopping a time-consuming and frustrating activity. Stores are reluctant +to stock new styles in response to consumer demands until their old +stocks have been almost completely depleted. High-quality and specialty +items are usually available only from private craftsmen at very high +prices.</p> + +<p>Private craftsmen and artisans provide virtually the only service +network in the country. The service sector of the economy has been +considered as nonessential and therefore has been neglected by the state +(see ch. 12). In order to fill the gap thus created, the government +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span>started in the mid-1960s to encourage private individuals to provide +the needed services. Many of these people are regularly employed +artisans and craftsmen in industry who provide specialized services +during their spare time. Others are pensioners or unemployed. Because +they are in great demand, they can set their own prices, and many are in +the highest income groups. The government has attempted to keep their +earnings under control through taxes and has restricted their activities +by other administrative measures, but it has made no effort to eliminate +their services.</p> + +<p>In the report issued by the special plenum on living conditions held by +the Central Committee in December 1972, a comparison was made of actual +consumption in 1970, desired consumption levels during the next decade, +and consumption standards developed by government scientific institutes. +In most cases the actual levels were far below the standards (see table +4).</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><i>Table 4. Bulgaria, Actual and Desired Annual Consumption Levels</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="90%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 4"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" rowspan="3">Item</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" rowspan="3">Measure</td> + <td class="tdcxy8" colspan="4">Consumption Levels</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdcxyz8" rowspan="2">Actual<br /> 1970</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" colspan="2">Desired</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" rowspan="2">Scientific Norms*</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdcxz" style="font-size: 80%;">1975</td> + <td class="tdcxz" style="font-size: 80%;">1980</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" width="29%">Meat and meat products</td> + <td class="tdcx" width="23%">pounds per capita</td> + <td class="tdcx" width="12%"> 91.3</td> + <td class="tdcx" width="12%">121.3</td> + <td class="tdcx" width="12%">165.4</td> + <td class="tdcx" width="12%">176.4</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Fish</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 12.1</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 17.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 22.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 22.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Milk and milk products</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx">335.4</td> + <td class="tdcx">432.2</td> + <td class="tdcx">551.3</td> + <td class="tdcx">573.3</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Vegetable oils</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 27.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 30.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 30.9</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 28.7</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Flour and flour products</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx">376.1</td> + <td class="tdcx">401.3</td> + <td class="tdcx">330.7</td> + <td class="tdcx">221.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Sugar</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 72.5</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 81.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 79.4</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 70.6</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Vegetables</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx">196.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">299.9</td> + <td class="tdcx">352.8</td> + <td class="tdcx">396.9</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Fruits</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx">326.8</td> + <td class="tdcx">394.7</td> + <td class="tdcx">442.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">442.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Eggs</td> + <td class="tdcx">number per capita</td> + <td class="tdcx">122.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">159.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">250.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">265.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Cotton fabrics</td> + <td class="tdcx">feet per capita</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 72.8</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 81.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">108.2</td> + <td class="tdcx">118.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Wool fabrics</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 12.5</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 15.4</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 19.7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 23.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Shoes</td> + <td class="tdcx">pairs per capita</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.1</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Radio sets</td> + <td class="tdcx">per 100 households</td> + <td class="tdcx">100.8</td> + <td class="tdcx">104.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">110.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">130.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Television sets</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 42.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 53.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 80.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">105.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Telephones</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 9.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 10.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 50.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Washing machines</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 50.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 50.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 60.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 70.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Refrigerators</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 29.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 59.0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 90.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">100.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz">Automobiles</td> + <td class="tdcxz">do</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 6.0</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 13.5</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 30.0</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 40.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="6">* As determined by research institutes of the Bulgarian Academy + of Sciences.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="6">Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of + Technical Services, Joint Publications Research Service—JPRS (Washington), + <i>Translations on Eastern Europe: Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs</i>, + "Statistics on Rising Living Standard Given," (JPRS 58,480, No. 851, 1973).</td> +</tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen">HOUSING</p> + +<p>In common with other Eastern European countries, Bulgaria has suffered a +serious urban housing shortage since World War II, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span>although large +reserves have existed in rural housing. Great numbers of workers have +left the villages over the years to find employment in the rapidly +expanding industrial centers, but housing construction has not kept pace +with this migration. During the early years of communist rule, priority +in the allocation of scarce building materials and funds was given to +the building of new plants and other industrial installations rather +than to new housing. In the 1960s only between 3 and 6 percent of the +gross national income was invested in housing construction as compared +with 20 percent or more in most Western European countries. Bulgaria has +had the lowest housing investment among the communist countries of +Eastern Europe.</p> + +<p>In 1970 the Politburo and the Council of Ministers adopted a special +program for the solution of the housing problem within the next ten to +fifteen years. The program stated that the aim of the BKP was to enable +every family to have its own apartment, and every member of the family +his own room. In 1972 there were some 250,000 more urban families than +there were housing units.</p> + +<p>Aggravating the housing shortage in the early 1970s was an accelerating +deterioration of old buildings. Money and materials for maintenance of +existing structures have been even scarcer than for new buildings. In +addition, many of the postwar apartment buildings were put up hastily, +using inferior materials and workmanship, and soon turned into crumbling +slums.</p> + +<p>In order to spur housing construction without imposing too great a +burden on the state budget, the government was forced to abandon its +intention of providing low-rent housing for everyone. Instead, it has +encouraged the population to invest in its own housing. As a result, +special savings accounts for the purchase of private housing have grown +at a more rapid rate than regular savings accounts. During the 1968-70 +period approximately one-third of the new housing units made available +were financed entirely by state funds, another one-third were financed +entirely by private funds, and the last one-third were financed by +private funds with the aid of loans from state sources. State +enterprises are instructed to grant their employees interest-free, +fifteen-year mortgages for the purchase of an apartment or house. Up to +4,000 leva can be borrowed for this purpose in urban areas and up to +3,000 leva in rural areas. This, however, covers less than one-half of +the cost of a two-room apartment.</p> + +<p>Although the increasing reliance on tenant-financed housing is helping +to reduce the overall housing shortage, it has meant that most new +housing units are built for the higher income groups. Cooperative +apartments and private houses require a substantial initial investment +and the assumption of a mortgage, which are beyond the means of most +blue-collar and low-income white-collar workers. These groups continue +to rely on state-financed or industry-financed low-rent housing, which +usually has long waiting lists of prospective tenants. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span>In order to free +more of the low-rent housing for those who cannot pay for a private +home, persons owning a second home or intending to build one are being +asked to vacate their state-supplied housing.</p> + +<p>In 1973 the per capita area of usable housing space was 124 square feet. +New dwelling units constructed under the Sixth Five-Year Plan were to +have an average of 857 square feet each; those constructed during the +following Seventh Five-Year Plan (1976-80) will have an average of 911 +square feet each. Inasmuch as possible, all new housing units +constructed before 1975 will be equipped with running water, +electricity, sewage disposal facilities, and central heat. After 1976 +such amenities will be mandatory. In the mid-1960s, the latest date +available, 30.7 percent of all housing units had running water, 94.7 +percent had electricity, 32.7 percent had sewage disposal facilities, +and 1.5 percent had central heat. The availability of these amenities in +housing units varied a great deal among the different social groups of +the population (see table 5).</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen" ><i>Table 5. Bulgaria, Percentage of Housing Units Equipped with Various +Amenities,<br /> December 1965</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 4"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="40%"> </td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">Running Water</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">Electricity</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">Sewage Disposal Facilities</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">Central Heat</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Households</i>:</td> + <td class="tdcx">29.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">95.2</td> + <td class="tdcx">32.7</td> + <td class="tdcx">0.8</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Blue collar</td> + <td class="tdcx">29.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">95.2</td> + <td class="tdcx">32.7</td> + <td class="tdcx">0.8</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> White collar</td> + <td class="tdcx">72.6</td> + <td class="tdcx">99.3</td> + <td class="tdcx">73.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">4.9</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Cooperative farm</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 6.5</td> + <td class="tdcx">91.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7.2</td> + <td class="tdcx">0.0</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Cooperative artisan</td> + <td class="tdcx">37.1</td> + <td class="tdcx">98.4</td> + <td class="tdcx">40.2</td> + <td class="tdcx">0.2</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Other</td> + <td class="tdcx">54.0</td> + <td class="tdcx">96.5</td> + <td class="tdcx">56.7</td> + <td class="tdcx">2.9</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz">ALL HOUSING</td> + <td class="tdcxz">30.7</td> + <td class="tdcxz">94.7</td> + <td class="tdcxz">32.7</td> + <td class="tdcxz">1.4</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of + Technical Services, Joint Publications Research Service—JPRS (Washington), + <i>Translations on Eastern Europe: Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs</i>, + "Aspects of Standard of Living Analyzed," (JPRS 48,717, No. 126, 1969).</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen">SOCIAL BENEFITS</p> + +<p>In addition to receiving free medical care, all citizens are entitled to +a variety of social benefits, including sickness and disability pay, +pensions, maternity benefits, and family allowances. Most of these are +administered by the trade unions, but pensions are under the +jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance. They are financed by the +central government and by contributions from the employers based on a +percentage of gross salaries and wages paid.</p> + +<p>All workers are entitled to paid sick leave after three months' service. +In the case of accidents at work, there is no waiting period. Lump-sum +compensation for temporary disablement because of an accident at work +ranges in amount, depending on severity of injury <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span>and length of +service. During the period of disablement, the worker is entitled to +benefits ranging from 30 to 100 percent of his wage, depending on the +severity of the disablement and on his income. Prolonged or permanent +disability entitles the worker to a pension.</p> + +<p>Old-age pensions are based on the years of service and kind of work +performed. The pensionable age is fifty-five for women and sixty for +men, but earlier retirement is possible for certain categories of work. +Pension payments range from 55 to 80 percent of wages based on a scale +covering the last five years of employment or, in some cases, three out +of the last five years. Higher rates are paid for work years past the +usual retirement age. Pensions are payable to dependents after the death +of the pensioner. Dependents also receive life insurance payments. +Cooperative farm members are entitled to pensions after twenty years of +work for women and twenty-five years of work for men provided they +worked 100 to 135 days each year. In 1972 it was suggested that 200 to +250 days of work per year should be required for pensions in exchange +for higher pension payments to cooperative farm members.</p> + +<p>Pensions are collectible even if a person continues working. This system +was criticized by Zhivkov in late 1972. He suggested that persons who +continued to work after being eligible for a pension should be +encouraged to do so without drawing a pension but should, instead, +accumulate additional increments to their pension for each year worked.</p> + +<p>In addition to old-age pensions there are pensions for special merit +payable to persons who have made an exceptional contribution to national +life and national pensions payable to fighters against fascism and +capitalism. All minimum pension payments were increased in 1972.</p> + +<p>Under new provisions announced in March 1973, employed women will be +entitled to four months of fully paid maternity leave and six months of +leave at minimum wages for the first child; five and seven months, +respectively, for the second child; six and eight months for the third +child; and four and six months for each subsequent child. Mothers who +are students or who do not work for some valid reason will receive +minimum wages for corresponding periods. Mothers of children under the +age of ten are entitled to special annual leave. All mothers receive a +cash payment at the birth of a child; the payments are sharply +differentiated to encourage larger families. In early 1973 the payments +were 20 leva for the first child, 200 leva for the second child, and 500 +leva for the third child. It was planned, however to raise these +payments to 100 leva, 250 leva, and 500 leva, respectively.</p> + +<p>Another inducement for larger families is a system of monthly family +allowance payments for children up to the age of sixteen or until they +complete secondary school. Allowances are payable to all families +regardless of whether or not the parents work. A variety of other social +assistance benefits are available to indigents, persons <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span>disabled from +childhood, orphans, and the aged with no income.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">WORK AND LEISURE</p> + +<p>In 1973 the country was in the process of shifting from a +forty-six-hour, six-day workweek to a 42.5-hour, five-day workweek. The +transition was being carried out district by district according to a set +schedule. It was to be completed by 1975. Persons working in +agriculture, education, and the health service, however, were to +continue to work their forty-six hour workweek, except where the actual +work involved was adaptable to a reduced workweek.</p> + +<p>The reduction in working hours had been a much debated subject for +several years. It was first promised by the government in 1968, but its +implementation has been slow because it is predicated on the same level +of productivity and output by each enterprise as before implementation. +Pressure for reduced working hours has been strong because most +Bulgarians have very little time for genuine leisure in their daily +life.</p> + +<p>The lack of time for genuine leisure is the result not only of long +working hours but also of an inadequate trade and service network, a +shortage of time-saving household equipment, and an excessive +bureaucracy. All the daily chores, such as housekeeping, shopping, and +attending to other personal or family matters, are time consuming and +cumbersome. Studies have shown that all persons over the age of six +devote an average of four hours out of every twenty-four to housework +alone. The national leadership feels this is excessive and has proposed +measures to develop the service sector.</p> + +<p>The favorite leisure-time activity of young and old, urban and rural +Bulgarians is to get together with friends for informal socializing. Men +congregate at the neighborhood tavern or their favorite café to drink +plum brandy or wine, play cards, and talk about the latest news. Women +gather to gossip at each other's homes, at the village pump, or at the +neighborhood playground or park. The evening promenade is an important +diversion for all ages and social groups. Walking back and forth at some +designated public thoroughfare in small groups of friends or relatives, +people greet each other and exchange pleasantries.</p> + +<p>Sports are a major form of recreation for young people. Soccer is the +national sport, and the matches of major teams are followed with great +interest. Hiking and picnic excursions are popular among city dwellers +who like to get out into the country to enjoy the beauty and +tranquillity of nature. In towns and cities, the theater, operas, +concerts, and other cultural activities are popular leisure-time +diversions. The cinema is extremely popular in both town and village, +although increasing television viewing has been reducing cinema +audiences.</p> + +<p>In addition to sports, young people spend much of their leisure time +listening to popular music and also dancing. In fact, they are +periodically reprimanded by the BKP leadership for spending too much of +their time in leisure activities and not enough in socially useful +work.</p> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER 6</h2> + +<h3>EDUCATION</h3> + + +<p>The educational system in Bulgaria, as in the Balkans generally, began +to develop in a real sense only in the nineteenth century, principally +because Bulgaria had been under Turkish rule for 500 years. As education +was of little concern to the Turks and an educated Bulgarian population +would only represent a threat to their regime, the advancement of a +formal educational system was either openly repressed or neglected by +the Turks. As a result, the literacy rate in Bulgaria was one of the +lowest in Europe at the time of liberation in 1878. During the six +decades between liberation and World War II, the educational system had +made great progress in providing basic education to young people, but +there remained a hard core of illiterates in the adult population. After +the Communists took over in 1944, a massive drive in adult education +virtually eliminated the problem of illiteracy within a decade.</p> + +<p>The educational system under the Communists was essentially patterned on +that of the Soviet Union, and the desire on the part of Bulgarian +authorities to stay within that pattern brought about a general +cautiousness as they restructured the system to make it coincide with +the newly imposed ideology. Although educational reforms have been +enacted with great frequency, they have often dealt with matters of form +rather than of substance. The basic adherence to Soviet guidelines has +remained intact throughout the years of communist rule.</p> + +<p>As in most Eastern European countries, the major objectives of the +Bulgarian educational system have been premised on both ideological +issues and the demands of the national economy. One of the primary goals +of the system—both stated and implicit—is the production of the ideal +communist citizen who will work for the realization of "socialist +construction" and the betterment of the socialist society. A second +major premise of the system is that the demands of the economy must be +met; this goal is to be achieved by educating skilled personnel to fill +the specific needs of its various sectors. Because of the trend toward +industrialization that obtains in all communist countries, a corollary +policy is that the study of science and technology must be emphasized +over the study of the humanities.</p> + +<p>According to established principles, therefore, certain policies are +carried out in the process of education. People of worker or peasant +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span>origin, who the Communists perceive as having been deprived of their +basic rights to an education in the past, are allowed to enter the +higher levels of the educational system without the usual prerequisite +examination if the necessary places are available. They generally +represent between 30 and 40 percent of the total higher education +population as compared with 80 percent of the population as a whole.</p> + +<p>Certain communist principles form the backbone of the curriculum. Work +is perceived to be an integral part of education as are directed +extracurricular activities, and a sizable percentage of formal education +is allotted for practical and vocational training. Religious education, +which was a legacy from the past, has been dismissed as superstitious +and archaic, and virtually all religious schools have been banned. The +curriculum from the earliest years of schooling to the upper levels of +higher education is filled with such courses as Marxism-Leninism, the +history of the communist party of the Soviet Union, and the history of +the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see Glossary).</p> + +<p>Under the many and varied educational reforms legislated under the +Communists, the pendulum has swung between relative emphasis on science +and technology on the one hand and the humanities on the other. Although +overall emphasis has always been on the sciences, that emphasis has +increased and decreased at various times since the communist takeover. +Between 1944 and 1948, for example, there was little overall emphasis on +technology in the curriculum. Between 1948 and 1967, however, these +subjects were emphasized to a large degree. Beginning in 1967 some +weight was again placed on the humanities. As of 1973 there had been +some manifestation of rededication to technology and science, but the +latest proposed reform regarding secondary education represented a +desire on the part of the government to fuse general education—which of +course includes the humanities—and specialized training into one +system.</p> + +<p>In mid-1973 problems inherent in the educational system of Bulgaria +continued to exist. One of the most serious was the inadequacy of funds +for education generally but particularly for higher education where the +need was the greatest. Another problem was that of overcrowding. +Although there was virtually no problem of teacher shortage, there were +far too many students in proportion to the number of schools. A third +problem lay in the area of foreign student exchange where relatively few +foreign students studied in Bulgarian universities and institutes and +few Bulgarian students were allowed to study abroad. Another problem on +the higher educational level was the discrepancy between students' +preference regarding their fields of specialization and government +dictates in this area. Although many students at the university level +were interested in the arts and social sciences, the government, feeling +the weight of the economy's demands, very often preempted their choices +and allocated many more places to the sciences than to the arts. The +most serious problem, however, in terms of higher <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span>education, was that +owing to a shortage of places at the university level only 20 percent of +the secondary students who applied for admission were accepted. This +shortage of places in higher education, coupled with the fact that +extremely few Bulgarian students were permitted to study abroad, meant +that a large proportion of potential students capable of serious work +were turned away from higher education altogether.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">HISTORY OF EDUCATION</p> + +<p>Until the late eighteenth century education made virtually no progress +in the country. Although schools did exist during the period of Turkish +rule, the Turks had no interest in furthering education among their +subjects, except insofar as it would benefit themselves. From the +fourteenth through the seventeenth centuries education remained at a +standstill. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Turks +allowed the Greek Orthodox Church to become predominant among Christians +in the area, and an intense hellenization campaign ensued with the +seeming purpose of assimilating the Bulgarians as a people into the +Greek society that surrounded them. The campaign, which was particularly +virulent in the 1750s, was successful in the schools, and the Bulgarian +language and customs were supplanted by those of the Greek.</p> + +<p>By the late eighteenth century, however, a national revival grew in +force, stimulated in large part by Father Paisi, a monk who wrote the +first Bulgarian history, <i>The Slav-Bulgarian History</i>. This work and +Father Paisi's teachings provided an incentive for the development of +education in the country. From 1762 until liberation from Turkish rule +in 1878, education made great strides. As the churches began to throw +off the domination of the Greek Orthodox Church, more church schools +staffed by monks and priests were established within the Bulgarian +Orthodox Church framework.</p> + +<p>Although the Greek educational system still predominated in the early +part of the nineteenth century, complemented by a rising move toward the +establishment of Bulgarian Orthodox Church schools, a movement toward +secular education was initiated at this time. Secular subjects were +introduced in the church schools, and communal schools were established. +By 1834 the first primer in Bulgarian was written, based on a western +European model, which established the basis for secondary education. In +1835 a wealthy merchant founded the first Bulgarian high school, and +within the next ten years some fifty schools had been established.</p> + +<p>At the time of liberation, however, over 90 percent of the population +over school age was still illiterate. Only a small proportion—some 30 +percent—of school-age children, those from seven to fourteen years of +age, were actually attending schools. After the Turnovo Constitution +(1879), however, which was enacted shortly after liberation, the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span>educational system was revitalized (see ch. 8). Elementary education +was made both free and compulsory. The state, the monarchy, and private +individuals contributed to the goal of making education as nearly +universal as possible.</p> + +<p>In 1879 the three-year compulsory elementary school was introduced. By +1880 the period of compulsory education had been extended to four years. +In 1888 the University of Sofia was founded. The university initially +had seven faculties: history and philosophy; physics and mathematics; +law; medicine; agronomy; theology; and veterinary medicine.</p> + +<p>In 1910 the school system, which covered a twelve-year period, consisted +of a four-year elementary school for children aged seven to eleven, a +three-year <i>progymnasium</i> for children from eleven to fourteen, and a +five-year gymnasium for children from fourteen to eighteen. This system +continued with only slight modification until the Communists took over +in 1944. Also by 1910 both professional and vocational schools had been +established providing a relatively high quality of education in such +fields as agriculture, engineering, theology, commerce, art, and music. +Although there were many students of higher education at the University +of Sofia, about 10,000 students annually attended foreign universities, +principally in Austria and Germany.</p> + +<p>By the end of World War I, many villages that had more than twenty +families had their own primary school. Larger settlements in more urban +areas often had their own <i>progymnasia</i> and gymnasiums. In towns that +had 20,000 or more citizens, there were kindergartens for children from +three to seven years of age. Both religious and linguistic minorities +had their own schools, which functioned within the public school system. +Foreign schools coexisted with the public school system. Although the +curricula of the foreign schools were similar to those of the public +secondary schools, subjects were taught in western European languages, +forming a link between Bulgaria and the West.</p> + +<p>By 1921 a three-tiered system of education—consisting of the four-year +elementary school, the three-year <i>progymnasium</i>, and the five-year +gymnasium—became officially compulsory in the first two stages. Many +children failed to attend school, however, and many villages, despite +the official policy, were without school facilities. The entire +educational system was controlled by the government through the Ministry +of Public Education, which regulated the contents of texts and courses +and the administration of exams. The model for the educational system +was essentially European, with a particularly strong emphasis on German +and Russian patterns.</p> + +<p>In 1921 the Law of Public Instruction brought an increase in emphasis on +vocational training. Orders were issued to bring about a transition to +"vocational education and respect for labor." Eventually, schoolchildren +were forced to spend two weeks of their studies in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span>"compulsory labor," +a concept that was the precursor of the Bulgarian communist philosophy +of the integration of work with education. During this period the +students worked in such projects as cleaning school facilities, binding +texts, and cultivating school gardens.</p> + +<p>In 1934 a so-called modern school was established to give the student an +alternative to the academically and socially elitist gymnasium, but +there were still a number of deficiencies in the Bulgarian educational +system. The literacy rate had greatly increased, but between 20 and 30 +percent of the population was still illiterate. Although schooling was +officially compulsory, it was in fact inaccessible in smaller villages, +and many school-age children were not able to attend. Humanities were +emphasized to the virtual exclusion of technical-vocational subjects, +which were developed to only a very slight degree. Only one of five +secondary students studied technical subjects. Adult education was +virtually nonexistent.</p> + +<p>In 1937 there were eight institutions of higher education in addition to +the University of Sofia, the country's leading educational facility. Six +of these—the Free University, the Academy of Art, the Academy of Music, +the Military Academy, the Theological Seminary, and the School of +Physical Education—were also located in Sofia. The remaining two were +business schools located in Varna and Svishtov. A large number of +Bulgarian students also chose to continue their education abroad. One of +the major problems at the time concerned the absorption of graduates +into the various fields for which they were eligible. The country was +still predominantly agricultural, and there were simply too few +positions available for the annual influx of graduates, a situation that +caused alienation and disaffection.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">COMMUNIST EDUCATIONAL POLICIES</p> + +<p>When the Communists came to power in 1944 they were determined to change +the system of education in Bulgaria. Not only did they seek to eradicate +certain elements—such as religion and social elitism—from the +educational system, but they also were determined to make education +universal and, insofar as possible, to create an entirely literate +society. As the educational system developed under communist tutelage, +however, governmental statements on the subject displayed an increasing +tendency to link the system with ideology and principles to the point +where the ultimate goal was the creation of the ideal Communist.</p> + +<p>When the 1947 Constitution was formulated, it established universality +and state control over the school system as the two main policies of +education. It stated: "Every citizen has the right to education. +Education is secular, democratic and progressive in spirit. Ethnic +minorities have the right to instruction in their mother tongue; they +also have the right to develop their national culture, although study of +the Bulgarian language is compulsory.... Schools belong to the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span>State. +Private schools can be established only by the passage of a law; such +schools are placed under State control...."</p> + +<p>Statements in subsequent constitutions indicated an increased emphasis +on the socialist content of education and its close ties with the Soviet +model on which it was based. In 1949 the government issued a statement +declaring that education would be "in the spirit of socialism, +proletarian internationalism, and indissoluble brotherly friendship with +the Soviet Union." Two years later the government stated that "the +people's school is a powerful weapon in the hands of the Communist Party +and the people's democratic state for education and Communist +indoctrination of the people." In the present-day period both Todor +Zhivkov, who is the first secretary of the party, and the minister of +national education (formerly known as the minister of public education) +have reinforced the purpose and function of education in a socialist +society. In 1966 the minister of national education stated: "The work of +the school, its major and minor tasks—everything for which it +exists—must be subordinated to its fundamental objective: training and +educating the new man of communist society."</p> + +<p>Certain distinctive principles form the basis for communist policies of +education in Bulgaria. Chief among these is the close patterning of the +system on the Soviet model. For this reason Bulgaria tends to be +somewhat cautious in its approach to education and reluctant to make +sweeping reforms unless the Soviets provide a model for change.</p> + +<p>The principle of a universally accessible system of education has top +priority, and in fact the near-universal nature of education in Bulgaria +has brought about almost complete literacy. Whereas before 1944 many +Bulgarians had never attended school, in mid-1973 almost every Bulgarian +was able to attend some form of school. In some areas of the educational +system, particularly in institutions of higher education, the number of +students has increased as much as eightfold.</p> + +<p>Another principle of communist education in Bulgaria is the concept of +socially useful work, which must be performed by all students at all +levels of education. The principle of work in education is initiated at +the very lowest levels of the system; it progresses into increasingly +longer periods as the student advances in the school system. In the +higher grades, students work for significant periods of time in +agriculture, industry, and construction. In the higher levels of +education the student must sign a document that obligates him to accept +a working assignment, which should be related to his field of +specialization, for a period of three to five years.</p> + +<p>Another facet of the system is the eradication of old values and their +replacement with new socialist values (see ch. 4). One of the first +tasks of Bulgarian educators was to eliminate religious teachings and +practices in the schools. Religion, as a subject, was eliminated in the +early years as was the history of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. +Students are taught that atheism is both reasonable and scientific; +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span>religion is dismissed as a relic of a superstitious and undesirable +past. By the same token, students are indoctrinated strongly by +teachers, directors of extracurricular activities, and colleagues to +revere and swear allegiance to the government.</p> + +<p>Another guiding principle of the educational system in Bulgaria, which +was initiated at the time of the takeover and still obtained to some +degree in 1973, is the concept that sons and daughters of the worker and +peasant classes should be favored in terms of their preference of access +to education, particularly at the higher levels. This policy was clearly +motivated by a desire to compensate for the exclusion of this class from +such institutions in the past. In the early communist years institutions +of higher education charged tuition, but children of the worker-peasant +classes were exempted. By 1954 this class constituted 20 percent of the +higher education population, a figure that by 1970 had risen to 78 +percent. In 1973 the government was still maintaining a preferential +clause for these students in higher education and reserved 10 percent of +the places in such institutions for them.</p> + +<p>Another principle of the educational system is the promotion of +technical or vocational education and the simultaneous downgrading of +the humanities. Academic studies were quantitatively reduced in order to +place greater emphasis on practical work. When a student has completed +his formal education in the school system, he will have at the time +spent at least one-third of his school hours working on a farm, in a +factory, or at some other enterprise. In the curriculum itself technical +subjects are given a place of greater importance than the humanities. +Although studies have indicated that a great many students seeking +admission to institutions of higher education aspire to the study of the +humanities, governmental policies have limited the number of places +available in these areas in order to train technical-vocational +specialists to meet the needs of the economy (see ch. 12).</p> + +<p>The last important principle of Bulgarian education is the +nationalization and secularization of the school system. When the +Communists took power in the 1940s, they quickly closed all foreign and +private schools with the exception of schools for the children of Soviet +officials and diplomats. Schools of ethnic minorities fell under the +aegis of the government and thereby lost all autonomy. Ironically, in +1973 the only private school that existed was related to the Bulgarian +Orthodox Church. As the church is subservient to and dependent upon the +state, however, the existence of such a school undoubtedly represented +little threat to the government.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">EDUCATIONAL REFORMS</p> + +<p>Between the years 1944 and 1948 the Communists set about eradicating the +prewar educational system. By 1947, when the constitution (also called +the Dimitrov Constitution) was enacted, all prewar <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span>textbooks had been +replaced by communist texts; all schoolteachers and university +professors who were considered reactionary or fascist had been replaced +by persons loyal to the Fatherland Front (Otechestven Front) government; +and all institutions of higher education had been opened to workers and +their children, whereas students thought to have fascist or reactionary +tendencies were denied admittance.</p> + +<p>The Dimitrov Constitution stipulated further that all schools, including +those that had previously been private, would be the property of the +state; that all foreign schools would be closed for the academic year +1948-49; and that religious schools would be discontinued. Ironically, +the only denominational schools that were allowed to continue were those +that trained priests, but these schools had to have special permission +from the state in order to continue their operations.</p> + +<p>In 1948 and 1949 another series of reforms was initiated, which, +although less sweeping than the original reforms, tended to pattern the +Bulgarian school system more closely on that of the Soviet Union. In +August 1949 a joint resolution of the BKP Central Committee and the +Council of Ministers declared that education would be carried out in the +spirit of socialism, based both on the teachings of Karl Marx and +Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and on Bulgarian friendship with the Soviet Union. +The ideological studies introduced into the curriculum consisted of the +fundamental principles of Marx and Lenin, the history of the communist +party of the Soviet Union, and the history of the BKP. All of these +subjects became obligatory from kindergarten.</p> + +<p>The second initiative in the 1948-49 reforms was the declaration that +all universities and institutions of higher education as well as the +Academy of Sciences were no longer autonomous. A third reform during +this period was the reduction from five to four years of the gymnasium, +which in turn reduced the total schooling from twelve to eleven years. +The fourth reform was the redesigning of polytechnic education to +greatly increase the number of trained graduates to fill the rapidly +escalating demands of the economy.</p> + +<p>In statistical terms the results of the various communist reforms were +mixed. Although the number of primary and secondary schools increased +slightly overall from 1938 to 1948, there was hardly any appreciable +growth in primary schools, whereas secondary schools nearly doubled. The +number of students, similarly, barely changed in the same ten-year +period; the number of primary students actually declined, but the number +of secondary students grew appreciably (see table 6; table 7).</p> + +<p>Higher education, on the other hand, made great strides after the +communist takeover as the number of universities and other institutions +of higher education increased by one-third. Despite the emphasis on +technical and vocational education, such schools dropped in terms of +facilities, students, and teachers during the early communist years. The +number of teachers of polytechnic subjects also declined during the +period (see table 8).</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span><i>Table 6. Number of Schools in Bulgaria, Selected Years, 1938-70</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 6"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="32%">Level</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1938/39</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1948/49</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1960/61</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1970/71</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Kindergarten</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 254</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx">6,570</td> + <td class="tdcx">8,037</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Primary</td> + <td class="tdcx">7,291</td> + <td class="tdcx">7,872</td> + <td class="tdcx">*</td> + <td class="tdcx">*</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Secondary</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 133</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 253</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> * </td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> * </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Total primary-secondary</td> + <td class="tdcx">7,424</td> + <td class="tdcx">8,125</td> + <td class="tdcx">5,877</td> + <td class="tdcx">4,197</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Vocational technical</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 236</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 132</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Secondary vocational</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 190</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Technical</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> n.a. </td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> n.a. </td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 231</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 246</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Total technical</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 384</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 159</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 467</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 568</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Teacher training</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 18</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 20</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz">Higher education</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 12</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 19</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 20</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 26</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">n.a.—not available.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">* In 1960 the primary and secondary levels were unified under one + system.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><i>Table 7. Number of Students in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, +1938-70</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 7"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="32%">Level</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1938/39</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1948/49</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1960/61</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1970/71</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Kindergarten</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 12,859</td> + <td class="tdcx"></td> + <td class="tdcx"></td> + <td class="tdcx"></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Primary</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 955,330</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 928,934</td> + <td class="tdcx">*</td> + <td class="tdcx">*</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Secondary</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 73,561</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 129,396</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> * </td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> * </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Total primary-secondary</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,028,891</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,058,330</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,212,383</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,154,630</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Vocational technical</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 42,123</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 47,253</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Secondary vocational</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 83,038</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Technical</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> n.a. </td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> n.a. </td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 93,944</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 152,919</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Total technical</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 46,925</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 31,826</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 136,067</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 283,210</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Teacher training</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 401</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4,203</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 6,921</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz">Higher education</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 11,443</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 29,639</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 54,965</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 89,331</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">n.a.—not available.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">* In 1960 the primary and secondary levels were unified under one + system.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p>The next reforms occurred in 1957 and in 1958 and placed a much stronger +emphasis on technical-vocational training, while the years of total +schooling were again increased. The period of secondary schooling +consisted of a five-year program rather than the previous four, thus +extending the entire period of education to twelve years. The network of +professional schools was expanded significantly, and teacher training +was upgraded and given new emphasis. In 1958 there were specialized +professional schools with approximately 64,000 students studying various +aspects of industry and agriculture. At approximately the same time +there were twenty-two pedagogical schools with an enrollment of 8,989 +students.</p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span><br /> + +<p class="cen"><i>Table 8. Number of Teachers in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, +1938-70</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 8"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="32%">Level</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1938/39</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1948/49</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1960/61</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="17%">1970/71</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Kindergarten</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 286</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx">11,873</td> + <td class="tdcx">18,185</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Primary</td> + <td class="tdcx">24,830</td> + <td class="tdcx">34,000</td> + <td class="tdcx">*</td> + <td class="tdcx">*</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Secondary</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 2,874</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 4,893</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> * </td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> * </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Total primary-secondary</td> + <td class="tdcx">27,704</td> + <td class="tdcx">38,893</td> + <td class="tdcx">51,067</td> + <td class="tdcx">54,068</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Vocational technical</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,835</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,734</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Secondary vocational</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5,720</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Technical</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> n.a. </td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> n.a. </td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 5,307</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 9,045</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Total technical</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,487</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,109</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 8,142</td> + <td class="tdcx">17,499</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Teacher training</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 50</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 251</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 406</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz">Higher education</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 588</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 1,169</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 3,883</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 7,125</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">n.a.—not available.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">* In 1960 the primary and secondary levels were unified under one + system.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p>The concept of practical work as an integral part of the curriculum was +again emphasized, and the scope of vocational training grew enormously +as vocational and technical schools increased threefold. Although all +students had to perform certain tasks as part of their basic education, +the 1957-58 reforms dictated that graduates of higher technical and +agricultural institutions had to perform one year of practical work +before graduation. As the concept of polytechnical education became +widespread at the secondary level, practical work consumed up to +one-third of the total hours of education. Although experimental +vocational training was introduced into the curricula of some gymnasiums +in this period, other gymnasiums, particularly in the rural areas, +required students to spend several hours weekly in formal vocational +studies.</p> + +<p>In the same 1957-58 period a number of broad, rather than structural, +reforms were initiated. Schools for ethnic minorities were established +in which, despite the fact that study of the Bulgarian language was +compulsory, teaching was performed in the language of the minority +group. All schools of general education became officially coeducational, +and evening classes for workers were initiated. At the same time, +although there already had been some financial assistance, scholarships +were presented on a wide scale. In the 1957-58 academic year 46 percent +of all students in institutions of higher education received stipends +from the government. Although there were few scholarships given to +gymnasium students, with the exception of Turkish students who were +considered the least educated group, students in professional schools +and technical colleges were the recipients of a large number of +governmental stipends.</p> + +<p>The reforms of 1959 were of more lasting significance than were the +1957-58 reforms. Unlike the latter reforms, which represented a slight +deviation from the Soviet educational model, the 1959 reforms returned +the Bulgarian system once more to the original Soviet pattern. In 1958 +Nikita Khrushchev wrote a treatise called "Strengthening the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span>Ties +Between School and Life" in which he demanded a close integration of the +educational system and the economy. Shortly thereafter, Zhivkov declared +that the 1957-58 school reforms in his own country were inadequate and +asked for a basic reorganization of the entire school system. In July +1959 a basic law, reorganizing the entire school system, was passed.</p> + +<p>This law was entitled "Law on Establishing a Closer Link Between +Education and Practical Life and on Furthering the Development of Public +Education in the People's Republic of Bulgaria." Its stated objectives +were: "To prepare youth for life by combining education and instruction +with practical and production work" and "to imbue the young people with +a love of work and a spirit of patriotism and international solidarity." +The law proposed the introduction of polytechnic studies on an +unprecedented scale in order to provide skilled workers for agriculture +and industry. Although the main objective was to meet the demands of the +economy, it was hoped that the new emphasis on technical subjects would +break down the exclusiveness of the educated classes, while socializing +the younger generation in communist ideological terms.</p> + +<p>In practical terms the 1959 reforms introduced a unified twelve-year +so-called secondary school—despite the fact that it included the +elementary grades as well—called the medium polytechnical school, which +totally replaced the existing five-year basic school and the four-year +medium school or gymnasium. The medium polytechnical school was divided +into an eight-year elementary course and a four-year upper course. After +completing the basic school the student was faced with four +alternatives. He could enter: the upper course, which provided general +education plus specialization in an area of production; a medium +professional school or technicum, which provided a specialized +education; a professional technical college, which prepared him for +production in the economy; or the so-called miscellaneous training, +which included courses organized by plants, factories, and cooperatives.</p> + +<p>At the same time the new law provided for the improvement of teacher +training. All teachers who taught in the fifth level or above were +required to have a university education or its equivalent. Teachers who +taught in kindergartens or the first to fourth levels were required to +take a three-year course after the obligatory twelve-year course of +schooling.</p> + +<p>The reforms were later criticized, however, on much more far-reaching +grounds. Some felt that technical specialization was stressed to such an +extreme that the liberal arts were altogether ignored. Some complained +that, although students were overburdened with superfluous details of +overspecialized subjects, teachers were still basically unprepared to +teach these subjects. Others felt that there was a lack of correlation +between the work that the student had to perform and his or her area of +expertise. Still others realized that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span>there was a basic clash between +the managers who supervised the worker-students and the students +themselves.</p> + +<p>Despite much criticism about the reforms, in terms of bare statistics +they were successful in greatly increasing the emphasis on +technical-vocational training. Although the number of primary and +secondary students remained approximately at the same level and the +number of primary and secondary schools declined drastically, there was +a tremendous increase in technical-vocational schools, students, and +teachers.</p> + +<p>In 1967 there was another wave of educational reform in Bulgaria, as +well as in all of Eastern Europe, that once again changed the direction +of education. Although most Eastern European countries began to +deemphasize polytechnic instruction, Bulgaria's course was more cautious +and ambivalent. On the one hand, Bulgarian educators stated that the +time allotted for practical training would be increased, while on the +other hand, efforts were made to reintroduce the humanities into the +curriculum. In the last three grades of the upper course, the curriculum +was divided into two branches: natural science and mathematics, and the +humanities. The number of general education subjects was gradually +increased, and there was renewed emphasis on foreign languages and the +social sciences.</p> + +<p>By 1969, however, authorities once again perceived certain problems in +the educational system and proposed counteracting reforms. One problem +was the relative cost of higher education, which was expanding, as +compared to the cost of primary education, which was both cheaper and +contracting. A second problem was the question of the availability of +trained persons for the national economy because of the long periods of +schooling then required. It was argued that by the time a young man had +completed his education and his military training, he was twenty-five or +twenty-six years old. A third problem was the intense competition for +places in higher education and other postsecondary institutions. In 1969 +approximately 70,000 to 75,000 students leaving secondary schools +competed with each other for 20,000 places at the university level. A +fourth problem was whether the polytechnic school should place primary +emphasis on trade specialization or on academic subjects.</p> + +<p>In the same year serious thought was given to the solution of these +problems, and tentative measures were proposed. The major thrust of +these proposals was to enable students to meet the needs of the economy +by shortening the period of overall education. It was proposed that a +unified polytechnic school, which would fuse general and professional +elements of education, would replace the current, professionally +oriented polytechnic school. At the same time children would enter +school at the age of six, instead of the customary seven. The secondary +polytechnic school would be a ten-year instead of a twelve-year course, +allowing students to graduate at the age of sixteen. Most courses in +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span>higher education would be reduced from five to four years, enabling +students to complete all levels of education by the age of twenty rather +than twenty-five.</p> + +<p>The reforms would perhaps have a greater impact on the secondary system +than the other levels, as they envisioned a completely unified secondary +school system in which professional and general education would be +fused. Specialization in liberal arts, mathematics and economics, +chemistry and biology, social sciences, and foreign languages would be +offered.</p> + +<p>In 1972 these reforms were officially proposed and passed by the Council +of Ministers. It was anticipated that they would be carried out over the +next ten to fifteen years. Although the concept of fusing general and +professional education in the new unified secondary polytechnic school +was not universally popular, the reform embodying this concept was +passed primarily because of the influence of one of its strongest +proponents, Zhivkov.</p> + +<p>Other reforms proposed in 1972 dealt with the specific levels of the +educational system and with monetary necessities to fulfill these +expectations. As it was expected that by 1975 approximately 76 percent +of children from three to seven years of age would be in kindergartens, +the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) emphasized the development of a huge +network of kindergartens. By 1975, 85 percent of the students attending +primary school were expected to go on to the secondary level, and plans +were made to increase the construction of boarding and semiboarding +schools to accommodate these students. Secondary education was to be +made compulsory in order, in Zhivkov's words, "to give every young man +and girl the opportunity not only of acquiring scientific knowledge of +nature and society and the necessary general culture and polytechnical +education, but also of acquiring certain production and technical habits +and skills, of preparing themselves for socially useful work."</p> + +<p>The main emphasis in the 1972 reforms, however, was on higher education. +It was anticipated that there would be some 120,000 students in higher +education by 1975. Of this number it was expected that 65,000—or +approximately half—would be specialists. Of the 65,000 specialists, +half would be engaged in science and technology. Therefore, in 1972 +plans were being formulated for the construction of new buildings at +many of the major institutions of higher education.</p> + +<p>In order to fulfill these structural changes, it was decided that both +increased expenditures and additional places for students were needed. +During the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1966-70), about 300 million leva (for +value of the lev—see Glossary) had been expended on education. In the +Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) 500 million leva were to be allocated. In +addition, 30,000 more places were to be provided at the preschool level, +28,000 more accommodations at hostels, and 4,500 classrooms at all +levels.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span>LITERACY</p> + +<p>Figures vary to some degree, but at the time of liberation in 1878 +between 85 and 90 percent of the Bulgarian population was illiterate. By +the early twentieth century, however, Bulgaria had achieved the highest +literacy rate in the Balkans. Although some scholars stated that only +some 31 percent of the population over school age was literate, by 1920 +nearly 50 percent of the population over school age was literate. By +1934 only 31.6 percent of the population over school age was still +illiterate, and by 1940 this figure was reduced to between 20 and 25 +percent.</p> + +<p>After the Communists took power in the country, literacy increased at a +rapid pace. In 1956 only 17.6 percent of the population over twenty-five +was illiterate, and by 1965 only 8.6 percent was illiterate. In 1973, +although total literacy for people under fifty years of age was claimed +by the government, the rate of literacy of this group was probably +somewhere between 90 and 100 percent.</p> + +<p>Of the illiterate population in 1965, approximately three-fourths were +women and only one-fourth were men, reflecting the recency of the +emancipation of women in Bulgaria. Of ethnic groups, the Gypsies have +both the lowest levels of literacy and of education, whereas the Turks +have a significantly higher literacy rate. Jews, Czechs, Greeks, and +Russians all have a relatively high literacy level. In 1965 there were +three times as many illiterates in rural areas as in urban. Also, +illiteracy in Bulgaria was much more common among the older generation +than among the young. In 1965, of the population over 60 years of age, +approximately one-third was illiterate, whereas only a very small +percentage of the working-age group was illiterate. The government +seemed relatively unconcerned about the problem of illiteracy among the +older people, as an official stated: "The high illiteracy rate among the +older population does not present a problem since this is the population +above the working age and this group is not crucial to our economic +life."</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM</p> + +<p class="cen">Administration and Finance</p> + +<p>The 1947 constitution established both the Ministry of Education and the +Committee for Science, Art, and Culture, which held ministry status. In +1954 the Law on Public Education increased the authority of the Ministry +of Education; all general and vocational schools fell under its +jurisdiction at that time. In February 1954 the Ministry of Culture was +established. It replaced the Committee for Science, Art, and Culture and +oversaw, in broad terms, the curricula at all levels of education, +including correspondence courses.</p> + +<p>In 1973 the executive branch dealing with the legal aspects of education +was the Council of Ministers, and the Ministry of National Education +dealt with all administrative matters. The minister of national +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span>education is a member of the Presidium of the National Assembly as well +as of the BKP Central Committee. Similarly, the assistant ministers of +education hold high offices in the party structure. In this way the +party not only supports educational legislation but also originates it.</p> + +<p>The Ministry of National Education has four principal tasks to perform. +Its primary duty is to direct and control the educational system in +accordance with the policies of the party and the government. It both +formulates and approves basic documents of the educational system, such +as the curricula, the school regulations, and methods. It arranges for +the publication of all school textbooks and supervises the work of the +people's councils at the local level.</p> + +<p>The minister of national education is assisted by three vice ministers +who are appointed by the National Assembly and who head three broad +departments: the Department of General Education, the Department of +Vocational Training, and the Department of Higher Education. Also within +the Ministry of National Education are the following sub-sections: +Marxism-Leninism, physical culture, economic planning, finance, +employment, teaching materials, and cultural relations.</p> + +<p>At the regional level the district people's councils have responsibility +for organization and instruction in all educational institutions with +the exception of schools of art, intermediate schools, and institutions +of higher education. Each council is under the authority of its +executive committee as well as the Ministry of National Education. The +Education Section of the council performs the routine tasks affecting +the educational system. The Ministry of National Education supervises +these education sections and assists them when necessary. They are also +assisted by various advisory committees.</p> + +<p>Education in Bulgaria is generally financed by the state budget. Schools +that are deemed to have national importance are financed by the national +budget, whereas schools that have only local significance are financed +by the people's councils at the local level. Since 1964 the expenses of +many vocational training schools have been financed by various related +ministries, factories, and enterprises. These organizations have played +an increasing role in the financing of the schools since that date.</p> + +<p>The only available figures dealing with the financing of education are +those on higher education. As Bulgaria is considerably behind most +European countries in terms of the financing of education, there is very +little public discussion of the issue. Sofia, the capital city, has one +of the most severe financial problems. In 1966 only 3.2 percent of the +total city budget was spent on matters relating to education. Generally, +financial figures for education are categorized with those for science +and culture so that it is nearly impossible to separate those figures +that deal specifically with education. In recent years educational +reformers have requested greater sums for education than were allocated +in the past.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span>Bulgaria's budget for education fluctuated between 133 million leva in +1960 and 491 million leva in 1971. The proportion of the total budget +allocated for education, however, actually decreased over the last eight +years of the period. In 1960 education represented 5.9 percent of the +total budget; in 1964, 9 percent; in 1967, 8.4 percent; and in 1971, +only 8.3 percent. The percentage of the Bulgarian gross national product +(GNP) earmarked for education in 1972 was inferior to that of some other +European and Asian countries. The German Democratic Republic (East +Germany) spent 5.9 percent on education; the Soviet Union, 5.8 percent; +Japan, 5.3 percent; Poland, 4.8 percent; Great Britain, 4.3 percent; +France, 3.2 percent; and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), +3 percent. Bulgaria allocated only 0.5 percent of its total GNP to the +field of education.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Preschool Education</p> + +<p>Before the Communists took power in 1944 kindergartens were considered +to be an unimportant factor in education. In 1921 there were only +twenty-four kindergartens in the entire country.</p> + +<p>The Communists made a real effort to establish a far-reaching network of +kindergartens, which in the late 1940s included three types: the half +day, all day, and seasonal. No tuition was required for the half day +kindergarten, and tuition varied—depending on the income of the +family—for the other two types.</p> + +<p>Half day kindergartens accepted children after six years of age, +preparing them for admission to elementary schools. All day +kindergartens, which were located in large towns and industrial areas, +cared for children, aged three to seven, of working mothers. Seasonal +kindergartens were established in rural areas for the children of +mothers whose work was seasonal. These schools operated from two to ten +months per year and also accepted children from three to seven years of +age.</p> + +<p>In mid-1973 there were crèches for children from infancy to three years +of age. Children from three to seven attended kindergarten. Although +attendance was voluntary, it was believed that over 60 percent of the +preschool-age children were enrolled in crèches or kindergartens. +Approximately 50 percent of the children in elementary school have had +their preschool education in the half day kindergartens. There were five +types of kindergartens in Bulgaria: the half day, the all day, the +seasonal, the kindergarten sanatoriums and the auxiliary kindergarten. +Kindergarten sanatoriums provided educational facilities for children +with tuberculosis, and auxiliary kindergartens were for the mentally +deficient.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Elementary Education</p> + +<p>Before the Communists took power, there were primary schools for +children between seven and eleven and <i>progymnasia</i> for children <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span>eleven +to fourteen years old. Although both levels of education were compulsory +according to the law, many children between the ages of seven and +fourteen did not attend school. The program of the <i>progymnasium</i> was to +enable children—who might be excluded from either a gymnasium or +vocational school for economic or academic reasons—to obtain additional +education beyond the primary level.</p> + +<p>After 1944 the Communists undertook a major revision of elementary +education in accordance with their basic principles of education (see +Communist Educational Policies, this ch.). In 1950 a new unified school +system was established, patterned after the educational system of the +Soviet Union. This unified, eleven-year system comprised both primary +and postprimary education. In 1954 the Edict on Public Education stated +that the first eight years of this new general education were compulsory +for children from seven to fifteen years of age. Depending on the +particular needs of the individual community, children could attend +either four-year, seven-year, or eleven-year general education schools. +Generally, the four-year schools predominated in rural areas, and the +seven-year and eleven-year schools were more prevalent in larger +villages and towns.</p> + +<p>Elementary education is still compulsory for both boys and girls from +seven to fifteen years of age. Classes are held in the morning only and +run six days a week, Monday through Saturday. The schools are known as +basic or general schools and include not only elementary education but +also the first two phases of the eleven-year polytechnic school. The +elementary course comprises grades one through four, and the +postelementary courses include classes five through eight. The +elementary curriculum includes the study of Bulgarian, mathematics, +music, art, and physical education. The postelementary curriculum also +encompasses the study of foreign languages and science. On both levels +the study of Russian is compulsory.</p> + +<p>The purpose of this general elementary education, according to the +government, is to "provide pupils with general and polytechnic education +combined with fundamental moral, physical and aesthetic training, +instill in children a liking for work, accustom them to productive work +useful to society and prepare them for studies at a higher level." In +accordance with these principles "education in labor" was made an +integral part of the curriculum. The total curriculum of elementary +education consists of a tripartite division. The academic section is +subdivided into the sciences and the humanities. The education in the +labor section consists of work, beginning in the first year of +schooling, in shops, farms, and factories. The extracurricular section +is dominated by the work-study program of the youth organization known +as the Pioneers (see ch. 9).</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Secondary Education</p> + +<p>Before 1944 secondary education in Bulgaria consisted of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span>gymnasium +and the vocational school. The gymnasium was divided into three types: +the classical, the semiclassical, and the scientific. All three included +the following subjects in their curriculum: Bulgarian language and +literature; either French, German, or English; philosophy; mathematics; +history; the history of Christianity; geography; sociology; civics; +physics; and chemistry. In the scientific and classical divisions, +natural history and drawing were also given, and Latin and Greek were +presented in the classical and semiclassical gymnasiums. There was also +a normal school, or pedagogical part of the gymnasium, which added +pedagogy and physical education to the basic curriculum.</p> + +<p>Soon after the communist takeover the combined elementary-secondary +period of schooling was reduced from twelve to eleven years. The +objectives of a secondary education were described in the following +terms: "the general promotion of the physical and intellectual +development of adolescents, the weaning of their minds from extreme +nationalist and reactionary ideas, the inculcation of the spirit of +progress, and preparation for creative participation in the economic and +cultural life of the country." The curriculum of the secondary schools +was changed in order to incorporate these goals. Latin and Greek were no +longer required, but Russian became compulsory. A new subject called +general history subsumed within it the old studies of religion, ethics, +political economy, and Bulgarian. Astronomy was added to the new +curriculum.</p> + +<p>Between 1949 and 1959 other changes were introduced in the secondary +school system. There were then two principal forms of secondary +education: the general school and the technical school. Grades eight to +eleven of the general school, which were considered part of secondary +education, included study of Bulgarian language and literature; Russian; +French, German, or English; mathematics; physics; astronomy; chemistry; +biology; history; constitutional history; geography; psychology and +logic; geometrical drawing; and physical education.</p> + +<p>Technicums and vocational-technical secondary schools, on the other +hand, offered courses ranging from two to five years that gave the +student a specialized education. Graduates of the eleven-year general +school attended these schools for two years; students who had completed +less than eleven years attended for three to five years. In 1952 labor +reserve schools were established. These factory schools offered one-year +or two-year training programs to young people from fourteen to seventeen +years of age who had already completed their elementary education.</p> + +<p>During the 1960s the new polytechnic secondary school was introduced in +order to incorporate the elements of a general and specialized education +into one system. Although this type of secondary education continued to +be the main form of secondary education, it was criticized on two +seemingly paradoxical counts. One group of critics claimed <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span>that the +polytechnic school gave the student neither a sound general education +nor a solid base in professional training. Another group claimed that +the polytechnic school was both too narrow and too technical, depriving +the student of a broad background in general areas.</p> + +<p>In mid 1973 there were three major types of secondary education in +Bulgaria: the secondary polytechnic or a semitechnical variation of the +gymnasium, the vocational-technical schools, and the technicums (see +fig. 5). Roughly 95 percent of students who had completed elementary +school continued in secondary education.</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep111" id="imagep111"></a> +<a href="images/imagep111.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep111.jpg" width="60%" alt="Figure 5. The Bulgarian School System, 1973" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>Figure 5. The Bulgarian School System, 1973</i></p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span>Approximately one-third of students continuing in secondary education +attend the polytechnic school. The stated purpose of this kind of school +is "to provide pupils with wider scientific education and more intensive +polytechnical training, through practical production experience closely +linked with general education and technical subjects, and to prepare +them for active working and intellectual life or for their continued +studies at higher levels. This secondary course completes the pupils' +basic science studies and polytechnical preparation. The practical +experiences gained prepares them for specialization in a major branch of +production work."</p> + +<p>Polytechnic schools can be either part of the general schools—in which +case they consist of grades nine through eleven—or separate schools in +themselves. In the latter case the course is of either four or five +years' duration. These schools are also open to factory and +office-workers who are able to remain in their positions, on a reduced +basis, while continuing their education.</p> + +<p>Technicums are more popular than the polytechnic schools. Although +sources differ with respect to the exact percentage of elementary +students who continue their education in technicums—with some claiming +approximately 40 percent and others as high as 77 percent—probably +about 50 percent continue their schooling in this area. According to the +government the purpose of the technicums is to "train specialists at +intermediate levels for the various sectors of the national economy: +industry, agriculture, and building construction, transport services, +commerce and public health services." At the same time, however, the +technicums provide general education that corresponds to some extent +with the program of the polytechnic school.</p> + +<p>These schools, more than the polytechnic schools, are directly related +to trends in the economy. Technicums are designed to produce supervisors +and skilled workers who will satisfy the needs of the economy. The +course of study varies from three to four years. Although some general +subjects are taught, emphasis is on the acquisition of specialized +knowledge in such fields as agriculture and engineering.</p> + +<p>The least popular form of secondary education in Bulgaria is the +vocational-technical school, which is a form of trade school. Although +the number of students in vocational-technical schools has doubled since +1944, only approximately 20 percent of the graduates of elementary +education continue in this area. The government states that "Vocational +training schools are designed to train skilled workers for industry and +agriculture." The schools can either operate independently or be a part +of a technicum or agricultural or industrial enterprise. Although the +courses are generally open to elementary graduates, workers under thirty +who have not completed their primary education may also continue their +training in these schools.</p> + +<p>The program of the vocational-technical school varies from one to three +years. In the case of workers under thirty, the program runs <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</a></span>from one +to four years. Graduates of the program receive the title of skilled +workmen; they are obligated to work in their field of specialization for +three years. The curriculum in the vocational-technical school includes: +Bulgarian, Russian, physics, mathematics, and physical education. These +subjects consume only half of the allotted time; the other half is spent +working in factories or on farms.</p> + +<p>In addition to these three basic forms of secondary education, there are +special types of secondary schools as well. Specialized secondary +schools exist for music, art, and ballet. Although most operate only on +the secondary level—requiring the completion of the elementary +school—some give the complete eleven-year program. The length of study +generally is four years. Music schools offer courses in instrumental +music, singing, musical theory, and general education. Students of dance +study at the National School of Choreography, which is divided into a +section offering classical ballet and another offering Bulgarian folk +dance. Art students study at a special gymnasium.</p> + +<p>Another form of secondary education is the foreign language secondary +school. In these schools all instruction is given in the foreign +language selected. Russian is the most popular language, followed by +French, German, and English. Although no figures are available for +schools of other languages, in 1973 there were six English-language +schools with fifteen native English instructors. Of the total number of +places available in these language schools, 50 percent are reserved for +girls and 50 percent for boys. Of the same total, 20 percent are +reserved for children of "the active fighters against fascism and +capitalism."</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Higher Education</p> + +<p>In the period between the 1921 reforms and the years just before World +War II, there were nine institutions of higher education in Bulgaria. +The University of Sofia was both the largest and the oldest. The most +popular faculties in higher educational institutions at that time in +order of popularity were: education, law, economics, medicine, and +agriculture. The arts were the least popular faculty. In mid 1973 +statistics were unavailable for both engineering and physical education +(see table 9).</p> + +<p>When the Communists took power in 1944 they made sweeping changes in the +field of higher education. Universities—which had heretofore been +autonomous—were put under state control; members of the party sat on +faculty councils that selected and promoted professors. University +graduates were placed by the government and were subject to punishment +under the newly established penal code if they refused to accept +assignments.</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</a></span><i>Table 9. Number and Proportion of Students in Various Bulgarian +University Faculties,<br /> Selected Years, 1939-71</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 9"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="20%" rowspan="2"> </td> + <td class="tdcxy8" colspan="2">1939</td> + <td class="tdcxy8" colspan="2">1948</td> + <td class="tdcxy8" colspan="2">1960</td> + <td class="tdcxy8" colspan="2">1970</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="10%">Number</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="10%">Percent<br /> of Total</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="10%">Number</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="10%">Percent<br /> of Total</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="10%">Number</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="10%">Percent<br /> of Total</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="10%">Number</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="10%">Percent<br /> of Total</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Engineering</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 182</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5.4</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,480</td> + <td class="tdcx">25.5</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5,042</td> + <td class="tdcx">40.6</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Agriculture</td> + <td class="tdcx">127</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 768</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 22.9</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,088</td> + <td class="tdcx">18.8</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,415</td> + <td class="tdcx">11.4</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Medicine</td> + <td class="tdcx">139</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 729</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 21.8</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 911</td> + <td class="tdcx">15.7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,174</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 9.5</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Economics</td> + <td class="tdcx">230</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 716</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 21.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 889</td> + <td class="tdcx">15.4</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,895</td> + <td class="tdcx">15.2</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Arts</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 55</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 86</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 268</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 319</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.6</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Education</td> + <td class="tdcx">365</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 388</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 11.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 827</td> + <td class="tdcx">14.3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,163</td> + <td class="tdcx">17.4</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Physical education</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 40</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1.2</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 169</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.9</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 259</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2.1</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Law</td> + <td class="tdcx">307</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 441</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 13.2</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 157</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 2.7</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 142</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 1.1</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz"> TOTAL</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> </td> + <td class="tdcxz"> </td> + <td class="tdcxz">3,350</td> + <td class="tdcxz">100.0</td> + <td class="tdcxz">5,789</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 99.9*</td> + <td class="tdcxz">12,409</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 99.9*</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="9">n.a.—not available.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="9">... not applicable.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="9">* Columns do not add to 100 because of rounding.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="9">Source: Adapted from <i>Statistical Yearbook, 1971</i>, Sofia, + 1971, p. 247.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</a></span>The essential task of higher education was enunciated by Premier Vulko +Chervenkov in 1954: "Higher schools must train not only qualified +specialists but also able, and conscious participants in the political +direction and building of socialism in our country." In 1949 +correspondence courses were initiated for manual workers and civil +servants. Courses generally ranged from five to six years. Certain +workers were allowed to attend shorter courses given by the various +institutions while they continued to work. Although they were required +to pass examinations, they did not have to attend classes regularly.</p> + +<p>Between 1948 and 1952 the curriculum became more and more patterned +after the curriculum of the Soviet Union. In 1948 Marxist-Leninist +studies were introduced; in 1949 political economy and the history of +the Communist Party of the Soviet Union became obligatory for all +university students. By 1950 the party newspaper, <i>Rabotnichesko Delo</i>, +reported that 150 Soviet texts were being utilized in institutions of +higher education. By 1952 students were obliged to study both +dialectical and historical materialism, the rudiments of +Marxism-Leninism, and the history of the BKP. Study of these subjects +was generally mandatory for three years.</p> + +<p>In mid 1973 there were two major forms of higher educational +institutions: teacher training institutions and university level +institutions. In the latter category are universities, technical +institutes, agricultural institutes, medical schools, art academies, and +higher schools of economics. In 1972 there were twenty-two university +level institutions, sixteen of which were in Sofia. The remainder were +located in the provincial cities of Plovdiv, Varna, Svishtov, and Ruse. +The courses of study range from four to six years; five years is the +average period. In 1970 in proportion to the total population of the +country, Bulgaria was fourth in the world in terms of the number of +students—which constituted about 1 percent of the total +population—attending institutions of higher education, following the +United States, the Soviet Union, and Japan.</p> + +<p>Higher education in Bulgaria is conceived primarily in terms of the +national economy. The entire educational process at the higher level is +determined by the needs and prerequisites of the economy. The government +has stated: "The main tasks of the institutions of higher education are: +to train qualified specialists, imbued with Communist ideals, for all +fields of activity, who will be conversant with the latest developments +in science and technology, to train teachers and research specialists +for the institutions of higher education and scientific organizations, +to take systematic measures to improve the qualifications of specialists +in various branches of the national economy; [and] to propagate +scientific, technical and political knowledge among the workers."</p> + +<p>Students at the undergraduate level—with the exception of students of +worker and peasant origin—are expected to pass a written examination in +order to gain admission. Fifty percent of the total number of admissions +are reserved for people who have been employed for a two-year period. +Most graduates are obliged to work for three years after graduation in a +position assigned to them by the government. Unlike <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</a></span>the prewar +faculties, technical and scientific faculties have had the highest +enrollments. Although education continues to draw large enrollments, in +1971 engineering had the largest number of students, followed by +education, economics, agriculture, and medicine. Law and physical +education had the lowest number of students at that time. As the State +Committee for Science, Technical Progress, and Higher Education +determines the specialization to be pursued, this list reflects more the +preferences of the government than those of the students.</p> + +<p>Because the government determines the fields of specialization to be +pursued by students of higher education, over a ten-year period—from +1960 to 1970—the pendulum has swung away from the arts and toward the +pure sciences. The fields most preferred by the students themselves, +however, and those that earn the highest wages, are still medicine, +architecture, journalism, and foreign languages.</p> + +<p>The State Committee for Education and Technical Progress stipulates the +number of admissions as well as the courses to be followed in graduate +work. All applicants for graduate study must have a minimum of one year +of working experience in their fields of specialization. In addition to +completion of four or five years of higher education, the applicant must +pass examinations in his field of specialization, in Russian, and in one +Western European language. The curriculum is determined by the various +research institutes of the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of +Agricultural Sciences, or other institutions of higher education. The +term of graduate study is approximately four to 4-1/2 years.</p> + +<p>Beyond the usual graduate study is the doctoral program. To obtain the +doctor of science degree, the student must prepare a dissertation that +according to governmental criteria, contains "a significant scientific +contribution, new educational methods and proposals, theoretical +conclusions and discoveries of great significance for the advancement of +science, technology, and the national economy." A candidate for this +degree must either hold a candidate degree, be thoroughly accredited in +his profession, or have proof of significant contributions to the +economy.</p> + +<p>In terms of the exchange of foreign students, there are only a +relatively small number of foreign students in Bulgaria, and only a tiny +percentage of the Bulgarian student population studies abroad. Although +theoretically opportunities exist for Bulgarian students to study in +other countries, in fact, opportunities are very limited. There are +strict regulations regarding foreign study. In 1971 the Ministry of +National Education stated that only students of parents permanently +employed abroad could study there; no students with independent sources +of income were allowed to study in foreign universities. In 1971 between +1.5 and 1.8 percent of the Bulgarian student population were foreign +students. In the academic year 1970/71 only 1,603 students studied +abroad. Of these, 1047 studied in the Soviet Union; 226 studied <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</a></span>in East +Germany; 154 studied in Czechoslovakia; and twelve students pursued +their studies in other countries.</p> + +<p>At the same time foreign students are not numerous in Bulgaria, although +they come from a variety of countries. As of 1972 only 1,240 foreign +students had been graduated from Bulgarian universities. Among these +graduates were 174 from Albania, 129 from Syria, 126 from East Germany, +ninety-four from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North +Korea), fifty-seven from Kenya, and fifty from the Democratic Republic +of Vietnam (North Vietnam). In the academic year 1969/70 alone, 1,882 +foreign students attended Bulgarian institutions of higher education. +These students came from ninety-two countries; they include 430 students +from North Vietnam, 393 from Syria, 106 from the Sudan, forty-five from +Iraq, and twenty-two from Cuba. Although the focus in foreign student +exchange is definitely on the developing countries—for both economic +and political reasons—in 1971 foreign student exchanges with Western +countries were being increased.</p> + +<p>Although higher education is tuition free in Bulgaria, financial +assistance is still required by a large number of students. The +percentage of students on governmental scholarships varies from year to +year, generally ranging between 30 to 40 percent. In 1965 over 39 +percent of the student population received scholarships, whereas in 1970 +only 30 percent received them. There are two basic conditions for +scholarships as stipulated by the state: acceptable grade averages and a +family income—per family member—that does not exceed 70 leva per +month.</p> + +<p>There are still severe difficulties in the field of higher education in +Bulgaria. One problem is the acute shortage of professors in the areas +of engineering and technology in institutions of higher education. At +some times the shortage is so extreme that advertisements are placed in +the newspapers in order to recruit personnel.</p> + +<p>Another difficulty in higher education is overcrowding in the schools +and in the cities where the institutions are located. This dilemma is +particularly acute in Sofia, where most of the major universities and +institutes are located. In school year 1969/70 there were 82,573 +students enrolled in higher educational institutions; of this number, +59,130—roughly three-fourths—were in Sofia. As many of the students +come to Sofia from other areas of the country, the influx of students +has created a severe housing shortage. One solution, which has been +explored to some extent in recent years, has been for students to enroll +in institutions in major cities to study in their regional areas during +the year and come to Sofia only when examinations are given. +Approximately one-third of the total student population have studied on +this basis.</p> + +<p>A more serious problem is the issue of student preferences versus the +demands of the economy. Since the government requires trained scientific +and technological personnel, there are more admissions in these <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</a></span>areas +than in the arts. Students, however, have indicated a greater interest +in the humanities, but admissions in these areas are few. In 1973 for +every place available in the humanities, there were six applicants. For +every place available in the sciences, there were only four applicants. +The inevitable result of such a policy is the creation of a group of +young people who are engaged either in a study not of their choice or +who have been dissuaded from the field of higher education altogether.</p> + +<p>The most serious problem is the fact that only a small proportion of +applicants are accepted in universities and institutes because there are +simply not enough facilities available to them. In an average year there +are generally 70,000 applicants and only 15,000 acceptances. Thus, +roughly 80 percent of all applicants are rejected by the institutions of +higher education in Bulgaria. Although students are allowed to reapply +at a future date, because they are not generally permitted to study +abroad, this overflow has resulted in the problem of the so-called idle +youth. At the beginning of 1972 authorities estimated that there were +approximately 50,000 of these people. Although the government has +attempted to deal with this problem by forcing the idlers to either work +or be trained for work—and they have been quite successful, as idlers +were estimated to be down from approximately 51,000 to 9,000 in less +than six months—they have failed to deal with the root cause of the +problem, that is, insufficient places in higher education.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">TEACHER TRAINING</p> + +<p>Between 1921 and 1932 all primary and <i>progymnasium</i> teachers had to +complete the normal school section of the gymnasium. In 1932, however, +all normal schools were abolished, and teachers were trained in two-year +pedagogical institutes that demanded completion of the gymnasium for +admission. The pedagogical institutes were subdivided into three +sections: the humanities, the sciences, and arts and crafts. Gymnasium +teachers, in turn, had to have a university degree. Vocational-school +teachers generally were vocational-school graduates themselves.</p> + +<p>In 1944 two new forms of teacher training, both based on the Soviet +model, were established. Teachers in the kindergartens and the four-year +elementary schools, who had already completed seven years of elementary +school, attended five-year teacher training schools. Teachers of grades +five through seven, who had completed their secondary education, trained +at two-year institutes. As before the communist takeover, teachers of +secondary education and university professors had to complete their +training at a university. Teachers of physical education, fine arts, and +music were trained at the appropriate section of an institution of +higher education.</p> + +<p>In 1953 the government established the Institute for the Improvement of +Teachers for the purpose of providing refresher courses for teachers. +This institute also provided teachers with the proper <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</a></span>ideological +orientation. The government stated that the objectives of this institute +were to provide the "dogmatic ideological improvement of teachers ... +and ... the study and application of [the] Soviet teaching experience." +The institute offered such courses as pedagogy, psychology, Bulgarian +language and literature, Russian language and literature, Bulgarian +history, the Bulgarian constitution, mathematics and physics, natural +science and chemistry, and geography.</p> + +<p>In 1959, however, it was decided that all elementary-school +teachers—those who taught grades one through four—would be trained at +teacher training colleges, and all secondary-school teachers—who taught +grades five through eleven—would attend higher educational +institutions.</p> + +<p>In mid 1973 both kindergarten teachers and teachers of the first to +fifth grades were trained at intermediate teacher training institutes. +Teachers of grades five through eight also began their training at the +same institutes, where they trained for three years after the completion +of their secondary education. When they had completed this level of +their education, they continued at an institute of higher education. +Teachers of the fifth through eleventh grades had to have a diploma from +an institution of higher education. Vocational-school teachers and art +teachers were trained at appropriate faculties of higher educational +institutions.</p> + +<p>Teachers are paid at various levels depending on their academic +backgrounds and current circumstances. The three basic determinants of a +teacher's salary are his or her academic qualifications, the number of +classes covered per week, and the overall length of service. Every +teacher is entitled to a 4-percent increase in salary after every five +years of teaching. The total increase is limited to 16 percent. Teachers +who work excessively long hours are granted overtime pay. In the case of +teachers who are forced to teach in areas where living conditions are +considered difficult, extra salaries are given. Teachers who are engaged +in pilot programs receive a 5-percent supplement to their salaries in +order to repay them for the necessary research and training. Teachers +who teach in special schools, special kindergartens, and schools for +maladjusted children also receive supplemental salaries. Teachers +who—in addition to their regular duties—work in pupils' centers, +boarding schools, and evening study periods receive an additional 20 +percent of their original salary.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">OTHER EDUCATION</p> + +<p>Before World War II there were very few facilities for education that +did not fall into the standard educational system. Schools for the +handicapped, for example, were almost nonexistent. Just before the war +there were only five schools of this kind and only 400 children were +enrolled. There were three schools for the deaf, one for the blind, and +one for the mentally retarded.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</a></span>By 1944 the number of schools for the handicapped had declined to four, +and only 200 children were enrolled. One of the first pieces of +educational legislation under the Communists provided specifically for +this type of school. Although the development of these schools in the +early years was quite slow, eventually, by the early 1960s, there were +seventy special schools, caring for approximately 8,000 children. These +special schools provided general schooling for the handicapped—although +the curriculum was, of necessity, modified to suit the needs of the +individual student. Emphasis was on vocational training.</p> + +<p>The primary focus was on adult education. The major objective was to +raise the level of literacy in the country. Between 1944 and 1950 there +were special courses that were aimed at both total illiterates and +semiliterates. When, by the early 1950s, this goal had been +accomplished, these courses were reduced in number and replaced by other +kinds of adult education. Part-time courses at the secondary level were +made available for workers. Evening classes—which taught new vocational +skills and improved already existing skills—became common. Higher +education through correspondence courses opened new avenues to people +who had previously had only a vocational education.</p> + +<p>In 1961 the first boarding schools were established. In 1971 new plans +were formulated to increase the number of such schools. It was +anticipated that 30 percent of all first to eighth graders would attend +such schools by 1975, that 50 to 60 percent would attend by 1980, and +that a full 80 percent would live in boarding schools by 1990.</p> + +<p>There is a wide diversity of schools that do not fall into the standard +educational system. In terms of special education there are elementary +schools for the blind, deaf, mentally retarded, and children who are +otherwise handicapped. All children in these categories begin their +schooling at the age of seven with the exception of the retarded, who +begin at eight. These children attend school for eight years and may +then continue in schools of general education, technicums, or other +schools. Retarded children, after completion of the eight years, go on +to special enterprises that are supervised by the Ministry of Public +Health.</p> + +<p>Children who are either recuperating from, or are prone to, illness +attend primary and secondary schools located in areas where the climate +is propitious for their recovery. Children in these schools are accepted +at any point between the first and eleventh grades. Although the +curriculum is somewhat modified, the basic content of the courses is +essentially the same as in the regular primary and secondary schools. +Most pupils attend these schools only temporarily, generally from four +or five months to a year.</p> + +<p>When the Communists came to power they stipulated that private schools +could continue only if they had express permission from the government +and were operated under governmental authority. In the early years of +communist rule, diplomatic missions continued to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</a></span>operate schools for +the children of foreign emissaries. In 1973, however, the only private +schools were the secondary school, known in Bulgaria as a seminary, and +the Ecclesiastical Academy of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.</p> + +<p>In addition to these special schools, there are technical and vocational +schools of various kinds that are not part of the regular school system. +Between secondary and higher technical schools fall the advanced +technicums, which function on a postsecondary level. Courses generally +run from two to three years, depending on the field of specialization. +There are advanced technicums for such specializations as mining, +medicine, veterinary medicine, and industrial chemistry. All schools +include courses in Marxism-Leninism, higher mathematics, and physical +education in addition to the courses of specialization. Also on the +technical-vocational level are six-month training courses that are +organized by factories, cooperatives, and other enterprises. These +courses are designed to improve the workers' skills or to retrain +workers for other areas of specialization. These courses include both +theoretical studies and practical work.</p> + +<p>Evening courses, correspondence courses, refresher courses, and special +research programs are also numerous in the country. Workers up to thirty +years of age who have not completed their elementary education are urged +to attend evening schools—known in Bulgaria as shift courses—or +correspondence courses. In both types of school the average length of +study is from one to three years, depending on the amount of elementary +education completed. Once these courses are completed, the worker may +continue in either a secondary polytechnic or a vocational school. +Eventually, he may go on to an institution of higher education. +Refresher courses, on the other hand, are at the higher education level +and are provided for industrial specialists in order to keep them +abreast of the latest developments in science and technology. Teachers +and researchers are encouraged to hold research fellowships that +function under the various institutions of higher education as well as +the Academy of Sciences.</p> + +<p>The final component of specialized education is conducted by the party. +Based on Marxism-Leninism, it is geared to indoctrinate party members +but is provided for nonparty members as well. The objectives of this +form of education were summed up by Georgi Dimitrov, premier of the +country from 1946 until 1949, who stated that these schools are to +prepare "individuals in the fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism +... in order that they become independent practical organizers and +leaders, capable of leading the masses in the struggle against the class +enemy." The instructors of party education are trained at the Institute +for Political Instruction of the Central Committee of the BKP, which in +turn supervises the work of the Central Leninist Party School. In +addition to the general dissemination of party policy by these +instructors, there are both formal study circles <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</a></span>and political schools +that present two-year courses in the history of both the Bulgarian and +the Soviet communist parties.</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER 7</h2> + +<h3>ARTISTIC AND INTELLECTUAL EXPRESSION</h3> + + +<p>Bulgaria has a proud cultural heritage that dates to early medieval +times. During the Golden Age (A.D. 893-927) of the first and second +Bulgarian kingdom, Bulgarian arts and letters dominated the Slavic +world. Exposed to the flourishing culture of neighboring Byzantium, +Bulgarians absorbed its influence, adapted it to their own Slavic +culture and language, and then spread it among the less advanced Slavic +peoples in the Balkans and to the north.</p> + +<p>After the Turkish conquest in 1396, cultural development was retarded +for several centuries until the drive for liberation in the nineteenth +century rekindled its creative spark. In contrast to the Golden Age, +however, when Bulgarian culture was widespread, modern artistic and +intellectual expression tended to be provincial in both its audience and +its content. After independence, although interest in cultural and +intellectual matters was high, support for it was restricted to a +minority in Sofia and in a few of the largest towns. The government made +some contribution to the country's artistic development through small +subsidies to institutions and government jobs for artists and +intellectuals, but the subsidies were not always on the basis of merit.</p> + +<p>Before World War II few people could made an adequate living through +creative work alone, with the possible exception of members of the +National Theater and Opera. The prestige of university professors, +members of the Academy of Sciences, and the leading singers, artists, +actors, and writers was high, but the financial rewards were hardly +commensurate with their standing. Despite their prestige, Bulgarian +writers and intellectuals have not enjoyed the same position of +leadership and influence that has been traditional in other countries of +Eastern Europe.</p> + +<p>The communist government had promoted pride in the cultural heritage by +restoring and preserving the country's medieval treasures and national +revival masterpieces and by promoting traditional folk arts both in +their own right and as inspiration to other forms of artistic +expression. Considerable funds and efforts have been devoted to the +promotion of new artistic and intellectual expression, which is seen as +an important medium for the political and social education of the +people. For this reason the leadership has tried to keep artistic and +intellectual expression under control and to use it for its own +purposes.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_124" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</a></span>Despite controls, artistic and intellectual life is active. Not all +creative effort becomes public, and that which does not meet the +prescribed criteria of style and content is known only by its creator +and a few select friends; nevertheless, it is produced. Much of what +passes the censor is of doubtful artistic quality, but works of +considerable merit have appeared in all forms of artistic expression. +Gifted artists and writers find ways to express their talent within the +confines of government regulations.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">THE ARTS AND SCIENCES UNDER COMMUNISM</p> + +<p>Since 1944 artistic and intellectual expression have been subject to the +cultural policy of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see Glossary), +which has followed a relatively strict adherence to the concept of +Socialist Realism as developed in the Soviet Union. Under this concept +art, music, and literature are required to promote communist ideology +and present an idealized picture of communist society. In order to +impart the ideological message, artistic and intellectual expression +must be understood by the common man and, therefore, can only take the +form of straightforward representative statements.</p> + +<p>During the period of de-Stalinization in the mid-1950s, cultural +controls became less restrictive, and artistic and intellectual +expression burst into new creativity and life. Although this outburst +never reached the proportions it did in Poland and Hungary during the +same period, the regime considered it a threat and reimposed strict +controls in the late 1950s. At that time the government was preparing +for a great push in economic development and, to further this goal, +mobilized the cultural community into service as propagandists.</p> + +<p>Another thaw in cultural restriction occurred in the early 1960s when +several factions were struggling for control of the BKP. After Todor +Zhivkov assumed firm control of the party, writers and artists were +again required to serve the needs of the state until the fall of Nikita +Khrushchev in the Soviet Union, and an attempted coup in Bulgaria forced +Zhivkov to broaden his popular support by relaxing the BKP's control of +national life.</p> + +<p>This ebb and flow of restriction on artistic and intellectual expression +continues and serves as a barometer for the political and economic +climate in the country. At no time since the mid-1950s did cultural +policy reach the degree of repression of the Stalinist period. The +leadership in Bulgaria, as did those in other Eastern European +countries, learned that repression was counterproductive. Instead, it +adopted a subtler method of control through the publishers, art +galleries, theater companies, and other outlets for creative expression, +all of which are run by the state in conformity with the guidelines on +cultural policy. Because a creative artist must communicate his ideas to +an audience in order to achieve fulfillment, he tends to adapt his ideas +and principles to what is acceptable to the available outlets for his +work. Thus, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</a></span>self-censorship has replaced direct government control for +the most part.</p> + +<p>From a material standpoint, the life of a creative artist in +contemporary Bulgaria is far more secure than that of his counterpart in +a capitalist country. Creative expression is seen as a social function; +therefore, society owes the creative artist an assured livelihood. This +is provided either through regular salaries from publishing houses, +academies of music or art, or other agencies that employ artists or +through stipends paid to creative artists who do not have a regular +salary to depend on. Free or low-cost room and board are also available +to creative artists and their families at special artists' colonies or +retreats operated by professional unions in the creative arts and by +government agencies for the promotion of the arts and sciences. Under +this system, however, the artist is under constant pressure to produce +in order to justify his salary or stipend.</p> + +<p>In order to qualify for any of the material advantages, in fact, in +order to function as a professional artist or scholar, an individual +must be a member of the appropriate professional union. The unions are, +for the most part, an arm of the BKP and another instrument for +enforcing cultural policy (see ch. 9). Only the Writers' Union has +demonstrated a certain degree of independence based on the recognized +power of the written word. As recently as December 1972 the union again +resisted integration into the Committee on Art and Culture, a +supradepartmental government agency having a wide range of authority in +the cultural sphere. The Writers' Union is the only professional union +in the arts that has not been integrated into the committee.</p> + +<p>The principal aim of cultural policy since 1944 has been to popularize +the arts and sciences by making them accessible to all segments of the +population and to utilize those mediums for the promotion of communist +values. Popularization of the arts has been accomplished by greatly +expanding the facilities that present the arts to the public and by +supporting these facilities with state funds. Many new orchestras, +theater companies, publishers, and art galleries have come into +existence since World War II. Touring exhibits and road companies take +the arts into small towns and villages. Radio and television have been +extensively utilized to promote the arts and learning. Through state +support, the prices of books and admission tickets have been kept +extremely low in order to bring them within the reach of as many persons +as possible. The traditional library clubs have been reinforced by a +network of "houses of culture," which serve as cultural centers in +villages and in urban neighborhoods.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">LITERATURE</p> + +<p>The origins of Bulgarian literature date back to A.D. 855 when the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</a></span>Greek priests Cyril and Methodius designed an +alphabet—Cyrillic—suitable for the Slavic languages in order to +facilitate the Christianization of the Slavs (see ch. 2). At first the +alphabet was used to translate the Bible and other Christian religious +texts, but in the Golden Age of the First Bulgarian Kingdom several +original religious and secular tests were written by Bulgarians in their +own language. In the late Middle Ages a substantial literature in +Bulgarian was created. Although the authors were all churchmen, much of +the literature was secular. A whole body of apocryphal +literature—so-called heretical tales and legends—came into being at +that time.</p> + +<p>During five centuries of Turkish rule, no literature was produced except +the orally transmitted folksongs and ballads. Not until the second half +of the eighteenth century, when Turkish rule began to degenerate, did +Bulgarian literature revive itself as part of the awakening national +consciousness of the people. The first book to appear was Father Paisi's +<i>Slav-Bulgarian History</i>, a highly nationalistic book published in 1762 +that played a major role in the struggle for liberation. During the +first half of the nineteenth century, several Bulgarian texts were +published in neighboring countries. These were extremely influential in +developing the modern Bulgarian language as their publication coincided +with the establishment of schools and the spread of education among the +Bulgarian people. A number of periodicals were also started by +Bulgarians abroad, but most of them were irregular and short lived. Of +considerable significance, however, was the collection and publication, +first in periodicals and later in book form, of the folksongs and +ballads that had kept alive the language and culture of the Bulgarians +during the five centuries of Turkish rule. Much of the interest in folk +literature came from outside the country from other Slavs in Serbia, +Croatia, Czechoslovakia, and Russia, who were going through their own +national awakening and had a kindred feeling for the Bulgarians.</p> + +<p>The early modern literature was nationalistic and didactic. Its authors +were educators involved in the spread of education and in the +modernization of the language and revolutionaries fighting for an +independent Bulgaria. Modernization and social reform were other strong +currents permeating the literature of that time and later. Such poets as +Petko Slaveikov, Lyuben Karavelov, and Khristo Botev were strongly +influenced by the Russian social reformers and revolutionaries of the +second half of the nineteenth century. Botev was the most outstanding +poet of this era. His short, intense, and fiery poems continue to arouse +patriotic feelings of Bulgarians everywhere. Botev's revolutionary +fervor and heroism have been identified by the present-day regime with +its own revolutionary movement, and he has been accorded great honor.</p> + +<p>In the postindependence period the dominant literary figure was Ivan +Vazov, whose influence on subsequent generations of writers <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</a></span>has been +tremendous. Known as the national poet and father of modern Bulgarian +literature, Vazov was primarily a writer and not a crusader or +revolutionary as were his predecessors. He was steeped in the great +literature of Europe and Russia and used the Bulgarian setting and +traditions to write about universal ideas. Vazov's greatest novel, +<i>Under the Yoke</i>, describing Bulgarian life under the Turks, has been +widely translated.</p> + +<p>Vazov and his contemporaries Yordan Yovkov and Pencho Slaveikov (son of +Petko Slaveikov) sought to direct Bulgarian literature away from its +confines of national politics and reform into a more general artistic +and philosophical outlook. They were joined in this effort by the +somewhat younger Elin Pelin, whose stories have also been widely +translated. Although these writers continued to draw much of their +inspiration from native scenery, folk themes, and village life, they +were writers of universal quality and appeal.</p> + +<p>Later, rival literary groups, each with its journal, laid the basis for +marked development in poetry, the short story, and the novel between the +two world wars. No outstanding literary figure emerged, but writers +continued to experiment with a variety of themes and forms.</p> + +<p>Realism had always been a strong theme in Bulgarian literature, and in +the decade after 1944 the Communists sought to utilize this tradition in +imposing Soviet-style Socialist Realism as the desired form of +expression. Writers who conformed to the prescribed style were +generously rewarded with stipends and special privileges that encouraged +a volume of writing heretofore unknown. The novel became the main +literary form as it lends itself particularly well to the prerequisites +of the prescribed literary style. Nikola Vaptsarov and Khristo +Smyrnenski have been singled out by the government as outstanding +writers in the style of Socialist Realism.</p> + +<p>Most of the literature produced in the late 1940s and early 1950s has +been classed at best as mediocre, even by Bulgarians themselves. Several +works of that period, however, have been recognized as outstanding. The +most acclaimed of these has been Dimitur Dimov's <i>Tobacco</i>, dealing with +the revolutionary movement among tobacco workers before and during World +War II. The novel was strongly condemned when first published in 1951 +but, after the relaxation of cultural controls in the mid-1950s, it was +hailed as the best novel since Vazov's <i>Under the Yoke</i>.</p> + +<p>Dissatisfaction of the writers with the restrictions imposed on them and +discontent of the public with the monotony and lack of literary quality +of contemporary writing became evident in the mid-1950s. These feelings +broke into the open when a mild form of de-Stalinization was put into +effect in 1956 (see ch. 9). Although the so-called writers' revolt never +reached the proportions of those in Poland or Hungary, it did bring +about a short period of relative freedom in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</a></span>literary expression and a +number of outstanding literary works that aroused a great controversy. +Foremost among these was Emil Manov's <i>An Unauthentic Case</i>, which +describes interparty conflict. Todor Genov's play <i>Fear</i> also received +high praise for its treatment of the corruption by power of a once +idealistic Communist.</p> + +<p>The leaders of the writers' revolt, with one exception, were all loyal +Communists who had become disillusioned with what they saw as the +hypocrisy and dishonesty of the leadership, which they felt was leading +the people into moral bankruptcy. Their main forum was a new periodical, +<i>Plamuk</i>, edited by Manov, foremost of the rebels. The main demand of +the rebels was that an artist should be free to choose his themes and +methods of presentation provided he remain loyal to communist ideology.</p> + +<p>When the exposure in literature of the spiritual decline of individual +Communists and of communist ideals became too embarrassing to the +leadership, tighter restrictions were reimposed in the late 1950s. The +literature of the early 1960s has been termed cathartic. By writing +about long-suppressed thoughts and emotions, writers attempted to purge +themselves of guilt for the sins of the system that they had supported. +The poetry, which was very popular with the young, had a ring of +disillusionment and pessimism.</p> + +<p>The government leadership did not approve of this literature any more +than it did of the literature exposing faults in the system. Rather than +repress the writers as it had done before, the regime used subtle +pressures to guide writers into acceptable subjects. What followed was a +wave of naturalistic poetry and novels dealing with purely human +problems.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">THEATER</p> + +<p>A dramatic tradition was developed as part of the National Revival. +Plays intended to arouse the people's national consciousness were +written by Bulgarian authors and staged by students and teachers at +library clubs in several cities (see ch. 11). After independence in 1878 +the National Theater was formed in Sofia, but for several decades it +depended heavily on foreign plays and foreign theatrical talent. By the +start of World War II, however, government subsidies had helped to +develop it to a point where it compared favorably with national theaters +elsewhere in Europe.</p> + +<p>The present-day government has heavily supported the theater as a "mass +school for the all-round ideological, ethical and aesthetical education +of the people." An extensive repertoire of Bulgarian plays conforming to +the demands of Socialist Realism and to the prescribed content and +interpretation has been built up. It is performed by some forty-six +theatrical companies throughout the country. Classics by William +Shakespeare, Johann von Schiller, Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, and +others are also performed regularly, as are selected <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</a></span>contemporary plays +by playwrights from all over the world. Unlike elsewhere in Eastern +Europe, there has been no experimental or avant-garde theater in +Bulgaria.</p> + +<p>The presentations of the Satirical Theater in Sofia are the most daring +and innovative theatrical presentations available to the public. +Although their humor is often biting, their theatrical style seems +rather ordinary and traditional to a Western theatergoer. The Satirical +Theater is, nevertheless, the most popular theater in the country; +tickets for its performances are sold out weeks in advance. In addition +to satirical reviews, the theater presents classical satires by Bertolt +Brecht, Nikolai Gogol, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and others. On the +assumption that "people who laugh think no evil," which is an old +Bulgarian proverb, the authorities have tolerated greater outspokenness +on the part of Satirical Theater productions than in the more serious +forms of artistic and creative expression.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">FILMS</p> + +<p>As a medium of artistic and intellectual expression, Bulgarian films +have lagged behind those produced in other Eastern European countries. +They have received little recognition in the West, where they are +generally considered old-fashioned in story line interpretation as well +as in technical approach. Several attempts at imitation of the +surrealism of Alain Resnais and Louis Bunuel or of some of the other +contemporary Western cinematic directors, have proved failures in the +eyes of the critics at home and abroad.</p> + +<p>In common with other communist filmmakers, those in Bulgaria have +concentrated for years on the suffering of the people under Nazi +oppression during World War II. Most of these films about war and +resistance have a propaganda purpose that outweighs any efforts toward +artistic or technical excellence. Since the late 1960s most feature +films have focused on contemporary life and its problems. It is these +films that have shown some experimentation in contemporary cinematic +techniques on the part of Bulgarian directors.</p> + +<p>Animated cartoon shorts have been better received by Western critics and +audiences than have feature films. Those designed and directed by Ivan +Andonov, who is also one of Bulgaria's leading actors, have been +acclaimed as outstanding.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">MUSIC</p> + +<p>Bulgaria is best known in the world of music for several renowned opera +singers it has produced in the twentieth century. The bassos Boris +Khristov and Nikolai Ghiaurov, in particular, rank among the great +singers of all time. A number of other singers are known on opera stages +in Europe and the Soviet Union. The country's five opera companies +provide a good training ground for young singers. The opera <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</a></span>repertoire +relies heavily on the classics and on contemporary compositions of +non-Bulgarian origin; there are few Bulgarian operas. Nevertheless, +opera is an extremely popular form of musical entertainment, +particularly among the intelligentsia.</p> + +<p>The interest in and love of opera among Bulgarians probably has its +roots in Eastern Orthodox Church music, which abounds in both the vocal +and dramatic elements characteristic of opera. Bulgarian clerics made +considerable contribution to the development of this music during the +Middle Ages through the introduction of certain rhythmic and structural +qualities that give orthodox ecclesiastical music its characteristic +form.</p> + +<p>The most typical form of musical expression through the ages has been +folk music. Through folksongs the Bulgarian language and cultural +heritage were kept alive during the centuries of Turkish rule. Turkish +influence is evident, however, in the musical quality of Bulgarian +folksongs, which are noticeably Middle Eastern in feeling. Although +there are many gay dances and happy songs in the folk repertoire, an +important segment of folk music has a sad, plaintive quality and sings +of the hardships and grief of daily life.</p> + +<p>Bulgarian concert music is not well known outside the country. It is, +however, regularly performed by Bulgarian orchestras and has found its +way into the repertoire of orchestras in the Soviet Union and other +communist countries. Outstanding among contemporary composers is Pancho +Vladigerov, whose compositions were well received both before and after +the Communists came to power.</p> + +<p>In the early 1970s the Bulgarian press noted a growing interest in +popular music among the youth. Dance bands and popular ensembles +proliferated in the high schools and youth clubs. Although the press +praised this interest in music as constructive, it decried the kind of +music that found most popularity. Instead of heroic "mass songs" of +Bulgarian composers, the youth showed interest only in Western popular +music.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">FOLK ARTS</p> + +<p>A rich legacy of folk arts was developed before and during the five +centuries of Turkish rule. On Sundays and festival days and at the end +of ordinary workdays, young and old in the villages would gather to +dance the intricate steps of the <i>horo</i> (a circular group dance) and to +sing about young love, brave men, Turkish oppression, or mythical beasts +with strange features. Flutes, bagpipes, and simple stringed instruments +accompanied the songs and dances.</p> + +<p>History and tradition were passed on from generation to generation +through legends, ballads, proverbs, and cautionary tales. This folklore +has formed the basis of much of Bulgarian literature and art since +independence from the Turks.</p> + +<p>Other forms of folk arts were woodcarving, highly colored <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</a></span>embroidery, +rug weaving, and icon painting. Although distinct in their regional +variations, the traditional costumes of Bulgarian peasants are simple +and drab when compared to those of other parts of Europe. Because any +wealth or material possessions were subject to Turkish confiscation, +Bulgarian peasants strove to present an image of poverty through simple +dress and housing.</p> + +<p>In common with other Eastern European governments, the Bulgarian +government has striven to support and promote the traditional folk arts +as part of the cultural heritage of the people. Artisan co-*operatives +produce carved woodenware, rugs, weavings, embroideries, and traditional +musical instruments for sale in government shops. Numerous folk dance +groups give performances at local tourist centers and abroad. The +various folk arts have been free from restriction even during periods of +strict cultural controls; therefore, they have afforded the best outlet +for individual creativity of the serious artists as well as the folk +artists.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">PAINTING AND SCULPTURE</p> + +<p>The golden age of Bulgarian art was, without doubt, the Middle Ages. No +art since that time has matched the magnificence and quality of the +icons and frescoes that adorn the churches and monasteries constructed +during that period. Some of the best and most prized examples of +Byzantine painting are found in the Boyana Church near Sofia, in the +Zemen Monastery in the mountains along the Yugoslav border, and in +several other small village churches. A masterpiece of early Bulgarian +art is the icon of Saint Theodor of Plateina near Preslav; it was made +of colored faience in the tenth century. True to the Byzantine style, +medieval Bulgarian art used muted colors, mostly the earthy tones of +yellows and browns, to depict somber saints and other religious figures.</p> + +<p>Some of the Bulgarian painters developed a special style known as the +Turnovo School of art. In addition to decorating churches and +monasteries, Turnovo School artists also painted miniatures to +illustrate chronicles and religious texts. Several of these are +preserved in major European museums.</p> + +<p>Woodcarving, silversmithing, goldsmithing, and other crafts also reached +a high level of artistry in medieval Bulgaria. Human and animal figures +were common motifs in carved wooden doors and other architectural +features.</p> + +<p>Medieval creativity came to an abrupt halt with the Turkish invasion, +which not only prevented new artistic expression but also destroyed and +damaged much of the existing art. Not until the National Revival of the +nineteenth century did Bulgarian artists again begin to express their +creativity in painting and sculpture.</p> + +<p>Modern Bulgarian art had its beginning in the national awakening <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</a></span>and +the struggle for independence of the late eighteenth and the nineteenth +centuries. As in literature, National Revival art found its themes in +the beauty of the countryside, the charm of old customs, traditional +folktales, and the heroic deeds of brave men. Stylistic inspiration came +from peasant art and ancient Bulgarian religious art. Most significant +among revival artists were Nikola Pavlovich and Vladislav Dospevaki, the +former for his introduction of Western-style realism and the latter for +his modernization of church art. As a whole, however, National Revival +art is more significant for its historic role than for its artistic +merit.</p> + +<p>In the early years of independence, the simplicity of National Revival +art gave way to an academic style and to impressionism. Best known in +that period was Ivan Murkvichka, a Bohemian by birth, whose most +appreciated paintings dealt with peasant life. He founded the Academy of +Fine Arts in Sofia and organized the first Bulgarian art exhibit.</p> + +<p>After World War I Vladimir Dimitrov, known as The Master, sought to free +Bulgarian painting from the influence of ethnography and literature, +although he too drew upon village motifs. Mainly a painter of people—in +individual portraits or in group compositions—he concentrated on themes +of family life and peasant work. Since World War II Dimitrov has been +hailed as a great revolutionary humanist whose stylized epic and lyrical +works depict the greatness of the people and of their suffering.</p> + +<p>In addition to Dimitrov, the interwar period saw the formation of a +group of young painters, led by Ivan Milev, who broke away from routine +academic composition and advocated the combination of national with +modernistic elements. At this time also, Alexander Bozhinov developed +cartoon caricature as an art form to be used as a political weapon.</p> + +<p>Contemporary art has been guided by the strictures of Socialist Realism +as interpreted at different times. Because national or peasant art is +always acceptable under these restrictions, artists have used it as an +avenue for greater freedom of expression. The influence of peasant +icons, for instance, can be seen in the work of many contemporary +artists. Peasant motifs, such as the fruits of the earth, are also +evident in much of the work. The art most acceptable to the leadership, +however, has been the kind of realism that Westerners associate with +communist art. Typical of this style is Ilia Petrov's <i>Partisan Song</i>, a +monumental canvas depicting a group of partisans triumphantly singing +after a victory over fascists. Petrov has consistently received official +praise for his work, which is seen as "national in form and socialist in +content."</p> + +<p>Under the influence of Zhivkov's more liberal cultural policy in the +1960s, artists began to show greater variation and creativity in style +while retaining the acceptable subject matter for their work. Many +experimented with abstracts and other avant-garde forms, but these +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</a></span>works were never selected for public showing or purchase by the museums +and other state agencies, which are the only significant patrons. The +artist, therefore, is usually forced to divide his efforts between those +works that will earn a living and those that will give vent to his +creative urge.</p> + +<p>Although nonrepresentational art is not publicly exhibited, a +considerable degree of abstraction became acceptable in the late 1960s. +According to observers who have had contact with Bulgarian artists, the +public had grown bored with the prescribed style and content of artistic +production, and the government could no longer effectively enforce the +restrictions. Added to the difficulties of enforcement was the +increasing exposure of Bulgarians through tourism to the great variety +of contemporary art produced in Western Europe and in some of the other +communist countries. The most abstract and avant-garde painter in +Bulgaria is Genko Genkov, some of whose paintings hang in the National +Gallery in Sofia.</p> + +<p>Graphic artists have been allowed the greatest freedom for abstraction. +By its very nature, graphic art tends to be abstract and stylized. +Graphic artists such as Maria Nedkova have succeeded in producing works +that are highly regarded both by the government and by the avant-garde +intelligentsia. Many graphic artists go back to Bulgarian medieval art +for inspiration in theme and style. Pencho Koulekov, for instance, who +is highly regarded in Bulgaria, uses the primitive two-dimensional +perspective, the simplification of forms, the highlighting of the +essential, and the omission of all detail that was characteristic of +early miniaturists and icon painters.</p> + +<p>Until the time of independence, sculpture was represented almost +exclusively by decorative wood carvings. With the introduction of +Western influences, several artists turned to the use of stone. Few +Bulgarian sculptors achieved international fame, however, although the +work of some professors of fine arts in Sofia were becoming known +outside the country. Among them was the noted woodcut artist, Vasil +Zakhariev, and a former director of the Academy of Fine Arts, Ivan +Lasarov.</p> + +<p>The three-dimensional nature of sculpture and the classic Greek +tradition of literal representation have made it difficult for +contemporary sculptors to break away from the realistic representational +requirements of the regime. Only sculptures designed for children's +playgrounds and parks are allowed a degree of abstraction characteristic +of art created by children themselves. Observers have commented that +works considered highly modern in Bulgaria are completely traditional +and representational to the Western eye.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">ARCHITECTURE</p> + +<p>The architectural tradition of Bulgaria is formed on ancient Thracian, +Greek, and Roman architecture of which examples survive in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</a></span>several +parts of the country. Three periods stand out in the development of +distinct architectural styles over the ages. The first period was the +Middle Ages, when Bulgarian and other architects constructed some of the +great examples of early Byzantine architecture in territories that +constituted the First Bulgarian Kingdom (see ch. 2). Many of these +monuments are no longer within the boundaries of Bulgaria—notably the +churches and monastery in the Lake Ohrid region of Yugoslavia—and +others were destroyed during the centuries of Turkish rule. Among those +that have survived within the confines of the country are some of the +best examples of artistic expression and technology of the Byzantine +period. These are a source of great pride for Bulgarians, who consider +them part of their contribution to world culture.</p> + +<p>The next period of outstanding architectural development was the +National Revival period of the late eighteenth century and the +nineteenth century. Flourishing commerce gave new life to such towns as +Plovdiv and Turnovo and created new urban centers in which affluent +merchants and artisans built homes and public buildings in a richly +ornamented style that came to be known as the National Revival style. +These two-story structures made extensive use of stone and wood, the +latter usually elaborately carved. The interiors were light and +spacious. In addition to carved doors, ceilings, and built-in +sideboards, the interiors were often decorated with wall paintings. +Typical of National Revival architecture is the Rila Monastery; its +interior walls are covered with frescoes, and its interior and exterior +abound in carved wooden structural members and decorative details. The +monastery, like other National Revival structures, reflects the +Byzantine influence in the many large arched windows, arched ceilings, +and arcades.</p> + +<p>The third period of distinguished architectural development is the +contemporary one. Industrial growth since World War II and a rapidly +growing tourist industry since the mid-1950s have called for large-scale +construction of needed facilities. New resort towns arose on the Black +Sea; industrial new towns grew in other locations; and hotels, apartment +complexes, and public buildings were needed throughout the country. +Although much of the architecture imitates the colossal style of +Stalinist work, some of it is of high artistic quality and imagination. +The Balkantourist Hotel in Turnovo and several hotels in Black Sea +resorts are often singled out as outstanding examples of modern +architecture; they combine traditional features with modern materials +and techniques and blend them into a design that fits into the natural +surroundings.</p> + +<p>Several young architects have achieved international reputations by +winning major design competitions in different parts of the world. +Winning designs have included plans for the development of the city +center of Closure, in the Federal Republic of Germany (West <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</a></span>Germany), +and the city center of Tunis, and the redesigning of the Civic Center +Plaza in San Francisco. Since the 1960s the most talented young +architects have been spending some time in Western Europe to expand +their knowledge and experience.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">SCHOLARSHIP AND SCIENCE</p> + +<p>Isolated for five centuries from the main currents of intellectual and +scientific developments abroad and denied the education required to +undertake any scholarly or scientific activity of their own, the +Bulgarian people do not have a long tradition of scholarship and +science. Some intellectual activity did take place in the isolated +mountain monasteries, and it eventually inspired the National Revival. +Because of this isolation, however, the focus of the intellectual +activity was parochial.</p> + +<p>The Academy of Sciences was founded in 1869 as part of the National +Revival movement and has served, together with the University of Sofia, +as the rallying point of intellectuals and scholars. After World War II +the Academy of Sciences was expanded by the incorporation of several +independent research institutions. Its membership was also vastly +increased with the admission of individuals whose loyalty to the new +government would assure the proper slant to their scholarly work. The +Academy of Agricultural Sciences was founded in 1961 to provide the +scientific know-how that would expand the output of collectivized +agriculture. The two academies coordinate and supervise all research and +scholarly activity undertaken in the country.</p> + +<p>Emphasis in all scholarly and scientific activity has been on matters +directly applicable to industrial and agricultural development. Work in +the social sciences has been directed at the government's efforts to +transform Bulgaria into a socialist state. The work of scientists and +scholars must conform to the various theories and formulas developed by +Soviet scholars and must not dispute or contradict the basic precepts of +Marxism-Leninism as interpreted by the Bulgarian leadership. In the +early 1970s scholarly activity in Bulgaria had not yet attained the +freedom of thought and expression that has been evident in Poland and +Hungary.</p> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>SECTION II. POLITICAL</h2> + +<h2>CHAPTER 8</h2> + +<h3>GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM</h3> + + +<p>The People's Republic of Bulgaria is a socialist state with a form of +government not too different from the Soviet model on which it was +patterned. Following the classical Marxist-Leninist ideology, it +subscribes to rule by the working class—that is, dictatorship of the +proletariat—a doctrine asserting that all power emanates from the +people and is exercised by them through the electoral process. Corollary +to this right of the people to elect national representatives is the +power to recall them through the same instrument of the ballot. In +practice, however, the dictatorship of the proletariat has been a +dictatorship of the communist party.</p> + +<p>The government has its theoretical base in the constitution adopted in +1971, which superseded the earlier version of 1947. The 1971 +Constitution provides for a representative unicameral legislature known +as the National Assembly, an executive committee within the legislature +called the State Council, and a cabinet of advisers known as the Council +of Ministers. For regional and local government the constitution +establishes a hierarchical structure of people's councils. Parallel to +the entire governmental structure there exist corresponding levels of +the Bulgarian Communist Party (Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya—BKP, +see Glossary) and, in practice, the party leadership at each level +exercises executive and legislative control.</p> + +<p>The 1971 Constitution, unlike the 1947 document, explicitly sanctions +the leadership of the BKP. Its preamble unequivocally proclaims the +leading role of the BKP in the government machinery as the directing +force in promoting socialist goals and in actively participating in the +fraternity of friendly socialist countries. Particularly noteworthy is +the statement of recognition of Bulgaria's alignment with the Soviet +Union.</p> + +<p>The 1971 Constitution also recognizes the representation of +multi-interest groups within the united Fatherland Front (Otechestven +Front), a coalition of left-of-center political groups, which had its +origins during World War II. The front has become a large umbrella for +mass organizations and is headed by the National Council of the +Fatherland Front, which functions under party auspices. As constituted +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</a></span>in 1973, the front remained a control mechanism or, more appropriately, +a transmission belt for the BKP.</p> + +<p>The drafters of the 1971 Constitution of Bulgaria subscribed to Lenin's +principle of unity of power, which advocated combined +legislative-executive authority in one state organ of power. In the +1970s the State Council had assumed legislative initiative as well as +executive responsibility, whereas the National Assembly, which was +constitutionally endowed with the legislative authority, followed the +lead of the State Council.</p> + +<p>Government is structured on two levels: national and local. The highest +legislative body, according to the constitution, is the National +Assembly, which meets only three times a year in very short sessions. +Executive direction at the national level comes from the State Council, +which theoretically is elected by and responsible to the National +Assembly. In effect, however, the council has become a superior body. +Because the National Assembly meets infrequently, the State Council +assumes legislative initiative in addition to its executive +responsibility. The third major organ at the national level, referred to +in the constitution as the government, is the Council of Ministers, +which is theoretically appointed by and responsible to the National +Assembly but is actually responsible to the State Council. National +policy decisions reach the grass roots level through the pyramidal +system of people's councils.</p> + +<p>The judiciary, although independent in theory, is an integral part of +the government structure that operates as an adjunct of the +executive-legislative organs. By design the judicial system legitimizes +communist control and gives legal expression to party policy. The system +is structured so that the courts of law and the prosecution agency +function together, and the latter enjoys police power.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">CONSTITUTIONAL EVOLUTION</p> + +<p>The beginnings of constitutional government in Bulgaria date back to +1879 after Russia had liberated the country from 485 years of Turkish +rule. From 1879 to 1947 the country was governed by a constitutional +monarchy based on the Turnovo Constitution, which established a +parliamentary system of government having a king at its head. Among +comparable constitutions in Europe at the time, the Turnovo document was +considered liberal and democratic in form, organization, and operation. +It was considered to be one of the most liberal in the world at that +time. Whereas most European countries limited suffrage in various ways, +all Bulgarian citizens over the age of twenty-one enjoyed the franchise.</p> + +<p>Through a sixty-five-year span, however, the Turnovo Constitution was +revised twice, suspended twice, and violated many times. Basic to these +conflicts was the limit on the power of the king and the extent of +popular participation in government. The absence of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</a></span>consultative bodies +in a unicameral legislature served to widen the rift between the +executive and legislative branches.</p> + +<p>Even after the communist takeover in 1944, the Turnovo Constitution +continued to be the charter of government until a new constitution was +adopted in December 1947. In party historiography the 1947 Constitution +is described as the work of Georgi Dimitrov, hence it became known as +the Dimitrov Constitution and remained in force until 1971.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">The Constitution of 1947</p> + +<p>In the mid-1940s, with the ascendancy of the BKP in the Fatherland Front +coalition government, there arose a need to draw up a new charter. The +changes in government structure and operation had rendered the Turnovo +Constitution obsolete, and the BKP was anxious to discard those elements +that party ideologists considered bourgeois.</p> + +<p>Structurally the Constitution of 1947 consisted of eleven chapters and +101 articles without a preamble. It proclaimed Bulgaria a people's +republic with a representative form of government to be implemented by +universal suffrage of citizens eighteen years of age and over.</p> + +<p>The constitution established the National Assembly as the supreme organ +of the state power and the Council of Ministers as the supreme executive +and administrative organ. During the twenty-four-year span of the 1947 +Constitution, the Presidium of the National Assembly actually wielded +more power than its parent organization or the Council of Ministers, +even though such power was not ascribed to it in the Constitution. The +power of the presidium derived from the BKP positions concurrently held +by its members.</p> + +<p>Legislative power was vested in a unicameral legislature, the National +Assembly, which was elected for a term of four years. Assembly +representatives were elected by the people on the basis of one +representative for every 30,000 people; amended in 1961 to 25,000. +Representatives served terms of four years but could be recalled at any +time before the expiration of their terms. The constitution required the +assembly to meet twice a year and on other occasions as required by its +presidium, which met in continuous session.</p> + +<p>The many functions of the National Assembly included electing the +presidium, Supreme Court judges, and the chief prosecutor; appointing +the Council of Ministers; amending the constitution; granting amnesties; +deciding the holding of referenda; voting on the general economic plan; +settling questions of war and peace; and other legislative matters of +nationwide application.</p> + +<p>Within the assembly the presidium—consisting of a president, two vice +presidents, a secretary, and fifteen members—was empowered with +legislative-executive authority, and it exercised judicial power in the +interpretation of laws that were binding on everyone. More importantly, +the presidium assumed the powers and functions of the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</a></span>National Assembly +when the latter was not in session. In effect, the small presidium +exercised the legislative function most of the time.</p> + +<p>Executive and administrative direction was vested in the Council of +Ministers, a cabinet elected by the National Assembly. The council +consisted of a chairman, several deputy chairmen, the heads of various +commissions having ministerial rank, and the ministers. The council was +assigned the tasks of directing and administering the various ministries +that were concerned with the economy as well as with affairs of state; +the State Planning Committee; the State Control Committee; and the +Committee on Art and Culture; as well as the Committee on Science, +Technical Progress and Higher Education. In practice, the council +implemented policy decisions of the party leaders who were its +high-ranking officers.</p> + +<p>Following the Soviet model, the first secretary of the party was also +the chairman of the Council of Ministers and, as such, was the country's +premier. It became evident through the years that the Council of +Ministers and the Presidium of the National Assembly were the ultimate +sources of governmental authority because legislation they proposed was +usually implemented by decree and approved, after the fact, by the +National Assembly.</p> + +<p>The 1947 Constitution treated the economic and social structure of the +country extensively. It subscribed to collective ownership of the means +of production; defined rules of national economic planning and social +welfare; empowered the government to nationalize trade, industry, and +transportation; expropriated land where necessary; and restricted +ownership of private property—all in the interest of the state. The +constitution also gave the state the prerogative to establish monopolies +over production and trade.</p> + +<p>Below the apex of the governmental pyramid lay the wide base of local +governments. These consisted of district and communal people's councils +exercising authority through their executive committees, which sat in +continuous session. The executive committees of the people's councils +cooperated closely with local party groups, and personnel were often +concurrently members of executive committees and local party committees. +Although the organization of local government was revamped in 1949, in +1951, and in 1959, by the mid-1960s it was replaced by twenty-seven +districts plus Sofia, which became a territorial administrative unit. +The decentralizing of governmental authority to the local organs of +state power was designed to bring about greater efficiency and better +supervision in matters of political, economic, and cultural interests.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">The Constitution of 1971</p> + +<p>The Constitution of 1971 was the result of the work of the Tenth +Bulgarian Communist Party Congress, which was held April 20-25, 1971, in +Sofia. This congress also produced a new program for the BKP, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_141" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</a></span>made +changes in statutes, elected the Central Committee of the Bulgarian +Communist Party, and adopted "Directives on the Socio-Economic +Development of the People's Republic of Bulgaria during the Sixth +Five-Year Plan (1971-75)."</p> + +<p>The draft of the new constitution was presented for nationwide +discussion on March 30, 1971, just three weeks before the opening of the +tenth BKP congress. The congress approved the draft in its entirety on +the opening day of session. The constitution was approved through a +popular referendum on May 16 and was proclaimed law two days later by +the National Assembly. General elections under the new law took place on +June 27, 1971.</p> + +<p>The structure and functioning of the different organs of state power as +outlined in the Dimitrov Constitution remained essentially the same +except that the State Council became a more powerful governmental body +than the Presidium of the National Assembly that it replaced and, in +effect, overshadowed the Council of Ministers in authority. The new +document continues to define Bulgaria as a people's republic but also +refers to its socialist character and to its membership in the +international community of socialist states. Two new features are the +declaration of principles in the preamble and the sanction given to the +leadership of the BKP, aided by the Bulgarian Agrarian Union (also +called the Agrarian Party) within a united Fatherland Front (see ch. 9).</p> + +<p>The Constitution of 1971 reflects the new changes in the sociopolitical +and socioeconomic development of the country as viewed by the communist +leadership. The first chapter consists of twelve articles that briefly +define the political philosophy upon which the constitution is based and +the direction in which the party expects the country to move under the +new charter. Simply stated, the philosophy avows that Bulgaria is "a +socialist state of the working people of town and country, headed by the +working class," and "the guiding force in society and the state is the +Bulgarian Communist Party." The direction of movement expected by the +country's leadership is evidenced by the assertion that "the socialist +state shall promote the evolution of the socialist society into a +communist society." This chapter also affirms the Marxist-Leninist +principles that underlie the functioning of the state and the society.</p> + +<p>The new document also addresses itself to significant changes in the +interrelationships between the National Assembly, State Council +(formerly the presidium), and the Council of Ministers. For instance, +the constitution expanded the right of legislative initiative to include +not only the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers but also the +State Council, the permanent commissions of the National Assembly, the +Supreme Court, the chief prosecutor, and the district people's councils. +The rationale was that the National Assembly is not a continuously +sitting body so that its functions must, of necessity, be assigned to +state bodies of a permanent nature.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_142" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</a></span>Twenty articles explain the economic system and development of the +republic based on the socialist ownership of the means of production. +The constitution recognizes four kinds of ownership: state, cooperative, +public organizations, and individual or personal.</p> + +<p>The Law on Citizen's Property passed during the session of the National +Assembly in March 1973, however, nearly abolished the private ownership +of the means of production which, according to communist theory, is the +basis for the exploitation of man by man. The new measure gave legal +expression to what had been planned since the constitution was +promulgated in 1971 and reflects the complete predominance of collective +ownership in furtherance of the spirit of the tenth BKP congress. +Private ownership is confined to "items for personal use."</p> + +<p>Basic rights and liberties of citizens get constitutional guarantees, +but in almost every stipulation that hinges on personal, civil, and +political rights, in practice, the interest and welfare of the state +take precedence. Basic rights and obligations embrace a wide scope of +personal, civil, and political freedoms. Among these guarantees are the +right to Bulgarian citizenship; civil rights of spouses, parents, and +children; rights to work, rest, and receive health care and free +education; freedoms of speech, press, association, and demonstration; +rights to secrecy of correspondence and communication except in cases of +national emergency; and freedom of worship. All citizens are declared to +be equal before the law regardless of national origin, creed, social +status, education, or sex. Article 36 extends to women equal rights with +men. Mothers are guaranteed all-expense-paid hospitalization and +maternity care, paid maternity leave of absence, and provision for +children's care in nurseries and other establishments provided by the +government. The protective arm of the state also extends to its citizens +overseas.</p> + +<p>Rights have commensurate obligations defined by the constitution to +ensure the survival and strengthening of the socialist foundation. +Foremost among these are the obligation to work according to one's +abilities, the defense of the state, compulsory military service, and +tax obligations for state support. Treason and other high crimes against +the state, such as inciting war and disseminating propaganda, are +treated with severity.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE GOVERNMENT</p> + +<p class="cen">The Central Government</p> + +<p>The constitution exhibits an image of legislative supremacy asserting +that power belongs to the people and is exercised through such elected +representative bodies as the National Assembly and the people's +councils. The practice, however, shows executive political hegemony +exercised by the party leadership occupying positions of governmental +responsibility, such as the head of the Council of Ministers and head of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</a></span>the State Council. The power exercised by a government organ is +directly linked to the party positions held by its head and by its +members. For example, Todor Zhivkov as president of the State Council (a +position that automatically makes him president of the republic) is at +the same time first secretary of the party and a member of its +Politburo. Stanko Todorov, who is chairman of the Council of Ministers +and thereby premier of the republic, is also a member of the Politburo. +Several other members of the State Council and the Council of Ministers +are concurrently members of the Politburo, the Secretariat, or the +Central Committee. This interlocking of positions, which occurs not only +at the national level but at all levels, ensures party control of the +entire governmental system (see fig. 6).</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin">State Council</p> + +<p>The source of executive direction and control in the government is the +State Council, a twenty-four-man executive committee within the National +Assembly elected for an indefinite term until a new National Assembly +elects a new council. It functions as a collegial executive and +legislative body, and its president assumes the title of president of +the People's Republic of Bulgaria.</p> + +<p>The State Council of the National Assembly replaced the former +presidium, to which the 1947 Constitution had given honorific titles but +largely ceremonial functions. Conceived during a plenum of the party +Central Committee in 1968 but not established until after the +promulgation of the new constitution in 1971, the State Council was +designed to be a powerful force, both executive and legislative, in the +overall governmental structure. The best evidence to the power inherent +in the structure of the new State Council was the fact that party leader +Zhivkov chose to relinquish the premiership, which he had held for +several years, in favor of the newly created position of president of +the State Council. Zhivkov is one of a very few leaders of communist +countries who continues to retain the top position in both the party and +the government.</p> + +<p>The State Council exercises a wide spectrum of authority that would +theoretically be the responsibility of the National Assembly. In effect +the State Council becomes the alter ego of, or a surrogate for, the +National Assembly and arrogates to itself the constitutional +prerogatives of the people and the elected legislature. Most members of +the State Council are concurrently high-ranking members of the BKP.</p> + +<p>Among the many duties and responsibilities of the council, the most +important can be divided into two definite groups: those functions that +are specifically defined and thereby permanent and those functions that +the council assumes when the legislative body is not in session. During +wartime, when it might not be possible for the assembly to meet, the +constitution provides for the complete assumption of legislative and +executive authority by the State Council.</p> + +<p>The State Council's specific and permanent functions include, among +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</a></span>others, calling the National Assembly into session, exercising the +right of legislative initiative, determining bills that should be +submitted to the people for nationwide discussion, interpreting the laws +and decrees binding on everyone, creating and eliminating departments +below ministerial level, appointing and recalling diplomatic +representatives, granting Bulgarian citizenship, ratifying international +treaties concluded by the government, and implementing the general +direction of the defense of the country.</p> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep144" id="imagep144"></a> +<a href="images/imagep144.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep144.jpg" width="50%" alt="Figure 6. Bulgaria, Structure of Government, 1973" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>Figure 6. Bulgaria, Structure of Government, 1973</i></p> +</div> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</a></span>When the National Assembly is not in session, the State Council is +empowered to promulgate decrees and other acts of legal validity dealing +with problems arising from laws and decrees of the legislative body. +Furthermore, these acts and decrees have the force of law and need no +legislative confirmation at the next assembly session.</p> + +<p>Additionally, the council exercises executive control over the Council +of Ministers, its members, the local people's councils, and the Office +of the Chief Prosecutor; it can repeal decisions of the ministries and +other central departments, which in effect reduces the Council of +Ministers to a grade below the State Council. In the event of war the +State Council, in the absence of the National Assembly, is empowered to +sign peace treaties, to amend the constitution, to grant amnesty, and to +change the territorial boundaries of the country. In sum, the functions +of the State Council can be categorized into executive, legislative, +judicial, and police. In carrying out these multifarious +responsibilities, six councils and two committees assist the State +Council, (see fig. 7).</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin">Council of Ministers</p> + +<p>The Council of Ministers is described in the constitution as "a supreme +executive and administrative body of state power." In practice the +council is more of an advisory body to the State Council than it is a +supreme body even though it oversees the day-to-day functioning of the +government. In 1973 the council consisted of a chairman (the premier), +two first deputy chairmen, five deputy chairmen, twenty ministers, and +several chairmen of committees subordinate to the council. Additionally, +there are other members in the council; they are ministers without +portfolio (two) and the deputy chairman of the State Control Committee. +Within the council there is an inner executive committee known as the +Bureau of the Council of Ministers; its membership includes the +chairman, his seven deputies, the minister of finance, and the chairman +of the State Planning Committee.</p> + +<p>Election and organization of the Council of Ministers is done by the +National Assembly, which determines the number, kind, and names of the +ministries and of other departments with ministerial rank. For this +reason the number of ministries and central agencies may vary from time +to time. The Constitution of 1971 introduced two new features that did +not exist in the 1947 Constitution. One obliges the Council of Ministers +to give an accounting of its work to the State Council and another +limits the rights of the Council of Ministers over the executive +committees of the people's councils.</p> + +<p>Some of the functions of the Council of Ministers overlap those of the +State Council. Categorically, these functions may be grouped together as +executive, legislative, economic (budget preparation), police, and +military.</p> + +<p>The Council of Ministers also has jurisdiction to form—for the purpose +of administration—committees, councils, general boards, and offices. +Also within their competence, ministers and heads of departments with +ministerial rank have the right to issue orders and rescind unlawful or +irregular acts and actions of the special bodies of the people's +councils. They also have the right to suspend acts of the executive +committee of the people's councils.</p> + +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</a></span><br /> + +<div class="img"><a name="imagep146" id="imagep146"></a> +<a href="images/imagep146.jpg"> +<img border="0" src="images/imagep146.jpg" width="55%" alt="Figure 7. Bulgaria, Organization of the Council of Ministers, 1973" /></a><br /> +<p class="cen" style="margin-top: .2em;"><i>Figure 7. Bulgaria, Organization of the Council of Ministers, 1973</i></p> +</div> + +<p>The constitution empowers the Council of Ministers to draft and +implement national economic plans for submission to the National +Assembly. The council has police power in the maintenance of public +order and security and has general command of the armed forces. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</a></span>Along +with the State Council it implements the direction and control of the +activities of the people's councils.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin">The National Assembly</p> + +<p>The National Assembly, a unicameral legislature, is the only legislative +body of the central government, but legislative initiative has been +extended to several other governmental organs. In practice the State +Council appears to be the most powerful organ of government as well as +the principal initiator of legislative matters. The assembly, which +meets only three times each year in short sessions, would appear to have +more form than substance in the actual governmental affairs of the +country. It would seem to be impossible for anyone to become a member of +the assembly or of the State Council without prior approval of the BKP +(see ch. 9).</p> + +<p>The assembly's 400 members represent voting districts of equal numbers +of inhabitants per delegate. The term of office is five years. This was +another innovation in that the BKP hierarchy decided that party +congresses would be held every five years instead of four and, +therefore, elections to the National Assembly should be changed in the +same manner. In the exercise of its functions, the National Assembly can +dissolve itself, and in emergency situations it may extend its term.</p> + +<p>The manner in which the National Assembly operates, that is, the +infrequency and brevity of sessions, makes it imperative for permanent +commissions, in addition to the State Council, to carry on the +multifarious functions of the assembly. In 1971 there were twelve +permanent commissions, half of which had overlapping functions with +various ministries. The constitution does not specify how many permanent +or interim commissions the assembly should appoint but leaves such +matters of organization to the assembly itself.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Local Government</p> + +<p>Territorially, Bulgaria is divided into twenty-eight districts +(<i>okruzi</i>; sing., <i>okrug</i>), about 200 municipalities, and about 5,500 +villages. The municipalities, if size warrants, are divided into urban +constituencies (<i>rayoni</i>; sing., <i>rayon</i>), whereas villages are usually +grouped together to form rural constituencies known as <i>obshtini</i> +(sing., <i>obshtina</i>). Since 1959 the number of districts has remained +constant at twenty-eight, which includes one for the city of Sofia. The +number of urban and rural constituencies, on the other hand, changes +frequently as the population increases and as people move from the +countryside to the cities or move from cities to suburban areas. +Districts and urban and rural constituencies are governed on the local +level by people's councils, and in the 1971 elections there were almost +1,200 such councils with a total of more than 53,000 elected officials.</p> + +<p>Each people's council has an elected executive committee, which is +constantly in session and which acts for the council during the long +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</a></span>periods when the full body is not meeting. On the local level the +executive committee is to the people's council what the State Council is +to the National Assembly on the national level. An executive committee +usually consists of a chairman, a first deputy chairman, several deputy +chairmen (depending on size), and a secretary. The interlocking of party +and governmental positions that is the hallmark of the central +government is repeated at the district and rural and urban constituency +levels, and often the members of a people's council executive committee +are also the most prominent members of the local party organization. An +executive committee usually serves for the entire term of its people's +council.</p> + +<p>In the implementation of national policy, people's councils are under +the supervision and control of higher councils all the way up to the +central government. The hierarchical and pyramidal structure of the +people's councils, wherein the lowest bodies are subject to the +direction of the next higher and of the highest bodies, is an example of +the application of Lenin's principle of democratic centralism. +Coincident with this structure of government is the parallel structure +of the BKP, whose members are in control or are influential at every +level.</p> + +<p>People's councils are empowered to adapt decisions and orders of higher +authorities to their own individual needs. Local councils prepare plans +and budgets in consonance with the national plans and, after decisions +have been made at the national level, the local councils conform to the +national policy. People's councils are involved in the day-to-day +affairs of their constituencies in government services and +administration, the maintenance of public order, the protection of state +and communal property, and the protection of the rights of its citizens. +In these areas the local police, known as the People's Militia, are the +instruments of the local council, but their responsibility is also to +the next higher level and on up to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (see +ch. 15).</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">JUDICIAL PROCEDURE</p> + +<p>The highest judicial organ is the Supreme Court, the members of which +are elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms. Below it are +twelve regional and ninety-three district courts, and the military +courts. The Supreme Court is a court of original jurisdiction as well as +of appellate jurisdiction. It is organized into criminal, civil, and +military divisions. In the administration of justice, courts and +prosecution are referred to as "weapons of the dictatorship of the +proletariat." Judges and assessors take part in the dispensation of +justice. These positions are elective.</p> + +<p>The Office of the Chief Prosecutor is established to see that the laws +are obeyed by the ministries and other national departments, bodies of +local state power, economic and public organizations, and officials as +well as citizens. The chief prosecutor is elected to a five-year term. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</a></span>He is subject to recall, however, before the expiration of his term and +is responsible only to the National Assembly. Again, as is true with the +Supreme Court, between sessions the chief prosecutor reports to the +State Council.</p> + +<p>The chief prosecutor exercises wide powers in the performance of his +functions. Because he is elected by the National Assembly, he is certain +to be a loyal party member; he appoints prosecutors (district and +communal) for lower levels and can recall them before the expiration of +their terms. Together with the minister of justice, he controls the +judicial system for the communist party.</p> + +<p>In interpreting the communist theory of "unity of power," the +constitution places the judiciary below the executive and legislative +branches of state power. It also lumps together the judicial bodies and +prosecutors in overlapping and parallel functions. The fact that judges +and lay assessors are elected indicates that the party echelons can +control the workings of the judicial machinery.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">THE ELECTORAL PROCEDURE</p> + +<p>The basic election law of Bulgaria is embodied in a document adopted on +February 17, 1953, and published as the Law of Election for the National +Assembly of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. It has been amended many +times since then.</p> + +<p>Article 6 of the 1971 Constitution extends the right to vote to every +Bulgarian citizen who has reached the age of eighteen, regardless of +"sex, nationality, race, creed, education, occupation, official or +social status, and property status." The only exceptions are those +persons under "complete tutelage." An earlier law had denied the right +to vote only to those who had been sentenced by a court.</p> + +<p>Members of both national and local representative bodies—the National +Assembly and the people's councils—are elected by direct and secret +ballot on the basis of universal, equal, and direct suffrage. +Theoretically, they are responsible to their electorate and render an +accounting of their activities. In this frame of reference they can be +subject to recall even before the expiration of their term. In practice +they are removed at the discretion of the BKP.</p> + +<p>The State Council schedules dates for elections to the National Assembly +and people's councils. In no case is the date fixed later than two +months after the expiration of the current mandate. The council is also +empowered to schedule dates for holding referenda on decisions of the +National Assembly. All election dates are set on weekends or nonworking +days to ensure continuous work production.</p> + +<p>Under the election law and in accordance with the constitution, +elections are called by the State Council and conducted by the Central +Election Commission, a body created by the National Assembly and +directed by the State Council. The Central Election Commission comprises +representatives of various organizations, such as trade unions, +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</a></span>cooperatives, youth organizations, special professional and interest +groups, and other public organizations and societies, which must be duly +registered according to acceptable procedures established by the +National Assembly. The election commission is headed by an executive +committee consisting of a chairman, a deputy chairman, a secretary, and +twenty members, all of whom must be approved by the State Council.</p> + +<p>Corollary to the right to elect is the right to be elected to public +office. Candidates are nominated according to electoral areas. +Theoretically, the right to nominate candidates is secured through +meetings of public organizations and such societies as trade unions, +youth organizations, cultural societies, and cooperatives. In practice, +however, candidates are nominated by the BKP leadership of these public +organizations, and their names are submitted for discussion during +meetings. This procedure ensures the candidates' election and at the +same time meets the obligation in the electoral law that nominations be +discussed at public meetings.</p> + +<p>Lists of candidates for public office are compiled in each village, +town, and district and are submitted to the BKP-controlled National +Council of the Fatherland Front where a final list of candidates is +drawn. Only candidates nominated by the BKP, the Bulgarian Agrarian +Union, and other mass social organizations approved by the Fatherland +Front are allowed to go on the ballot. Quite expectedly, the single +slate of candidates presented by the Fatherland Front usually gets +elected unanimously.</p> + +<p>In the parliamentary election held on June 27, 1971, voters elected +assembly deputies, people's councillors, judges, and lay assessors. Out +of 6,168,931 registered voters, 6,159,942 cast ballots, representing +99.85 percent of the electorate. A total of 6,154,082 voters, or 99.9 +percent, voted for all Fatherland Front candidates as contrasted to +1,487 who voted against. About 4,373 election ballots were declared void +because of irregularities.</p> + +<p>The speed with which election results are tallied and announced was +exemplified by the election of 1971. Two days after the election the +Central Election Commission—headed by its chairman, Angel +Velev—examined the protocols of the 400 urban constituency election +commissions and announced the results. As expected, all 400 candidates +nominated by the Fatherland Front were elected. Announcements of local +election results in towns and villages are made by the respective +executive committees of the people's councils.</p> + +<p>The BKP's method of organizing the government after an election was +illustrated by the plenum of the Bulgarian Communist Party's Central +Committee held on July 6, 1971. It discussed and approved proposals for +candidates for chairman and deputy chairman of the National Assembly, +membership of the State Council, Council of Ministers, heads of the +different commissions, chairman of the Supreme <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_151" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</a></span>Court, and chief +prosecutor. Nominees were submitted for discussion and confirmation +during the first session of the sixth National Assembly held on July 7, +1971.</p> + +<p>An amendment to the 1971 Constitution on the nomination of candidates by +the leadership of public organizations obtained official sanction not +only for the purpose of expediency but more importantly to guarantee the +election of the nominees, as there had been cases of nonelection during +the previous elections for people's councils. The election law also +provides that candidates must garner 50 percent plus one vote in the +electoral districts before being declared elected. Statistics of +election results for people's councils in 1949 and 1966 showed that the +percentage of votes ranged from 96.48 percent of the voting population +in 1949 to 99.56 percent in 1966. The new amendment required that +two-thirds of the registered voters cast their ballots in favor of the +candidates before declaring that an election had taken place.</p> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER 9</h2> + +<h3>POLITICAL DYNAMICS</h3> + + +<p>In mid-1973 political affairs and the administration of the country +remained completely in the hands of the ruling circle of the Bulgarian +Communist Party (Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya—BKP, see Glossary), +headed by First Secretary Todor Zhivkov. Political power was exercised +by him and by the few select officials in the Central Committee of the +Bulgarian Communist Party, particularly those who were members of the +Politburo and the Secretariat. The extent of such power was best +described by Vulko Chervenkov, onetime premier and Politburo member, who +declared that "no institution, organization, or person can be above the +Politburo and the Central Committee." This statement, made in the early +1950s, continues to be the cardinal rule of communist power in Bulgaria.</p> + +<p>Retention of power by the party was ensured through its absolute control +of governmental machinery and of all organized activities. Virtually +every important government post was held by a high-ranking party member. +First Secretary Zhivkov, for example, was also president of the State +Council, the leading government body, which made him the top man in both +party and government. In addition to the interlocking of government and +party posts at all levels, it was also customary for the top officers of +mass organizations to be members of the party hierarchy. The continued +existence of a second political party, the Bulgarian Agrarian Union +(Bulgarski Zemedelski Suyuz—BZS), did not encroach on the +monopolization of political power by the BKP because the prerogatives of +the union had been curtailed to the point where it had become an +auxiliary of the BKP rather than a competitor. Any opposition to the +ruling elite had come from within the party rather than from outside +organizations. As recently as 1965 an abortive attempt to overthrow +Zhivkov was made, but this was the result of intraparty factionalism +rather than antiparty opposition. Zhivkov managed to avert the attempted +coup d'etat and afterward strengthened his power base within the party.</p> + +<p>At the helm of the party for nineteen years, Zhivkov, despite occasional +intraparty struggle and friction, remained the undisputed leader and, as +such, he maintained very close relations with the Communist Party of the +Soviet Union and with the Soviet government. On the one hand the close +Bulgarian-Soviet relationship has been interpreted by Marxist +theoreticians as the application of "proletarian <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</a></span>internationalism"—a +theory that contends that proletarian unity is "historically the higher +right than that of national self-determination." On the other hand, many +observers of Bulgarian-Soviet relations maintain that the nature of the +unequal alliance stems not only from historical and cultural +affiliations as well as political and ideological identification but, +more important, from Zhivkov's need for strong Soviet support.</p> + +<p>At the Tenth Party Congress in 1971 Zhivkov reiterated the necessity for +close ties with the Soviet Union and introduced a five-year economic +plan that continued the long emphasis on heavy industry. The congress +reelected the Politburo, despite the advanced ages of some of the +members and their demonstrated concern for maintaining the status quo at +a time when the changes necessary to transform Bulgaria into a modern +industrial country have placed new demands on old methods and +institutions. Success or failure of the Communists' ongoing efforts to +industrialize, modernize, and communize the country depends on the +adaptability of the leadership and the political institutions to meet +the challenges of the 1970s.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">MAJOR POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS, 1965-71</p> + +<p>After discovery of the plot to overthrow him in April 1965, Zhivkov took +steps to secure his position and to prevent future conspiracies. Because +the threat to his regime had come mainly from the army, Zhivkov and his +minister of defense often spoke to assemblies of military officers to +explain party policies and to assuage dissident feelings within military +ranks. In addition, state security functions were realigned in an +attempt to tighten the system in order that such conspiracies would not +be able to germinate in the future. The Ministry of the Interior lost +its responsibility for security to the newly created Committee of State +Security, which was under the direct supervision of Zhivkov in his +position as premier. Later, in 1968, the Committee of State Security and +the Ministry of the Interior were again merged under the latter's title.</p> + +<p>After the abortive plot against him, Zhivkov offered some reforms to +placate disgruntled elements and to avoid a repetition of the incident. +Although the principal plotters were imprisoned, Zhivkov's reaction to +the conspiracy was one of general appeasement. This policy of +appeasement was shown by the fact that no general purges took place and +that people who could have been suspected of dissident activity were +allowed to remain in positions of authority in the party and in the +government rather than being summarily swept aside. The programs of +liberal reform that had been implemented before, but interrupted by, the +1965 plot were resumed, and Bulgaria seemed to be reaching for <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</a></span>a +national destiny rather than accepting the role of a Soviet puppet. The +reforms affected all fields—political, economic, and cultural—and for +a time it seemed that the abortive coup d'etat had given new impetus to +Bulgarian national interests.</p> + +<p>The promise of reform appeared to be the focal point around which the +Ninth Party Congress was convened in 1966, and at the congress party +leaders underscored the need for the widest participation in the +democratic process. Reforms, however, fell victim to the conservatism of +older party leaders, and Zhivkov did not have the personal strength or +magnetism to push forward his program. The ninth congress ended with the +reelection of the essentially reactionary Politburo and a reaffirmation +of the status quo. The bright hopes for economic, political, and social +progress that had been evident in late 1965 and early 1966 collapsed in +a return of rigid ideological dogma and a firm reliance on Soviet rather +than Bulgarian initiatives.</p> + +<p>The failure of the ninth congress to rejuvenate the party hierarchy and +to chart a reform course for the future had repercussions throughout +Bulgarian society. Initiatives in foreign affairs that had been taken in +1965 and 1966 foundered in the retrenchment into party orthodoxy. +Negotiations that had begun with Western European countries as well as +with Balkan neighbors bore no fruit as the Zhivkov government failed to +follow up earlier moves toward better relations. Even more detrimental +to Balkan relations was Bulgarian participation in the Soviet-led +invasion of Czechoslovakia, which Yugoslavia and Romania strongly +opposed. In the cultural area the party tightened its controls over +creative artists and reorganized the Committee on Art and Culture to +better serve the needs of the government. The First Congress of Culture, +held in 1967, emphasized the constructive role of culture in society and +called for an intensification of anti-Western propaganda in order to +counter the dangerous influence of so-called bourgeois culture.</p> + +<p>There was also great concern among party leaders about the so-called +nihilistic attitude of the country's young people. In December 1967 +Zhivkov published his "Youth Theses" in an attempt to counter what the +party considered to be dangerous apathy on the part of Bulgarian youth. +Zhivkov's theses initiated some institutional reforms that dealt heavily +with patriotic education in an attempt to instill some national pride in +the young people, but about a year later patriotic education was +deemphasized. Evidently the program had aroused strong feelings of +nationalism that interfered with the pro-Soviet attitudes that have been +characteristic of Zhivkov's government. After publication of the "Youth +Theses," all youth activities came under the aegis of the Dimitrov +Communist Youth Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz), +referred to as Komsomol, which is the junior auxiliary of the BKP. The +moves to politicize young people failed to arouse any widespread +interest, and in the early 1970s Bulgarian <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</a></span>youth remained essentially +apolitical and apathetic.</p> + +<p>In the economic sector the BKP blueprint for reform commonly referred to +as the New Economic Model offered innovations in decentralized +decisionmaking that delegated more responsibilities to public and state +organizations on the lower level as well as to individual enterprises. +The attention given to economic reform at the time—late 1965—was +motivated not only by Zhivkov's need to shore up his own political +position after the attempted coup but probably more so by the examples +of new economic programs that were sweeping the Eastern European +communist countries and the Soviet Union. More important than the +liberal reforms for decentralized management of the economy was the +decision to allow planning from the bottom to the top. From the time of +the enactment in 1965 up to about 1968 there were definite signs of +change. The July plenum of the BKP Central Committee in 1968, however, +formalized a number of changes that called for considerable reduction in +the autonomy of the existing public and state organizations, thus +setting aside the entire economic reform program. After the July plenum +and another in November 1968, a reorganization of state enterprises took +place in line with the new centralization policy.</p> + +<p>During the remainder of the 1960s and into the early 1970s, Zhivkov's +position remained stable, and there were no overt threats to his regime +such as the 1965 plot to overthrow him. In 1969 and again in 1970 +agreements were signed in Moscow that tied the Bulgarian economy even +closer to that of the Soviet Union. Bulgaria's position, or more +precisely the BKP's position, on relations with the Soviet Union was +summed up in a statement made by Zhivkov just before the Tenth Party +Congress in 1971: "The fraternal friendship and cooperation of the +Bulgarian Communist Party with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union +and the ever broader and deeper alignment of Bulgaria with the Soviet +Union will remain the immovable cornerstone of the entire work and the +domestic and foreign policy of our party."</p> + +<p>At the Tenth Party Congress, which was attended by General Secretary +Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, there were no startling changes +either in party policy or in high-ranking personnel assignments. The +same Politburo, with an average age of sixty-three, was returned to +office, and the party program promised no alteration in the heavily +centralized, pro-Soviet policies that had marked most of Zhivkov's +tenure. A new constitution was proposed by the party and later adopted +by the government and, although some institutional changes were +made—for example, creation of the State Council as a collective +executive branch of government—the absolute supremacy of the BKP over +every aspect of Bulgarian life was in no way diminished. On the +contrary, the power of the top leadership was probably enhanced along +with its ability to perpetuate itself in office.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</a></span>THE BULGARIAN COMMUNIST PARTY</p> + +<p class="cen">Organization</p> + +<p>Party statutes define the organization, membership, and program of the +BKP. A statute promulgated during the Sixth Party Congress in 1954 +proclaimed the party to be an "inseparable part of the world communist +front" and acknowledged the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as the +leading political force within the communist bloc countries. Later party +statutes refined the basic document but did not change the premise that +the BKP looks to the Soviet party for leadership.</p> + +<p>Central to the observance of basic communist policy is adherence to the +principles of democratic centralism. Patterned after the Soviet model, +these principles call for a pyramidal form of command responsibility in +which lower party organs are subordinated to the next higher body. This +also means that decisions of higher bodies bind those below, +individually and collectively. Party policy and practice encourage open +discussion of issues during meetings of local party units as well as +during conferences and congresses at higher levels; however, party +discipline requires unitary action after a decision has been reached by +the hierarchy.</p> + +<p>The party hierarchy is composed of the Politburo, the Secretariat and, +to some extent, the Central Committee, the membership of which interlock +as one man may occupy two or more positions at any given time. +Theoretically occupying the apex of power is the congress of the party +that is held every five years, following the example of Soviet party +congresses. The congress is made up of delegates from various party +units on the basis of proportional representation of party members. The +main statutory functions of the congress include revising or amending +party statutes, deciding party policy, electing the Central Committee, +and receiving reports concerning past progress and future plans. It is +customary for major governmental programs or reforms to be presented to +a party congress before promulgation. The Tenth Party Congress, for +example, listened to readings of the draft of a new constitution and the +Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) and approved both unanimously. Actually, +the purpose of a congress is to demonstrate unanimity and accord. The +size of the congress (1,553 delegates in 1971) and the fact that it +meets only at five-year intervals preclude carrying out its statutory +role as a deliberative and policymaking body. Public politicking or +wrangling by delegates to a party congress would be unprecedented.</p> + +<p>Because the party congress meets so infrequently, it delegates its +functions to the Central Committee that it elects. Election of Central +Committee members is also a pro forma action wherein the congress +unanimously approves the list of names provided by the party leadership. +The Central Committee is a large working party organ, which in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</a></span>1973 +included 147 members and 110 candidate (nonvoting) members. The +committee is charged with the administration of party work between +sessions of the congress and the implementation of party policies +presented by the leadership. For the performance of its duties, the +Central Committee has fourteen permanently operating departments and six +schools and institutes, the latter ostensibly to promote political +educational goals. As set forth in party statutes, plenary sessions of +the committee are to be held at least twice a year, and special sessions +may be called from time to time.</p> + +<p>Within the Central Committee sits the nine-man permanent Secretariat +headed by the first secretary who, by party structure, is the most +powerful man in the country. The Secretariat is elected by the Central +Committee during the party congress, but the election, once again, is +merely formal approval of the members already selected by the top party +leadership. Since 1954 the position of first secretary has been +continuously held by Zhivkov, who also heads the State Council and is +therefore the head-of-state. In addition to the first secretary, six +other secretaries and two members complete the composition of the +Secretariat. The main function of the Secretariat is to supervise the +implementation of party policy.</p> + +<p>Sharing the center stage of political power with the Secretariat is the +Politburo, elected by the Central Committee in the same manner as the +Secretariat. In effect the Politburo is a self-perpetuating body, and +any change in membership is dictated by the members themselves. Composed +of eleven members and six candidate members, all Politburo members +belong to the Central Committee. They provide collective political +leadership in both party and government.</p> + +<p>The Politburo is the policymaking and decisionmaking branch of the +party. In theory the eleven members of the Politburo are equal, but in +practice the party first secretary occupies the topmost position of +power in the party and is therefore first among equals in the Politburo. +Such is the concentration of political authority in the top bodies that +multiplicity of membership by party officials in any or all of the +central party organs is more the rule than the exception.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Membership</p> + +<p>After the successful coup d'etat in September 1944, communist party +membership grew with unprecedented speed. From prisons and internment +camps and from self-exile abroad, party leaders began to converge in +Sofia to restructure the party and to form a new government. Party +members assisted by sympathizers helped fill the necessary manpower +requirements as functionaries and working groups in the new coalition +government. A period of intensive recruitment and propaganda followed +that swelled the number of members from 15,000 to 250,000 in just four +months. By the time the Fifth Party Congress <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</a></span>convened in December 1948, +party membership reached 500,000. This was in part due to the merger of +the Social Democrats with the BKP in August 1948. In large part, +however, Bulgaria's egalitarian peasant society—coupled with +indiscriminate recruitment using hardly any criteria for +qualification—produced a predominantly peasant membership. Workers +accounted for slightly over one-fourth of the total membership as +compared to one-half made up of peasants.</p> + +<p>Ironically, the intense campaign for new members was accompanied by +wide-scale purges within the party during a power struggle between the +Stalin faction and the home faction of the BKP. Led by Chervenkov, the +Moscow-oriented leaders succeeded in getting rid of their political +opponents and soon after established a Stalinist kind of government in +the country. Observers noted that this was aimed not only at weeding out +undesirable party elements but, more important, at increasing the number +of workers and consequently achieving a numerical balance with the +peasant members.</p> + +<p>Once in full control of the party and government, the BKP hierarchy +turned its attention to more systematic methods of recruitment. By the +time the Eighth Party Congress convened in November 1962, the BKP had +528,674 members plus 22,413 candidates. It was also at about this time +that the Zhivkov government relaxed the open police terror and pardoned +6,000 political prisoners, most of them Communists.</p> + +<p>The Ninth Party Congress, held in November 1966, provided new +regulations concerning party composition and acceptance of new members. +Qualifications of candidates had to be checked thoroughly, and only +those qualified could be accepted. Education as the main criterion of +selection was emphasized among target groups of workers, peasants, +specialists, women, and young people. As a result of this improved +recruitment procedure, the new members after the congress were 44.3 +percent blue-collar workers and 32 percent women. Of this group, it was +estimated that 60.4 percent had at least a secondary education.</p> + +<p>It was reported by the Secretariat that district (<i>okrug</i>) party +committees after the Ninth Party Congress showed improvement in +"content, style and methods of their work," and that they understood +better the political approach in guiding local economic tasks as well as +leading primary party organs in the political and organization work of +their constituencies. Furthermore, over 77 percent of full-time +secretaries of local party committees and about 90 percent of chairmen +of cooperative farms had higher or secondary education. Formal training +as well as in-service education was given serious attention. Educational +training for party members includes two-year university courses, short +courses, seminars, informal meetings, and conferences of local party +committees.</p> + +<p>Statistics reported in 1971 showed that 25.2 percent of about 700,000 +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</a></span>members of the BKP were women. Increasingly more important positions +were assigned to women in the party hierarchy. In the same period (1971) +there was a woman member of the Politburo, several women members of the +Central Committee, and two women ministers. Not only were women active +in party activities, but they could also be found in boards of +management of government enterprises.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Party Congresses</p> + +<p>Party statutes formerly stipulated that congresses would be held every +four years, but a decision was made to extend the interval to five years +after the Communist Party of the Soviet Union had made the same change. +Decisions of the congresses appear as party statutes that usually +reflect the desires of the leadership and the circumstances that +necessitated the additions, deletions, or amendments to already existing +statutes. The most important innovations embodied in BKP statutes +emerged from congresses beginning with the Sixth Party Congress, held in +1954, and continuing through the Tenth Party Congress, held in 1971.</p> + +<p>The Sixth Party Congress abolished the position of general secretary and +in its place created the post of first secretary, again following the +lead of the Soviet party, which had done the same thing after Stalin's +death a year earlier. Party leader Chervenkov, who was premier and a +Politburo member, kept those posts and allowed the election of Zhivkov +as first secretary. Zhivkov was then an unknown functionary who had +risen from the ranks of the Sofia party structure. Aside from the usual +exhortation for party unity and the changes in six Politburo positions +as well as an increase in Central Committee membership, the Sixth Party +Congress was uneventful. Zhivkov's rise to power did not take place +immediately, and a period of intraparty struggle ensued as he gradually +consolidated his authority as first secretary.</p> + +<p>The Seventh Party Congress, held in June 1958, proved even more +uneventful. It passed the Third Five-Year Plan for the development of +the economy, the fulfillment of which was drastically reduced to three +years even before the ink was dry on the document. With Central +Committee approval, new plans for economic targets were prepared; +meanwhile, Zhivkov prepared an elaborate propaganda campaign to push +this program through. Zhivkov's Theses, as the collection of +instructions have come to be known, advocated increased cultivation and +production in agriculture and industry to obtain yields that were double +those of previous plans. An unprecedented flurry of activity followed on +the heels of extensive media coverage. Aided by the press, the Agitation +and Propaganda Department under the Central Committee's direct +supervision launched a vast campaign that surpassed even those efforts +in neighboring countries.</p> + +<p>This period is characteristically known as Bulgaria's Great Leap +Forward, patterned after the Chinese experience, and historians put +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</a></span>forth political and economic motives for such an economic experiment. +Politically, after Nikita Khrushchev started his de-Stalinization policy +in the Soviet Union, the Bulgarian repercussion was evident in +Chervenkov's disenchantment with the Soviet trauma and his looking +favorably instead toward the Chinese example. The Great Leap Forward was +neither a spectacular success nor a dismal failure and achieved no more +than the expected progress in three year's time. The ensuing period +marked a return to earlier patterns and heralded the end of Chervenkov's +political career and the concurrent elevation of Zhivkov. The election +of Zhivkov's friends—Stanko Todorov and Mitko Grigorov—to full +membership in the Politburo gave him added support. Khrushchev's visit +as the head of a large Soviet government delegation did not hurt Zhivkov +but rather gave convincing proof of Khrushchev's support of the +Bulgarian first secretary. Anton Yugov was premier at this time, but it +was not long before he too was purged, the final blow coming only hours +before the start of the Eighth Party Congress.</p> + +<p>The Eighth Party Congress in 1962 marked the end of the open opposition +to Zhivkov's leadership. With Chervenkov and Yugov out, Zhivkov was in +full control. A month earlier, in October 1962, a special plenum of the +Central Committee announced Zhivkov's assumption of government power as +premier while retaining the first secretaryship of the party. In the +economic sector, the Twenty-Year Plan of Economic Development—patterned +on that of the Soviet Union—had been passed. It featured more realistic +goals in contradistinction to its predecessor. As usual, heavy +industrial priorities ranked high in the development plan.</p> + +<p>In November 1966 the Ninth Party Congress was held in Sofia. During the +deliberations changes were made within the Politburo whereby Zhivkov's +former protégé, Grigorov, was dropped from membership without an +explanation and Todor Pavlov, a theoretician of Marxism, and Tsola +Dragoycheva, head of the National Council of the Fatherland Front, were +added as full members. Boyan Bulgaranov and Ivan Mihailov, both older +party members, were retained—a move that indicated the influence of +older functionaries over young potential leaders. Economically, the +congress supported principles of new management, tying political +progress with economic advancement.</p> + +<p>Collectively the aforementioned congresses accomplished little. On the +contrary the 1971 congress introduced considerable changes in the +sociopolitical and socioeconomic patterns of growth—among them the +drafting and adoption of a new constitution (see ch. 8).</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Tenth Party Congress</p> + +<p>Whatever political changes are visible in Bulgaria are the result of the +Tenth Party Congress held in Sofia from April 20 to April 24, 1971. It +was attended by 1,553 delegates representing roughly 700,000 party +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</a></span>members, a ratio of about one delegate for every 450 members. +Additionally, foreign representatives from eighty-nine countries were on +hand. Leading the Soviet delegation were Brezhnev, general secretary of +the Soviet party, and four other high-ranking officials.</p> + +<p>As is customary, Zhivkov opened the congress with his usual +state-of-the-nation address, extolling Bulgarian-Soviet ties and +stressing friendship between the two countries. Included in the agenda +were the adoption of a new five-year economic plan; discussion and +adoption of the new party program; discussion and approval of the new +constitution; the election of party members to the Central Committee, +Politburo, and Secretariat; and a change in party statutes calling for a +congress every five years instead of four.</p> + +<p>The central theme of the party congress revolved around the concern or +"care for man." To this end resolutions were passed during the +deliberations purportedly giving "everything for the sake of man; +everything for the good of man." A separate report on the subject also +emphasized the need for improving the economic plight of the people. By +the time the resolutions and directives were being implemented, however, +noticeable variations in interpretation and emphasis had taken place. +For example, the draft directives for the Sixth Five-Year Plan showed +projection of industrial production that went up by 60 percent, whereas +production of consumer goods was projected to increase by only 50 +percent.</p> + +<p>Special attention was given to the areas of education and culture by the +Tenth Party Congress. Zhivkov underscored the need to close the +educational gap between workers and peasants, who often had no more than +an elementary education, and the intelligentsia and white-collar +professionals, who had attained the secondary level and more often had +gone on to higher education.</p> + +<p>Far more significant changes in party statutes took place in the area of +governmental operations. With the adoption of a new constitution, +modified structural arrangements were worked out, the most important of +which was the creation of the powerful State Council of the National +Assembly; the council's functions are not entirely dissimilar to, but +greater than, the presidium that it replaced (see ch. 8).</p> + +<p>The composition of the new Politburo and Secretariat remained +essentially the same. The congress seemed anxious to demonstrate unity +by stressing continuity of tenure for its senior members. All of the +eleven Politburo full members elected in 1966 were reelected in 1971; +four were over age seventy, and the youngest was fifty years old. All +Politburo members except one had been with the party since before +September 9, 1944. Some Western observers wondered whether the retention +of the entire old guard signified stability or exemplified stagnation. +At a time when observers were expecting an infusion of new blood into +the hierarchy, the leaders chose the status quo. Zhivkov, in his closing +speech, seemingly aware that the political <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</a></span>conservatism of the old +ruling elite left something to be desired, maintained that "the +communist is ... an official up to a certain age; but he never ceases to +educate, to inspire, to unite, and to organize the masses." In effect he +apologized for retaining the same old membership in the hierarchy.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">THE BULGARIAN AGRARIAN UNION</p> + +<p>The egalitarian character of Bulgaria's society derives from its +basically agricultural economy. Its peasant organization—the Bulgarian +Agrarian Union (Bulgarski Zemedelski Suyuz—BZS) was formed as early as +1899, making it one of the oldest agrarian organizations in Europe. +Founded to promote the well-being and educational advancement of its +members, it developed into a political party and a powerful machine that +in the 1920s became the governing party under Alexander Stambolisky. +After Stambolisky's government was overthrown in 1923, it did not rise +to power again. The party split in 1931, and in 1942 the radical half of +the party, known as the Pladne (the name of their newspaper) faction, +joined the BKP in the Fatherland Front coalition.</p> + +<p>The BZS in the early 1970s was a secondary political party subservient +to, and controlled by, the BKP. Its membership was reported to be +120,000, of which 80,000 were cooperative farmers and approximately +15,000 were active militants in government jobs. It has a more +simplified party hierarchy, being governed by an executive council +elected by delegates of its congress, which meets every four years. The +Executive Council—corresponding to the BKP Central Committee—is +composed of ninety-nine members and forty-seven alternate members. From +among them are elected members of the Standing Committee, comparable to +the Politburo of the BKP, which directs the entire activity of the BZS. +The Standing Committee derives its authority from the Executive Council +and reports to it.</p> + +<p>Assisting the Executive Council is the Auditing Commission, which +oversees the financial accounts of the BZS. Another leading central +organ of long historical tradition is the Supreme Council. It is not as +large as the congress, but it is important enough to make policy +decisions affecting the great mass of agrarian rank and file. It +consists of all members and alternates of the Executive Council, members +of various commissions, and all the chairmen of district committees.</p> + +<p>There are twenty-eight district committees; 1,027 village committees; +and 3,848 local branches of the BZS below the national level. +Jurisdictionally, they all follow an orderly system of organization +whereby lower organs fall under the supervision and control of higher +organs, and all fall under the final jurisdiction of the BKP agencies +above them.</p> + +<p>The preamble of the 1971 Constitution recognizes the existence of the +BZS as united in "purpose and action" with the BKP in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</a></span>establishment +and development of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. In keeping with +this pledge, the BZS leadership and prominent members are elected to, +and in some cases appointed to, important bodies of state administration +through all levels of the government. There was an increase in the +number of BZS members elected to public office in the general elections +that followed the BKP congress in 1971. It appeared that the Communists +had decided during their congress to broaden the base of representation +by including more BZS members in the government as well as more members +from various mass organizations and the Turkish minority. Regardless of +affiliation, all candidates for office are carefully screened by the +BKP, and after election all officials are under the control of the BKP.</p> + +<p>Of the national officials in January 1973, Georgi Traykov, leader of the +BZS, was one of two first deputy chairmen of the Fatherland Front. +Earlier, he had been released as chairman of the National Assembly, +which approved his nomination to the State Council, a move that was +politically expedient in the view of Zhivkov to establish a "closer +relationship ... between the State Council and the National Council of +the Fatherland Front."</p> + +<p>During the Thirty-Second Congress of the BZS, held in Sofia in October +1971, the presence of high-ranking BKP Politburo members as well as +foreign delegates was very much evident. Boris Velchev, Politburo member +and secretary of the Central Committee, delivered a speech praising the +work of the BZS in its partnership with BKP in all aspects of Bulgaria's +socialist development. Domestically, BZS was lauded for its efforts in +the technological progress in agriculture resulting in the production of +large quantities of cheap produce. BZS members were also praised as good +machine operators in factories and as "innovators and frontrankers in +field brigades and livestock farms."</p> + +<p>Internationally, the BZS maintains contacts with dozens of agrarian and +related organizations in various countries. As diplomats, national +officials among the BZS leaders had demonstrated exceptional ability in +foreign relations, especially where the regular high-ranking BKP +representatives had been found less acceptable.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">MASS ORGANIZATIONS</p> + +<p>Mass organizations are auxiliaries of the BKP through which the party +hierarchy exerts control over the bulk of the population. Established to +serve the immediate interests of a particular class of workers or +professionals, mass organizations work as transmission belts for the +administration of party policies and the achievement of party goals. +Most, if not all, of their chairmen are trusted and loyal BKP members.</p> + +<p>The right to form organizations for any purpose not contrary to public +law and national security is guaranteed in the constitution. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</a></span>These +organizations may be political, professional, cultural, artistic, +scientific, religious, or athletic. Furthermore, unions and other +associations may be formed within public organizations and cooperatives. +In all cases the guidelines set by the BKP for the development of a +socialist state impose limitations on the operations of mass +organizations. Recognition of the BKP as the leading political party and +the subservience of all other organizations is clearly understood. The +most important mass organizations are the Fatherland Front, the Central +Council of Trade Unions, and the Komsomol and its affiliate Pioneer +organization.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Fatherland Front</p> + +<p>The Fatherland Front grew out of the internal dissension between the +government and various political parties, in particular, the pro-Soviet +elements who objected to the alliance with Nazi Germany. In March 1942 +the government launched repressive measures in an attempt to immobilize +communist activities. Working with a group of exiled Bulgarian leaders +in Moscow, Georgi Dimitrov, former secretary-general of the Communist +International (Comintern), urged action against the country's rulers, +"who have sold themselves to Hitler." As conceived by Dimitrov, the +program of the Fatherland Front aimed not only to bring down the +"Hitlerite" regime and consequently establish a "true Bulgarian national +regime" but also to declare Bulgaria neutral and dissolve its alliance +with Germany.</p> + +<p>Established in 1942, the Fatherland Front operated underground under +communist leadership but also included other political parties. +Cooperation among these political parties, however, did not take place +without problems, mainly because each one espoused its own particular +interests and viewed the BKP with suspicion. Leaders of each party +worked as members of the National Committee (later known as the National +Council) of the Fatherland Front. It was from within the Fatherland +Front movement that the coup d'etat of September 1944 took place, the +result of which was a coalition government.</p> + +<p>When the Communists took full control of the government and dissolved +the coalition, they retained the Fatherland Front as an umbrella +organization. The BKP, of course, is the leading force within the front, +which also includes the Bulgarian Agrarian Union and several other +organizations. In effect the Fatherland Front is an instrument of the +party through which most of the country's organized activities are +controlled and supervised. Some of the tasks relegated to the front +include the nomination and discussion of candidates for election to +central and local bodies of state authority; the right to supervise the +activities of enterprises, institutions, and organizations operating +public utilities and services; and the right to supervise activities of +workers and professionals to ensure conformance to party line and +policy.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</a></span>In 1973 the Fatherland Front continued to be a large mass organization +working fully for and with the BKP. Available statistics showed a +membership of 3.86 million in July 1970, of which 3.1 million were +nonparty members. It included both individual members and collective +groups—mainly trade unions and youth organizations.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Central Council of Trade Unions</p> + +<p>Trade unions are workers' and professionals' organizations—the +function, role, and responsibility of which echo the economic directives +and decrees of the BKP. With the abolition of capitalist ownership +declared by the Fifth Party Congress in December 1948, the structure and +activities of trade unions changed to conform to the party's management +of the economy as the vanguard of the state in its socialist +development. Since then the Bulgarian trade unions have been reliable +mainstays and faithful transmission belts of BKP policies among the +working masses. Thirteen individual trade unions unite to form the +Central Council of Trade Unions, which accepts the leading role of the +BKP in all Bulgarian affairs. In 1973 total membership in the central +council was about 2.6 million.</p> + +<p>Following the principle of democratic centralism, all trade union +officials are elected from bottom to top but, following the pattern set +by the BKP, all candidates for union offices are carefully screened and +selected by officials at higher levels. Each trade union local is the +basic organization unit at a factory or business enterprise, and there +is an ascending hierarchical structure based on territorial +organization. At the district level there is a district trade union that +reports to the central organization. Theoretically, the trade unions are +independent and nonparty, but they are organized hierarchically, and +their activities are closely monitored and controlled by the BKP. In +effect, the trade unions look after the interests of the state rather +than the interests of the workers. To ensure party control there is an +interlocking of positions in the highest realms of the unions, the +government, and the party. For example, the chairman of the Central +Council of Trade Unions in 1973 was also a member of the State Council +of the National Assembly as well as being a candidate member of the +Politburo. At lower levels many district and local trade union +executives are also members of the district and communal people's +councils. Under this arrangement the unions take a direct part in the +management of state affairs—such as labor and labor legislation, +recreational activities, workers' sports, and so forth.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Dimitrov Communist Youth Union</p> + +<p>Young prospective members of the BKP come from the Dimitrov Communist +Youth Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz), also referred +to as the Komsomol. Established as the youth's counterpart of the BKP, +it is organized much as the parent structure, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</a></span>having a secretariat of +nine members headed by a first secretary and a bureau of seventeen +members and five candidate members that is comparable to the party +Politburo. The Komsomol is under the leadership of party committees and +is supported by the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of +National Education, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Bulgarian Red +Cross, and the Civil Defense Staff in interlocking roles of authority +and supervision. Founded as a sociopolitical organization to train the +youth in the ideological principles and goals of the BKP, the Komsomol +also serves as a source of manpower reserve in government and as an +instrument for the application of party policies and directives. In the +early 1970s membership was about 1 million (see ch. 2; ch. 15).</p> + +<p>Despite all the attention given to youth affairs, alienation of young +people manifests itself in many different ways. There were no tangible +signs of protest such as outward demonstrations, mass rallies, or +disruptions during congresses, plenums, annual meetings, or regional +conferences to show this alienation. But the negative attitude and +sagging interest in political indoctrination and economic activities +increasingly worries party leaders. The ideological and political gap +between generations prompted the administration to prepare and publish +Zhivkov's "Youth Theses" in December 1967. This work is basically an +inspirational treatise to counter what Zhivkov averred was national +nihilism among the youth, characterized by apathy, absence of +discipline, improper family upbringing, misdirected school discipline, +and ill-prepared Komsomol programs, among other things. The theses also +deplored the "degenerate influences" of capitalist society that were +evident in conspicuous material consumption in food and beverages, +dress, music and dance, and social mobility brought about by bourgeois +affluence.</p> + +<p>In an effort to bring the youth back into line, the theses emphasized +patriotic political education within a Marxist-Leninist frame of +reference, defined the duties and privileges of the young people, and +finally directed the reorganization of the Komsomol under closer party +supervision. The initial reaction to the theses was one of increasing +passivity.</p> + +<p>In another effort to court the Komsomol-age group, political speeches +openly lauding the youth union as the instrument for the realization of +the technological and scientific as well as the military technical +training of young people and their patriotic education have been +resorted to. Further, in extolling the work and importance of the youth +union to the all-round development of Bulgarian socialist society, +Zhivkov also enjoined the youth to implement the Sixth Five-Year Plan of +the BKP.</p> + +<p>The organization for Bulgarian children still too young for the Komsomol +is the Pioneers, also known as Young Septembrists to commemorate two +September events in Bulgarian political history—the abortive communist +coup d'etat in 1923 and the successful overthrow <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</a></span>of the monarchy in +1944. The Pioneer organization is composed of children of elementary +school age. It is structured like the Komsomol and operates as its +junior division. A special division within the Komsomol National Central +Committee oversees the affairs and work of the Pioneers. Lower +committees at the district and municipality levels are directed by the +soviets for working with students, which are charged with youth work in +their respective territorial jurisdictions. Each district has a Pioneer +battalion that is divided into companies corresponding to school classes +and further subdivided into classroom rows, the lowest unit of Pioneer +organization. The chain of command flows from the central committee and +reaches down to the youngest member of the organization living in the +remotest part of the country. The content of academic curriculum and +party training is generally in accord with the ability levels of the +children.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Committee of Bulgarian Women</p> + +<p>There is no mass organization, as such, for Bulgarian women. The +Committee of Bulgarian Women, with a membership of 171 in 1973, is a +group dedicated to looking after the affairs of women in the country, +whether they be workers or housewives. The Constitution of 1971 +guarantees to Bulgarian women the enjoyment of equal rights with men. In +the complex structure of the BKP-controlled government, recognition of +women as a significant working force in the socialist movement is given +great attention. An earlier provision contained in the 1947 +Constitution, known as the Dimitrov Constitution, similarly guarantees +the "right to work, equal pay for equal work," and the attendant +benefits, such as paid leave, social security, retirement pension, and +education.</p> + +<p>Bulgarian women have become active participants in the political process +under communist rule. As noted earlier, 25.2 percent of BKP members in +1971 were women, and there was one woman in the Politburo. There were +7,000 women members of the BZS and almost half of the Komsomol members +were women (500,000); the same is true for the Fatherland Front, and +women made up 41.2 percent of the trade unions. In the unions of +writers, composers, artists, and actors women are also active. Most +teachers are women. They represented 67.7 percent of the Teachers Union.</p> + +<p>The women's movement was active on a nationwide scale. On the initiative +of the Committee of Bulgarian Women, a plan for the development of +science and technical progress including the study of the social role of +women was presented to the presidium of the Bulgarian Academy of +Sciences. Another suggestion by the same women's group called for the +study of conditions defining women's role as "mothers, production +workers and public activists."</p> + +<p>In the report to the plenary session of the party Central Committee in +July 1968, Zhivkov outlined the functions of the Committee of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</a></span>Bulgarian +Women. These included the coordination of state and administrative +organs in research institutes that studied the role of women in society. +Henceforth, according to Zhivkov, the Central Committee of the BKP would +receive reports on such research and would be directly concerned with +matters concerning Bulgarian women.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Ideological Training</p> + +<p>How mass organizations relate to BKP party directives, orders, and +decrees is best illustrated in the area of political education and +indoctrination. The National Conference on Party Propaganda was held in +April 1970 and sponsored by the Agitation and Propaganda Department of +the Central Committee and by the district party committees. During the +conference one of the district secretaries detailed some aspects of a +three-stage system that is being applied.</p> + +<p>The three-stage structure corresponds to the educational level as well +as to the political training and age of students. Schools in the higher +level of various district party committees and branches of the mass +organizations train administrative personnel, intellectuals, and party +activists. Training on this level includes theoretical seminars and +study groups. For intermediate personnel, including employees with a +secondary education, there are schools and institutes giving lectures +and talks on Leninism. A more elementary form of mass propaganda is +given to people with less training in theoretical political ideology; +people of advanced age fall also into this category. Political education +for this group consists of lectures in beginners' schools. Compulsory +subjects in primary party organizations are also discussed during +education sessions at party meetings. Except for Sofia, which has a high +rate of literacy, most districts employ this three-stage system of +political education. It is estimated that 60 percent of Communists in +Sofia have at least a high school education; many have college degrees +in contrast to some outlying districts where a large percentage of the +Communists have only an elementary education.</p> + +<p>The three-stage system is also used for training newly inducted +Communists as well as youth groups. It was reported during the +conference that approximately 900 of the best party propagandists have +been sent to Komsomol organizations to train youth in the party school +system. Within the Komsomol there is evident need for considerable +changes in the training of youth in the system of political education, +designed to bring the youth closer to the practice of the principles of +Marxism-Leninism.</p> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER 10</h2> + +<h3>FOREIGN RELATIONS</h3> + + +<p>Throughout the communist era in Bulgaria, that is, since World War II, +the foreign policy of the country has mirrored that of the Soviet Union. +In addition to the close relationship resulting from bilateral +agreements between the two countries, Bulgaria was also a charter member +of both the Soviet-dominated Council for Mutual Economic Assistance +(COMECON—see Glossary) and the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact) +military alliance. Bulgaria's loyalty to the Soviet Union throughout the +period is always a starting point in political writings on Eastern +European affairs.</p> + +<p>The successive leaders of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see +Glossary) have consistently maintained that their country's fortunes +would rise with those of the Soviet Union. To the Bulgarian Communists, +such loyalty was not only natural from an ideological point of view but +was also the pragmatic course, given the factors of world power politics +in the postwar era. Todor Zhivkov, the BKP leader since 1954, and still +in office in 1973, continued to adhere to a policy of close alignment +with the Soviet Union and used the relationship as the foundation of his +regime. The nature of the relationship has developed along two parallel +lines: the BKP has maintained close ties with the Communist Party of the +Soviet Union at the same time that government-to-government affairs have +become increasingly intertwined.</p> + +<p>As is true with other countries in which the communist party has become +the dominant political force, in Bulgaria the formulation of foreign +policy takes place at the highest party level—the Politburo. After the +party has announced the basic policy, the administration of foreign +affairs is handled by government ministries. The government has +repeatedly dedicated itself to the goals of the world communist movement +and, particularly, to the goal of solidarity among socialist states, +always acknowledging Soviet leadership. In the Sino-Soviet rift that +developed during the 1960s, Bulgaria continually expressed its +allegiance to Moscow and decried the divisiveness that resulted from +polycentric attitudes and actions.</p> + +<p>In mid-1973 Bulgaria maintained diplomatic relations with eighty-two +governments, thirty-six of which had embassies in Sofia. The remaining +governments carried on diplomatic relations through their +representatives in nearby capitals. Bulgaria maintained fifty-four +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</a></span>embassies in foreign countries and, as a member of the United Nations +(UN), maintained an ambassador and a staff in New York. Bulgaria also +participated in the activities of many of the UN special agencies.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">DETERMINANTS OF FOREIGN POLICY</p> + +<p class="cen">Historical Factors</p> + +<p>Bulgaria emerged from World War II under the control of a coalition +government dominated by the BKP, which by 1947 had arrogated unto itself +complete power in the country. In the immediate postwar years policy and +direction concerning how the BKP should run the country was dictated +from Moscow, as was the case throughout most of the countries of Eastern +Europe. Between 1944 and 1948 eight countries had been taken over by +communist parties and had aligned themselves with the Soviet Union, +which exerted varying degrees of influence in the internal and +international affairs of all of them. Over the next twenty years +Yugoslavia and Albania broke out of the Soviet orbit completely; the +German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Poland, Hungary, and +Czechoslovakia experienced uprisings or civil disorders—in most cases +suppressed by Soviet force—and Romania asserted its right to national +self-determination on numerous occasions. Bulgaria alone remained +unwavering in its absolute allegiance to the Soviet Union.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria chose not to follow the examples of other Eastern European +countries in seeking some degree of autonomy during the 1950s and 1960s +for many reasons. Not least among these were the historic traditions of +friendship between Bulgarians and Russians dating back to the +Russo-Turkish war that freed Bulgaria from Turkish rule in 1878. +Bulgarians are also close to the Russians in language, religion, and +cultural traditions. Additionally, having assumed power, the Bulgarian +Communists quite naturally looked toward Moscow—then the center of +world communism—for guidance and support. Many of the early postwar +leaders had spent several years as residents of the Soviet Union, where +they had been closely associated with the country's party.</p> + +<p>Another reason for the close ties to the Soviet Union was pure +pragmatism on the part of the Bulgarian communist leaders. They were, in +effect, a minority leadership group faced with the task of imposing an +alien ideology on a reluctant majority at the same time that they were +trying to reorient the country's economy from an agricultural base to an +industrial base. The Bulgarian leaders needed the support of the Soviet +Union.</p> + +<p>Beset by intraparty strife and lack of success in running the country +after the death of Georgi Dimitrov—the leading Bulgarian communist hero +and strong man of the early postwar years—the party leadership again +clung to Soviet support and totalitarian rigidity to perpetuate itself +in power. Even after the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</a></span>and the +later de-Stalinization program under Nikita Khrushchev, Bulgaria's +leaders retained Stalinism as a modus operandi until the early 1960s.</p> + +<p>After Zhivkov became first secretary of the party in 1954, there was a +long power struggle, for a third time, and it was not until the early +1960s that Zhivkov managed to eliminate his major antagonists from the +party hierarchy and stabilize his regime. During all of those years and +on through the 1960s and into the 1970s, Zhivkov continued the policy of +absolute loyalty to the Soviet Union and to its leadership. +Consequently, Bulgarian foreign policy has been a mirror image of Soviet +policy.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Principles of Foreign Policy</p> + +<p>Bulgaria's constitution, in describing how the state serves the people +in foreign affairs, mentions "developing and cementing friendship, +cooperation, and mutual assistance with the Union of Soviet Socialist +Republics and the other socialist countries" and "pursuing a policy of +peace and understanding with all countries and peoples." Official +spokesmen proclaim that the country's international relations are +founded on the necessity for protecting national sovereignty and on the +creation of an overall attitude that would further the cause of all +nations in their development as modern states.</p> + +<p>A quotation from the party program developed for the Tenth Party +Congress in 1971 indicates that, as far as Bulgaria's leaders are +concerned, the Soviet Union leads and Bulgaria follows. "For the +Bulgarian Communist Party and the Bulgarian people, Bulgarian-Soviet +friendship is like the sun and the air for every living creature, it is +a friendship of centuries and for centuries, one of the main driving +forces of our development, a condition and guarantee for the future +progress of our socialist fatherland and its tomorrow."</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">CONDUCT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS</p> + +<p>The Constitution of 1971 assigns the conduct of foreign relations to the +National Assembly, the State Council, and the Council of Ministers. +Formulation of foreign policy, however, remains a prerogative of the +BKP. The constitution states that the National Assembly implements +foreign policy but, because the assembly meets only three times each +year in short sessions, the implementation function is passed on to the +State Council during the long interim periods between assembly meetings. +Primary responsibilities of the State Council in foreign affairs (as +opposed to those limited to the periods between National Assembly +meetings) include representation of the country in its international +relations; the appointment, recall, or release from duty of diplomats +and consular officials; the ratification or denunciation of +international agreements; and the establishment of diplomatic and +consular ranks.</p> + +<p>Although the ministries of foreign affairs and foreign trade are the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</a></span>governmental operating agencies in the field of international +relations, in theory and in fact the State Council is the supervisory +body. The State Council exercises control over the activities of the +Council of Ministers and the ministries as stipulated in the +constitution. In essence, the State Council is the most powerful +government organ, not only in foreign affairs but in all governmental +activities. The interlocking of positions between the highest levels of +the party and the highest levels of the government assures that the BKP +program will be implemented.</p> + +<p>According to the constitution, the Council of Ministers "organizes the +implementation of the home and foreign policy of the state." The council +is also charged with the concluding of international agreements and the +approval or denunciation of international agreements that are not +subject to ratification. In performing its constitutional duties in +foreign affairs, the Council of Ministers acts through the Ministry of +Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade.</p> + +<p>The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the administrative arm of the +government in the execution of foreign policy directives, decrees, and +decisions of the BKP and in representing the country abroad in +embassies, legations, and consular offices. The ministry, in the +prosecution of its duties and functions, employs a minister, two first +deputy ministers, four deputy ministers, and a secretary general, who +are assisted by the heads of eight geographic departments. In 1973 these +departments were designated to handle affairs with the Soviet Union, +other socialist states, the Balkans, Western Europe, Asia, the Arab-bloc +countries, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Americas.</p> + +<p>The functional departments include: administrative, consular, political, +research and planning, cultural, documentation and archives, economic, +finance and accounting, international organization, inspectors, +personnel, press and cultural affairs, protocol, and legal. A committee +for church affairs and a diplomatic service bureau, although not +classified as regular departments, function as such. Also included is +the position of disarmament negotiator.</p> + +<p>The Ministry of Foreign Trade functions under the direction and +supervision of a minister, a first deputy minister, and six deputy +ministers, who are almost always high-ranking members of the BKP. The +ministry itself is organized into thirteen geographic offices and seven +departments. The different geographic offices handle trade agreements +with the Soviet Union, other socialist countries, developed capitalist +countries, Asia and Latin America, and the Arab and African countries. +Other offices include foreign exchange planning and accounting, +coordination, leadership and control of foreign trade organizations, +currency and finance, economic planning, market conditions, planning, +and personnel. There are departments for statistics, secretariat and +protocol, legal and departmental arbitration, accounting and auditing, +administration, labor and wages, and control inspectorate. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</a></span>Additionally, there are offices and sections not falling under any +specific category but existing independently. They are: an office for a +trade fair director general, trade representatives, a foreign trade +research institute, and a state inspection on the quality of goods for +export.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS</p> + +<p class="cen">Relations with Communist Countries</p> + +<p>Bulgaria's foreign policy and foreign trade are circumscribed to a great +extent within the alliances formed by the Soviet Union and the communist +countries of Eastern Europe. In the early 1970s this tightly knit, +although polycentric, group continued to expect and did receive +Bulgaria's participation in preserving the status quo in Eastern Europe. +As is the case with other Eastern European countries, Bulgaria wants +Western technology and also would like to attract more Western tourists +to increase its hard currency intake. Bulgaria's motive for attracting +the West is economic rather than ideological. It is accepted within the +socialist alliances that the principle of proletarian internationalism +does not preclude diversity of trading partners of the individual member +countries.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin">Soviet Union</p> + +<p>Bulgarian relations with the Soviet Union have been described as +subservient, and Zhivkov once acknowledged that he was "known for being +bound to the Soviet Union in life and death." In 1948 Bulgaria entered +into the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Aid with the +Soviet Union, which was renewed for another twenty years on May 12, +1967, and over the years the close alignment between the two countries +has taken on greater importance. Ideologically, it is well known that +Bulgaria is a loyal partner within the Soviet-dominated socialist group. +Its leaders have been schooled in Marxism-Leninism and usually look to +the Soviet Union for leadership.</p> + +<p>Economically, Bulgaria still looks to the Soviet Union for foreign aid +and preferential trade treatment. The rapid pace with which Bulgaria has +moved toward industrialization is primarily owing to Soviet assistance. +Raw materials critical to Bulgaria's economy are supplied by the Soviet +Union and, with Soviet aid, the country has been able to construct many +large industrial enterprises. Estimates in 1967 put the number of Soviet +specialists in Bulgaria at 5,000, and the number has probably increased. +The renewal of a five-year agreement for 1971 through 1975 would serve +to increase further the Soviet share of trade in Bulgaria.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin">Relations with Other Communist States</p> + +<p>Bulgaria's relations with Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, +and Romania are largely governed by a series of bilateral and +multilateral treaties of friendship and cultural cooperation and by +military and economic alliances. The alliances are the Warsaw Pact <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</a></span>and +COMECON. Relations with the other two communist states of Eastern +Europe, Albania and Yugoslavia, have usually followed Soviet initiatives +toward those countries.</p> + +<p>Quite naturally, Bulgaria's major concerns in foreign affairs have dealt +with relations among the states of the Balkan Peninsula and particularly +with adjacent states. Romania, its northern neighbor, is a member of +COMECON and the Warsaw Pact but has often appeared to be a reluctant +member and since the early 1960s has stressed nationalism rather than +Marxist internationalism, causing Bulgaria, with its strong Soviet +orientation, to tread lightly in bilateral relations for fear of +offending the Soviets. Nevertheless, the Bulgarians and Romanians have +drawn closer together, probably because both countries see benefits that +might accrue from Balkan cooperation and believe that such cooperation +should in no way disturb the Soviet Union. In the early 1970s relations +appeared to be particularly good: there were frequent meetings between +leaders and government ministers, and a plan to cooperate in the +building of a huge hydroelectric project on the Danube River between the +two countries was announced.</p> + +<p>Relations with Yugoslavia have more often than not been troubled to the +point of enmity. The problems existing between these two countries have +deep historical roots that hinge primarily on the Bulgarian contention +that Macedonia (since 1946 a federated republic of Yugoslavia) should be +Bulgarian rather than Yugoslavian. After World War II, when both +countries became communist, the Macedonian question was purposely +deemphasized but, when the Soviet-Yugoslav split occurred in 1948, +ideological differences paved the way for a renewal of the polemics on +the Bulgarian irredentist claims. In the early 1970s the polemics were +reduced to a minor level, and constructive talks leading to a +rapprochement began to occur. The changed atmosphere was attributed to +the state of relations between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia but, for +whatever reason, the climate of relations between Bulgaria and its +western neighbor was considerably improved, and Bulgarian irredentism +was submerged.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Relations with Noncommunist States</p> + +<p>The European Conference for Security and Cooperation held in Helsinki in +the spring of 1973 discussed the possibility of a freer exchange of +people and ideas as well as a freer flow of information between Western +European and Eastern European societies. The intensity of ideological +polemics had diminished with increasing contacts between East and West, +and the gap between the two social systems seemed narrower, especially +in regard to economic planning and development. Bulgaria, however, +publicly expressed doubts about importing anti-communist theories that +might accompany the freer exchanges of people, ideas, and information.</p> + +<p>In a plenum of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</a></span>Party +in July 1973, the party leaders touched on issues of international +relations. The leaders pledged to continue a new policy of building +goodwill and enhancing relations with noncommunist European states as +well as with other developed capitalist states in all aspects of +political, economic, cultural, and other relations. Bulgaria also sought +to continue cultivating and developing friendly relations with +nonaligned friendly countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. +Consistent with this policy, it pledged to render assistance to these +countries, especially where there were national liberation movements +involved in active resistance to the established regimes.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin">Greece and Turkey</p> + +<p>Greece is geographically contiguous to Bulgaria, and relations between +the two countries have been alternately hot and cold depending on the +political climate of the times. In 1964 both countries signed an accord +relative to war reparations, which opened up some channels of +communication, cultural exchanges, and relaxed travel restrictions. The +move toward better relations was interrupted by the 1967 coup d'etat in +Greece, but improvement began again in the early 1970s when officials of +the two governments exchanged visits. By 1972 a newly created +Bulgarian-Greek economic cooperation commission had met in Sofia.</p> + +<p>Difficulties between Bulgaria and Turkey have deep roots in history and +also involve the 750,000 ethnic Turks still residing in Bulgaria (see +ch. 2; ch. 4). An atmosphere of cordiality, however, had been developing +slowly as the officials of both countries cautiously negotiated to +reduce tensions between the two countries. Exchanges of high-level +visits and the signing of various economic agreements had stabilized +Bulgarian-Turkish relations by the early 1970s. The hijacking of two +Turkish planes to Sofia in 1972 disturbed the détente temporarily, but +the Bulgarian foreign minister went quickly to Turkey to make amends. In +1973 the two countries again enjoyed improved relations.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin">The United States</p> + +<p>The tensions that marked Bulgarian-United States foreign relations in +the 1950s eased somewhat in the 1960s. The legations of both countries +were raised to embassy status in November 1966. This action was believed +to be an offshoot of United States efforts, particularly that of +President Lyndon B. Johnson, to "build bridges" to Eastern Europe. This +resumption of diplomatic goodwill was not pursued vigorously and, at the +time, reception to the idea in Bulgaria was generally cool. A noted +communist theoretician regarded the United States overtures as a +divisive force in the fraternal world of the communist movement, +designed ultimately to bring in a capitalist system inimical to the +ideological interest of any socialist country.</p> + +<p>In 1973 the relations between the two countries were, however, cordial. +Observers noted an increase in trade, although it was still +quantitatively small and accounted for only between US$6 million and +US$7 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</a></span>million annually. Bulgaria hoped to increase this volume to US$30 +million, especially by exporting high-quality tobacco to the United +States market.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria has been seeking a consular agreement that would grant it +most-favored-nation tariff treatment in order to keep Bulgarian exports +on a competitive level with others in the United States market. Toward +this end, a Bulgarian trade delegation visited the United States in +mid-July 1973 to exchange views on expanded trade and economic relations +between the two countries. While in Washington the delegation met with +top officials from the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, +the Department of the Treasury, and the Export-Import Bank and with some +members of Congress.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin">West Germany</p> + +<p>The two world wars saw Bulgaria fighting on Germany's side. Thereafter +Bulgarian policy differed from the Soviet line only once in a case that +involved relations between Bulgaria and the Federal Republic of Germany +(West Germany). When Chancellor Ludwig Erhard sounded out several +Eastern European governments with peace notes in 1966, Bulgaria along +with Romania did not publish official replies. Later that year West +German officials met with the Bulgarian foreign minister, and it +appeared that normalization of relations was in the offing. The +negotiations did not come to fruition, however, and Bulgaria fell back +in line with the Soviet Union, which at the time was hostile to West +Germany. The mere fact that Bulgaria participated in such independent +talks appeared remarkable to some observers.</p> + +<p>During 1972 relations between Bulgaria and West Germany improved. Some +of the reasons attributed to this changing tack included the +ratification of treaties negotiated between West Germany, Poland, and +the Soviet Union; the opening of diplomatic channels between Poland and +West Germany; and the meetings of ambassadors of European countries in +Helsinki. Most important, however, was the signing of a basic treaty +that established and regulated relations between West and East Germany, +a condition set by Bulgaria before diplomatic relations could be resumed +with West Germany. The open advocacy of the Soviet Union for improved +relations with West Germany also encouraged Bulgaria to expedite the +resumption of diplomatic communications.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin">Other Western Countries</p> + +<p>The mid-1960s saw party chief Zhivkov "building bridges" himself with +other Western countries. In light of Bulgaria's interest in expansion of +trade, relations with France were improved with reciprocal visits in +1966 between Zhivkov and Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville. +Also in the same year, partly as a result of these negotiations, the +French car manufacturer, Renault, established an assembly plant in +Bulgaria. Simultaneous with this move was the establishment of a +diplomatic mission in Canada. Agreements were negotiated with <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</a></span>Belgium +and Italy on cultural, technical, and economic matters. Australia also +had a share of Bulgaria's trade attention; both countries signed a +long-term trade agreement in 1972, and an agreement was reached to +establish diplomatic relations at the embassy level.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin">Relations with Other States</p> + +<p>Bulgarian interest in trade with the developing countries has increased +considerably. In 1971 and 1972 the volume of trade with third world +countries exceeded 316 million leva (for value of the lev—see Glossary) +as opposed to 113.3 million leva in 1965. The Arab countries rank first +in the amount of business conducted with Bulgaria. A considerable number +of Bulgarian experts are also engaged in the construction of industrial +enterprises in various developing countries.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">MEMBERSHIP IN REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS</p> + +<p class="cen">Regional Cooperation</p> + +<p>Military cooperation on a regional basis was secured for Bulgaria and +its allies (the Soviet Union, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, +and Czechoslovakia) in a multilateral alliance known as the Warsaw Pact. +Albania, an original member, withdrew in 1968 (see ch. 16). Signed on +May 14, 1955, in Warsaw, Poland, the pact was and remains Eastern +Europe's answer to the challenges and security arrangements of the North +Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In one sense it seemed to provide +legal grounds for the Soviet Union to keep its troops in east-central +Europe as well as to secure the balance of military power in Europe, +especially after West Germany joined NATO. In another sense it confirmed +the Soviet Union's political and military hegemony in all of Eastern +Europe.</p> + +<p>The organization has two main bodies—the Political Consultative +Committee, which recommends general questions of foreign policy for +member countries, and the High Command of United Armed Forces, which +prepares military plans in time of war and decides troop deployments. +Both bodies are located in Moscow, and all its senior ranking officials +are Russians.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria has bilateral treaties of mutual aid with each other member of +the Warsaw Pact. A multilateral agreement binds all the members to one +another in general and to the Soviet Union in particular. Within +Bulgaria Soviet officers serve as advisers at the division level and +formerly served down to the regiment level. Others serve as instructors.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria was a charter member of COMECON in 1949. An economic alliance +among Eastern European countries, COMECON is the counterpart to Western +Europe's European Economic Community (commonly called the Common +Market). Other members are the Soviet <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</a></span>Union, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, +Poland, Romania, and East Germany. Mongolia and Cuba, non-European +countries, joined in June 1962 and July 1972, respectively. Albania +joined in 1949 but withdrew in 1961.</p> + +<p>Founded as an outlet for agricultural and industrial products and as a +capital-and-labor market, COMECON, like the Warsaw Pact, binds its +members to each other and all of them to the Soviet Union. Long-term +trade agreements of five years are usually renewable at the end of each +term. It is estimated that 60 to 65 percent of the total foreign trade +of each signatory is carried on with other member countries. One of the +obvious disadvantages of the organization, however, is the absence of a +common market. Trade and commerce between the member countries are +carried out on the basis of preference and within the framework of +bilateral agreements.</p> + +<p>Because the loose structure of COMECON does not make for effective +regional planning, member countries such as Bulgaria continue to renew +bilateral trade agreements within COMECON. The Soviet Union remains +Bulgaria's largest foreign market, accounting for more than 50 percent +of Bulgarian trade. Bulgaria also agreed to send Bulgarian workers to +the Soviet Union for heavy industrial projects.</p> + +<p>Participation of Bulgaria on a regional level has been confined to a few +projects. Among these are a COMECON electric power grid, which serves +the western Ukraine, especially the city of Kiev; a Romanian-Bulgarian +project to construct a power dam and navigation system for sixty miles +along the Danube River; a system of high-speed expressways to connect +the capital cities of member countries; a project to modernize steel +industries and to reduce production and delivery time; and membership in +the International Bank for Economic Cooperation, headed by a former +deputy chairman of the Soviet State Bank.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">United Nations Membership and Participation</p> + +<p>Bulgaria became a member of the UN on December 14, 1955. Its delegates +are active in committee work of the UN organs and subsidiary bodies as +well as in deliberations on the floor of the General Assembly. One of +its most important committee assignments is to the so-called First +Committee, which was established as one of the original six committees +under the General Assembly's rules of procedure in 1946. It deals with +political and security matters and was headed by Milko Tarabanov, one of +five Bulgarian delegates to the UN in the session held from September +through December 1972.</p> + +<p>Available records of General Assembly activities in 1970 showed active +participation of Bulgaria's delegates in committee work touching on such +matters as the review of administrative tribunal judgments; the question +of defining aggression; the peaceful uses of outer space; the peaceful +uses of the seabed under international waters; and the implementation of +the declaration on the granting of independence to <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</a></span>colonial countries +and peoples. Bulgaria was particularly interested in the Caribbean +territories.</p> + +<p>As a member of the Committee on Disarmament, Bulgaria, along with +twenty-four other participating states, met in Geneva in 1970. The +committee met to consider the question of cessation of the nuclear arms +race and associated matters, such as the prohibition of emplacing +nuclear arms or other destructive weapons on the seabed. A refinement of +the comprehensive test ban treaty of 1963 extended the prohibition on +arms control to underground testing. Bulgaria, along with other Eastern +European countries, also supported draft proposals of the committee not +to undertake the "development, production, and stockpiling of chemical +and bacteriological weapons" and the consequent "destruction of such +weapons" as well as the prohibition of "biological methods of warfare." +Bulgaria, as a member of the General Assembly's First Committee, also +cosponsored a resolution to secure guarantees that the seabed would be +used only for peaceful means.</p> + +<p>In regard to the question of nuclear and thermonuclear testing, Bulgaria +sought the early passage of an agreement to prohibit all nuclear weapons +testing while the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were going on +between the United States and the Soviet Union. Bulgaria also +participated actively in the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer +Space. As a member of a subcommittee's working group, proposals and +working papers were submitted on the question of liability for damage +caused by objects that were launched into outer space. For its part, +Bulgaria sought to clarify the "question of applicable law" and the +"settlement of disputes."</p> + +<p>The country was also represented in bodies dealing with economic +questions; questions of development; and social questions involving +housing, building, and planning as well as the promotion of children's +welfare. Additionally, the United Nations Conference on Trade and +Development had Bulgarian delegates in five of its working groups, +dealing with trade and development, commodities, domestic shipping, +international shipping legislation, and the transfer of technology. +Bulgaria is also a member of the Economic Commission for Europe.</p> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER 11</h2> + +<h3>MASS COMMUNICATIONS</h3> + + +<p>Since the Communists took over the government in 1944, the mass +communications systems have been perceived as instruments of propaganda +and vehicles for party control. Because of this perception of the +significance of the media, the new government immediately claimed all +mass media as state property.</p> + +<p>There is little if any tolerance of the free expression of ideas +throughout the entire mass communications system. Because Bulgaria is +more closely tied to the Soviet Union than most of the other Eastern +European countries, the dictates of Moscow are virtually followed to the +letter in the media. Themes that are initiated in Moscow are reiterated +almost verbatim in Sofia. The major theme of the mass media is respect +for and emulation of the Soviet Union, although recently some social +themes—such as the problems of youth and alcoholism—have been +incorporated as well.</p> + +<p>The only sources of information and entertainment permitted to the +people are the domestically controlled mass media. Most Bulgarians +distrust information available to them from these sources but, having no +alternative, continue to use them.</p> + +<p>Historically, of all the mass communications systems, the press has +always reached the largest number of people and has traditionally been +viewed by the government as the most effective means of informing the +general public. Although the circulation of the press dropped +drastically in the mid-1940s, it has since the 1960s once again become +the chief instrument of the mass communications system. Radio has +greatly expanded in variety and scope since the 1940s. Television, +although slow to develop and still limited in its audience relative to +other European countries, has been growing rapidly since the early 1960s +and was beginning to experiment with color in the early 1970s.</p> + +<p>There has been little change in the Bulgarian publishing industry since +1944. Owing to the government's fear of contamination by the West or +other capitalist societies, there is very little importation of foreign +books into the country. Although books have increased greatly in terms +of sheer numbers of editions, the quantity of book titles has remained +very much the same since World War II.</p> + +<p>Libraries range from those under the control of state ministries and +committees to local reading rooms and enterprise libraries. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</a></span>latter +are generally more widely used by the people.</p> + +<p>Since the end of World War II the film industry has grown to a great +extent. Like other instruments of the media, films are chosen for their +propagandistic value; however, since the advent of television, fewer +people have attended films.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">BACKGROUND</p> + +<p>The press—composed of newspapers and periodicals—was the most +developed of the Bulgarian media in the first half of the twentieth +century. Radio, which was introduced in the 1920s, was under the aegis +of what was then the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone. The +production, importation, and sale of radios were unrestricted. The least +developed communications system of the day was the film industry, which +was privately owned and operated. Television was not initiated in the +country until the mid-1950s.</p> + +<p>In the years immediately after the takeover, a strong pro-Soviet policy +was established for the media, which was still in effect in 1973. While +the new government restricted individual freedom and initiative within +the media, it demanded total support by the media of all policies of the +Soviet Union. Despite the fact that Bulgaria has never deviated from the +policy of complete commitment to the Soviet Union, after the invasion of +Czechoslovakia various media conferences were held in which calls for +stricter adherence to the Soviet line were sounded.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">OBJECTIVES OF MASS COMMUNICATIONS</p> + +<p>The government has certain distinct perceptions as to how the media must +serve the state. Propaganda permeates every aspect of life from formal +education to membership in unions and clubs to the publication of books +and pamphlets. The Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see Glossary) is the +main political force. It both creates the appropriate condition for the +expression of public opinion and forms public opinion itself.</p> + +<p>At a recent conference on the mass communications system, a leading +member of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party +delineated the principal tasks of the media. The major task of the media +was "to work for the broadest possible propagation of the congress +decisions and for the mobilization of the people's physical and mental +powers to make their decisions materialize...." The second vital task of +the media was to "help form a socialist outlook on life among the +peoples and educate the new man—active fighter for the developed +socialist society, ideologically convinced, morally durable, physically +tempered, with profound awareness of duty and responsibility." The third +task was to promote the economic awareness of the people and to train +managers, specialists, workers, and farmers for the greater economic +good of the country. The fourth <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</a></span>main task was to continue in the active +struggle against "bourgeois ideology ... and the ideological subversion +of imperialism."</p> + +<p>A basic tenet of the Bulgarian system, however, is the belief that mass +communications must be actively supplemented by human contact on the +individual level. Iliya Georgiev, secretary of the Varna Okrug Bulgarian +Communist Party Committee, in an article on the political knowledge of +working people in 1972, stated categorically that the interest +stimulated in the people by the mass communications system must be +maintained and extended by informal means of communications, such as +district (<i>okrug</i>) seminars, meetings in enterprises and farms, +activities in the trade unions, and the Dimitrov Communist Youth Union +(Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz—commonly referred to as +the Komsomol).</p> + +<p>The government has spent considerable time in assessing the extent to +which these media objectives have been achieved. In the years +immediately following the takeover, the government was consistently +distressed by continued Bulgarian feelings of friendship with the West +and the continual influence of the West upon the country. Although the +propaganda efforts of the communist government were tireless, radio +broadcasts and printed materials from the West continued to pour into +Bulgaria.</p> + +<p>As the government's control over both the formal communications media +and the informal means of communications widened, the external threat +was perceived to be less, and governmental attention turned to the +assessment of the relative popularity of the various branches of the +media. In a recent study 3,294 people were questioned as to their +favorite source of domestic and international information. The vast +majority—64.8 percent—of those polled stated that their preferred +source was daily newspapers; 24.6 percent preferred television; and only +2.7 percent preferred radio. Although the newspapers were the favorite +source of information, they were frequently criticized by the people, +who expressed a basic lack of confidence in the press. In a second study +dealing with people's attitudes toward the press alone, 48.1 percent of +the 900 people polled said they disliked the press, and 52.1 percent +complained of the primitive quality of Bulgarian newspapers.</p> + +<p>Young people, especially students, appeared to be even less stimulated +by the mass media than their elders. A study performed in the 1969/70 +academic year indicated that students were indifferent to both domestic +political events and international developments. The pollsters concluded +that generally Bulgarian students take little advantage of the mass +media as a source of information. Unlike the broad public, whose primary +source of information was the press, students tended to see television +as their preferred source and the press and radio as secondary sources.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">FREEDOM OF INFORMATION</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</a></span>The 1947 Constitution, known as the Dimitrov Constitution, established +the stated rights of citizens as well as the nationalization of all +private property, including the mass communications network. Regarding +the so-called freedom of citizens, Article 88 of the 1947 Constitution +claimed: "The citizens of the People's Republic are guaranteed freedom +of the press, of speech, of assembly, of meetings and demonstrations." +At the same time, Article 10 and Article 17 prohibited the unrestricted +freedom of private property and provided for its nationalization under +the authority of the National Assembly. More specifically, Article 80 of +the constitution dealt directly with the system of mass communications: +"The state cares for the development of science and art by establishing +... publishing houses, libraries, theatres, museums, public reading +clubs, ... film studios, [and] cinemas...."</p> + +<p>In 1956 the premier of the communist regime, Vulko Chervenkov, +emphasized the ultimate control of the party over all institutions of +the country. He stated: "No institution, organization, or person can be +above the Politburo and the Central Committee ... those guilty of +deviation from the Bolshevik rule must be held responsible and +punished." Under his successor, Todor Zhivkov, a slight liberalization +regarding freedom of the media ensued (see ch. 9). For a brief period +writers and scholars were given greater latitude of expression. When +some writers dared to openly criticize the government, however, Zhivkov +was unable to tolerate this criticism and reimposed restrictions on the +media. The ultimate authority of the party was again made manifest. In +an article in 1969, Georgi Bokov, chief editor of <i>Rabotnichesko Delo</i> +and chairman of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists, flatly rejected the +notions of freedom and independence for the mass communications system. +The stated goals of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists in the late 1960s +were "to promote the development of mass information and propaganda +media as first-rate ideological weapons in the struggle for the victory +of socialism and Communism ... the Union must constantly work to turn +the press, radio, and television into effective ideological instruments +for the Party."</p> + +<p>In 1971, a new constitution was promulgated, but the basic clauses of +the 1947 document, regarding so-called individual freedoms and state +ownership, remained essentially intact. It was restated in Article 54 +that "citizens enjoy freedom of speech, press, meetings, associations +and demonstrations." Article 46 again provided for state development of, +and control over, the mass communications system.</p> + +<p>The results of the policy regarding the media are witnessed by numerous +examples of party control and the repression of dissidents. All +newspapers must provide space for the official news of the government, +and all Central Committee directives must be printed without alteration. +No dispatches sent out by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (Bulgarska +Telegrafna Agentsiya—BTA)—the official news agency of the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</a></span>country—are allowed to be revised. No criticism of government policies +is tolerated. Dissident individuals and groups are singled out for +criticism by the Politburo. In 1972 a Politburo member, Todor Pavlov, +accused certain writers of rejecting Socialist Realism in favor of more +bourgeois literature and art. Other writers were criticized for their +so-called subjectivistic interpretation of Bulgarian literature and were +branded as pseudoscientists.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">ADMINISTRATION OF THE MASS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM</p> + +<p class="cen">Administrative Units</p> + +<p>As the system has evolved, the broad outlines of propaganda have been +dictated from the Politburo, the party's chief policymaking unit. From +there policy is transmitted to the Agitation and Propaganda Department +(Agitprop), which is a major operational unit of the Central Committee. +Agitprop, in turn, is responsible for the transmission of guidelines +down to the lowest levels of party organization. Simultaneously, the +same dictates are transmitted throughout all cultural institutions by +the Ministry of Information and Communications. Under this ministry's +jurisdiction are the arts, the film industry, radiobroadcasting, +television, book and pamphlet publishing, printing, all cultural or +educational institutions, and all so-called independent artists. Still a +third channel for the transmission of the original propaganda are the +mass organizations that function in the propaganda field under direction +of either Agitprop or the Ministry of Information and Communications +(see ch. 9).</p> + +<p>The administrative center for all media is Sofia, the capital. Eight +daily newspapers are published in Sofia and distributed throughout the +country; there are also seventeen major publishing houses in Sofia. The +National Film Board, which oversees all aspects of film production, is +in Sofia, as is Radio Sofia, which is the radio station for the entire +country. The Cyril and Methodius Library—also known as the Bulgarian +National Library—is within the confines of the city, as are the Union +of Bulgarian Writers; the Union of Bulgarian Artists; and the Union of +Composers, Musicologists, and Performing Musicians (see ch. 7).</p> + +<p>The exportation of propaganda is under the auspices of the Sofia Press +Agency. This agency was founded in 1967 with the express purpose of +disseminating Bulgarian propaganda to other countries. Its three major +tasks are to publicize Bulgaria's achievements and successes actively to +the world; to attempt to counter anti-Bulgarian propaganda; and to +provide the various communist parties of the world with rationale in +their struggles against capitalism.</p> + +<p>In 1972 the Sofia Press Agency was in the process of negotiating +agreements with the BTA and the Committee for Television and Radio. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</a></span>Agreements had already been established with book publishers, +photographic artists, and the film industry. In early 1972 over 500 +people—the majority of whom were editors and translators—were working +for the Sofia Press Agency, and contracts had been signed with +approximately 120 foreign countries. Nine magazines, translated into +eleven languages, had been published each year in 2.5 million copies. A +dual language newspaper has been published each year in 500,000 copies, +and 400 books had appeared in approximately 4 million copies. Some +15,000 articles had been written, 30,000 photographs taken, and dozens +of television motion pictures and documentaries had been filmed.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">News Agency</p> + +<p>The BTA was founded originally in 1898 in Sofia. It is the official news +agency of the country and the sole source of both foreign and domestic +news. It receives most of its foreign items from the Soviet Union news +agency but also maintains exchange agreements with Reuters, Associated +Press, and the Associated Foreign Press as well as a host of lesser +known foreign news agencies, although it tends to be more discriminating +in terms of the items selected from these sources.</p> + +<p>In the 1960s the BTA had twenty-three correspondents posted throughout +the nation, as well as foreign correspondents in Moscow, Peking, East +Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Tirana, Belgrade, Ankara, Paris, Bonn, New +York, Vienna, Cairo, and New Delhi. Correspondents are sent on special +assignments to investigate news that is considered to be of interest to +Bulgaria. Domestic news is reproduced in Russian, English, French, +German, and Spanish, and international news is reproduced in Russian, +English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian. In an average day the BTA +receives approximately 800 foreign newspapers, magazines, and bulletins +and itself produces over 125,000 words.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">THEMES OF THE MEDIA</p> + +<p>The predominant theme of the media remains the expression of friendship +with the Soviet Union. In 1971 a leading member of the party's Central +Committee informed members of the media that one of their primary +functions was to champion the feelings of "fraternal love, trust, and +gratitude" of the Bulgarian people for the "heroic Soviet people," at +the same time demonstrating "clearly and convincingly the unbreakable +ties linking our present and future with the present and future of the +Soviet Union."</p> + +<p>A second common theme of the current media deals with the continuing +struggle between so-called bourgeois capitalism and socialism. The +people are, on the one hand, warned of the invidiousness of capitalistic +methods—"The veiled methods of ideological struggle applied <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</a></span>on an even +broader scale by contemporary imperialism requires greater vigilance +from us...." On the other hand they are assured that socialism will +ultimately prevail—"their [socialist] ideas make their way with +insuperable force into the minds and hearts of working people all over +the world, gain more and more new adherents, and become a powerful +factor of social progress."</p> + +<p>Another dichotomy that the media pose as a continuing theme is that of +religion versus socialism. Bulgarian writers triumphantly proclaim that +"religion as a component of the sociological structure of society for +thousands of years gradually withers away at an even faster pace +throughout the transition from capitalism to communism." Since one of +the major aims of the government is to eliminate religious sentiment +among the people, the public is from time to time assured +that—according to the latest survey—only 35.5 percent of the +population is considered religious or that the "Bulgarian people is one +of the least religious in the world."</p> + +<p>Another divisive force that is frequently posed by the media is national +patriotism versus proletarian internationalism. Although +internationalism is viewed as predominant, citizens are warned against +feelings of bourgeois nationalism, since the "unity between +internationalism and patriotism is of a relative character, and there is +always the real possibility of dissension between them; they may even be +placed into a position of mutual opposition." Somehow the conflict, +according to the journal <i>Filosofska Misal</i>, is perceived as being +resolved through a higher form of patriotism that is inextricably linked +with love of the Soviet Union. Socialist patriotism is seen as a +"qualitatively new, higher form of patriotism" as expressed in "love and +gratitude toward the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet +Union organically linked with love for Bulgaria."</p> + +<p>In accordance with the media's constant expression of admiration for, +and solidarity with, the Soviet Union, any issue that raises the +question of conflicting loyalties between the People's Republic of China +(PRC) and the Soviet Union is summarily dismissed with the reiteration +of support for the Soviet Union. One journal warned the people of the +dangers from the left in the form of the people of the PRC as well as +from the right in the form of capitalist societies: "Contrary to all +healthy logic, for years on end, the Chinese leadership has been waging +hostile propaganda campaigns against the Soviet Union ... which are in +no way inferior to the most malicious fabrications of bourgeois +anti-Sovietism."</p> + +<p>When the troops of the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in August +1968, Bulgaria once again rose to the Soviet Union's defense in complete +justification of the invasion. The BTA cited a long list of workers, +peasants, and intellectuals who were allegedly in favor of the action. +Major newspapers such as <i>Rabotnichesko Delo</i> interpreted the event as +symbolic of proletarian internationalism, and <i>Zemedelsko <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</a></span>Zname</i> +stated that "it is our supreme duty to resist the common enemy and not +to allow anyone ever to tear away even one link from the chain of the +socialist community." The Czechoslovak uprising itself, as reported by +the Bulgarian press some months later, was interpreted as nationalistic +and counterrevolutionary.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria's relationship with the West, as expressed by the media, has +evolved over time from overt hostility to some degree of tolerance. In +1968 the Bulgarian media openly denounced the concept of peaceful +coexistence with the West. By the early 1970s, however, although +citizens were still urged by the media to struggle against bourgeois +capitalism as epitomized by the West, a slight thaw in the cool +relations that had prevailed since the mid-1940s was detected. On the +one hand, all instruments of the media were urged to direct the people +away from foreign influences and to struggle against "bourgeois +ideology, anticommunism, and the ideological subversion of imperialism." +On the other hand, however, Western correspondents in 1973 declared that +Bulgaria was entering a period of greater flexibility with the West.</p> + +<p>The last polemical theme of the Bulgarian mass media is known as the +Bulgarian miracle. Although success for the alleged achievement of +Bulgaria's national goals is attributed to correct socialism, the +application of Leninist principles, and the unity of party and people, +the media take every opportunity to stress the achievements of the +Bulgarian state since the advent of communism. One journal stated that +"our country strengthened and matured as a state with a modern socialist +industry, intensive mechanized agriculture, and flourishing national +culture, a state enjoying an indisputable international prestige, +respected as an economic partner and as a factor for the safeguard of +peace."</p> + +<p>On the nonpolemical side, the Bulgarian media discuss both Bulgaria's +immediate social problems and issues that affect the world. The issue of +alcoholism is discussed relatively openly and is viewed as an issue of +national concern. Alcoholism is perceived to be related to both the +rising number of divorces and the frequency of crimes (see ch. 5; ch. +15).</p> + +<p>Bulgarians also have become involved in the international issue of +pollution of the environment, and the press has given the topic a fair +amount of coverage. The issue has been dealt with on a completely +nonpolemical basis; in fact the brotherhood of all forms of societies is +stressed as the means of combating the problem.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">THE PRESS</p> + +<p class="cen">Newspapers</p> + +<p>In 1944, three months after the new government took control, all +newspaper plants were made the property of the state. In the ensuing +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</a></span>year, the government took over the distribution of newsprint, and many +noncommunist editors and Communists were either jailed or executed. By +1945 only eight daily and weekly newspapers were permitted to publish. +Five of them were published under the aegis of a governmental or party +agency. <i>Rabotnichesko Delo</i>—which was patterned on the Soviet +<i>Pravda</i>—became the organ of the Central Committee, and <i>Otechestven +Front</i>—patterned on the Soviet <i>Isvestia</i>—became the official organ of +the government. <i>Izgrev</i> was an organ of the Fatherland Front <i>Zvenos</i>; +<i>Narod</i> was an instrument of the Fatherland Front (Otechestven Front) +Socialists; and <i>Narodna Voiska</i> was an army organ. <i>Politika</i> was not +directly affiliated with the party but was decidedly pro-Communist (see +ch. 9).</p> + +<p>The other two newspapers, both expressing a degree of opposition, were +tolerated only through 1946. These were <i>Narodno Zemedelsko Zname</i>, an +organ of the Bulgarian Agrarian Union (Bulgarski Zemedelski Suyuz—BZS) +and <i>Svoboden Narod</i>, an organ of the Social Democratic Party. In early +1947, however, they were closed down.</p> + +<p>The Fifth Party Congress in 1948, endeavoring to more fully exploit the +potential of the press for propaganda purposes, called upon it to serve +as the "first assistant of the Bulgarian Communist Party, of the +Fatherland Front, and of the government." The primary function of the +printed news media, as stated by that congress, was to mobilize the +working people in terms of their identification with the so-called great +socialist buildup. In the same year the Central Home of Bulgarian +Journalists was established in order to train writers in the correct +propaganda line established by the party. This institution was replaced +in 1955 by the Union of Bulgarian Journalists.</p> + +<p>After World War II the national newspapers were generally four pages +long and consisted of news concerning Bulgaria, the Soviet Union, and +other socialist countries; progress reports regarding national economic +plans; foreign news presented with a decided anti-Western bias; and +information regarding cultural events and sports. Cartoons, which +appeared occasionally in the daily and weekly newspapers, were generally +propagandistic and dealt with so-called foreign agents, the bourgeoise, +and other so-called enemies of the people. There was little humor in the +newspapers, as their overall purpose was to portray and defend the +communist system.</p> + +<p>The national newspapers were modeled after those of the Soviet Union, in +both style and content. During the 1940s they established ties with the +Soviet news agency, the Chinese Communist news agency, and the news +agencies in other communist countries. All international events—those +dealing with the communist-bloc countries and those dealing with the +West—were integrated through these sources.</p> + +<p>While Stalin lived, all of his dictates were followed to the letter, +including the duplication of the Soviet example in the strong verbal +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</a></span>campaign against Yugoslavia. When Nikita Khrushchev succeeded him and +subsequently made some semblance of peace with Yugoslavia, the Bulgarian +press followed suit. Similarly, when the Soviets quickly quelled the +Polish and Hungarian revolts, the Bulgarian press endorsed the Soviet +versions of these events. Strict control over the press was retained in +the early 1970s, and most news still emanated from the Soviet news +agency. Censorship was seldom required, however, since all editors were +by this time acutely aware of their responsibilities to the party.</p> + +<p>In contrast to the natural press, the provincial press concentrated on +local matters. It included, in addition to a few regularly published +newspapers, a variety of new types of publications, such as +multicirculators—which were wall posters—and the so-called bumblebees, +which were letters of accusation pointing out alleged failures of +particular individuals to maintain acceptable social standards or to +attain programmed economic goals. In broad terms, all these publications +were designed to indoctrinate specific groups of people, generally in +their places of work. The multicirculators called on workers to support +the economic goals of the government and promised them rewards if they +fulfilled the required objectives (see table 10).</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><i>Table 10. Bulgaria, Newspaper Circulation by Frequency of Issue, 1971</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="70%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 10"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8">Frequency of Issue</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8">Number</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8">Annual Circulation<br /> (in thousands)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" width="50%">Daily</td> + <td class="tdcx" width="20%"> 13</td> + <td class="tdcx" width="30%">611,900</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Two to four times per week</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 31</td> + <td class="tdcx">108,181</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Weekly</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 58</td> + <td class="tdcx">100,880</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Less than once per week</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;">604</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 16,533</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz"> TOTAL</td> + <td class="tdcxz">706</td> + <td class="tdcxz">837,494</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p>In the early 1970s the style of Bulgarian newspapers remained +essentially the same as in the mid-1940s. National daily newspapers +ordinarily had four pages, but sometimes had from six to eight pages +when there was vital news to cover. Headlines were often printed in red, +but stories and articles were in black print. Since the late 1960s or +early 1970s advertising increased, and newspapers began to resemble +their Western counterparts to a greater extent.</p> + +<p>In 1972 thirteen daily newspapers were published, eight of which were +printed in Sofia. <i>Rabotnichesko Delo</i> was a descendant of the first +workers' newspaper, which was begun in 1897. It led both in importance +and circulation, was the primary organ of the BKP, and set the tone for +all other newspapers in the country. In 1950 it had a daily circulation +of 364,500 copies, and by 1960 its circulation had risen to 567,360. In +1972 this newspaper had a total circulation of approximately 650,000 +copies. The second most important daily <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</a></span>newspaper published in Sofia +was the <i>Otechestven Front</i>, the organ of the government. This +publication was initiated as an underground newspaper in 1942. As of +1972 it claimed a daily circulation of 247,000.</p> + +<p>The other Sofia dailies and their circulations were: <i>Zemedelsko Zname</i>, +168,000; <i>Narodna Mladez</i>, the newspaper for youth, 225,000; <i>Trud</i>, the +organ of the trade unions, 200,000; <i>Narodna Armiya</i>, an organ of the +Ministry of National Defense, 50,000; <i>Vecherni Novini</i>, founded in +1951, an evening newspaper, 40,000; and <i>Kooperativno Selo</i>, the organ +of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, 230,000. The major +provincial dailies were <i>Otechestven Glas</i> (in Plovdiv), <i>Narodno Delo</i> +(in Varna), <i>Chernomorski Front</i> (in Burgas), <i>Dunavska Pravda</i> (in +Ruse), and <i>Pirinsklo Delo</i> (in Blagoevgrad) (see table 11).</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><i>Table 11. Bulgaria, Circulation of Newspapers and Periodicals, Selected +Years, 1939-71</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 11"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="44%"> </td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="14%">1939</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="14%">1948</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="14%">1960</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="14%">1971</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Newspapers:</i></td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Annual circulation*</td> + <td class="tdcx">130,297 </td> + <td class="tdcx">345,905 </td> + <td class="tdcx">602,813 </td> + <td class="tdcx">837,494 </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Annual circulation per capita</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 20.7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 48.5</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 76.6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 98.1</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><i>Periodicals:</i></td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Number</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 393 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 246 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 151 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 963 </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Annual circulation*</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 11,208 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 10,421 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 20,923 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 48,605 </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz"> Average annual issues per capita</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 1.8</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 1.5</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 2.7</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 5.7</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">* In thousands</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Periodicals</p> + +<p>By 1971 there were 963 periodicals with an annual circulation of 48.6 +million, roughly tripling the pre-World War II figures. Periodicals were +an extremely popular form of reading material.</p> + +<p>Among the leading periodicals of Bulgaria are: <i>Novo Vreme</i>, a monthly +journal of the Central Committee; <i>Ikonomicheska Misal</i>, the organ of +the Institute of Economics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; <i>Puls</i>, +a publication of the Central Committee of the Komsomol; <i>Slavyani</i>, the +monthly journal of the Slav Committee in Bulgaria; <i>Bulgarski Voin</i>, the +monthly journal of the chief political department of the Bulgarian +People's Army (Bulgarska Narodna Armiya); <i>Resorts</i>, a bimonthly journal +printed in Russian, French, English, and German; and <i>Lov i Ribolov</i>.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">RADIO</p> + +<p>In 1939 there were three radio stations and over 60,000 subscribers (see +table 12). Approximately one out of every 100 Bulgarian citizens owned a +radio set.</p> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</a></span><i>Table 12. Bulgaria, Number of Radio Stations and Subscribers, Selected +Years, 1939-71</i></p> + +<br /> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 12"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="40%"> </td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1939</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1948</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1960</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1971</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Radio stations:</td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Mediumwave</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 12</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Shortwave</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Ultra-shortwave</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 0</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 11</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Number of radio stations</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 27</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Number of relay stations</td> + <td class="tdcx">n.a.</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 41</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,347</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,835</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Number of radio subscribers</td> + <td class="tdcx">62,677</td> + <td class="tdcx">210,366</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,430,653</td> + <td class="tdcx">2,304,567</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Number of radio receivers</td> + <td class="tdcx">62,677</td> + <td class="tdcx">201,866</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 868,950</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,546,163</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz">Subscribers*</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 10</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 30</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 182</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 269</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">n.a.—not available.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">* Per 1,000 population.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p>As of March 26, 1948, the state controlled not only the management of +radio stations and the content of radio programs but also the +manufacture, distribution, and sale of radio equipment. The ownership +and operation of radios were subject to the chief directorate of radio +information according to the Law on Radio. Article 15 of this law stated +that private homes could only receive programs of Bulgarian radio +stations. Article 17 of the same law stated that all people wishing to +purchase radios had to receive prior authorization and pay a radio tax.</p> + +<p>The ideological purposes of radio broadcasts are presented by the +government in quasi-cold war terms. One radio commentator, Lyuben Popov, +has described the radio as a weapon for waging war on the air. He +explained that "the struggle on the air is becoming sharper and sharper +and more and more uncompromising.... Our propaganda work is part of the +ideological struggle for victory of communist ideas." Radio is perceived +as serving two principal ends. On the domestic level it serves to +provide information as well as propaganda to the public; on the +international level it functions in a purely ideological capacity.</p> + +<p>There are twelve mediumwave radio transmitters: two are located in +Pleven; two in Kurdzhali; two in Sofia; and one each in Plovdiv, +Blagoevgrad, Varna, Shumen, Stara Zagora, and Stolnik. There are eleven +ultra-shortwave stations: three are located in Sofia, two in Botev, two +in Slunchev Bryag, two in Kyustendil, one in Snezhinka, and one in +Plovdiv. There are four shortwave radio stations in Bulgaria. Of the +total number of twenty-seven radio stations in the country, six +broadcast in both amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation +(FM); twenty broadcast in AM only; and one located at Botev Peak +broadcasts only in FM.</p> + +<p>Bulgarian radio stations are on the air approximately 500 hours per +week. Foreign broadcasts are transmitted approximately twenty-six <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</a></span>hours +a day Monday through Saturday and twenty-nine hours on Sunday. These +programs are broadcast in Bulgarian, Turkish, Greek, Serbo-Croat, +French, Italian, German, English, Spanish, and Arabic and are +transmitted to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and South +America. The number of domestic listeners has approximately doubled over +the 1960-71 period. In mid-1973 over a quarter of the population owned +radio sets.</p> + +<p>The leading radio programs are transmitted by Radio Sofia. Radio +Plovdiv, Radio Varna, and Radio Stara Zagora also transmit popular +programs. Radio Rodina is the main station transmitting to Bulgarians +residing abroad. Generally, radio programs consist of news bulletins +dealing with both local and international events; programs for rural +listeners and industrial workers, which deal with industrial, +agricultural, and cultural matters; programs for children, which +complement the formal educational curriculum; literary and cultural +programs; and scientific programs.</p> + +<p>In January 1971 Radio Sofia took steps to refurbish its old programming. +Some critics felt that the old programming was lacking in variety, +causing listeners to turn to foreign broadcasts for more enjoyable +entertainment. Others within the medium wanted to have more freedom and +creativity in programming. As a result, in mid-1973 the three main +programs of Radio Sofia had a singular and distinctive character. +"Horizont" provided both general information and popular music. "Christo +Botev" had a more cultural and propagandistic nature, presenting +ideological, literary, and educational programs. "Orfei" was the program +for classical music, which was occasionally supplemented by theatrical +and literary features. The results of these changes have been mixed. +Although some critics felt that the new programs were more lively than +their predecessors, others continued to criticize them for a "dearth of +original thought, a laconic style, and a pompous tone."</p> + +<p>Other recent developments in radio have been the establishment of radio +relay ties with nearby countries. These relay ties are expected to +increase Bulgaria's communications with the West while providing her new +partners with access to the East. In July 1972 the construction of radio +lines between Bulgaria and Turkey was completed. In December 1972 plans +for a radio relay line between Sofia and Athens were announced; the line +was to be completed by 1974. This particular line was expected to +provide Greece with access to Eastern Europe and Bulgaria with access to +the Middle East and North Africa.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">TELEVISION</p> + +<p>Television, like radio, became a state monopoly under the control of the +Ministry of Culture on March 26, 1948, but the first strictly +experimental broadcasts were not undertaken until 1954. It was 1959 +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</a></span>before the first regular programming—consisting of two programs per +week—was being broadcast. By 1962 programs had been increased to only +four per week.</p> + +<p>The number of television subscribers rose from a mere 2,573 in 1960 to +185,246 in 1965 and to 1.2 million in 1971. These figures meant the +number of sets per 1,000 people were; less than one, in 1960; about +twenty-three, in 1965; and 138, in 1971. During the same period an +increasing number of transmitting stations was making reception possible +in nearly all parts of the country. By 1972 there were twenty-seven +transmitters; the major ones were located at Sofia, Slunchev Bryag, +Botev, Varna, and Kyustendil. In spite of the expansion of the network +and the increasing numbers of sets available, in comparison to other +European countries there were still relatively few television +subscribers per 1,000 of the population.</p> + +<p>Three-quarters of the television sets are located in the cities. +Although there is only one major television program, Program I, plans +are underway for the transmission of a second program, Program II. This, +when added to the coverage of Program I, is expected to reach 95 percent +of the population by 1975.</p> + +<p>Television is transmitted on a daily basis. The weekly programs run +between 68 and 72 hours. Television time has been apportioned more or +less according to popular taste. Of the total hours, 22 percent of +television time was devoted to documentaries, 15 percent to music, 12 +percent to news, 11 percent to programs for children, 10 percent to +language and literature programs, and 8 percent to sports. There were +also special broadcasts to villages and question-and-answer programs in +industrial enterprises and cooperative farms. Unlike the rest of Eastern +Europe, Bulgaria imported very few television films from the United +States.</p> + +<p>One of the most recent innovations in television programming was the +transmission of a special program for tourists in 1973. Bulgarian Radio +and Television decided to cooperate with the Committee for Tourism to +promote a 1-½-hour program for foreign tourists on the Black Sea coast. +The program, as envisioned in 1973, would consist of local news, +presented on three different channels in Russian, English, and German +respectively; local events; international news; tourist information; and +advertisements.</p> + +<p>Future plans for Bulgarian television were outlined in the Sixth Five +Year Plan (1971-75). Although color television programs in the 1970s +were transmitted to Bulgaria from Moscow, Bulgaria's own color +television was to be transmitted in late 1973. Along these lines, +Bulgaria planned to collaborate with Intervision—the Eastern European +television network—in the promotion of color television. In 1972 plans +were also being formulated for the construction of between 250 and 300 +relay stations and additional television transmitters.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</a></span>PUBLISHING</p> + +<p>In 1939 there were 2,169 books and pamphlets published in 6.5 million +copies, and in 1948 there were 2,322 books and pamphlets published in +19.9 million copies. By 1960 the number of book and pamphlet titles had +risen to 3,369 in 30.2 million copies, and by 1971 the number of book +and pamphlet titles reached 4,188 in 46.8 million copies.</p> + +<p>More recent studies of book and pamphlet publication conducted in 1969 +and 1970 indicated that the overwhelming majority of books and pamphlets +were written by Bulgarians. Of the 3,799 books published in 1970, there +were 3,368 by Bulgarian authors. The foreign works during this year were +predominantly in Russian, 131; French, sixty-five; English, sixty-five; +and German, fifty-four. There were few books translated from Spanish and +a sprinkling of translations from other lesser known languages. Of the +translated works most were literary, followed by works dealing with the +social sciences, the applied sciences, the arts, geography and history, +the so-called hard sciences, philosophy, philology, and religion.</p> + +<p>A 1971 study illustrates the fact that—in terms of titles alone—books +are more popular than pamphlets by a ratio of approximately three to one +(see table 13). The greatest number of book titles in 1971 were in the +areas of artistic and folkloric literature, technology and industry, and +scientific and educational texts. The smallest number of book titles +were in the areas of general handbooks, community affairs, and atheism +and religion. The greatest number of pamphlet titles, on the other hand, +were in juvenile literature, communist party literature, and science and +education. The fewest pamphlet titles dealt with atheism and religion, +Marxism-Leninism, languages, and labor and trade unions.</p> + +<p>Because the Bulgarian publishing industry has emphasized the quantity of +books available in terms of copies rather than variety or number of +titles, there has been some serious criticism of policy, particularly +from the newspapers. In fact, among the Balkan countries, Bulgaria ranks +below Yugoslavia, Romania, and Turkey in the number of titles published +annually. One newspaper claimed that of the total number of books +published in 1972, only approximately one-third were so-called real +books, meaning that they were not simply textbooks or brochures. This +newspaper claimed that foreign literature was not well known in Bulgaria +and pointed out that the literature of Asia, Africa, and South America +had increased by only 470 titles since 1939.</p> + +<p>The state not only is in charge of the publishing houses themselves but +also supervises the distribution of books throughout the country. +Editorial councils are the final authorities in determining the output +of individual publishing houses. The one exception to the general +administration of publishing houses is the publication of textbooks. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</a></span>In +this case the Committee on Art and Culture is responsible for the +printing of textbooks, and the Ministry of National Education is, in +turn, responsible for their distribution.</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><i>Table 13. Bulgaria, Book and Pamphlet Publication, 1971</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 13"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="55%">Subject of Publication</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">Total Number of Titles</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">Book<br /> Titles</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">Pamphlet Titles</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Marxism-Leninism</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 26</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 23</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Communist party</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 270</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 158</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 112</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Socialist and communist construction</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 181</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 97</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 84</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Foreign policy and economics</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 94</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 74</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 20</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Philosophy</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 70</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 52</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 18</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">History</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 147</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 121</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 26</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Economics</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 29</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 21</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 8</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Production</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 90</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 82</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 8</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Finance</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 15</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 11</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Labor and trade unions</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 55</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 39</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 16</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Legal and constitutional system</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 73</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 53</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 20</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Military policy</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 38</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 28</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 10</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Natural science and mathematics</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 261</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 225</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 36</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Technology and industry</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 490</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 415</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 75</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Agriculture and cooperatives</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 284</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 214</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 70</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Trade and nutrition</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 51</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 37</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 14</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Transportation and communications</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 75</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 64</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 11</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Community affairs</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4</td> + <td class="tdcx"> ...</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Health</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 215</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 157</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 58</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Physical education and sports</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 72</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 53</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 19</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Scientific and educational texts</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 397</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 301</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 96</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Literary criticism</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 133</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 55</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 78</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Art</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 152</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 118</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 34</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Languages</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 70</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 66</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Artistic and folkloric literature</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 609</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 534</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 75</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Juvenile literature</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 277</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 146</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 131</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Atheism and religion</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 8</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">General handbooks</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 2</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 2</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> ... </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz"> TOTAL</td> + <td class="tdcxz">4,188</td> + <td class="tdcxz">3,157</td> + <td class="tdcxz">1,031</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p>The party is the final arbiter regarding the acceptability of work for +publication. All party control, however, is theoretically unofficial; +censorship exists only in the sense that all power of decision regarding +publication is in the hands of party members. The official process for +publication is that the writer submits his work to the publishing house. +The publishing house then sends it, with a brief description of its +ideological content, to the Committee on Art and Culture. If the book is +approved at this stage, it is returned to the publishing house, where it +is again checked for its ideological content.</p> + +<p>The major criterion for acceptance is the ideological soundness of the +work in question. According to a refugee playwright from Bulgaria, "The +journalist must praise the party, and government, and criticize the +West. The poet, the playwright, the novelist must uphold <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</a></span>the communist +ideal." Since the works of leading Communists are almost always accepted +for publication, one writer has stated; "In Bulgaria dead communist +heroes are the safest bet."</p> + +<p>The government is actively engaged in attempting to promote Bulgarian +books abroad. In the late 1960s and early 1970s books by native +authors—although in relatively small numbers—were published in such +diverse countries as Great Britain, Japan, France, Turkey, Italy, Iran, +Austria, Argentina, and Finland. According to the latest available +source on the promotion of Bulgarian books abroad, plans also have been +formulated for the publication of books in the United States, Belgium, +Brazil, and Syria.</p> + +<p>One of the most serious problems in the publishing industry, other than +the broad issue of freedom of expression of the writers, is that of a +shortage of textbooks. In 1970 the Committee for State Control +discovered that courses in 1,013 subjects at the university level had no +textbooks whatsoever. In the University of Sofia alone, where +approximately 317 subjects were taught, textbooks existed for only 216 +of these subjects; roughly half of the books for the 216 subjects that +used textbooks were out of print.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">LIBRARIES</p> + +<p>When the Communists took power in 1944, they began to allocate +relatively large sums of money to develop new libraries in both large +cities and small villages. By 1971 the country had over 10,000 +libraries, whose collections numbered nearly 50 million volumes (see +table 14).</p> + +<p>The Committee on Art and Culture maintained a number of libraries, +including the country's largest, the Bulgarian National Library. Founded +in 1878 in Sofia, it contained 814,000 works in 1971, including about +13,000 old and rare volumes, approximately 17,000 graphic works, and +some 20,000 photographs and portraits. The library published both a +yearbook and a monthly periodical.</p> + +<p>The committee maintained two other libraries. One was the Ivan Vazov +State Library, situated in Plovdiv, whose collection included a wide +variety of periodicals, old and rare books, and archives. The other +library under the committee was the Elin Pelin Bulgarian Bibliographical +Institute, which maintained a record of all printed works in the country +and published a monthly bulletin listing all of its publications, an +annual yearbook, and a monthly list of all articles published in reviews +and journals.</p> + +<p>In addition there were research-related libraries maintained by the +Academy of Sciences; public school libraries; university libraries; +libraries organized in state plants, factories, and cooperative farms; +regional libraries; and local libraries.</p> + +<p>The major regional libraries were located in Burgas, Ruse, Stara Zagora, +Shumen, Varna, Velsko, and Turnovo. The best known local library was the +City Library of Sofia, which contained about 452,862 volumes.</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</a></span><i>Table 14. Libraries in Bulgaria, 1971</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 14"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" rowspan="2" width="40%">Kind of Library</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" colspan="4">Number</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdcxz8" width="15%">Libraries</td> + <td class="tdcxz8" width="15%">Books*</td> + <td class="tdcxz8" width="15%">Readers*</td> + <td class="tdcxz8" width="15%">Books Lent*</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">National</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 814</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 25</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 189</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Local</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 27</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5,287</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 259</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4,807</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Reading rooms</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4,108</td> + <td class="tdcx">20,387</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,359</td> + <td class="tdcx">20,744</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Enterprises and government offices</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,110</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 6,532</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 537</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4,984</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Public schools</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3,860</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 9,336</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 772</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 6,653</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Universities</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 23</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,077</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 84</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,320</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Specialized:</td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + <td class="tdcx"> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Science</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 115</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,409</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 29</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 507</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Government</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 35</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 594</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 16</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 282</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Party and public organizations</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 93</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 804</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 39</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 280</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Technical</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 212</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 864</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 54</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 398</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Medical</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 60</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 405</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 36</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 361</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Theaters (archives)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 133</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 443</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 34</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Educational</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 14</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 152</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 8</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 57</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Total specialized</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 662</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 4,671</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 188</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 1,919</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz"> TOTAL</td> + <td class="tdcxz">10,791</td> + <td class="tdcxz">49,104</td> + <td class="tdcxz">3,227</td> + <td class="tdcxz">40,616</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">* In thousands.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p>The so-called public reading room was another form of library. Founded +by educated Bulgarians during the Turkish occupation as centers of +culture and education, the reading rooms have become quite widespread, +particularly in the villages, and supply books to farmworkers and other +members of the rural population. In the early 1970s there were 4,108 +reading rooms with over 20 million volumes.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">FILMS</p> + +<p>By 1947, after the new constitution had been enacted, the film industry +became a state monopoly. The next year the new Law on Motion Pictures +was passed, which essentially expanded on the theme of state control. It +officially abolished free enterprise in the film industry and prohibited +individual activities in the importation and exportation of films and +the private operation of movie theaters. The film industry fell under +the official control of the Bulgarian Cinematography Association, which +was under the Department of Motion Pictures of the Committee for +Science, Art, and Culture. By 1950 the entire film industry was under +the complete control of the Council of Ministers. The Department of +Motion Pictures became officially attached to the council.</p> + +<p>One of the early laws regarding films stated that "the motion picture +must become a real fighting assistant of the party and the government +and be an ardent agitator and propagator of the government policy." The +focus of the industry was to be placed on the building of socialism +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</a></span>while increasing the country's bonds with the Soviet Union. Early +legislation stated that "Soviet films gave immense educational influence +and mobilized action and conscious participation in the building of +socialism for still greater friendship with the Soviet Union." This +emphasis on the relationship with the Soviet Union was not only +ideological. Soviet films also represented approximately 87 percent of +the films shown in Bulgaria from 1945 to 1956, and the Bulgarian film +industry was in large part assisted by its film counterpart in the +Soviet Union.</p> + +<p>The film industry expanded quickly under the new government. There were +187 films produced in 1960 (see table 15). By 1965 there were +approximately 2,000 motion picture houses, roughly 83 percent of which +were in the villages.</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><i>Table 15. Bulgaria, Films Produced and Translated,<br /> Selected Years, +1939-71</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 15"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="40%"> </td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1939</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1948</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1960</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1971</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Full length</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3 </td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 11 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 18 </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Art</td> + <td class="tdcx">(3)</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (10)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (16)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Documentary</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (1)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (2)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Television</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 0 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 0 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 0 </td> + <td class="tdcx"> 19 </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Short and medium length</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 19 </td> + <td class="tdcx">110 </td> + <td class="tdcx">252 </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Documentary</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx">(15)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (36)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (60)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Popular science</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (4)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (32)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (61)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Technical education</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (16)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (21)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Animated</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (8)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (16)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Propaganda</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx">...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (18)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (94)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Previews</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;">...</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 53 </td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 66 </td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 58 </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz"> TOTAL</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 3 </td> + <td class="tdcxz"> 72 </td> + <td class="tdcxz">187 </td> + <td class="tdcxz">347 </td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p>In mid-1973 information on the film industry indicated that the +production, distribution, importation, exportation, and exhibition of +films were still controlled by the Bulgarian Cinematography Association. +This agency was subdivided into three sections: the chief studio at the +Bulyana film center where feature films and cartoons were produced; a +second studio that produced documentary shorts and popular science films +for schools; and a third studio that specialized in newsreels.</p> + +<p>Relative to other European countries there was little importation or +exportation of films. In mid-1973 data suggested that between 100 and +150 feature films were imported per year. These films generally came +from the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries, although a +few were imported from Italy, France, and Great Britain. The first +Bulgarian film to be exported was <i>The Chain</i>, which was shown in +Czechoslovakia in 1964. The same year another Bulgarian film, <i>The +Intransigents</i>, was shown in Ireland, and still another, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</a></span><i>The Peach +Thief</i>, was shown in Great Britain. The precise number of Bulgarian +films exported was unknown, although one writer claimed that in 1973 +Bulgarian films were viewed in about seventy countries.</p> + +<p>In mid-1973 the subject matter of Bulgarian films was characteristically +contemporary, and there was little focus on historical events. Although +a few historical films had been produced, they were in the minority. A +few films had dealt with the subject of Bulgarian resistance to the +Nazis, but they too were relatively scarce. More films were devoted to +the so-called people's heroic struggles. Most films in Bulgaria, +however, dealt with contemporary life in the country and current events. +The overwhelming majority of these films treated the conflicts and +issues of Bulgarian youth.</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>SECTION III. ECONOMIC</h2> + +<h2>CHAPTER 12</h2> + +<h3>CHARACTER AND STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY</h3> + + +<p>Under comprehensive control of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see +Glossary), the economy was severely strained in mid-1973 as the result +of the dual task imposed upon it by the BKP leadership to increase +productivity rapidly and substantially and to provide a growing volume +of consumer goods and services under a newly announced program for +raising the population's low standard of living. A first step in +improving the living standard took the form of an upward adjustment in +the lowest wage brackets and a broadening of social security provisions. +Further improvements, however, were made conditional upon attainment of +the productivity and production goals.</p> + +<p>The development of the economy and of the consumer program faced severe +limitations because of the inadequacy of domestic resources, including +basic raw materials, fuels and power, skilled workers, and trained +professional personnel. Economic development was heavily dependent on +financial and technical aid from the Soviet Union, and dependence upon +that country was to be increased in the 1971-75 period. Efforts to +overcome persistent and growth-retarding difficulties in the economy led +to frequent organizational and procedural changes in the economic +mechanism, the structure of which in mid-1973 was still in flux as a +result of decisions taken by the BKP in 1965 and in 1968.</p> + +<p>The main trend in reshaping the organization and management of the +economy was one of concentration and centralization—a trend that led to +the creation of huge trusts in industry and distribution and of vast +agroindustrial complexes in agriculture. In the process, divisions and +lines of authority were blurred, and violations of government directives +were frequent because of their complexity and the constraints they +placed on the day-to-day operation of economic enterprises.</p> + +<p>In the search for a more efficient organization and management pattern, +heavy reliance was placed on the introduction of complex automation into +all economic processes with the aid of a nationwide computer network—a +system of automation that would extend from the highest levels of +national economic planning down to the individual <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</a></span>factory shop and cow +barn. No ideas have been advanced, however, on how complex automation +would solve the basic problem of the economy—the widely acknowledged +and pervasive lack of incentives to work. The methods used to grapple +with this problem were limited to a tinkering with the wage and bonus +system, administrative sanctions, political indoctrination, and +exhortations.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">ORGANIZATION</p> + +<p>State ownership of the means of production predominates in the economy. +Collective ownership has prevailed in agriculture, but it may be +gradually eliminated in the course of the agricultural reorganization +initiated in 1970 (see ch. 13). Private ownership of productive +resources is limited to subsidiary farm or garden enterprises of +collective farmers, industrial and state farmworkers, and artisans; a +small number of individual farms on marginal lands; and noncollectivized +artisan shops. In 1971 private ownership encompassed about 10 percent of +the agricultural land but only 2.5 percent of the fixed assets used in +production. Private ownership of personal property and homes is allowed.</p> + +<p>The proportions of national income (net material product) generated in +each of the ownership sectors in 1971 were: state, 70 percent; +collective, 21 percent; and private, 9 percent. The importance of +private enterprise in the production of food, however, is much greater +than its contribution to the national income may suggest. The private +sector has provided more than one-fifth of the crop output and one-third +of the livestock production (see ch. 13).</p> + +<p>Whereas the leadership has promoted livestock production on private farm +plots, since 1968 it has placed increasingly severe restrictions on the +activities of private artisans, who had originally been encouraged to +expand their operations through liberal regulations issued in 1965. +Aside from providing essential services, private artisans played an +important role in supplying a variety of consumer goods for the +population. The restrictions on artisans' activities have been based on +the BKP tenet that private ownership of means of production and the use +of personal property to acquire unearned income are incompatible with +the socialist order and the country's new constitution.</p> + +<p>Economic activities are centrally planned and directed along lines +prescribed by the BKP. The functions of planning and control are +exercised by the Council of Ministers with the aid of specialized +economic ministries, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of +Chemical Industry and Power Generation, and the Ministry of Foreign +Trade, and of various governmental committees and commissions (see ch. +8). The state banking system and, more particularly, bank credit have +also served as tools for the control of enterprises and trusts.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</a></span>The economic management structure has been subject to frequent changes. +In the spring of 1972 there were fourteen economic ministries, including +five ministries exclusively concerned with branches of industry and +construction. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Industry, as its +name implies, has functioned in two major economic sectors and has also +had substantial responsibilities in the field of distribution. Among the +committees and commissions the most important have been the State +Planning Committee, the Committee on Prices, and the Commission for +Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation. In December 1972 the +Commission on the Living Standard was created to coordinate and control +the fulfillment of the national living standard program decided upon by +the plenum of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party. +Attached to the Council of Ministers and chaired by a deputy minister, +the commission is composed of ministers and deputy ministers, +representatives of public organizations, scientists, and other members.</p> + +<p>Since the beginning of 1971 economic management has been more highly +centralized than before. A plan for partial decentralization of economic +decision making adopted in 1965 was abandoned by 1968. The economy is +organized into trusts (officially known as state economic associations) +that unite enterprises within branches of economic sectors along +functional lines, such as metallurgy, textiles, food processing, +railroads, freight forwarding, tourism, wholesale distribution, +publishing, and filmmaking. In agriculture, trusts are known as +agroindustrial complexes; each complex unites several previously +independent farms (see ch. 13). Trusts are subordinated to economic +ministries and are ultimately responsible to the Council of Ministers. +The extent of the ministries' authority over trusts is not clear. In +some important respects trusts receive instructions directly from the +Council of Ministers.</p> + +<p>Agroindustrial trusts number 170. In the nonagricultural sector about +sixty-two trusts were originally created, with an average of thirty +branches but as many as 106 in one instance. The process of +concentration and centralization continued on a small scale at least +until the spring of 1973, in part through the consolidation of separate +trusts. Before the reorganization, trust branches had been legally and +financially independent enterprises, and trusts served only as +administrative links between enterprises and ministries. Whereas +individual enterprises were previously regarded as the basic economic +units in the country, it is the trusts that have been officially +considered as such under the new system of management.</p> + +<p>Trusts have assumed various functions previously performed by the +enterprises themselves. They formulate economic and technological +development policies for the trust as a whole and for each branch; +establish relations with suppliers, distributors, and financial +institutions; and centralize research and development. Trusts have also +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</a></span>been charged with responsibility for providing operational guidance to +their branches and for organizing the export of products that they +manufacture. Branches remain responsible for the effective organization +of operations, efficient uses of resources, and the conscientious +fulfillment of tasks assigned to them by the annual plan.</p> + +<p>Regulations governing the authority of trusts over their branches were +intended to permit the establishment of flexible internal management +organizations adapted to the particular needs of each trust. The trusts' +policies were expected to be based on the rule that whatever the trust +could do better than the branches should be centralized in it and, +conversely, whatever the branches could do better than the trust should +be left in their field of competence. Each trust was supposed to arrive +at an optimal combination of management centralization and +decentralization.</p> + +<p>The transition to the new management system involved difficulties +because of delays in issuing pertinent regulations, misinterpretation of +the regulations by trust managers, and the reluctance of enterprise +managers to acquiesce in the loss of their independence. Most of the +organizational and personnel problems were reported to have been +resolved by the end of 1971, and in March 1973 party chief Todor Zhivkov +reported that further consolidation of the new management structure had +been achieved. In the long run, greater efficiency of economic +management is to be attained through pervasive automation of all +management functions with the aid of a synchronized national network of +electronic computers.</p> + +<p>Under the new system of trusts, profits of individual branches are +pooled and redistributed by the parent organization. Highly productive +branches may thus find themselves in the position of having to share +their profits with unproductive branches. This feature, some observers +believe, may reduce incentives to raise the level of efficiency, +increase output, and improve the quality of products.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">STRUCTURE AND GROWTH</p> + +<p>National income (net national product, which excludes most services not +directly related to production) was officially reported to have been +10.41 billion leva (for value of the lev—see Glossary) in 1971, +compared to 10.53 billion leva in 1970. Nevertheless, the official index +of national income growth showed an increase of 7 percent from 1970 to +1971. This example illustrates the difficulty of using official +statistics to describe the structure and growth of the economy or +structural changes over a period of time.</p> + +<p>According to the 1971 statistical yearbook for Bulgaria, the respective +shares of industry and agriculture in national income in 1970 were 49 +and 22 percent. The yearbook issued in 1972, however, cited 1970 figures +of 55 and 17 percent instead. According to the earlier source, the +proportion of national income contributed by industry <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</a></span>increased by 6.5 +percent in the 1960-70 period, whereas the subsequent source shows a +growth of 17 percent for the same period. Similarly, the contribution of +agriculture to national income was reported to have declined by 36.4 and +by 33.3 percent. An upward trend in the contribution of trade to +national income was shown in the earlier source, but a declining trend +appeared in the latter.</p> + +<p>The differences in statistical presentation resulted primarily from a +major revision of wholesale prices, introduced by the government in +January 1971. Price revisions made in earlier years, changes in the +composition of individual statistical categories and other +methodological modifications also contributed to the inconsistency of +statistical time series in value terms. Because of differences in +concept and coverage, Bulgarian national account data are not comparable +with those of the United Nations or the United States systems of +national accounts.</p> + +<p>In the 1960-71 period national income at prices of 1957 was reported to +have increased 2.25 times, which is equivalent to an average annual 7.7 +percent rate of growth. The growth of national income was more rapid in +the years 1966 through 1971 than it had been in the 1960-65 period. The +official national income index implies an average annual increase of 8.5 +percent in the latter period, compared to 6.7 percent in the earlier +years. Reliable data on the growth of Bulgarian national income in +Western terms are not available. Relatively high rates of economic +growth are generally associated with early stages of industrial +development.</p> + +<p>In 1971 industry still lagged behind agriculture in terms of employment, +although the proportion of the labor force employed in industry had been +steadily rising, while employment in agriculture had been declining. In +the 1960-71 period employment in industry rose from 21.9 to 31.2 percent +of the labor force, and employment in agriculture declined from 54.7 to +33.4 percent of the total. During the same period employment in the +services sector increased from 9.2 to 13.4 percent of the labor force, +and gains in employment were made in all other economic sectors except +forestry, including construction, transportation and communications, and +trade.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">LABOR</p> + +<p>Growth and productivity of the economy have been adversely affected by +shortages of skilled labor and of adequately trained and experienced +technical and executive personnel. In the words of the minister of labor +and social welfare, the level of worker's current training is +inconsistent with the country's industrial base; it lags behind the +requirements of the scientific and technical revolution. The lack of +required skills has contributed to frequent machinery breakdowns and to +the output of low-quality products. As a means of upgrading the skills +of workers and executives, a broad program for <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</a></span>training and retraining +was launched in October 1972 with the cooperation of the Ministry of +National Education. About half the number of persons undergoing training +were below the age of thirty.</p> + +<p>Other persistent shortcomings in the field of labor that have plagued +the economy and have been the target of frequent criticism and +administrative action by the leadership are inefficient organization of +labor and poor labor discipline. Inefficient labor organization has been +mainly an outgrowth of inferior management skills. Poor labor discipline +has been a consequence of inadequate work incentives. In 1972 the +minister of labor and social welfare estimated that more than 20 percent +of the working time was lost through idling and other violations of +labor discipline.</p> + +<p>Adequate information on the structure of wages was not available in +mid-1973. The main faults of the wage system that prevailed in early +1973 after repeated revisions, however, were outlined by the BKP leader, +Zhivkov, and these faults were also discussed by labor ministry +officials from the point of view of their effect on labor productivity. +The basic wage constitutes the main incentive for work; bonuses, +premiums, and honors play a minor role. Because of the large investment +needs for industrial development and the corollary need to restrict +consumption, wages have been kept low, and the rise in wages has been +slower than the growth of productivity.</p> + +<p>Basic wage pay has been based on the place of employment and not on the +work performed. Wage scales for identical work have differed +substantially between branches of the economy and industry. In industry, +wage scales have been lower in branches manufacturing consumer goods +than in branches producing capital goods; they have been lowest in +textile mills. Wages have been determined by job classifications within +economic and industrial branches, the workers' level of education, and +length of service. Normal increases in pay for workers remaining in the +same positions have therefore been infrequent.</p> + +<p>Slow promotion and the disparity in wage scales contributed to excessive +labor turnover because, under the prevailing conditions of scarcity, +trained workers were able to improve their incomes through a change of +jobs. It also led to irregularities in job reclassification by employers +seeking to retain their workers through increases in pay. Wages have +been raised from time to time by the government through general upward +revisions of pay scales. This method, however, has no incentive value +because it is not directly linked to an improvement in the workers' +performance.</p> + +<p>With a view to enhancing the stimulative effect of wages on +productivity, Zhivkov proposed a basic reform of the wage system that +would be carried out gradually in the 1973-80 period. In presenting his +proposal to the BKP Central Committee plenum, Zhivkov dwelt on some of +the major principles to be embodied in the new wage system. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</a></span>The minimum +wage must be higher, and the rise in wages must be more rapid than +before. Increases in basic wages must be closely linked to individual +performance and to overall labor productivity in general, pay would be +based on performance rather than on formal qualification or length of +service. To this end the sectoral approach to wage determination is to +be abandoned in favor of a functional approach that would establish a +uniform economy-wide wage scale for jobs in relation to their complexity +and hardship and to the specific conditions of work. Rigid pay scales +are to be replaced by flexible schedules providing a range of pay for +each job depending upon the ability and performance of the worker.</p> + +<p>The reform would also gradually eliminate the egalitarian aspect of the +current wage system by providing appropriate differentials for workers +with higher qualifications. Under the current system, for example, the +salary of economists has been below that of engineers, and the salary of +engineers has been equivalent to the wages of skilled workers. This +problem has been repeatedly considered in the past, but its solution was +delayed for lack of funds.</p> + +<p>Zhivkov also cited shortcomings of the prevailing piecework system and +suggested some long-range remedies for the ills. About 60 percent of all +workers have been employed on the piecework system. Production norms +under the system have been low because of technological advances and the +infrequency of adjustment of norms. Under these conditions workers have +been able to exceed the basic norms to such an extent that payment for +work above the norm has become a large, and in some cases the +predominant, portion of the workers' earnings. Striving to increase +their wages, workers under the piecework system have often resorted to +shortcuts that have lowered the quality of output.</p> + +<p>Zhivkov's proposal for improvement included the introduction of more +realistic and more flexible quantitative and qualitative production +norms and a gradual transition to hourly rates of pay with bonus +payments for superior work whenever the quantity and quality of output +is not directly dependent on individual workers. Under these conditions +bonus payments would be linked to the performance of the entire working +personnel, and the importance of the bonus in wage payments would be +enhanced.</p> + +<p>The wage reform has been discussed in the context of a broad program, +announced by the BKP Central Committee plenum in December 1972, for a +general rise in incomes and an improvement in the population's level of +living. In the process the difference between urban and lagging rural +incomes is to be eliminated. Implementation of the program has been made +contingent upon the attainment of greater productivity and output +through workers' efforts to surpass production and efficiency targets +set by the government. These more difficult targets must be embodied in +what have been officially labeled workers' <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</a></span>counterplans. The BKP and +the government have launched a new form of so-called socialist +competition among workers and economic units, the aim of which is to +exceed in performance the requirements of the counterplans.</p> + +<p>Implementation of the standard of living program began with the +introduction of wage increases, effective March 1, 1973, for workers +employed under difficult or hazardous conditions, schoolteachers and +university faculties, physicians and medical personnel, and employees of +artistic and cultural institutions. Effective June 1 the minimum wage +for all types of work was raised from 65 to 80 leva per month, and a +level of 88 leva per month was decreed for all workers earning between +80 and 87 leva. The resultant distortion of the wage structure is to be +eliminated over a period of several years.</p> + +<p>Another important measure affecting labor was announced in March 1973—a +gradual transition from a six-day, forty-six-hour workweek to a five-day +week of forty-two and a half hours. Under the BKP directive the +transition must be accomplished without loss in production; the loss in +worktime must be compensated by a corresponding rise in productivity. +The shorter workweek had been in effect on an experimental basis for +about 17 percent of the industrial workers since 1968. In 1973 and 1974 +it was to be introduced in enterprises of the material production +sector, excluding agriculture, provided that the required rise in +productivity has been assured. In 1975 the reduced workweek will be +introduced in transport, for management of state economic enterprises, +and for persons employed in the field of services other than health +services and educational institutions. Preparations for experiments with +a shortened workweek in these two areas and in agriculture are to be +undertaken in 1974 and 1975. The decree on working hours gave formal +approval to an established practice that requires workers to make up by +work on Saturdays or Sundays for worktime lost whenever official +holidays fall on weekdays.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">INVESTMENT</p> + +<p>The proportion of national income devoted annually to capital formation +(net investment) rose steadily from 22.6 percent in 1961 to 35.4 percent +in 1966 and 1967 and declined thereafter progressively to 26.8 percent +in 1971. In absolute terms annual capital formation increased from 1.06 +billion leva in 1961 to 3.06 billion leva in 1970, then declined to 2.74 +billion leva in 1971. More than half the net addition to capital (from +46 to 67 percent annually) consisted of fixed assets; the balance +represented equipment and inventories.</p> + +<p>Gross investment at current prices increased from 1.4 billion leva in +1961 to 3.6 billion leva in 1971; investment was officially estimated at +3.9 billion leva in 1972 and was scheduled to reach 4.3 billion leva in +1973. The bulk of investment has been channeled into the material +production sector (including trade). The annual investment share of +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</a></span>this sector increased from about 74 percent in 1960 to 79 percent in +1969 and declined to 76 percent in 1971. The proportion of investment +devoted to housing and services declined correspondingly in the 1960-69 +period from 26 to 21 percent and rose in the subsequent two years to 24 +percent. The shift in the investment trend foreshadowed the formal +directive issued by the Tenth Party Congress in April 1971 for the +development of a program to raise the population's standard of living.</p> + +<p>Industry has been the main beneficiary of investment funds; its share +rose to almost 50 percent in 1969 but declined slightly thereafter. +Agriculture received only about 15 percent of investment in the years +1969 through 1971, compared to 28 percent in 1960 and 19 percent in +1965. Residential investment declined from 14 percent in 1960 to an +average of not quite 10 percent in the 1969-71 period.</p> + +<p>Building construction and installation work absorbed the largest, though +declining, share of investment—60 percent in 1960 and 46.4 percent in +1971. The share of investment spent on machinery and equipment rose by +50 percent in the 1960-69 period from 26 to 39 percent, but declined to +34 percent in 1970 and 37 percent in 1971. Imported machinery, mostly +from the Soviet Union, constituted a major though declining proportion +of investment in machinery—from two-thirds to one-half of the total in +the 1965-71 period. Other investment expenses, including geological +surveys, absorbed from 12 to 17 percent of annual investment.</p> + +<p>New investment has been increasingly concentrated in state enterprises. +In the 1960-71 period the proportion of investment absorbed by state +enterprises increased from 68 to 83 percent, while the share of +investment devoted to collective farms declined from 18 to 8.5 percent. +Annual investment in artisans' collectives rose from 1.2 percent of +total investment in 1960 to 2.7 percent in 1968 and declined to 1.1 +percent in 1971. This trend paralleled the government's policy of +initial encouragement and subsequent restriction of private artisan +activities; it suggests that the government's restrictive policy may not +have been limited to private artisans alone (see Organization, this +ch.).</p> + +<p>Private investment in residential construction declined from 12.7 +percent of annual investment in 1960 to 6.5 percent in 1970 but rose to +7.2 percent in 1971. In absolute terms private investment increased from +about 174 million leva to 262 million leva. By 1973, however, new +restrictions were being introduced on housing construction by private +individuals. As much as 90 percent of the residential construction in +1960 and 70 percent in 1971 was privately financed. In the 1968-70 +period about half the private investment in housing was supported by +bank loans or by loans from special funds of employing organizations.</p> + +<p>The rise in the volume of capital per worker in the 1960-70 period as a +result of the investment activity did not produce a corresponding +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</a></span>increase in labor productivity; that is, the efficiency of investment +declined. Whereas the amount of fixed capital per worker in the sphere +of material production increased at an average annual rate of 10.4 +percent, and the volume of machinery and inventories rose by 12.5 +percent per year, output per worker increased at an annual rate of only +7.7 percent. In an effort to increase the efficiency of investment, the +Tenth Party Congress, convened in the spring of 1971, directed that 35 +percent of new investment in the sphere of material production during +the 1971-75 period should be used for the reconstruction and +modernization of existing facilities. In 1972, however, the proportion +of investment used for this purpose was only 18 percent.</p> + +<p>In the context of the eventually abandoned program for economic +decentralization, provision was made for reducing the role of the +central government budget in financing investments and for increasing +participation by investors with their own funds and bank credits. In the +sphere of material production, excluding trade, budgetary allocations in +1965 accounted for 55 percent of investment, and bank credits made up 7 +percent; in 1969 investment funds from these sources constituted 21 and +32 percent, respectively. The contribution from the budget, however, +rose again after 1969 to 28 percent in 1971, whereas bank credits +declined to less than 20 percent of the investment funds. The share of +investors' own resources, including funds of local governments, +increased from 36 percent in 1965 to 52 percent in 1971. Budgetary +investment funds are being increasingly concentrated on projects in the +fields of services and raw materials production.</p> + +<p>A satisfactory explanation of the shifts in the pattern of investment +financing is not feasible in the absence of adequate information on the +changing methods of financing economic enterprises and organizations. +The announced government policy is to shift financing progressively from +the budget to the economic trusts. The shifts did not alter the +fundamental fact that all investment funds, excluding the small private +investment, remained public property subject to governmental controls +and that the difference was merely one of bookkeeping. The change in the +channeling of public investment funds was introduced in the hope of +increasing the effectiveness of their use.</p> + +<p>The realization of major investment projects, particularly in industry, +has been made possible by very substantial technical and material +assistance from the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, serious shortcomings +have been officially reported in the implementation of investment +programs, both in industrial and in residential construction. The main +problem has been posed by the initiation of building programs that +exceed the capacity of the construction industry and the consequent +scattering of limited resources. The situation has been aggravated by +frequently poor project planning, inferior design, delays in the +delivery of machinery and materials, poor organization of work, and +slack discipline.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</a></span>As a result of the difficulties in construction, the completion and +commissioning of new industrial plants has often been delayed, and +housing construction has fallen chronically short of the volume +planned—by as much as 25 percent in 1972. The consequent failure of the +anticipated output from new plants to materialize created shortages in +various areas, thereby affecting production and market supplies +adversely and necessitating revisions of the economic plans. In an +effort to minimize these difficulties, the government adopted various +administrative measures in 1971 and 1972, including the formulation of a +list of nationally important construction projects, direct supervision +of which was assumed by the Council of Ministers. The number of projects +included in the list for 1972 was variously reported as thirty-five and +thirty-nine out of a total of more than 3,000 projects. The listed +projects consisted mainly of plants for the production of industrial +materials.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">BUDGET</p> + +<p>The budget constitutes the basic financial plan of the country's +leadership. It is the monetary expression of the annual socioeconomic +plan and provides for the financial flows implicit in that plan. The +budget is comprehensive; it takes into account all aspects of the +economic, social, and cultural activities of the country. In line with +the government's policy of gradually placing economic trusts and their +branches on a self-financing basis, a progressively larger share of the +funds budgeted for the economy is being retained by the trusts rather +than channeled to the budget. The sums thus retained by economic +organization rose from about 3 billion leva in 1971 to a planned level +of more than 5 billion leva in 1973. Ultimate control over the use of +these funds, nevertheless, remains with the government, and their +disposition is subject to the provisions of the budget.</p> + +<p>The national budget is formulated by the Ministry of Finance along lines +dictated by the BKP leadership and must be approved by the National +Assembly. As a rule only very minor modifications are made in the +process of legislative review. Budgets for local governments are +prepared as a part of the national budget; in 1972 and 1973 their total +amount was equivalent to about 17 percent of the overall national +budget. The Ministry of Finance is also responsible for ensuring the +scrupulous implementation of the budget. It is assisted in this task by +a nationwide network of state and local inspectors and by agents of the +banks. Actual budgetary results are directly affected by deviations from +the annual economic plan and therefore seldom, if ever, correspond to +the original estimates, which have the force of law.</p> + +<p>Systematic publication of budgetary data was discontinued in the +mid-1960s. Since then only scattered figures have become available +through press reports on the presentation of the budget to the National +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</a></span>Assembly and occasional articles by the minister of finance or other +ministry officials.</p> + +<p>The annual budgets have grown steadily larger. The approved budget for +1973 called for revenues of 7,057 million leva and expenditures of 7,035 +million leva. In 1970 actual revenues totaled 5,723 million leva, the +expenditures amounted to 5,650 million leva. Usually about 90 percent of +budgetary revenue has been derived from operations of the economy, and +the remainder has been raised through a variety of levies on the +population. The largest single item of revenue—more than 30 percent of +the total—has been collected in the form of a turnover tax on sales +that has been passed on to the ultimate consumer. The second most +important revenue source has consisted of levies on enterprises in the +form of a profits tax, a tax on fixed capital (interest charge) and +miscellaneous other deductions from income. Social security taxes based +on payrolls have been the third major source. Levied at a rate of 12.5 +percent through 1972, the social security tax was raised by 20 percent +in 1973 in order to meet rising costs. In 1972 about four-fifths of the +turnover tax and two-thirds of the revenue from taxes on profits and +capital was to be derived from industry.</p> + +<p>In December 1972 the BKP Central Committee plenum embarked upon a +gradual modification of the income tax system that would eventually lead +to a total abolition of income taxes for wage earners and collective +farmers by 1980. Initially, the existing system is to be improved by +introducing unified taxation for all blue- and white-collar workers and +collective farmers and by establishing a tax exemption equal to the +official minimum rate of pay. Gradual elimination of all income taxes +for these population groups in the 1976-80 period is to be synchronized +with the contemplated reform of wage scales. At the same time a system +of progressive taxation is to be introduced on incomes derived from +activities in the private sector that are not in conformity with the +amount of labor invested.</p> + +<p>The most complete recent information on budgetary expenditures is +available from the approved budget for 1972. Out of a total outlay of +6,514 million leva, 3,224 million leva was earmarked for the national +economy, and 2,065 million leva was set aside for social and cultural +needs. The remaining undisclosed balance of 1,225 million leva, or 19 +percent of the total outlays, must have included expenditures for +defense, internal security, and government administration. The social +and cultural expenditures included; social security payments, 1,054 +million leva; education, 532 million leva; public health, 303 million +leva; culture and arts, 83 million leva; and science, 93 million leva, +in addition to 235 million leva to be provided by research organizations +and economic trusts.</p> + +<p>Information on the budget for 1973 was more sketchy. No information had +been disclosed on the magnitude of the expenditure on the national +economy; the usually undisclosed residual was therefore also <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</a></span>not +ascertainable. The increase in overall revenues and expenditures over +those in 1972 was about 8 percent. Outlays for social and cultural +affairs, however, were planned to increase by 11.8 percent, including +increases of 18.8 and 15.7 percent, respectively, for public health and +education. These figures reflected the government's announced program +for increasing the well-being of the population.</p> + +<p>The BKP and government leadership look upon the budget as a major tool +for executing BKP economic policies. As expressed by the minister of +finance in 1973, the budget contains a whole arsenal of financial and +economic levers—levers that must be used ever more skillfully to raise +the efficiency of economic performance, to improve the structure of +production and consumption, and to bring about a well-balanced economy. +The budget is also considered a tool for exercising effective control +over the entire sphere of production and services, not only to ensure +smooth current operations but also to inhibit any undesirable departures +from official policy.</p> + +<p>The disciplinary powers of the budget have yet to be more fully +developed to cope successfully with the officially reported shortcomings +in the economy. One step in this direction calls for the further +intensification of what has been officially called financial and bank +control through the lev, that is, the discretionary use of financial +sanctions, including the denial of budgetary allocations or bank +credits, to enforce strict compliance with specific plan directives. +Another advocated measure is to intensify the public campaign against +waste and the irresponsible attitude toward public funds and for tighter +financial discipline. An implacable campaign is also to be waged against +wrongs done to the citizens in the use of public funds, illegal +formation and misappropriation of funds by economic organizations, +irregularities in the supply of materials, failure to produce consumer +goods despite the availability of needed resources, accumulation of +excessive inventories, and pilferage.</p> + +<p>Many apparent violations of economic and budgetary discipline arise +because of the frequently inadequate knowledge or understanding by +personnel at all levels of the economy of the constantly changing laws +and regulations concerning the operation and interrelation of the +diverse economic units, particularly in the area of finance. The changes +in laws and regulations are the result of an unceasing search for a +system that would provide effective incentives toward conscientious and +efficient work to all gainfully employed persons.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">BANKING AND CURRENCY</p> + +<p class="cen">Banking</p> + +<p>Since early 1971 the country's banking system has consisted of the +Bulgarian National Bank and two semi-independent banks attached to it: +the Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank and the State Savings <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</a></span>Bank. This +banking system emerged after three reorganizations in the 1967-70 period +and conforms to the general pattern of institutional and management +concentration in the economy. In addition to serving as the central bank +of issue, the Bulgarian National Bank, an independent agency under the +Council of Ministers, is directly responsible for financing all sectors +and phases of the economy other than foreign trade and consumer credit, +in which fields it supervises the activities of the Bulgarian Foreign +Trade Bank and the State Savings Bank. The bank is also responsible for +exercising close control over the economic units that it finances, with +a view to ensuring the fulfillment of all national economic plans and +the scrupulous adherence to existing laws and regulations.</p> + +<p>A minimum of current information was available in mid-1973 on the +structure of the banks, the relationships between them, and their +financial operations. Official statistics are limited to annual data on +bank credits for investment and on the volume of outstanding short- and +long-term loan balances for the banking system as a whole. Data on +outstanding loans are broken down by type of borrower and, in the case +of short-term loans, also by purpose. With minor exceptions, no +information was available on the volume of loans extended, on loan +maturities, or on interest rates after 1970. Statistics had also been +published on the volume of personal savings in the accounts of the +saving bank at the end of each year.</p> + +<p>The total amount of loans outstanding at the end of the year increased +from 3.6 billion leva in 1965 to 9.2 billion leva in 1971. The +proportion of long-term loan balances rose from 24 percent of the total +amount in 1965 to 40 percent in 1970 but declined to less than 36 +percent in 1971. The increase in lending activity to 1970 was a direct +consequence of the partial shift from predominantly budgetary financing +of economic activities to a substantial measure of self-financing by +enterprises and trusts. The subsequent decline was related to the +tightening of investment credit in an effort to reduce waste in the +construction program (see Investment, this ch.). Long-term loans have +been granted predominantly, if not exclusively, for fixed investment +purposes.</p> + +<p>Of the 3.27 billion leva in long-term loans outstanding at the end of +1971, 2.61 billion leva was due from state and collective enterprises, +and 660 million leva was owed by private individuals who had borrowed to +finance home construction. Only 12.5 percent of the loan balances was +due from collective farms—an amount equivalent to barely 62 percent of +the sums owed by private individuals. Collective enterprises in industry +and services had outstanding loans of only 13 million leva. In relation +to the value of each sector's fixed assets in 1971, the proportion of +outstanding long-term loans was: state enterprises, 11.3 percent; +collective farms, 16.1 percent; and collective artisans, 2.9 percent.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</a></span>Nine-tenths of the short-term loan balances at the end of 1971 were owed +by state enterprises, and one-tenth was due from collective enterprises. +Wholesale and retail trade accounted for 36 percent of the outstanding +loans; industry and construction were each liable for 28 percent. +Short-term loan balances of agriculture amounted to less than 8 percent +of the total sum, and balances of the services sector constituted less +than 0.2 percent. The largest part of short-term loans was granted for +working capital purposes, including the procurement of farm products. A +balance of almost 1 billion leva, however, was outstanding on loans for +the completion of building construction, including a small amount for +housing.</p> + +<p>A very small, though increasing, volume of consumer loans for the +purchase of durable goods and clothing has been granted by the State +Savings Bank. The volume of such loans—36.5 million leva in 1966, 48.2 +million leva in 1967, and 45.4 million leva in 1968—was equivalent to +slightly more than 1 percent of retail sales in the commercial trade +network. The outstanding balances of consumer loans at the end of the +year rose from 49.1 million leva in 1968 to 102.1 million leva in 1971. +Consumer loans may not exceed the sum of 500 leva and may be used only +for the purchase of designated goods. In 1969 the authorized list +included twenty-three categories. A sample survey in 1969 indicated that +about two-thirds of the loan volume was used to acquire television sets, +furniture, and motorcycles; another 20 percent was spent on radios, +sewing machines, and scooters.</p> + +<p>Apart from consumer loans, the State Savings Bank grants small loans to +licensed private craftsmen for working capital and to collective and +state farmworkers and other qualified applicants for the purchase of +productive livestock, seeds, fertilizers, small tools, and other farm +perquisites. The bank also makes loans for adapting premises to the +needs of tourism; for current building repairs; and for meeting personal +emergencies, including loans to newlyweds for the acquisition of +furnishings. Depending upon the purpose of the loans, loan ceilings +range from 150 to 800 leva, and maturities extend from ten months to +eight years.</p> + +<p>The volume of consumer loans was reported to have reached 116 million +leva in 1972. Under the economic plan for 1973, the State Savings Bank +was scheduled to make loans to individuals for the purchase of consumer +goods and other needs in the amount of 203 million leva and for home +construction in the amount of 180 million leva. The bank was also +expected to lend 141 million leva to people's councils.</p> + +<p>Loan funds of the State Savings Bank have been derived from personal +savings deposits and, presumably, from interest payments. The bank also +conducts state lotteries for the benefit of the state budget. There is +no evidence as to whether the bank retains a portion of the lottery +proceeds for its own operations. Savings deposits increased almost +fivefold in the 1960-71 period to a level of about 3.6 billion <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</a></span>leva—a +sum equivalent to 64 percent of total retail sales or 150 percent of +food sales through commercial and institutional channels in 1970. +According to preliminary data, savings deposits rose by 630 million leva +in 1972, and they were scheduled to increase further by 870 million leva +under the economic plan for 1973. The bulk of savings deposits has been +channeled into the budget.</p> + +<p>The repayment record on loans by the State Savings Bank was excellent, +at least through 1969. The proportion of delinquent loans was reduced +from 3.1 percent in 1966 to 0.01 percent in 1969. This result was +achieved by a regulation that provided for penalties to be imposed on +paymasters throughout the economy who failed to withhold or to report to +the bank monthly loan payments. According to a bank official, there had +been no need to impose any penalties because the regulation itself +proved to be an adequate deterrent.</p> + +<p>The loan repayment record of enterprises, trusts, and other economic +organizations has not been nearly so good and led to a tightening of +credit provisions in 1971. The proportion of overdue short-term loans in +the production sector increased from 10.7 percent in 1966 to 11.8 +percent in 1971. Similar information on long-term loans has not been +published.</p> + +<p>The penalty interest rate on delinquent loans is 10 percent (it was 8 +percent through 1970), compared to a normal range of 1 to 5 percent on +loans for working capital. Whenever a bank loan or supplier credit is +delinquent for more than three months and the delinquent amount exceeds +20 percent of the borrower's working capital, the borrower becomes +subject to a special credit and repayment regime, the specific +conditions of which are not known. The ultimate sanction is the refusal +of credit and, at times, even the replacement of the trust or enterprise +director. The special credit regime is also applied whenever a trust or +its branch (enterprise) stockpiles unneeded inventories; procures +materials for production without guaranteed outlets for the output; +undertakes a construction program without adequate financial provisions; +increases its obligations; or suffers a worsening of its financial +condition for any other reason.</p> + +<p>Interest costs in excess of those planned lower the economic +organization's income and, under the prevailing incentives system, also +reduce the funds available for the payment of wages, salaries, and +bonuses. Loan delinquency and the associated penalty interest rate, +therefore, often bring about the reduction or elimination of bonus +payments and, in extreme cases, the withholding of a portion of regular +pay. Application of the more severe sanctions entails a serious +deterioration of the economic organization's finances that adversely +affects its production program. Through close contact with borrowers and +detailed supervision of their operations the bank endeavors to forestall +delinquencies and the attendant losses to the economy. In December 1972 +the Council of Ministers adopted a decision to enhance <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</a></span>the role of the +banking system in administering the economy by intensifying its +participation in the formulation of economic plans and by expanding its +authority in monitoring plan fulfillment.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Currency</p> + +<p>The currency unit of the country is the lev, divided into 100 stotinki +(see Glossary). It is a nonconvertible currency with a variety of +exchange rates, usable only in domestic transactions. Since January 1, +1962, the lev has been officially defined to contain 759.548 milligrams +of fine gold—equivalent to 1.17 leva per US$1 at that time. This +exchange rate was valid only for commercial transactions. In the wake of +the United States dollar devaluation on December 18, 1971, the official +commercial exchange rate was set at 1.08 leva per US$1 (greenback—see +Glossary). A further revision of the exchange rate was put into effect +on February 13, 1973, which established a parity of 0.97 leva per US$1. +The subsequent decline in the value of the dollar in foreign markets did +not call forth another official exchange revaluation to mid-1973.</p> + +<p>The official tourist exchange rate for so-called capitalist currencies +underwent similar revisions and was set at 1.65 leva per US$1 on +February 14, 1973. The noncommercial rate for ruble area countries, +based on a parity of 0.78 leva per 1 ruble, was equivalent to 0.64 leva +per US$1 until that date; thereafter, at the new ruble-United States +dollar parity, it was equivalent to about 0.59 leva per US$1.</p> + +<p>In addition to the official exchange rates, there are three varieties of +clearing account rates. The multilateral transferable ruble is used to +clear accounts with other European members of the Council for Mutual +Economic Assistance (COMECON—see Glossary). Socialist bilateral units +arise from bilateral trade agreements with other communist countries. +Neither of these two exchange varieties has private markets abroad. +Bilateral clearing units arise from bilateral trade and payments +agreements with about thirty noncommunist trading partners. These +clearing units are traded sporadically abroad at varying rates of +discount.</p> + +<p>The lev has been traded on the black market in exchange for so-called +capitalist banknotes or gold coins. The black market rate of the lev +fluctuated between 4.60 leva per US$1 in January 1963 and 2.58 leva per +US$1 in June 1972.</p> + +<p>Except for small remittances or travel allocations to other communist +countries, the lev is nontransferable for residents; resident status +applies to all physical and juridical persons who have resided in the +country for more than six months, regardless of their citizenship. +Ownership of or trade in gold, foreign currencies, or so-called +capitalist securities is prohibited, as is the import and export of +Bulgarian banknotes. There are no investments by noncommunist country +nationals in Bulgaria.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</a></span>Exchange transactions are administered by the Bulgarian National Bank +jointly with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, and +the Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank. Bulgaria is neither a member of the +International Bank for Reconstruction and Development nor of the +International Monetary Fund. Statistics on currency in circulation, the +public debt, foreign exchange reserves, gold stocks, and the balance of +payments have not been published.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">FOREIGN TRADE</p> + +<p>Foreign trade is a state monopoly. Trade policy is formulated by the BKP +and government leadership; it is translated into a complex set of laws +and regulations designed to encourage the expansion and qualitative +improvement of production for export, to promote import substitution, +and to bring about greater efficiency in production and foreign trade +operations. Control over foreign trade is shared by the Ministry of +Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Finance, and the Bulgarian National Bank +through the Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank.</p> + +<p>Along with other elements of the economic structure, the foreign trade +apparatus and the laws and regulations governing foreign trade have been +frequently modified. As a result, there are two basic types of foreign +trade organization: those attached to and serving individual economic +trusts with a large export volume and organizations serving several +trusts whose export activity did not justify a separate export +department. Two foreign trade organizations that imported most +industrial materials were attached to economic trusts responsible for +the domestic distribution of supplies. Foreign trade organizations +affiliated with trusts retain their legal identity and are not +considered to be branches of the trusts they serve. Relations between +foreign trade organizations and the trusts whose products they handle +are governed by contracts, the framework of which is provided by +official regulations. As a rule, foreign trade organizations carry on +their activities for the account of the trust. There are a few +organizations, however, that trade for their own account, and there are +also a few economic trusts that have the right to engage in foreign +trade activity directly.</p> + +<p>Export plans are approved by the Council of Ministers for each economic +trust in physical and value terms and by major trading areas, that is, +member countries of COMECON, other communist countries, Western +industrialized nations, and developing countries. Trusts pass their +trade plans to foreign trade organizations. The plan of a single trust +may be apportioned among several foreign trade organizations, and many +foreign trade organizations receive plan assignments from several trusts +so that their own foreign trade plan is a composite.</p> + +<p>Under the regulations of 1971, as amplified in 1972, and unlike earlier +conditions, the financial results of export operations are directly +reflected in the producer's profit position. This circumstance <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</a></span>is +counted upon by the leadership to motivate trusts toward attaining +optimum efficiency in export production and toward adjusting output to +foreign market requirements. Financial incentives to surpass official +foreign trade targets are provided by allocating the producers and +foreign trade organizations a portion of the receipts from excess +exports and a portion of savings made on imports through import +substitution. Excess exports may not be made by diverting output +scheduled for the domestic market, and savings on imports may not be +made at the cost of quantitative or qualitative deterioration of the +domestic supply.</p> + +<p>Producers for export are obligated both to produce the items called for +by the export plan in accordance with specifications and to meet +contractual delivery dates; with few exceptions, they have no direct +contact with foreign buyers. It is the responsibility of the foreign +trade organizations to seek out the most profitable markets and to +handle all physical and financial details of the trade transactions. It +is also their duty to keep producers currently informed about changing +conditions in world markets and to make them aware of needed adjustments +in production.</p> + +<p>Standard subsidies per 100 leva, differing by trading area, are granted +on all exports. These subsidies, in effect, modify the official exchange +rate so that trade is actually conducted on a multiple exchange rate +basis. Subsidies from the state budget are also provided for exports, +the returns from which do not cover costs. Special bonuses are offered +to economic trusts and their branches that fulfill or surpass their +export assignments to noncommunist markets. Proceeds from exports are +credited to the economic trusts and not to the foreign trade +organizations.</p> + +<p>Relations between economic trusts and foreign trade organizations are +determined in broad outline by government regulations. Specific details, +however, including precise financial arrangements that are the core of +the relationship, must be worked out by the parties to the contract. +This situation provides opportunities for friction that may be harmful +to the export program. Trusts and export associations were therefore +enjoined to undertake negotiations in a cooperative spirit and to avoid +taking advantage of their monopoly position as producers or exporters. +Disputes that threaten to involve financial losses are to be settled by +the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Finance.</p> + +<p>Total trade turnover increased more than 3.5 times in the 1960-71 period +to a level of 5 billion leva, including 2.55 billion leva in exports and +2.45 billion leva in imports. The growth of trade was erratic, +particularly in the case of imports. Over the entire 1960-68 period, +however, the average annual growth of exports and imports was almost +identical—13.9 and 13.8 percent, respectively. In the subsequent three +years exports rose almost twice as rapidly as imports, though <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</a></span>at a +lower rate than in earlier years. The change in the relative rates of +growth during the 1969-71 period—10.5 percent for exports and 5.6 +percent for imports—helped reverse the consistently negative trade +balance of the earlier period and produced trade surpluses in three +consecutive years.</p> + +<p>The great bulk of the trade has been carried on with communist +countries, primarily the Soviet Union. The share of these countries in +total trade, however, declined from 85 percent in 1961 to 78 percent in +1970; it had fallen to 73 percent in 1966. Communist countries outside +COMECON, primarily Cuba and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North +Vietnam), accounted for only 3 to 4 percent of the trade annually. The +Soviet Union alone provided more than half the imports and absorbed an +equal amount of exports. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) +and Czechoslovakia were the main COMECON trading partners after the +Soviet Union, but the volume of trade with these countries was very much +lower. The share of East Germany in the total trade had been 10.5 +percent in 1960 but ranged between 8 and 8.6 percent in the 1965-70 +period. The proportion of trade with Czechoslovakia declined from 9.7 +percent in 1960 to only 4.8 percent in 1970.</p> + +<p>The orientation of trade toward the Soviet Union has been based largely +on political factors but has also been dictated by the shortage of +export goods salable in Western markets and the inadequacy of foreign +exchange reserves (see ch. 10). Trade with COMECON members is conducted +on the basis of bilateral clearing accounts that do not involve the use +of foreign exchange. Furthermore, the Soviet Union has supplied Bulgaria +with a large volume of industrial plants and equipment in exchange for +the products of these plants. In the 1971-75 period trade with the +Soviet Union is scheduled to increase by 60 percent over the volume in +the preceding five-year period, and the share of the Soviet Union in the +total trade volume is planned to reach 68 percent.</p> + +<p>Trade with noncommunist countries rose from about 15 percent of the +total volume in 1961 to 27 percent in 1966 but declined thereafter to 22 +percent in 1970. From three-fourths to four-fifths of this trade was +accounted for by Western industrialized nations, primarily the Federal +Republic of Germany (West Germany), Italy, France and Great Britain. The +balance of the noncommunist trade was with developing countries, mainly +India, the United Arab Republic (UAR), and Iraq. Trade with the United +States has been negligible.</p> + +<p>There has been a gradual shift in exports from agricultural to +industrial commodities and from raw materials to manufactured and +semiprocessed products. Yet in 1970 exports of agricultural origin still +constituted 55 percent of the export volume, including 8 percent of raw +farm products. The share of industrial exports rose from 25 percent in +1960 to 45 percent in 1970, of which 13 and 27 percent, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</a></span>respectively, +consisted of machinery and equipment. In 1972 the proportion of +machinery and equipment in exports was reported to have risen to 34 +percent.</p> + +<p>Machinery and equipment have been exported almost exclusively to +communist and developing countries. In 1968, the last year for which +information was available, machinery and equipment constituted only 1.8 +percent of exports to Western industrialized nations.</p> + +<p>Imports in the 1960-70 period consisted predominantly of machinery and +equipment, fuels, raw and processed industrial materials, and raw farm +commodities. Imports of foods and industrial consumer goods were limited +to about 10 percent per year. Machinery and equipment constituted from +40 to 44 percent of imports; fuels and industrial materials accounted +for about one-third; and agricultural raw materials made up the balance.</p> + +<p>In the 1960-70 period the country's overall trade balance was negative +each year with the exception of 1969 and 1970. The trade deficit for the +entire period amounted to 580 million leva, including 530 million leva +in the trade with noncommunist countries and 50 million leva in the +trade with communist partners. A breakdown of the trade balance by all +four trading areas was available only for the 1965-70 period. For that +period the overall trade deficit amounted to 278 million leva. Whereas +trade with communist and developing countries had positive balances of +148 million leva and 154 million leva, trade with developed Western +countries accumulated a deficit of 580 million leva. Almost all of this +deficit was incurred in the years 1965 through 1967, when government +controls over foreign trade were temporarily relaxed in an aborted +economic reform. Under the system of bilateral agreements governing +Bulgaria's trade, the surplus in the trade with communist and developing +countries cannot be used to offset the deficit with Western trading +partners.</p> + +<p>Data bearing on the balance of payments have never been published. The +Soviet Union has granted substantial loans to Bulgaria since 1946, some +of which were used to finance imports from that country. Bulgaria, in +turn, has made some loans to developing countries to help finance its +exports. A portion of the deficit with Western trading partners may be +offset by income from the rising Western European tourist trade, +particularly with West Germany. A reputable Western source reported +Bulgaria's indebtedness to Western nations to have been US$88 million in +1971, but the basis of this estimate and the degree of its reliability +are not known.</p> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER 13</h2> + +<h3>AGRICULTURE</h3> + + +<p>In the spring of 1973 the country's political and governmental +leadership expressed serious concern about the uneven growth of +agriculture over a period of several years. Although wheat production +had progressed satisfactorily and reached a record level in 1972, and +good results had also been obtained in the cultivation of tobacco and +tomatoes—both of which are important export crops—the expansionary +trend in fruit growing was reversed in 1968, and cattle raising had +stagnated for at least a decade.</p> + +<p>The situation was particularly disappointing to the leadership because +in 1970 it had embarked on a comprehensive long-range program for +raising agricultural productivity and output through the introduction of +industrial production methods on the farms. To that end the country's +farms were consolidated into 170 agroindustrial complexes intended to +bring the advantages of scientific organization, concentration and +specialization of production, mechanization, and automation to all +phases of agricultural work. Planning for these complexes has been +concentrated at the highest government level, and any modification of +the obligatory plans requires the approval of the Council of Ministers.</p> + +<p>In this process the traditional distinction between state and collective +property has been blurred and is slated for gradual elimination; the +same is true for the differences in status of industrial and farm +workers. The new approach to farm organization was taken despite severe +shortages of adequately trained management and technical personnel and +in the face of the demonstrated superior productivity of tiny farm plots +cultivated for their own benefit by individual farm and industrial +workers.</p> + +<p>It is difficult to arrive at a comprehensive and balanced assessment of +agricultural development and of the situation in the 1972/73 +agricultural year because of the continuing changes in the agricultural +regime and the lack of essential data. All published information, +including critical comments, emanates from controlled official sources. +The press output tends to concentrate on problem areas, treating other +aspects in uninformative generalities. Officials and press have been +especially silent on the question of the farmers' reactions to the new +agricultural order, beyond claiming the farmers' whole-hearted support +for every new agricultural edict.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</a></span>CLIMATE AND SOILS</p> + +<p>Natural conditions are generally favorable for agriculture. Fertile +soils and a varied climate make possible the cultivation of a wide +variety of field crops, fruits, and vegetables, including warm-weather +crops, such as cotton, tobacco, rice, sesame, and grapes. Frequent +summer droughts, however, lead to wide fluctuations in crop yields and +necessitate extensive irrigation.</p> + +<p>The Stara Planina (literally, Old Mountain), or Balkan Mountains, divide +the country into several climatic and agricultural regions. The broad +Danubian tableland that lies north of these mountains has a continental +climate, except for a narrow strip along the Black Sea coast. Cold +winter winds sweep across the plateau from the Eurasian land mass, +causing prolonged periods of frost, which tend to damage orchards and +vineyards. There are 180 to 215 frost-free days in the year, and summers +are hot. A continental climate also prevails in the Sofia Basin and in +the region surrounding the headwaters of the Struma River.</p> + +<p>In the Thracian Plain, south of the Stara Planina, the continental +climate is modified somewhat by the influence of the Mediterranean Sea. +Compared to the Danubian plateau, winters are less severe, and summers +are longer and warmer. The number of frost-free days per year ranges +from 198 to 206. A near-Mediterranean climate prevails in the valleys of +the lower Struma, Mesta, and Maritsa rivers; in the Arda basin; and on +the southern slopes of the Rodopi (or Rhodope Mountains) (see ch. 3). +The mountains protect the inland valleys and basins from strong winds; +summers there are hot, and winters are mild. Yet winters are not mild +enough for the cultivation of Mediterranean crops, such as olives and +citrus fruits.</p> + +<p>The Black Sea coast is warmer than the interior of the country in winter +but cooler in summer; from 241 to 260 days in the year are frost free. +Frequent gale storms and hot winds resembling the African sirocco, +however, have an adverse influence on crops.</p> + +<p>Although annual rainfall is reported to average about forty inches on +the higher mountain slopes and to reach seventy-five inches in the Rila +mountain range, precipitation in most farming areas averages only twenty +to twenty-five inches per year. Rainfall measures even less than twenty +inches in the Plovdiv area and in the coastal districts of the Dobrudzha +region in the northeast. Most of the rainfall occurs in the summer +months, but the amount and timing of precipitation are often unfavorable +for optimum crop growth. Drought conditions reached crisis proportions +in 1958 and 1963 and were serious also in 1968. In 1972 most crops were +adversely affected by a spring drought and excessive rains in the early +fall; the grape crop was an almost total loss.</p> + +<p>Soils of superior and intermediate quality make up almost three-fourths +of the country's surface. The Danubian plateau contains <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</a></span>several grades +of chernozem (black earth), which gradually give way to gray forest +soils in the foothills of the Stara Planina. A degraded chernozem called +<i>smolnitsa</i>, or pitch soil, predominates in the Thracian Plain, the +Tundzha and Burgas lowlands, and the Sofia Basin. This central region is +encircled at higher elevations by a belt of chestnut and brown forest +soils. Similar chestnut soils are also found in the Strandzha upland, in +the basins of the eastern Rodopi region, and in the Struma and Maritsa +valleys. Brown forest soils and mountain meadow soils occur in the Stara +Planina and in the Rila, Pirin, and western Rodopi. Alluvial soils, +often of good quality, are found alongside the rivers, particularly the +Danube and Maritsa, and also in several basins.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">LAND USE</p> + +<p>In 1970 agricultural land comprised almost 15 million acres, or 53 +percent of the country's land area. Sixty-nine percent of the +agricultural land was suitable for field crops; 4 percent consisted of +meadows; and about 6 percent was devoted to vineyards, orchards, and +other perennial crops. Natural pastures constituted more than 20 percent +of the agricultural land. Bulgarian economists have repeatedly pointed +out that the per capita acreage of farmland in the country, excluding +pastures, is among the lowest in the world.</p> + +<p>According to official statistics the area of agricultural land increased +by 840,000 acres in the 1960s as a result of the expansion of grazing +areas by 1.1 million acres and the simultaneous loss of 270,000 acres of +cultivated land. The loss of cultivated acreage was caused by the +diversion of land to industrial and other uses and by severe soil +erosion. The acreage devoted to vineyards and orchards nevertheless +increased by 100,000 acres, or 12 percent.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Land Protection</p> + +<p>More than half the cultivated acreage is subject to erosion. +Increasingly large areas degraded by erosion have remained uncultivated +each year, but they continue to be included in the annual statistics on +farmland acreage. The unused area of plowland expanded from 720,000 +acres in 1960 to 1.26 million acres in 1970. Another 1.5 million to 2 +million acres have been reported to suffer from erosion to a degree that +will make it necessary to abandon them unless corrective measures are +quickly taken. Only 70 percent of the acreage under fruit trees and +vineyards bore fruit in 1970.</p> + +<p>The government has long been aware of the need to arrest the loss of +cultivated farmland. An intensive program of reforestation has been +carried on over many years, but the rate of replanting has not been high +enough to halt the ravages of erosion. Proposals advanced by +agricultural experts to clear abandoned mountain farmland of noxious +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</a></span>weeds and to develop these areas into improved pastures—measures that +would also help control erosion—have not been acted upon.</p> + +<p>In 1967 the continued loss of valuable farmland led to the promulgation +of a special law for the preservation of land; details of this law are +not available. In 1972 the Council of Ministers issued an order, +effective January 1, 1973, that provided, in part, for payments to be +made into a special land improvement fund in the event of diversion of +farmland for construction purposes. Depending upon the quality of the +land, payments into the fund range from 162 leva (for the value of the +lev—see Glossary) to 48,560 leva per acre. Land used for afforestation, +cemeteries, and housing or public works under the jurisdiction of town +authorities is exempt from the payment requirement. The exemption also +applies to land used for open pit mining on condition that the land is +rehabilitated in accordance with plans and within time limits approved +by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Industry (hereafter referred +to as the Ministry of Agriculture).</p> + +<p>In 1970 the government created special district councils for the +preservation of cultivated land and, in May 1971, placed the councils +under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture. The decree of +1971 required the ministry and district governments to take decisive +measures for the increased protection of farmland. The decree also +directed the chief prosecutor's office to increase control over the +expropriation of farmland for construction and other nonagricultural +purposes and to impose severe penalties on violators of the land +protection law.</p> + +<p>The land protection measures were not sufficiently effective. The +acreage abandoned in the 1966-70 period was three times larger than the +area abandoned in the preceding five years. In January 1973 an inspector +of the Committee for State Control stated publicly that the farmland +problem had become increasingly more serious and that the committee was +obliged to intervene in order to identify shortcomings in the land +preservation work and to assist in eliminating the deficiencies. At the +same time the Council of Ministers reprimanded a deputy minister of +agriculture and the heads of two district governments for grave +shortcomings in the preservation and use of farmland.</p> + +<p>In an effort to gain control over the deteriorating farmland situation, +a new land protection law that replaced the law of 1967 was passed in +March 1973. The new law explicitly provided that only land unsuitable +for agricultural purposes or farmland of low productivity could be put +to nonagricultural use. Under the law expansion of towns and villages +was to be allowed only after a specified density of construction had +been reached. Construction of country homes and resort facilities was +restricted to land unsuitable for agriculture. Provision was made for +regulations that would offer material and moral incentives to use +unproductive land for construction purposes, and more severe <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</a></span>penalties +were prescribed for violations that result in the waste of arable land.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Irrigation</p> + +<p>Somewhat better results have been achieved in the expansion of +irrigation. In the 1965-70 period the irrigable area increased at an +annual average of 44,000 acres from 2.25 million to 2.47 million acres, +or 21 percent of the cultivated land. Under the Sixth Five-Year Plan +(1971-75) 494,000 acres are to be added to the irrigable area, raising +the total irrigable acreage to 26 percent of the cultivated land. During +the first two years of the plan period 124,000 acres were equipped for +irrigation, and 80,000 acres were to be made irrigable in 1973. In order +to complete the five-year irrigation program on schedule, therefore, it +would be necessary to bring under irrigation 270,000 acres in the last +two years of the plan period—a task not likely to be accomplished in +the light of past experience and of available resources.</p> + +<p>Only about 70 percent of the irrigable acreage was actually irrigated in +the 1965-70 period. Although the irrigated area of 1.7 million acres in +1970 represented an increase of 21 percent of the acreage irrigated in +1965, it was 17 percent smaller than the acreage irrigated in 1968.</p> + +<p>Primitive gravity irrigation is practiced on about nine-tenths of the +irrigated area. Water is distributed over the fields from unlined +earthen canals by means of furrows dug with a hoe. The work entails hard +manual labor, and a single worker can handle only about 1.25 to 2.5 +acres per day. The timing of the water application and the quantity of +water used are not properly adjusted to the needs of the various crops, +so that the increase in yields is only half as great as that obtained +under optimum conditions, and about half the water is wasted. The +network of irrigation ditches also impedes mechanical cultivation of the +fields. Improper irrigation and drainage techniques have raised the +groundwater level excessively in several districts and have caused +various degrees of soil salinization in areas totaling more than 39,000 +acres.</p> + +<p>The five-year plan program for new irrigated areas calls for the +construction of stationary sprinkler systems over 25,000 acres; 469,000 +acres are to be provided with portable sprinkler systems. Reconstruction +and modernization of existing basic facilities are to be limited to the +lining of canals. The ultimate longer term goal is to establish fully +automated stationary sprinkler systems in most irrigated districts. The +main problems in carrying out the irrigation program, in the view of an +irrigation authority official, are posed by the paucity of investment +funds allotted for this purpose and the contradictory nature of some of +the program's aims. Additional difficulties are presented by the +shortage of irrigation pipes and materials for their fabrication, +inadequate experience in the manufacture of advanced <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</a></span>irrigation +equipment, and the lack of facilities for experimentation and testing.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Cropping Pattern</p> + +<p>The area of field crops amounted to almost 9 million acres in 1970; it +had declined by 887,000 acres after 1960. The proportions of this +acreage devoted to the major types of crops were: grains, 62.5 percent; +industrial crops, 14.6 percent; feed crops, 18.7 percent; and +vegetables, potatoes, and melons, 4.2 percent. In accord with the +government's policy of intensifying agricultural production, the acreage +of bread grains had steadily declined, so that in 1970 it constituted +somewhat less than half the total grain acreage. The area of feed grains +remained fairly stable; a decline in corn acreage was virtually balanced +by an increase in the acreage of barley. A slight reduction also took +place in the acreage of pulses, but the area under rice expanded by 70 +percent.</p> + +<p>Whereas the total area of industrial crops changed very little in the +1960-70 period, a significant shift took place in the relative size of +the individual crop areas. While the acreages of oilseeds and tobacco +expanded significantly, the acreages of fibers, particularly cotton, and +of essential oils and medicinal plants declined sharply.</p> + +<p>The area devoted to vegetables expanded by 20 percent. The tomato +acreage expanded at about twice that rate and accounted for one-fourth +of the vegetable acreage in 1970; tomatoes constitute an important +export crop. The potato acreage, on the other hand, declined by roughly +20 percent during the period.</p> + +<p>The area of fodder crops suffered a substantial decline, particularly in +the case of annual grasses and silage crops. The loss was only partially +offset by the expansion of the perennial grass acreage.</p> + +<p>Rapid expansion also took place in the areas of apple orchards and +vineyards. The acreage of bearing apple trees increased by about 70 +percent in the 1970-70 period. During the same period the acreage of +producing vineyards grew by 24 percent, while the acreage of table +grapes increased by 2.3 times. Fruits and grapes are also important +export commodities. Expansion of the total acreage under fruit trees and +berries, however, was much slower—17 percent in the 1960-68 period—and +a decline in the acreage set in after 1968. In the spring of 1973 Todor +Zhivkov, the communist party leader, called for decisive action to halt +the unfavorable trend. He reported that plans for orchard and berry +plantings were not fulfilled in 1972; that from 27,000 to 40,000 acres +of orchards had been uprooted over a period of a few years; and that the +vineyard acreage had declined by 25,000 acres compared with the acreage +in 1968. Reasons for these developments had not been made public.</p> + +<p>The little information available on the subject suggests that price +considerations have been the major reason for the crop acreage <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</a></span>changes. +The price system and official regulations governing farm production have +not always operated in the manner planned by the government. Farms, for +instance, have steadfastly refused to enlarge the acreage of irrigated +corn to the extent demanded by the government, preferring to use +irrigation for more profitable crops. In 1971 the farms failed to plant +the prescribed acreage of feed crops or to expand the production of +vegetables. Public statements by the government on the reasons for these +problems have been most guarded. After a thorough review of the +situation in the spring of 1972, the Committee for State Control issued +a release that concluded by stating that the reasons for the problems +were analyzed in detail and that, after discussion, specific proposals +were made to the appropriate ministries.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">ORGANIZATION</p> + +<p>The organizational structure of agriculture in all its aspects is in a +state of transition, which will not be completed for several years. The +reorganization was decided upon by the Central Committee of the BKP +(Bulgarian Communist Party—see Glossary) in April 1970 on the +initiative of Zhivkov. The latest of several laws and decrees published +in this context appeared in June 1972 with an effective date of January +1, 1973. The new organizational policy represents a tightening of +central controls over agriculture.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Agroindustrial Complexes</p> + +<p>The basic unit in the new organizational system, which is relied upon to +realize the leadership's agricultural policies, is the agroindustrial +complex. The agroindustrial complex is an organization comprising +several previously independent, contiguous collective and (or) state +farms having similar climatic and soil conditions. The complex may also +include other organizations that are engaged in the production, +processing, and distribution of farm products or in other activities +related predominantly to agriculture.</p> + +<p>In the fall of 1972 there were 170 agroindustrial complexes formed +through the consolidation of 845 collective farms and 170 state farms; +including the private plots of collective and state farmers, they +contained 92.5 percent of the cultivated land and accounted for 95.4 +percent of the farm output. Except for a few experimental units created +in 1969, most agroindustrial complexes were established toward the end +of 1970 and in early 1971. Only a small number of private farms located +in difficult mountain areas remained outside the new system.</p> + +<p>The average agroindustrial complex is composed of five or six farms +having a cultivated area variously reported as 59,000 to 68,000 acres +and a permanent work force of about 6,500 people. Although the large +size of the complexes has been questioned by several economists on +grounds of efficiency, Zhivkov was reported to have suggested the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</a></span>possibility of eventually merging the existing complexes into only +twenty-eight districtwide units.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin">Types and Aims</p> + +<p>The announced purpose of the reorganization is to increase productivity +through concentration and specialization of agriculture on an industrial +basis in accord with the requirements of the current scientific and +technical revolution and with the achieved level of maturity of the +country's economy. The reorganization is intended to increase output, +improve quality, reduce costs, and increase the exportable surplus. It +is also expected to bring about social improvement in the countryside by +raising the farmworkers' incomes and helping to reduce the differences +between town and country. Government officials intend to complete the +transition to the new organizational structure by 1980.</p> + +<p>The original aim of the new farm policy in the late 1960s was to create +large-scale regional organizations to handle all aspects of the +production, processing, and distribution of foods and the supply of +machinery, fertilizers, and other farm needs through vertical +integration of the consolidated farm organizations with industrial and +distribution enterprises. This aspect of farm policy is to be realized +gradually over a period of years. In the meantime vertical integration +will be based predominantly on contractual relations.</p> + +<p>A first step in vertical integration of agriculture and the food +industry was taken in December 1972 with the establishment of an +agroindustrial trust called Bulgarian Sugar. Seven agroindustrial +complexes were to be created around an equal number of sugar mills +grouped in the newly formed trust. The complexes were to average 100,000 +acres in size, one-fourth of which would be used each year for the +production of sugar beets. The first such complex was established in +Ruse in January 1973. The crop rotation is to include wheat, corn, and +fodder crops which, together with by-products from the sugar production, +are to provide the feed base for livestock keeping. All farmlands in the +new organization are to become state property, and farmworkers are to +acquire the status of industrial workers subject to the provisions of +the Labor Code.</p> + +<p>Two basic types of agroindustrial complexes are provided for by the +regulations. The first type is a membership organization in which the +constituent farms retain their juridical identity and a certain measure +of economic independence. The second type is a centralized organization +in which the constituent farms are merged and lose their separate +identities. A further distinction is made depending upon the nature of +the constituent farms and other economic organizations. Agroindustrial +complexes composed only of collective farms and other collective +organizations are called cooperative complexes. Those constituted by +state farms and other state economic organizations are known as state +complexes. If both state and collective farms or other organizations +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</a></span>are members, the complex is referred to as state-cooperative. The +distinctions have both legal and economic implications.</p> + +<p>In early 1971 the form of the 139 agroindustrial complexes established +up to that time was: collective, seventy-seven; state, seven; and +state-cooperative, fifty-five. Six complexes were created as centralized +organizations in which the constituent farms lost their legal +independence. The largest of these complexes covered an area of 145,000 +acres.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin">Legal and Economic Aspects</p> + +<p>The legal and economic aspects of the farm consolidation are extremely +involved, and most of the problems raised by consolidation have not been +worked out even theoretically. Activities of cooperative and +state-cooperative complexes are governed by the Provisional Regulation +issued in October 1970 and by earlier regulations concerning collective +organizations in matters not covered by the Provisional Regulation. +State agroindustrial complexes are subject to the same regulations that +apply to all state economic associations (trusts). The Ministry of +Agriculture was directed to prepare a draft statute for agroindustrial +complexes by the end of 1972, which was to be submitted at an indefinite +future date to the first agroindustrial complex conference for +discussion and adoption.</p> + +<p>Official statements and documents have emphasized the voluntary and +democratic nature of agroindustrial complexes. Zhivkov's report to the +Central Committee plenum stated that farms would be free to opt whether +or not to join a complex and which complex to join if they decided to do +so. They were also to have freedom of decision concerning the +establishment of joint enterprises. The plenum's decision used a broader +formulation by referring only to voluntarism in the formation of +agroindustrial complexes on the basis of mutual advantage. The +Provisional Regulation contains a clause that permits farms and other +organizations to withdraw from the agroindustrial complex at their own +request.</p> + +<p>Other provisions governing the establishment of agroindustrial +complexes, however, conflicted with the principle of voluntarism. The +composition, size, and production specialization of each complex was to +have a scientific foundation, and arbitrary decisions—as they were +called—as to which farms to include in a particular complex were not to +be tolerated. The requirement of territorial unity also nullified the +right of independent choice for most farms. Except for those located on +the borders of adjoining complexes, farms had perforce to join the +complex formed in their area. The speed with which the agroindustrial +complexes were formed throughout the entire country, with considerable +loss of independence for the farms, also suggests that the voluntary +nature of the complexes is a fiction. Available sources have contained +no reference to any change in the affiliation of farms from one complex +to another, let alone to the withdrawal of any <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</a></span>farm from a complex. The +decree on the organization and management of agriculture that went into +effect on January 1, 1973, contained no provision for a farm's +withdrawal from an agroindustrial complex.</p> + +<p>The major tasks assigned to the agroindustrial complexes include: the +creation of large specialized units for the various types of +agricultural production; the introduction of mechanized industrial +methods of production; the efficient application of human and material +resources; and the equitable distribution of income to workers and +managers in a manner that will provide an incentive for conscientious +work. Only preliminary official directives have been issued to guide the +agroindustrial complexes in these matters. Economists, agricultural +scientists, and officials have labored to develop a scientific basis for +the effective solution of the problems of transition.</p> + +<p>One of the basic issues raised by the creation of agroindustrial +complexes concerns the ownership of land in the new organizations, +particularly in complexes that unite collective and state farms. +Legally, collective farm members retained ownership of the land they +contributed to the collective, although they have been unable to +exercise any ownership rights. Until 1961 collective farm members +received a rental payment for the land in the annual distribution of the +farm's income. There is an apparent official reluctance for political +reasons abruptly to convert collective property to state ownership. +Public statements have indicated that the difference between collective +and state property may be eliminated by transforming both into national +property. Under the prevailing economic system the distinction between +state and national property is purely verbal.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Private Farm Plots</p> + +<p>In the current reorganization of agriculture there is no intention to +eliminate the time-honored institution of private subsidiary farm plots +held by collective farm members, state farm and industrial workers, +artisans, and other individuals. In the 1965-70 period private plots +constituted only 10 percent of the farmland, yet in 1968 they accounted +for 22 percent of the crop output and 33 percent of the livestock +output. In 1970 the proportions of livestock products contributed by the +private plots were: milk, 23 percent; meat and wool, 31 percent; eggs, +50 percent; honey, 70 percent; and silk, 89 percent.</p> + +<p>Despite the support of private farm plots by the leadership, many local +officials consider them to be incompatible with the socialist system and +place various obstacles, often illegal, in the way of their operation. +In the directives for the Sixth Five-Year Plan the party reaffirmed the +importance of private farm plots as a reserve for the increase of farm +output and particularly of livestock production. In a subsequently +published decree, which lifted restrictions on livestock rearing on +private plots, the party and government again stressed that <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</a></span>private +plots will be an important source of products for their owners and for +sale to the state.</p> + +<p>The growing importance of private plots for collective farmers was +disclosed by income data published in the spring of 1973. In the 1960-70 +period the average annual income of permanently employed collective +farmers from private plots increased from 251 leva to 620 leva, while +the average remuneration for work performed on the collective property +rose from 458 leva to 847 leva. Whereas the growth of income from +collective farm work amounted to 85 percent, income from private plots +advanced by 147 percent.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT</p> + +<p>Agricultural planning has been highly centralized by the decree +effective January 1, 1973. The system of planning has been made to +conform to the system used for other sectors of the economy, with some +allowances for the specific conditions of agricultural organization and +production. Planning is to encompass long-range (ten to fifteen-years), +five-year, and annual plans that must be coordinated with a general plan +for regional development.</p> + +<p>Planning in agriculture is to be based on the balancing of inputs and +outputs and the use of government-determined long-range norms, limits, +and indexes. Wide use is to be made of econometric models in the search +for optimal solutions. The norms, limits, and indexes are to be +elaborated in direct relation to the natural and economic conditions of +individual agroindustrial complexes, crop varieties, kinds and breeds of +livestock, farm technology, and the availability of physical resources +and manpower. The norms, limits, and indexes are to be of such a nature +as to contribute to a continuous upgrading of agricultural efficiency, +that is, they will become increasingly more demanding as time +progresses. They are binding for planners and managers at all levels +from the central government authorities down to the farm.</p> + +<p>In essence the agricultural plan consists of state-imposed production +targets and estimates of resources to be allocated for their attainment, +together with detailed directives for the use of the resources and for +the introduction of technological improvements. Responsibility for +fulfilling the planned tasks rests upon the management of the +agroindustrial complexes. The planned targets and conditions for their +attainment are formulated for each individual complex by the State +Planning Committee together with the Ministry of Agriculture and the +local district people's council; all plans are approved by the Council +of Ministers.</p> + +<p>Ten groups of norms, limits, and indexes enter into the formulation of +plan targets. They specify progressive technical measures to be +introduced; the physical volume of each crop and livestock product to be +sold to the state; the volume of capital investment and its specific +uses; consumption norms for all materials, parts, and products in +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</a></span>accordance with a list approved by the Council of Ministers; allowable +expenditures for each 100 leva of farm products and for labor +remuneration per 100 leva of total income; norms for the formation of +various operating and reserve funds and for material incentives; and +limits for the development of social amenities within the agroindustrial +complex.</p> + +<p>The five-year plan tasks are broken down by years and may be changed +only in exceptional cases. The required changes may be made by the +Ministry of Agriculture, with the approval of the State Planning +Committee, upon request made by the executive committee of the district +people's council. Whenever a specific change is introduced, all +necessary corrections must be made to maintain the overall balance of +the plan.</p> + +<p>The agroindustrial complexes must distribute the planned tasks handed to +them from above among their constituent units in accordance with +standards and conditions spelled out by the Ministry of Agriculture. The +district people's councils are required to take an active part in the +process of coordinating the plan and in measures for its attainment +among the units of the agroindustrial complex. On the basis of the state +plan each agroindustrial complex and its constituent parts must prepare +what has been called a counterplan, that is, a plan that sets higher +goals than those officially established.</p> + +<p>The large size and diversified operations of the agroindustrial +complexes place a heavy demand upon the expertise of management. Most of +the available specialists do not have the requisite training to solve +the numerous problems posed by planning and operational direction under +the new conditions. Adaptation of agricultural school curricula to the +new requirements and speedy retraining of specialists are therefore +considered to be most urgent.</p> + +<p>Some optimistic agricultural officials place high hopes in the +introduction of computer-based automatic control systems. An electronic +computer center was established at the Ministry of Agriculture in 1969, +staffed by a group of 104 enthusiastic young specialists. They undertook +the task of developing a single automated control system for agriculture +and food production in the entire country by 1975, to be based on a +number of integrated local and regional computer centers. By the end of +1970 the computer center had worked out annual plans for several farms +and a plan for hothouse production in the country. It was in the process +of finding a solution to a basic problem of the feed industry—a +solution that would also drastically reduce the industry's +transportation costs.</p> + +<p>Considerable attention has also been given to the problem of +communication in connection with the internal direction of the +agroindustrial complexes' varied activities. Here, too, the idea has +been advanced for automated control centers from which instructions +would be issued to all operating divisions and workers in the field +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</a></span>through radiotelephones or similar equipment. In this context a +university instructor analyzing the management problems of +agroindustrial complexes remarked that it was premature to speak of +modern administrative and management methods as long as it was easier +and faster to go by car from the farm center to any of the neighboring +villages than to reach them by telephone.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">LABOR AND WAGES</p> + +<p>Official data on manpower and employment in agriculture are incomplete +and incommensurate. The number of people gainfully employed in +agriculture in 1970 was reported to have been 35.2 percent of the total +in the economy, compared to 54.7 percent in 1960 and 44.9 percent in +1965. Full-time employment on farms of the agroindustrial complexes in +1970 was reported as 1,117,000 people—a reduction of 278,000 from the +1,395,000 employed in 1965. Yet the number of female collective +farmworkers alone in 1969 was reported to have been 1,682,000, more than +1 million of whom participated full or part time in the collective work +of the farms. No explanation concerning the discrepancies in these +reported figures was available. The Sixth Five-Year Plan is variously +reported to call for the transfer of an additional 220,000 or 350,000 +people from the farms to nonagricultural employment.</p> + +<p>The out-migration, mostly of young people, from agriculture brought +about a deterioration in the age structure of the remaining farm +population. The proportion of the sixteen- to twenty-five-year-old age +group on farms was only 9.2 percent in 1969, compared to 22.3 percent in +industry. Conversely, the proportion of persons fifty-five years and +older was 29.1 percent in agriculture, compared to 8.6 percent in +industry. The program for the modernization and intensification of +agricultural production and, more particularly, the planned high level +of mechanization demand the employment of large numbers of highly +skilled young people. A series of economic, social, and cultural +measures is therefore urgently needed to halt the drain of young +manpower from the farms.</p> + +<p>By 1971 the agricultural school system had not adapted its training +programs to the actual needs of the emerging agroindustrial complexes. +At the same time a serious problem in the employment of available +technicians was presented by the scornful attitude of many farm managers +toward specialists with secondary education. In 1971 farms employed more +than 4,000 people without the requisite training in various professional +positions. Although some of them may have compensated by experience for +the lack of training, the situation was considered deplorable by a +number of agricultural economists.</p> + +<p>Under previously prevailing conditions, payments to farmworkers differed +widely, depending upon the income levels of the individual farms. Under +the new law wages for all farmworkers are to be <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</a></span>gradually standardized +on the principle of equal wages for equal work. Work input is to be +measured on the basis of uniform labor norms differentiated according to +natural conditions. In determining the wage level, consideration will +also be given to increases in productivity, cost reduction, and the +accumulation of investment funds by the farms. Distribution of the +farm's income is to be carried out on the basis of a resolution by the +Council of Ministers, details of which were not available in early 1973. +Its main import is that the total remuneration of farmworkers, over and +above their wages, will remain dependent upon the overall results of the +individual farms. All farmworkers are entitled to a minimum wage of 80 +leva per month, and members of previously independent collective farms +retain their right to advance payments against their estimated final +income shares.</p> + +<p>Little substantive information is available on the current practice of +remunerating people working on farms. The decree that went into effect +on January 1, 1973, directed that the formation and distribution of +incomes of all agroindustrial complexes and their constituent farms be +based on a uniform system and on the principle that each farm must be +fully self-supporting. Each farm must establish a wage fund calculated +as a percentage of its total income. In the event that this fund is +inadequate to cover legitimate wage requirements, the farms may draw +upon two other obligatory funds or resort to bank credits.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">INVESTMENT AND MECHANIZATION</p> + +<p class="cen">Investment</p> + +<p>In the 1960-71 period annual investment in agriculture increased from +381 million to 548 million leva, but it declined as a proportion of +total investment from 28 to 15 percent. A substantial portion of the +agricultural investment was used to equip new state farms established on +previously collective farmlands. Investment funds were used for the +construction of farm buildings, machinery repair stations, and +irrigation facilities and for the acquisition of farm machinery. On the +basis of cultivated acreage, state farms received more investment than +collective farms, but the disproportion was gradually reduced and become +quite small by 1970. In that year state farms had about 15 percent more +fixed assets per acre of cultivated land than the collective farms.</p> + +<p>With the formation of agricultural complexes discrimination in +investment between the two types of farms is being eliminated along with +other distinctions. Investment plans are to be uniformly based on the +needs of the entire complex regardless of the former status of its +constituent farms. Needs will be evaluated mainly on the basis of +government programs for individual kinds of production, the availability +of manpower, and the natural conditions of the farms and complexes.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</a></span>Agricultural investment in the 1971-75 period was planned at about 2.7 +billion leva. This sum constitutes only 13.5 percent of the total +planned investment and implies the maintenance of annual agricultural +investment at the level of 1970. It also reflects the continued +underinvestment in agriculture in favor of industry, despite the +grandiose, plans for agricultural transformation, considering that +agriculture contributed 22 percent of the national income in 1970. In +that year a Soviet economist observed that the small proportion of +national resources allotted to agriculture in the past was responsible +for the slow growth of that important economic sector and that the +increase in the mechanization of farms was not sufficient to offset the +loss of manpower. The leadership's policy of placing agriculture on an +industrial footing and mechanizing production demands increased +investment in machinery and other physical facilities. The low +investment decreed for the 1971-75 period is not in keeping with that +policy.</p> + +<p>A national conference on construction in agriculture, convened in the +spring of 1972, was devoted to the study of shortcomings in capital +construction. The underlying causes of unsatisfactory performance were +analyzed, and persons responsible for the failures were identified. The +findings of the conference were not published, but an account of the +conference contained references to inadequate project planning, poor +design, acceptance of inferior equipment, delays in the completion of +construction, and cost overruns. A sympathetic foreign observer noted a +disproportionately large allocation of investment funds to building +construction compared with the funds allotted for farm machinery.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Mechanization</p> + +<p>At the beginning of 1971 Bulgarian agriculture possessed about 53,600 +tractors with a total of 1.4 million horsepower—the equivalent of about +sixteen horsepower per 100 acres of plowed land. The horsepower of the +tractor inventory increased by 2.3 times after 1960, but a portion of +that increase was offset by the loss of more than 358,000 horses and +buffalo. In 1970 Bulgaria had more tractor power per acre than any other +Eastern European communist country except Czechoslovakia and more horses +per acre than any of these countries with the exception of Hungary, +which had a slightly larger number.</p> + +<p>Grain combines on farms numbered 9,340, or 2.4 combines for each 1,000 +acres of grain crops. In this regard Bulgaria ranked above the Soviet +Union and at the average of the other Eastern European communist +countries. Nevertheless, according to the minister of agriculture, only +about 50 percent of the labor in wheat production was mechanized in +1972, even though wheat production was considered to be the most highly +mechanized branch of agriculture. In other production branches the level +of mechanization was extremely low.</p> + +<p>According to scattered Bulgarian press reports the supply of farm +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</a></span>machinery is inadequate for the needs, unbalanced as to composition, +and inferior in design and physical condition. Many of the available +tractors and combines are overage and obsolete. The situation is +aggravated by chronic shortages of spare parts for both domestic and +imported equipment. Production of parts is inhibited by its relatively +low profitability, despite incentives offered by the government.</p> + +<p>Under the Sixth Five-Year Plan farm machinery valued at 780 million leva +is to be delivered to agriculture from domestic sources and from the +Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON—see Glossary). This +machinery is to include more powerful tractors and grain combines, +milking machines, and sprinkler irrigation systems. Machinery is also to +be provided for the harvesting of corn, sugar beets, cotton, rice, +fruits, and vegetables and for the harvesting and processing of feed +crops. Adequate information on the progress of the mechanization program +during the first two years of the five-year period is not available, but +there is evidence that shortages of spare parts and trained operators +continued to immobilize substantial numbers of farm machines.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">MARKETING</p> + +<p>The marketing of farm products has been geared to the fixed five-year +plan quotas for sales to the state. It is based on bilateral contracts +between trusts in the food-processing industry and agroindustrial +complexes or their constituent units. Contracts are concluded for a +five-year period and are broken down by years. They cover the entire +farm output specified in the counterplans at prices officially revised +on January 1, 1973. The price system includes bonuses for quality; these +bonuses are payable only after a specified portion of the contracted +quantity has been delivered and vary in relation to the total volume of +product delivered. The intent of the bonuses is to stimulate product +improvement without encouraging production beyond the planned limits. +Excess production would destroy the balance of the plan.</p> + +<p>Provisions of the marketing contracts were worked out by the Ministry of +Agriculture and the State Arbitration Commission with the agreement of +the government departments involved. Provisions concerning the +performance of contractual obligations were strengthened compared with +those previously in force. They established financial incentives and +sanctions not only for the contracting organizations but also for their +top managers as individuals, based upon the end results of their joint +work.</p> + +<p>Each food-processing trust engaged in the procurement of farm products +must establish a fund for the promotion of their production, for +improving farming methods, and for modernizing the farm's physical +facilities. The funds are to be used in the first place for stimulating +the output of products required on the domestic market and for export. +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</a></span>The allocation of promotional funds is to be in accord with a program +worked out jointly by the trust and the agroindustrial complex; the +program constitutes an integral part of the procurement contract.</p> + +<p>Farms, individual farmers, and private agricultural producers may sell +some of their products at retail directly to consumers in cooperative +markets at prices not exceeding those charged by state retail stores. In +some instances and for some products sale on a commission basis through +state and cooperative outlets is also allowed. The sale of meat, meat +products, and alcoholic beverages in cooperative markets is prohibited +as is also the sale of any product through middlemen. Cooperative +markets are subordinated to the trade organs of municipal authorities. +Violations of applicable regulations are subject to penalties the +severity of which depends upon the nature of the offenses. Information +on the total volume of direct sales by agricultural producers is not +available. The share of collective farms in cooperative market sales, +however, declined from 53 percent in 1959 to 16 percent in 1970.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">PRODUCTION</p> + +<p class="cen">Growth and Structure</p> + +<p>As a result of continued emphasis on the country's industrialization, +the share of agriculture in national income (net material product) was +only 22 percent in 1970, compared to 31 percent ten years earlier. +According to official sources, however, output continued to rise. It +increased at an average annual rate of 4.8 percent in the 1960-67 +period, declined by 10 percent in 1968, and regained the 1967 level in +1970. An increase of 8 percent in the next two years raised the farm +output in 1972 to a level 50 percent above the output level in 1960. For +the entire period the average annual increase in farm output was 3.4 +percent.</p> + +<p>Livestock production was reported to have increased more rapidly than +crop production in the 1960-70 period; the respective average annual +rates of growth in output were 4.1 and 2.9 percent. Crop output in 1970 +was 33 percent larger than output in 1960, whereas livestock output was +50 percent higher. Available data are inadequate to reconcile the +reported growth in the value of livestock production with a seemingly +inconsistent rise in the physical output of livestock products and +changes in livestock herds.</p> + +<p>The structure of farm output in 1970 did not differ materially from the +structure in 1960. The share of crops in the total output declined from +67.3 to 64.7 percent, while the share of livestock production rose +correspondingly from 32.7 to 35.3 percent. The proportions of grains and +technical crops were identical in both years. The share of vegetables, +potatoes, and melons declined slightly, but the proportion of feed crops +dropped from 9.2 to 6.2 percent. The lag in the growth rate <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</a></span>of feed +production has contributed to the difficulties in the livestock sector.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Crops</p> + +<p>With the exception of rye, potatoes, hemp, and cotton, output of all +major crops increased substantially in the 1960s (see table 16). The +production of rye declined sharply as a result of the diversion of rye +acreage to the production of more valuable crops. By 1970 rye output had +become insignificant—less than 1 percent of the volume of wheat +produced in that year. The decline in potato production was minor, but +the output of raw cotton declined by 15 percent. The largest increases +were attained in the production of alfalfa and table grapes—crops that +are important for livestock production and export, respectively. Barley +output, important for livestock and beer production, rose by 82 percent. +Wheat output surpassed 3 million tons in 1970; it reached 3.56 million +tons in 1972.</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><i>Table 16. Bulgaria, Production of Major Crops, Annual Average,<br /> Selected +Years, 1958-60 to 1966-70, and 1970</i> (in thousands of tons)</p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 16"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="40%">Crops</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">Average 1958-60</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">Average 1961-65</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">Average 1966-70</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1970</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Wheat</td> + <td class="tdcx">2,376</td> + <td class="tdcx">2,208</td> + <td class="tdcx">2,919</td> + <td class="tdcx">3,032</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Rye</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 97</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 58</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 35</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 28</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Barley</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 542</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 694</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 986</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,167</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Corn (grain)</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,298</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,601</td> + <td class="tdcx">2,147</td> + <td class="tdcx">2,375</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Sunflower seeds</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 281</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 338</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 462</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 407</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Hemp (dry stem)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 62</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 49</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 62</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 55</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Cotton (raw)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 54</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 39</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 46</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 36</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Tobacco (oriental)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 77</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 101</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 109</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 112</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Sugar beets</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,328</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,440</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,862</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,714</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Tomatoes</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 525</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 738</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 716</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 685</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Potatoes</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 383</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 400</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 380</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 374</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Alfalfa</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 598</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 951</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,443</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,719</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Apples</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 265</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 315</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 402</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 363</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Grapes</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 721</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,006</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,133</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 884</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz"> (Table grapes)</td> + <td class="tdcxz"> (135) </td> + <td class="tdcxz"> (267) </td> + <td class="tdcxz"> (313) </td> + <td class="tdcxz"> (263) </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">Source: Adapted from <i>Statistical Yearbook, 1971</i>, Sofia, 1971, pp. + 120-122.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p>Virtually all wheat grown in the country is a hard red winter wheat of +good quality, somewhat softer than durum wheat. Cultivation of durum +wheat has been almost completely abandoned because of its low yield. The +possibility has been suggested, however, that production of durum may be +resumed eventually on the basis of newly developed, more productive +varieties. Durum wheat requirements for the manufacture of noodles, +semolina, and other products have been imported against payment in +foreign currencies.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</a></span>Increases in the output and yields of crops were reported to have been +achieved through the introduction of improved plant varieties and seeds, +better cultivation practices, expanded irrigation, greater use of +fertilizers, and more effective disease and pest control. The supply of +fertilizers to agriculture, in terms of plant nutrients, increased from +about 49,000 tons in 1956 to 842,000 tons in 1968 but thereafter +declined sharply to only 692,000 tons in 1969 and 635,000 tons in 1971. +In 1972 the fertilizer supply improved by a mere 10,000 tons. The bulk +of the decline was in phosphates and potash, imports of which were +drastically curtailed after 1968, presumably because of the shortage of +foreign exchange.</p> + +<p>The supply of pesticides also depends very largely upon imports. +Deliveries to agriculture rose from less than 10,000 tons in 1960 to +almost 12,900 tons in 1965, declined to 11,150 tons in 1969, and then +surpassed the 1965 supply by 300 tons in 1971. The need for a drastic +increase in the use of pesticides and fungicides is indicated by the +official estimate that annual losses from crop diseases, pests, and +weeds amount to from 150 to 200 million leva.</p> + +<p>Despite the progress made, agricultural technicians continue to call +attention to the persistence of faulty practices in all phases of crop +production—practices that tend to lower crop yields and retard +agricultural growth. Traditionally a single variety of wheat has been +grown throughout the entire country, despite variations in soil and +climatic conditions. Although yields generally rose with the successive +introduction of better varieties, they remained low and of inferior +quality in areas poorly adapted for the cultivation of a particular +variety. Specialists have stressed the need for diversification of +varieties, particularly under conditions of regionally defined +agroindustrial complexes.</p> + +<p>A task force for scientific and technical aid to agriculture, formed by +the government at the end of 1965, uncovered the appearance and rapid +dispersion of new grain diseases. Dry rot, which had assumed significant +proportions in 1961, caused the most severe losses of wheat in 1970 and +1971, when 1.2 million acres were affected by the disease, mainly in the +northern grain-growing part of the country. Wheat flower blight, long +known in Bulgaria, became particularly widespread in 1965 after the +introduction of a new wheat variety highly susceptible to that disease. +Losses from this source reached about 15 to 20 percent.</p> + +<p>Propagation of diseases has been aided by faulty cultivation practices. +Excessively heavy seeding has been used increasingly to compensate for +inadequate soil preparation. The resultant overly thick stands of grain +are prone to lodging, which facilitates the spread of disease through +greater contact of the wheatstalks. The tendency to lodging and, thus, +to the spreading of disease is also encouraged by the improper use of +fertilizers. To compensate for the shortage of phosphatic fertilizers an +erroneous practice has developed of increasing the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</a></span>application of +nitrogenous fertilizers, thereby upsetting the proper balance of plant +nutrients. The resultant excessive vegetative growth weakens the grain +stalks and induces lodging of the grain. Lodging also causes heavy +losses through the germination of kernels and through major difficulties +in harvesting.</p> + +<p>Damage to wheat and barley crops from improper use of phosphatic +fertilizers has also been reported. Substantial losses have been +incurred in the production of sunflower seeds through inexpert use of +fertilizers and insecticides, inadequate thinning and weeding, improper +crop rotation, and poor harvesting methods. The basic underlying cause +of these difficulties is the widespread lack of familiarity with modern +production methods and the inadequate supply of technically trained +personnel to guide farmers.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Livestock and Livestock Products</p> + +<p>Despite repeated government decrees concerning measures for raising +livestock production, including various incentives, no significant +success was attained in increasing livestock herds in the period 1961 to +January 1971 (see table 17). The numbers of cattle, hogs, and rabbits +actually declined; the flocks of sheep grew by less than 4 percent; and +only the numbers of goats and poultry increased substantially. An +increase in all categories of livestock other than sheep, however, took +place in 1971. In comparison with 1948 the total number of cattle in +1971 was lower by 28 percent, and the number of cows had declined by 16 +percent. The poor performance of the livestock sector, particularly with +regard to cattle, has been a source of great concern for the leadership +because of the leadership's promise of a better standard of living for +the population and the obligation to meet export commitments to COMECON +partners, particularly the Soviet Union. Exports of livestock are also +important as a source of convertible foreign exchange.</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><i>Table 17. Bulgaria, Livestock Numbers, Selected Years, 1948-72</i>* (in +thousands)</p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 17"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="25%">Livestock</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1948</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1961</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1970</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1971</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="15%">1972</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Cattle</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,783</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,452</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,255</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,279</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,379</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> (Cows)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (703)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (547)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (574)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (589)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (607)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Hogs</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,078</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,553</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,967</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,369</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,806</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Sheep</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 9,266</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 9,333</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 9,223</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 9,678</td> + <td class="tdcx">10,127</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Goats</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 720</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 246</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 350</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 335</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 318</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Rabbits</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 128</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 470</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 164</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 277</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 350</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz">Poultry</td> + <td class="tdcxz">11,380</td> + <td class="tdcxz">23,366</td> + <td class="tdcxz">29,590</td> + <td class="tdcxz">33,706</td> + <td class="tdcxz">34,102</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="6">* Figure for 1948 as of December 25; for all other years, January 1.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="6">Source: Adapted from <i>Statistical Yearbook, 1971</i>, Sofia, + 1971, p. 124; and <i>Statistical Yearbook, 1972</i>, Sofia, 1972, p. 236.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</a></span>Although agriculture is almost entirely socialized, substantial numbers +of livestock are nevertheless privately owned by farm and urban workers, +artisans, and the few remaining individual farmers. In 1971 these groups +possessed virtually all the goats and rabbits, more than half the +poultry, and about two-fifths of the sheep. They also owned 27 percent +of the hogs and 22 percent of the cattle, including 30 percent of the +cows. On socialized farms all types of livestock were reduced in numbers +during the 1961-70 period except for cows and poultry. Among private +owners the decline in the numbers of cattle and hogs was more +pronounced, but substantial gains were made in the stock of sheep, +goats, and poultry. Government policies concerning prices, incentives, +and feed allocation were mainly responsible for the differences in +development within the socialized and private sectors.</p> + +<p>Expansion of livestock herds and production has been hampered by an +inadequate feed supply. The feed shortage in the 1966-70 period was +estimated by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences to have approximated 30 +percent. Domestically produced feed concentrates have been of poor +quality and nutritionally unbalanced. In 1972 more than 45 percent of +the mixed feeds and concentrates were substandard, and requirements for +these feeds were met by less than 55 percent.</p> + +<p>The production of feed crops increased in absolute terms during the +1960-70 period, but its rate of growth lagged by comparison with other +crops and with official plans. In 1971 and 1972 the alfalfa acreage was +supposed to be 990,000 acres, but only 840,000 acres were actually +cropped. In 1972 only 57 percent of the requirements for alfalfa and +meadow hay were met on farms of the agroindustrial complexes, and the +quality of the hay was extremely low. The inadequacy of the feed supply +in relation to the government's livestock program has been designated by +the leadership as one of the most crucial problems of agriculture.</p> + +<p>In the 1971-75 period improvement in the feed supply is to be achieved +mainly through an increase in feed crop yields, but a certain increase +in acreage has also been planned. Results in the first two years of the +five-year period have jeopardized the attainment of the goal for 1975. +Substantial investment funds are to be provided for the modernization of +dairy barns and for the construction of feed mills with assistance from +the Soviet Union. With a view to raising productivity and output, +livestock production is to be increasingly concentrated on large +specialized farms. This policy ignored the demonstrated superiority of +livestock production on small farm plots.</p> + +<p>Major problems in the expansion of cattle herds and livestock production +are also posed by poor management and inadequate veterinary services. +The reproduction rate of cattle is abnormally low because of the high +percentage of old, sterile cows in the herds. The incidence of diseases +of the reproductive system and of mastitis among cows is rapidly +increasing, and mortality among cattle is high. Young breeding <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</a></span>stock is +reared in unsuitable surroundings, is ill fed, and consequently remains +underdeveloped. A large proportion of newly born calves succumb to +various diseases. There is a shortage of trained veterinarians, but +veterinarians stationed on farms and in district veterinary hospitals +are reported to feel no responsibility for the deplorable conditions. +The care of livestock also suffers from a lack of adequately trained +workers and a high labor turnover in the livestock sections of the +agroindustrial complexes. Managers and specialists at the higher levels +of the agroindustrial complexes fail to provide systematic supervision +and guidance and often exhibit a lack of interest in the livestock +enterprise. These conditions were reported to the General Assembly by a +deputy minister of agriculture.</p> + +<p>Despite the shortage of feed, increased yields per animal were attained +in the 1960-71 period. For agriculture as a whole the output of milk per +cow rose from 1,482 to 2,281 quarts, the number of eggs per hen +increased from ninety-one to 115, and the amount of wool per sheep rose +from 5.3 to 7.4 pounds. In 1972, however, yields per cow and per hen +declined. In the socialized sector the decline in milk yield had begun +in 1968 and reached serious proportions in 1972; the egg yield remained +stable through 1970 (data for later years were not available in 1973). +In the private sector the milk yield continued to rise at least until +1970; the egg yield remained stable through 1969 and rose in 1970. In +the spring of 1973 several agricultural officials, including a deputy +minister of agriculture, were reprimanded by the Council of Ministers +Bureau for permitting the decline in yields of milk and eggs.</p> + +<p>A study of milk production during the 1965-67 period found that farms +having milk yields of 2,110 to 2,640 quarts per cow sustained an annual +loss of 56 leva for each animal, whereas farms with yields of 3,170 to +4,287 quarts earned a net income of 111 leva per cow. The reported +national average milk yield per cow therefore indicates that most farms +produced milk at a loss.</p> + +<p>The officially reported meat output increased by 74 percent in the +1960-68 period but declined by 11 percent in the next two years. By far +the largest increase in production to 1968—2.9 times—was reported for +beef and veal, while production of poultry meat and of sheep, and goat +meat almost doubled (see table 18). The decline in output after 1968 +affected all types of meat except for poultry and rabbits. For the +entire period of 1960 through 1970, meat output rose by 55 percent, +including production increases of 150 percent for beef and veal, 160 +percent for poultry, and 82 percent for sheep and goat meat. Pork +production, however, had risen by only 10 percent, and the output of +rabbit meat declined by about one-third. The reported increase in meat +production cannot be correlated with available data on changes in the +size of livestock herds. An improvement in the supply of all types of +meat other than beef and veal took place in 1971.</p> + +<p>Production of milk and eggs also increased substantially during the +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</a></span>1960-71 period (see table 19). Nevertheless, domestic market supplies of +livestock products remained chronically and seriously short of demand, +in part because of the magnitude of exports. Exports of agricultural raw +materials and processed foods exceeded 1 billion leva in 1970; they had +increased 2.7 times during the decade and were equivalent to 44 percent +of agriculture's contribution to the national income. Exports of food +products alone had increased more than 3.5 times during the decade to a +total of 732 million leva.</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><i>Table 18. Bulgaria, Production of Meat, Selected Years, 1948-71</i> (in +thousands of tons)</p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 18"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="28%">Meat</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="12%">1948</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="12%">1960</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="12%">1968</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="12%">1969</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="12%">1970</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="12%">1971</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Beef and veal</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 41</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 37</td> + <td class="tdcx">105</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 94</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 90</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 85</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Pork</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 74</td> + <td class="tdcx">134</td> + <td class="tdcx">194</td> + <td class="tdcx">167</td> + <td class="tdcx">148</td> + <td class="tdcx">169</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Sheep and goat meat</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 45</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 45</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 88</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 87</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 82</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 88</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Poultry</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 17</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 36</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 70</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 78</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 93</td> + <td class="tdcx">111</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Other</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 1</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 4</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 2</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 2</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 3</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 4</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> TOTAL¹⁻²</td> + <td class="tdcx">178</td> + <td class="tdcx">257</td> + <td class="tdcx">460</td> + <td class="tdcx">428</td> + <td class="tdcx">416</td> + <td class="tdcx">457</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Edible offals</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 29</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 50</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 73</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 65</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 60</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="text-decoration: underline;"> 64</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz"> GRAND TOTAL²</td> + <td class="tdcxz">208</td> + <td class="tdcxz">307</td> + <td class="tdcxz">534</td> + <td class="tdcxz">493</td> + <td class="tdcxz">476</td> + <td class="tdcxz">521</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="7">¹ Less offals.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="7">² Columns may not add because of rounding.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="7">Source: Adapted from <i>Statistical Yearbook, 1971</i>, Sofia, + 1971, p. 127; and <i>Statistical Yearbook, 1972</i>, Sofia, 1972, p. 232.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><i>Table 19. Bulgaria, Production of Milk, Eggs, and Wool, Selected Years, +1960-71</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 19"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="20%">Year</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="20%">Milk<br /> (thousand tons)</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="20%">Cow's Milk<br /> (thousand tons)</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="20%">Raw Wool<br /> (thousand tons)</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="20%">Eggs<br /> (million dozen)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">1960</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,120</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 744</td> + <td class="tdcx">21</td> + <td class="tdcx">102</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">1967</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,609</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,210</td> + <td class="tdcx">27</td> + <td class="tdcx">140</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">1969</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,580</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,205</td> + <td class="tdcx">28</td> + <td class="tdcx">127</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc">1970</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,631</td> + <td class="tdcx">1,250</td> + <td class="tdcx">29</td> + <td class="tdcx">135</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdc" style="border-bottom: .5pt black solid;">1971</td> + <td class="tdcxz">1,620</td> + <td class="tdcxz">1,290</td> + <td class="tdcxz">30</td> + <td class="tdcxz">146</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="5">Source: Adapted from <i>Statistical Yearbook, 1971</i>, Sofia, + 1971, p. 128; and <i>Statistical Yearbook, 1972</i>, Sofia, 1972, p. 233.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248">[Pg 248]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249">[Pg 249]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER 14</h2> + +<h3>INDUSTRY</h3> + + +<p>In mid-1973 industry continued to expand, though at a significantly +lower rate than in the mid-1960s. Industrial expansion was being +increasingly restrained by the inadequacy of domestic raw material and +skilled labor resources. Limits on an increase in imports of materials +and essential machinery were placed by the insufficiency of foreign +exchange reserve and by the need to reduce traditional exports of +consumer goods in short supply on the domestic market. The Soviet Union +continued to be the predominant supplier of raw materials, machinery, +and technical and technological assistance.</p> + +<p>To overcome the limitations on industrial expansion, the leadership of +the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see Glossary) and government sought +to raise industrial productivity through concentration and +specialization of production and through improvements in the management +of material and labor resources. Strong emphasis was placed on the +introduction of automation in both production and management processes. +Heavy stress was also laid on the need to raise the quality of +industrial products in order to increase their salability abroad and +their acceptance in the domestic market.</p> + +<p>The consolidation of industrial enterprises into a limited number of +trusts, introduced in 1971 as a measure for increased centralized +control in the search for greater efficiency, was being carried forward +by means of further regulatory and clarifying edicts. The leadership's +ultimate goal of an efficiently managed, technologically advanced, +low-cost industry remained the driving force behind all industrial +policy decisions.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE</p> + +<p>Virtually all industry is state owned. In 1970 state enterprises +possessed 98.6 percent of all industrial assets; they employed 88.8 +percent of the industrial work force and produced 89.7 percent of the +industrial output. Collective industrial enterprises owned the balance +of 1.4 percent of the assets, employed 11.2 percent of the workers, and +contributed 9.9 percent of the industrial output. Small private +enterprises, mostly artisan shops, accounted for only 0.4 percent of the +industrial output.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</a></span>Organization</p> + +<p class="noin">Size and Location</p> + +<p>In 1970 the industrial establishment (excluding the private sector, +information on which is not available) consisted of 1,827 state +enterprises and 644 collective enterprises, employing about 1.02 million +and 129,000 people, respectively. More than one-half of the enterprises +in the state industry employed over 200 people, and almost one-fourth +employed more than 1,000 people. Enterprises with large numbers of +workers predominated in metallurgy; in the glass and china industry; in +clothing manufacture; and in the leather, shoe, and fur industry. +Beginning in 1971 previously independent enterprises were transformed +into branches of countrywide trusts organized along functional lines +(see ch. 12).</p> + +<p>The territorial distribution of industry during the 1950-70 period was +determined in large part by the priority development of heavy industry, +the location of which was dictated mainly by the sites of raw material +sources and the location of major consuming centers. In this process +several cities and districts, including Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, +and Ruse, experienced a large population influx from rural areas and +attendant shortages of housing and public services. At the same time +many villages were deprived of their inhabitants, and homes and public +facilities were abandoned.</p> + +<p>In 1970 the Central Committee of the BKP laid down guidelines for a +program of regional economic development, with a view to attaining an +optimal distribution of productive resources (capital and labor). The +aim of the program was to arrest excessive urban growth and the +associated demands on the country's resources for new housing and other +amenities and, at the same time, to help develop backward rural areas. +Within these guidelines, decentralization of industry has been +undertaken, and plans are being worked out for the socioeconomic +development of individual districts under the Seventh Five-Year Plan +(1976-80) and until 1990.</p> + +<p>In this context the construction of new industrial plants in heavily +populated areas has been restricted. Further production increases in +these areas are to be attained through modernization of existing +facilities and the introduction of more advanced technology. Special +measures have also been adopted to promote economic growth in the +relatively underdeveloped districts. In part, this program is +implemented through the transfer of industrial activities, equipment, +and labor from the congested cities and districts to rural areas. +Transfers of this kind decreed by the Council of Ministers Bureau in +December 1971 and July 1972 involved 195 production units and 25,000 +workers and an annual output of 225 million leva (for value of the +lev—see Glossary). Under existing plans lasting until 1975, however, +industry and employment will continue to expand in some of the most +heavily congested cities.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="noin"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</a></span>Supply System</p> + +<p>The organization of a smoothly functioning materials and equipment +supply system for industry has been an elusive goal of the leadership +ever since the inception of the controlled economy. Various approaches +to the problem over a period of years have not succeeded in +accomplishing the basic task of ensuring a dependable supply of material +resources to industrial producers. As a result, the economy has been +officially reported to suffer enormous losses through production +shutdowns, substitutions of materials that lower quality and increase +costs, and hoarding of scarce materials. Heavy losses have also been +incurred through improper storage of materials, careless use that +entails excessive waste, and pilferage.</p> + +<p>Adequate information on the organization and functioning of the +industrial supply system has not been available. The latest +reorganization of the supply system was undertaken at the end of 1971 +with a view to providing a normal flow of supplies for the economic +trusts beginning in 1972. Until 1971 the supply organizations had dealt +almost entirely with individual enterprises. The reorganization was +accompanied by extensive consultations with producers of raw materials, +importing organizations, and industrial consumers. The consultations +were held in order to clarify the needs of consumers, ensure the +availability of the needed supplies, and agree upon specific measures +for timely deliveries of materials and supplies.</p> + +<p>Particular attention in the reorganization was paid to the problem of +reducing the inventories of materials in enterprises and concentrating +them in the supply organizations. Decisive measures were taken to halt +the former practice of making deliveries of materials large enough to +cover requirements for three months or longer. Under the new system, +supply organizations are required to make periodic deliveries to +consumers on guaranteed time schedules, at short intervals, and in +quantities that do not exceed one month's requirements. Adherence to the +regulation is to be used as a standard in evaluating the performance of +supply organizations.</p> + +<p>One of the basic elements in industrial consumer-supplier relations has +been the annual contract for estimated material and equipment +requirements needed to complete the annual production quota. For a +variety of reasons both suppliers and users have often failed to honor +these contracts, and the penalties provided for breach of contract have +not been sufficient to deter this practice. Breaches of supply contracts +have been an important cause of economic difficulties. Supply +difficulties have been particularly disruptive because of the +traditionally stringent nature of the production plans and the limited +availability of resources.</p> + +<p>In 1972 the Ministry of Supply and State Reserves planned to take +energetic measures to strengthen contract discipline and to use +contracts as legal and economic instruments for exerting pressure on +both <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</a></span>parties to fulfill their obligations. The minister considered it +particularly important to put an end to the practice of contract +cancellation, either under provisions of official regulations or by +mutual agreement of the parties concerned—a practice that, according to +the minister, caused huge losses to the national economy.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Structure</p> + +<p>Manufacturing is the dominant sector of industry in terms of employment +and output. In 1971 manufacturing accounted for 93.9 percent of the +total industrial output and provided employment to 88.3 percent of the +industrial labor force. Mining and energy production contributed 3.6 and +2.5 percent, respectively, of the industrial output and employed 10.3 +and 1.4 percent, respectively, of the labor force. More than half the +industrial establishment was devoted to the production of capital goods. +In 1971 the capital goods sector employed 52.5 percent of the industrial +labor force and produced 56 percent of the output. The relative +importance of the capital goods sector had been rising over a period of +years, from 36.7 percent of the output in 1948 and 47.2 percent in 1960. +During the same period the contribution of the consumer goods sector to +total output had declined from 63.3 percent in 1948 to 52.8 percent in +1960 and 44 percent in 1971. As a consequence of the priority +development of heavy industry, the supply of consumer goods on the +domestic market has been inadequate to meet consumer needs (see ch. 5).</p> + +<p>In terms of their employment shares, the largest state industry branches +in 1971 were: machine building and metalworking, 25.5 percent; food +processing, 14.4 percent; and textiles, 11.3 percent. Next in +importance, but with much lower levels of employment, were: timber and +woodworking, 7.4 percent; chemicals and rubber, 6.1 percent; and fuels, +5.5 percent. Industrial branches that experienced the most rapid growth +in the 1960-71 period included ferrous metallurgy, chemicals and rubber, +machine building and metalworking, and fuels. Among the slowest growing +branches were timber and wood processing, textiles, nonferrous +metallurgy, and food processing.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">FUELS AND POWER</p> + +<p>Domestic resources of mineral fuels are inadequate for the needs of +industry. Through the limitation that it places on electric power +development, the fuel shortage—in the absence of a large hydroelectric +power potential—may become a major factor inhibiting industrial growth. +In 1968 the proportion of petroleum and natural gas in the fuel balance +was somewhat more than 42 percent; it is planned to rise to about 60 +percent in 1975 and to at least 65 percent in 1980. Virtually all +petroleum and natural gas must be imported.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</a></span>Coal and Lignite</p> + +<p>Reserves of anthracite and bituminous coal are insignificant; their +production amounts to less than 2 percent of the annual coal output. +Brown coal deposits that can be mined economically are nearing +exhaustion, and brown coal production declined by about one-third in the +1960-70 period. Low-calorie lignite remains the major fuel base for +thermoelectric power stations. Reserves of this inferior fuel are large.</p> + +<p>Coal deposits are scattered in about twenty small deposits. Because of +difficult geological conditions, however, only a few of the deposits are +exploited. Anthracite is mined in the Svoge basin, located in the Iskur +gorge area of the Stara Planina, north of Sofia. Bituminous coal is +mined in the same mountain range, in the area between Gabrovo and +Sliven. The deposit at Sliven was reported to contain a very small +quantity of coking-grade coal—a quantity far below the needs of the +iron and steel industry. In addition to large annual imports of coking +coal, Bulgaria has also imported from 250,000 to 465,000 tons of coke +per year.</p> + +<p>The main source of brown coal for many years has been the Pernik basin +in the upper Struma valley, about nineteen miles southwest of Sofia. In +the 1971-75 period brown coal mining is to be substantially expanded at +the Bobov Dol deposit in the Rila mountain range, south of the Pernik +basin. The Babino mine in the Bobov Dol coalfield is scheduled to become +the largest underground coal mine in the Balkans. Reserves in this +deposit, however, are equivalent to only about five to six years' +production at the 1970 rate of brown coal output.</p> + +<p>Lignite is mined mainly in the Maritsa basin, near Dimitrovgrad in the +Thracian Plain, and in the Sofia Basin. The Maritsa basin, particularly +the area known as Maritsa-Iztok (Maritsa-East), has become the basic +source of coal production, contributing about 50 percent of the +country's output. Aside from planned new mine construction, the +Maritsa-Iztok complex is to be rebuilt and modernized. Production +problems at this mine have not yet been solved satisfactorily. +Coal-bearing strata have not been fully identified; equipment is +utilized to only about 40 percent of capacity; and the organization of +labor is poor. Substantial improvement also remains to be attained in +processing the coal for market, in view of its high ash and moisture +content. Unsolved problems also remain in the manufacture of coal +briquettes.</p> + +<p>In the 1971-75 period substantial investment is to be devoted to the +expansion and modernization of coal mines. New mines with an annual +capacity of about 4 million tons are to be built. Three-fourths of the +investment funds are to be concentrated on three major production +centers. The relative investment shares of these centers were planned to +be: Maritsa-Iztok complex, 41 percent; Bobov Dol complex, 25 <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</a></span>percent; +and the Georgi Dimitrov mine at Pernik, 10 percent.</p> + +<p>Production of marketable coal increased by 83 percent in the 1960-70 +period to a level of about 29 million tons. The rise in output, however, +was confined to lignite production, which grew more than fourfold during +the decade. Production of bituminous and brown coal declined by 42 and +32 percent, respectively. Output of anthracite in 1970 equaled the +output in 1960 but was 9 percent below the production level in 1966. +Production of both anthracite and bituminous coal amounted to less than +400,000 tons in 1970. Strip mining has steadily grown in importance and +accounted for 73 percent of the output in 1970.</p> + +<p>The Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) calls for a rise in coal output to 33 +million tons—an increase of about 13 percent. In the view of the +minister of heavy industry, the planned increase is not large, but its +attainment is difficult considering the character and condition of the +mines. Experience has justified the minister's assessment. In the first +two years of the five-year period, coal output rose by less than 1 +percent.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Crude Oil and Natural Gas</p> + +<p>Deposits of crude oil are located at Tyulenovo in the Dobrudzha region +and at Dolni Dubnik, east of Pleven. Natural gas fields have been +discovered near Vratsa and in the area of Lovech, south of Pleven. +Reliable information on the magnitude of crude oil and natural gas +reserves is not available. Statistics on current imports and official +projections of import requirements, however, indicate that domestic +production of oil and natural gas will continue to cover only a small +fraction of needs.</p> + +<p>Production of crude oil rose from 200,000 tons in 1960 to 500,000 tons +in 1967 but declined thereafter to 305,000 tons in 1971. Natural gas +output, which had increased to 18.5 billion cubic feet in 1969, declined +to 16.7 billion cubic feet in 1970 and 11.6 billion cubic feet in 1971. +Imports of crude oil, mostly from the Soviet Union, increased almost +3-1/2 times between 1965 and 1971 to a level of 7.5 million tons. In +1972 the Soviet Union alone provided 95 percent of the country's +requirements for crude oil and petroleum products. Imports of natural +gas from the Soviet Union, through a pipeline still under construction, +are scheduled to begin in 1974 at a level of 35 billion cubic feet and +to continue at an annual rate of 106 billion cubic feet beginning in +1975. The planned 1975 import volume represents about three-fourths of +the estimated requirements in that year.</p> + +<p>Crude oil is processed in two refineries, located at Burgas and Pleven, +with daily throughput capacities of about 16,500 tons and 5,500 tons, +respectively. Except for the small domestic output, crude oil for the +Pleven refinery is moved by rail from Black Sea ports. A pipeline +network that will connect the refinery with the ports is under +construction and is scheduled to enter into full operation in 1975. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</a></span>By +that date the capacity of the Pleven refinery is planned to attain +16,500 tons per day. A pipeline under construction for the transport of +petroleum products from the Burgas refinery to consuming centers at +Stara Zagora and Plovdiv is to be completed sometime in 1973.</p> + +<p>The refinery output has not been sufficient to cover all the country's +requirements for petroleum products. Net imports of petroleum products +in 1970, including gasoline, fuel oils, and lubricating oils, amounted +to 2.5 million tons. Ninety percent of the imports originated in the +Soviet Union.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Electrical Energy</p> + +<p>Installed electric generating capacity and production of electrical +energy increased more than fourfold in the 1960-71 period but failed to +keep pace with the country's growing requirements. Installed capacity in +1971 was 4.48 million kilowatts, including 3.65 million kilowatts in +thermal and 0.83 million kilowatts in hydroelectric stations. During the +period the proportion of hydroelectric capacity declined from 50 to 18 +percent, and the production of electricity per kilowatt of hydroelectric +capacity dropped by more than one-third. The utilization of thermal +capacity declined by 13.5 percent.</p> + +<p>New power from generating plants scheduled to begin operation in the +1971-75 period totals about 3 million kilowatts. Major power stations to +be commissioned include: hydroelectric stations—with a capacity of 1 +million kilowatts—on the Sestrimo cascade, in the upper reaches of the +Maritsa River and at the Vucha cascade, southwest of Plovdiv; a thermal +power plant with a capacity of about 620,000 kilowatts at Bobov Dol, +fueled by local coal; and an atomic power station with a capacity of +880,000 kilowatts at Kozloduy on the Danube River, in the northwestern +corner of the country. According to government plans, total generating +capacity is scheduled to reach 7 million kilowatts in 1975 and 12 +million kilowatts in 1980. The more distant plans include the +construction, jointly with Romania, of a hydroelectric power complex on +the Danube, at Belene on the Bulgarian bank of the river and Ciora on +the Romanian side. The Soviet Union has provided large-scale technical +and material assistance in the development of the electric power system.</p> + +<p>Production of electrical energy amounted to 21 billion kilowatt-hours in +1971, of which 90 percent was generated by thermal stations. Energy +output in 1972 reached 22.3 billion kilowatt-hours. The Sixth Five-Year +Plan calls for an energy output of 30.5 billion kilowatt-hours in 1975, +which is equivalent to an average annual increase in output of 9.4 +percent during the five-year period. In the years 1971 and 1972 energy +output rose by an average of 6.9 percent per year, so that an average +annual rise of 11 percent will be needed in the remaining years to +attain the planned goal in 1975. Consumption of electrical <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256">[Pg 256]</a></span>energy in +1975 is planned to reach 33.5 billion kilowatt-hours. The planned +deficit of 3 billion kilowatt-hours is to be covered by imports from +Romania, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union.</p> + +<p>The electrical transmission network is well developed, and further major +improvements have been planned. The network is connected with the power +grids of Romania and Yugoslavia. A 400-kilovolt power line from the +Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union was reported to +have been completed in mid-1972. There was no evidence nine months later +that power had actually been transmitted over that line.</p> + +<p>Eighteen percent of the total electrical energy supply in 1971 was used +by the power stations or lost in transmission. Of the remaining net +supply, almost 70 percent was consumed in industry and construction; +agriculture received only 4 percent; and transport and communications +accounted for little more than 3 percent. Households were allotted about +16 percent of the net electrical supply, and the balance of 7 percent +was consumed in trade, public institutions, and street lighting. The +major industrial users of energy were metallurgical enterprises and the +producers of chemicals and rubber; each of these industrial branches +consumed one-fifth of the energy supply to industry.</p> + +<p>Expansion of electric-generating capacity and energy output at rates +planned by the government has been hampered by a chronic lag in new +construction and by inadequate maintenance of existing facilities. The +lack of preventive maintenance and disregard of technical requirements +in the operation of equipment result in frequent breakdowns requiring +major repairs. Such repairs, particularly those involving boilers, +turbines, and transformers, pose difficult problems because of the +shortage of technically qualified repair personnel and ineffective +organization of repair work. Efficiency of operation is also adversely +affected by a high labor turnover and the difficulty of finding +qualified replacements.</p> + +<p>The lag in the completion of new power stations, equipment breakdowns, +and insufficient water reserves for hydroelectric stations have caused +frequent power shortages, particularly at peak load hours. Elaborate +official measures have been introduced to regulate the consumption of +electricity and to eliminate waste, including a bonus system for saving +electricity. These measures have not proved sufficiently effective, and +some enterprises have been reported to earn bonuses by the simple +expedient of overstating their requirements in the formulation of the +annual economic plans. The State Inspectorate for Industrial Power and +Power Control, it was stated by officials, was not in a position to +solve the problem of economizing electric power without the active +cooperation of every enterprise, plant, and trade union. Additional +unspecified measures affecting industry were reported to have been taken +in 1973 to reduce peak power loads, and the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257">[Pg 257]</a></span>population was advised to +use electricity more sparingly between 6:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">RAW MATERIALS</p> + +<p>In 1970 about 54 percent of the manufacturing industry's output was +based on industrial materials, and 46 percent was derived from +agricultural raw materials; the proportion of industrial materials in +manufacturing continued on its post-World War II upward trend in the +1960-70 period from a level of 24 percent in 1948 and 49 percent in +1960. This trend was sustained by the relatively rapid rise in the +production and imports of industrial materials compared to the slower +increase in agricultural output and imports. Because of the limitation +of domestic resources, further industrial expansion will necessitate +ever larger material imports.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Iron and Steel</p> + +<p>The main deposits of iron ore are located at Kremikovtsi, northeast of +Sofia, and at Krumovo in the lower Tundzha valley. Other small deposits +of little or no commercial value are scattered in the Strandzha +mountains, in the western Stara Planina, and at several locations in the +Rodopi (or Rhodope Mountains). The ore in the Kremikovtsi deposit is of +low grade; it has a mineral content of about 33 percent and requires +beneficiation. Reserves at Krumovo were reported to be of better grade +but much smaller. Available evidence suggests that mining at this +deposit was discontinued after the mid-1960s. Its site is far removed +from the country's two iron and steel mills.</p> + +<p>Reserves at Kremikovtsi were estimated a number of years ago to contain +from 200 million to 250 million tons of ore. An official +Russian-language survey of Bulgaria, published in 1969, cited a figure +of 317 million tons for total iron ore reserves but mentioned only the +Kremikovtsi deposit as one being mined. In a review of the country's +natural resources, published in a Bulgarian technical journal in +mid-1970, it was stated that known reserves of iron ore would last +another fifty years. At the average annual rate of iron ore output in +the years 1968 and 1969 the reported life span of the deposits indicates +a reserve of only 133 million tons as of 1970. Whatever the actual +reserves may be, domestic iron ore has had to be supplemented by imports +of about 1 million tons per year from the Soviet Union and Algeria to +meet the requirements of the metallurgical industry.</p> + +<p>Reserves of steel-alloying minerals are reported to be available, +particularly manganese, chromium, and molybdenum. The quality of the +manganese ores, however, is low, and reserves of chromium are +insufficient for the needs of the economy. Output data are available +only for manganese ore. Production of this mineral declined by about 60 +percent in the 1957-70 period, which suggests the depletion of known +reserves. The metal content of the manganese ore mined in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258">[Pg 258]</a></span>1970 amounted +to 10,300 tons. In that year the discovery of new manganese deposits in +the Obrocha area was reported, the eventual exploitation of which, it +was said, would not only provide for all domestic requirements but would +also make it possible to export manganese for an entire century.</p> + +<p>Although small amounts of ferroalloys are also obtained as by-products +of copper, lead, and zinc smelting, imports must be relied upon to cover +substantial deficits. Imports of manganese ores and concentrates in 1969 +and in 1970 were more than double the volume of domestic production, and +imports of chromium and chromite amounted to 3,400 tons in 1969. Nickel +and titanium were also imported.</p> + +<p>Steel is produced at the integrated Kremikovtsi metallurgical combine +and at the smaller integrated Lenin Steel Works in Pernik. With Soviet +assistance the Kremikovtsi combine is being expanded to a planned annual +capacity of 2 million tons of steel and 2.2 million tons of rolled +products by the end of 1975. A third coking plant was put into operation +in the spring of 1971, and the production of coke is scheduled to reach +1.4 million tons in 1975, compared to an output of 837,000 tons in 1970. +The steel mill at Pernik is to be modernized, also with Soviet +assistance.</p> + +<p>Production of pig iron and steel increased about sevenfold in the +1960-70 period, reaching levels of 1.25 million tons and 1.8 million +tons, respectively. The same was true of rolled steel products, the +volume of which rose to 1.42 million tons. Nevertheless, Bulgaria +remained a net importer of iron and steel throughout the entire period. +In 1970 the import surplus amounted to 272,000 tons of pig iron and +96,000 tons of steel.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Nonferrous Metals</p> + +<p>Reserves of nonferrous metals are reported to be more plentiful than +reserves of iron ore. Unofficial claims have been made that copper +reserves will meet requirements during the next fifty years despite the +planned rapid growth in output. Similarly, known reserves of lead and +zinc ores were said to be sufficient to supply the needs of available +smelters until 1990. A foreign observer, however, noted that plans for +large-scale expansion of nonferrous mining and smelting may be +frustrated by the deteriorating quality of the ores being mined and that +metal output may not rise much beyond the level attained in the late +1960s. In fact, mine output of lead and zinc in 1970 was not higher than +it had been in 1960, although the mine output of copper increased at an +annual rate of 7.1 percent from 1967 to 1971. In this context it is +noteworthy that data on nonferrous metals were omitted from the official +statistical yearbook published in 1972.</p> + +<p>In 1972 the minister of heavy industry pointed out that the relatively +small planned increase in the output of the nonferrous metals industry +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259">[Pg 259]</a></span>in the 1971-75 period—22.8 percent—was dictated by inadequate +supplies of raw materials. He stated that prospecting for new deposits +would be intensified and stressed the urgent need to increase the degree +of metal recovery from ores and the need to utilize fully all ore +components. Nevertheless, the minister assured his audience that the +requirements of the economy for copper, lead, and zinc in the 1971-75 +period would be met from domestic production, except for 3 to 10 percent +of certain types of rolled metal. He called for the construction of +plants to extract the metal from the industry's tailings as a means for +partially eliminating the troublesome shortage.</p> + +<p>Copper is mined south of Burgas; in the Sredna Gora mountains near the +town of Panagyurishte; and in the western Stara Planina mountains, south +of Vratsa. A deposit is also being developed at Chelopets, near Sofia. +The ore is concentrated locally and is smelted and refined in plants at +Eliseyna, Pirdop, and the Medet complex near Panagyurishte. Production +of refined copper from ores and reused scrap increased from 14,000 tons +in 1960 to 24,000 tons in 1965 and 41,000 tons in 1971. More than half +the copper output is processed into copper profiles, sheet, and wire at +the Dimiter Ganev plant in Sofia—the only plant for manufacturing +rolled products. Bulgaria has both imported and exported copper and +copper products.</p> + +<p>Lead and zinc are obtained from mines near the towns of Madan and +Rudozem, in the eastern Rodopi, and in the western part of the Stara +Planina, at Eliseyna and Chiprovtsi. A new lead mine is under +development at Erma Reka, in the vicinity of Madan. The Rodopi mines +account for the major portion of the ore output. The ore is processed in +flotation plants near the sites of the mines and is refined at +Kurdzhali, Plovdiv, and Kurilo.</p> + +<p>Production of refined lead and zinc rose rapidly in the first half of +the 1960s but leveled off in the second. Substantial amounts of these +metals have been exported, mostly to Western Europe. Exports, however, +have been declining both in volume and as a proportion of output. The +decline has been more pronounced in the case of lead, and lead exports +dropped from 65 percent of output in 1960 to 22 percent in 1970. The +volume of lead exports fell from 53,500 tons to 22,100 tons in the +1965-70 period. Zinc exports declined from highs of 78 percent of output +in 1965 and 58,100 tons in 1966 to 64 percent of output and 48,100 tons +in volume in 1970.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria also possesses small reserves of gold, silver, and uranium. +Gold has been found near the town of Trun, not far from the border of +Yugoslavia. Silver and uranium deposits are located in the western Stara +Planina. The uranium ore is processed by the Rare Metals Combine near +Sofia. Gold and silver are also obtained as by-products in the smelting +of copper, lead, and zinc. Information on reserves and production of +these metals is not available. Aluminum and tin must be imported.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260">[Pg 260]</a></span>Other Raw Materials</p> + +<p>There are reported to be adequate resources of nonmetallic minerals for +the production of cement and other building materials, glass, and +ceramics. Asbestos, salt, sulfur, and cement are produced in quantities +large enough to allow some exports. The quality of asbestos, however, is +low, and better grades must be imported for some uses. Exports of cement +declined from 715,000 tons in 1965 to 153,000 tons in 1970. Timber and +wood pulp from domestic sources are in short supply. Under an agreement +with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria has supplied 8,000 workers to the timber +industry of the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic for the +development of Siberian timber resources, in return for which the Soviet +Union has undertaken to export to Bulgaria about 900,000 cubic yards of +timber in 1973 and up to 2 million cubic yards per year after 1975. +Similar arrangements exist with regard to paper pulp, iron and steel, +natural gas, and other raw materials.</p> + +<p>Domestic agriculture provides ample raw materials for the food +processing industry, but only a fraction of light industry's needs for +fibers and hides. In the 1968-70 period average annual imports of these +materials included cotton, 60,000 tons; wool, 2,900 tons; synthetic +fibers, 26,000 tons; and cattle hides, 7,700 tons. In addition to the +raw cotton, cotton textiles in the amount of 63,000 tons were imported +annually.</p> + +<p>Because of the general shortage of domestic raw materials and the need +to conserve scarce foreign exchange, strong emphasis has been placed on +recycling waste materials. A decree on this subject was issued in 1960, +and a special Secondary Raw Materials State Economic Trust was created +in 1965. Another comprehensive decree was issued in November 1971 +because, as stated in its preamble, the importance of collecting and +using waste materials had been underestimated, and the needs of the +economy were not being met. The new decree was intended to organize the +collection and processing of waste materials, including metals, paper, +rubber, textiles, and worn-out machinery and household equipment, on a +modern industrial basis under the direction of the waste materials +trust. Special provision was made in the decree concerning the handling +of unused machinery and surplus materials held by economic enterprises, +and sanctions were provided for failure to surrender or refusal to +purchase such surplus equipment and materials.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">INVESTMENT</p> + +<p>Industry's share of total annual investment rose steadily from 34.2 +percent in 1960 to 47.3 percent in 1969 but declined in the next two +years to 43.9 percent. In absolute terms and in current prices, annual +investment in industry increased from 466.3 million leva in 1960 to 1.6 +billion leva in 1970 and declined to 1.58 billion leva in 1971.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261">[Pg 261]</a></span>More than four-fifths of the industrial investment in the 1961-71 period +was devoted to the expansion of producer goods industries. The +proportion of investment funds allotted annually for this purpose was +slightly lower in the 1966-71 period than it had been in the preceding +five years; it ranged between 84.7 and 87.8 percent in the 1961-65 +period and between 81.2 and 85.5 percent thereafter, except for 1970, +when it declined to an atypical low of 78.5 percent.</p> + +<p>The bulk of industrial investment was channeled into heavy industry, +including fuel and energy production, ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, +chemicals, and machine building and metalworking. In the 1960-65 period +fuel and energy production were the major recipients of investment +funds; in subsequent years machine building and chemicals became the +primary targets of investment activity. Ferrous metallurgy was among the +five largest investment recipients through 1967, but nonferrous +metallurgy dropped from this group after 1964. Beginning in 1967 +substantial investment funds were also devoted to food processing—the +major export industry and earner of foreign exchange.</p> + +<p>Investment allotments to consumer goods industries ranged between 12.2 +and 18.8 percent of industrial investment, except for an unusually high +allocation of 21.5 percent in 1970. In 1971, however, the investment +share of consumer industries dropped sharply to only 14.5 percent. The +predominance of investment in heavy industry reflected the leadership's +basic economic policy tenet that, with minor temporary exceptions, the +production of capital goods must develop more rapidly than the output of +consumer goods.</p> + +<p>Construction of industrial plants has frequently fallen behind schedule, +causing losses of planned production and disruption of the five-year +plans. The situation became critical in the fall of 1972 because of the +failure to commission on time new facilities that were counted upon to +produce in 1973, among other products, 0.5 million tons of rolled steel; +0.4 million tons of mineral fertilizers; 30,000 tons of synthetic +fibers; 20,000 tons of cellulose; 11,000 tons of polyethylene; 0.3 +million kilowatts of electric generating capacity; and a large volume of +machinery and equipment.</p> + +<p>The main reasons for the construction lag were delays in the supply of +materials and a shortage of construction workers. In an effort to +expedite the completion of the most essential projects that were under +the direct supervision of the Council of Ministers because of their +national importance, the council created a special operational bureau +for the coordination and control of the construction activities +associated with these projects. At the same time 6,000 workers were +transferred to the priority projects from less important construction +jobs. These measures did little to solve the basic problems and merely +shifted the incidence of construction delays from one category of +projects to another.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262">[Pg 262]</a></span>LABOR</p> + +<p>The labor force in state and collective industry numbered 1.17 million +workers in 1971, of whom 542,000—or 46 percent—were women. The labor +force had increased by 54 percent compared with its size in 1960, and +the number of women workers more than doubled. About 88 percent of the +workers were employed in manufacturing; the remaining 12 percent were +engaged in mining and energy production. Production of capital goods +provided employment for 52.5 percent of the workers, and consumer goods +industries absorbed the remainder. One-fourth of the labor force was +concentrated in machine building and metalworking, and another +one-fourth was occupied in food processing and textile production (see +Organization and Structure, this ch.).</p> + +<p>By far the largest proportion of women workers—26 percent of their +total number—were employed in the textiles and clothing branches of +industry, where they constituted 77 percent of total employment. Women +constituted the majority of workers in food processing—53 percent—and +accounted for 21 percent of the workers in machine building and +metalworking. Substantial numbers of women were also employed in +chemical and rubber plants, in logging and woodworking, and in the +production of leather shoes and furs. Four-fifths of all women working +in industry were in blue-collar jobs.</p> + +<p>According to official statistics, 95 percent of the workers in 1971 were +directly engaged in production; the rest were employed in various +auxiliary occupations, such as maintenance and warehousing. Yet in +outlining means for raising industrial labor productivity in the fall of +1972, the minister of labor and social welfare included as an objective +a reduction in the proportion of auxiliary personnel to about 30 or 35 +percent of the number of production workers in industry. About 17 +percent of the production workers were in white-collar jobs; information +on the total number of white-collar workers has not been published.</p> + +<p>The majority of industrial workers are paid on a piecework basis, but +the importance of piecework has been declining and has varied widely +among industrial branches. In 1971 almost 62 percent of the workers were +paid on this basis—a significantly smaller proportion than the 80 +percent of workers remunerated in this manner in 1957. The proportion of +workers employed on the piecework basis in 1971 was highest in the +manufacture of clothing—89.5 percent—and lowest in the production of +coal and petroleum—25.2 percent. In construction, 84.6 percent of the +workers were paid on the piecework basis.</p> + +<p>The average annual wage of all industrial workers in 1971 was 1,526 +leva, compared to an average of 962 leva in 1960. On the whole, wages of +production workers were somewhat higher than wages of auxiliary +personnel, and the pay of white-collar production workers was higher +than that of blue-collar workers. The average wage of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263">[Pg 263]</a></span>workers in +capital goods industries was 21 percent higher than the wage of workers +in consumer goods industries. The wage was highest in mining and lowest +in manufacturing. Within the state industrial branches, average annual +wages ranged from 2,009 leva in the production of coal and petroleum to +1,196 leva in the manufacture of clothing. Wages in collective industry +were generally lower than in state industry; the difference between the +average annual wages in these sectors was 12 percent.</p> + +<p>Industrial productivity and growth have suffered from a shortage of +trained workers and technical personnel. The supply of skilled workers +in the fall of 1972 was reported to be only half the number needed to +fill available positions. Responsibility for this situation has been +placed, in part, on the lack of coordination between the industrial +ministries and the Ministry of National Education concerning technical +and vocational training programs. There has been a pronounced +disproportion in the numbers of trainees in the various technical +specialities, and technical training generally has not been up to the +level demanded by modern technology. Enterprises themselves have been +slow in undertaking to train their own workers. The scarcity of skilled +personnel has been accentuated by the export of trained workers to the +Soviet Union to help develop the exportation of mineral and timber +resources in return for raw material imports.</p> + +<p>Poor labor discipline and excessive labor turnover have aggravated the +shortage of skilled workers. The turnover has been particularly high +among younger workers. Dissatisfaction with the job, or with living and +transportation conditions, and the search for better pay have been cited +as the main reasons for the turnover. Progressively severe measures have +been introduced to enforce stricter labor discipline, but their +effectiveness has been weakened by lax application. One of these +measures concerning movement of labor gave workers the right to quit +their jobs freely but stipulated that any worker seeking reemployment +had to do so through district labor bureaus set up for that purpose. The +bureaus would direct the job applicants to industries and positions +where labor was most urgently needed. Because of the shortage of skilled +labor, however, enterprise managers continued to hire new labor without +regard to the requirements of the law.</p> + +<p>The shortage of adequately trained personnel adversely affects the +utilization of available capacity; it entails frequent breakdowns of +machinery and inhibits multishift operation of plants. More than 20 +percent of worktime is usually lost through idling, and equipment is +used at no more than 50 to 60 percent of capacity. New plants completed +in 1967 had not reached full production in 1972. Productivity has also +been kept low by the lack of mechanization of auxiliary activities, such +as loading and unloading, inter- and intrashop transport, and +warehousing. In 1972 the minister of labor and social welfare stated +that labor productivity in Bulgarian metallurgy was only half as high +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264">[Pg 264]</a></span>as in some of the advanced industrial states.</p> + +<p>The presence of unemployment has never been officially admitted, but a +certain degree of unemployment and underemployment, nevertheless, exists +in several rural areas of the country. Recognition of this fact was +evident in the decision of the BKP Central Committee plenum, published +in March 1970, on the territorial redistribution of production forces +(relocation of industry) and in subsequent economic studies concerning +this subject.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">PRODUCTION</p> + +<p>Gross industrial output amounted to about 13.9 billion leva in 1970 and +reached 15 billion leva in 1971. According to official data, industrial +output more than tripled in the 1960-71 period. The high average annual +growth rate of 11.1 percent was accounted for, in part, by the low +initial level of industrial development, as a result of which relatively +small absolute increases in output were equivalent to high percentage +rates of growth. The contribution of industry to national income (net +material product) rose from 46 percent in 1960 to 50 percent in 1969 but +declined to 49 percent in 1970.</p> + +<p>The most rapid growth occurred in basic industries that were given +priority in the allocation of investment and labor. Production of the +iron and steel industry rose almost ninefold, and the output of fuels, +chemicals, and rubber increased more than sixfold. The output of machine +building and metalworking industries increased 5-½ times, and the +production of electric power, building materials, and cellulose and +paper rose about fourfold. Preferential development of basic industries +continued through 1972.</p> + +<p>The lowest growth rates among basic industries were attained by the +timber and woodworking industry and nonferrous metallurgy. Some foreign +observers have wondered when the available nonferrous ore reserves have +not been exploited more intensively. As for timber production, its +volume has been restricted by the limitation of forest resources. +Production by consumer goods industries generally increased by from 2.1 +to 2.7 times, except for glass and porcelain wares, the output of which +rose almost fivefold.</p> + +<p>By far the most important industries in terms of output value in 1970 +were food processing, and machine building and metalworking; these +industries accounted for 25.4 and 20.2 percent of total output, +respectively. Next in importance, with 9.1 percent and 7.5 percent of +the total were the textile and the chemical and rubber industries. The +output of the clothing industry—4.9 percent of total output—surpassed +the production of fuels. The contributions of other industries to the +total industrial output ranged from 0.9 to 3.7 percent. The structure of +industrial output in value terms reflects, in part, the system of prices +used in valuing the output.</p> + +<p>Although the country's industrial development has had a history of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_265" id="Page_265">[Pg 265]</a></span>only +two decades, industry produces a wide variety of industrial and consumer +products, including machine tools, ships, computers, automatic telephone +exchanges, and television sets (see table 20). Bulgaria was also +reported to possess the largest plant in Europe, and second largest in +the world, for the production of electric forklifts and similar +industrial vehicles. The quality of many products, however, though +improving, has not measured up to average world standards. In 1972 the +chairman of the Administration for Quality Standardization, and +Metrology stated that his organization was confronted with a difficult +long-term task of developing an effective quality control system and of +catching up and keeping pace with the constantly rising world quality +standards. In his view, attainment of these goals required a fundamental +improvement of domestic quality standards, effective organizational and +technical measures, well-conceived incentives, and an enormous amount of +indoctrination of the personnel involved in production. The chairman was +confident, nevertheless, that the country's industry would eventually +outstrip the qualitative standards of developed industrial nations in +the same way that it had succeeded in outstripping these nations' +industries with regard to quantitative growth.</p> + +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_266" id="Page_266">[Pg 266]</a></span><i>Table 20. Output of Selected Industrial Products in Bulgaria, Selected +Years, 1960-71</i></p> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="100%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Table 20"> + <tr> + <td class="tdcyz8" width="31%">Product</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="24%">Unit</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="9%">1960</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="9%">1965</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="9%">1968</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="9%">1970</td> + <td class="tdcxyz8" width="9%">1971</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Electric energy</td> + <td class="tdcx">million kilowatt hours</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4,657</td> + <td class="tdcx">10,244</td> + <td class="tdcx">15,451</td> + <td class="tdcx">19,513</td> + <td class="tdcx">21,016</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Coal (cleaned)¹</td> + <td class="tdcx">thousand metric tons</td> + <td class="tdcx">10,630</td> + <td class="tdcx">10,116</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 9,930</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7,280</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 6,450</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Lignite</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5,356</td> + <td class="tdcx">14,926</td> + <td class="tdcx">20,967</td> + <td class="tdcx">21,971</td> + <td class="tdcx">20,558</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Coke</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 20</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 733</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 817</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 837</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,091</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Crude oil</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 200</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 229</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 475</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 334</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 305</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Natural gas</td> + <td class="tdcx">million cubic yards</td> + <td class="tdcx"> ...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 94</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 662</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 619</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 428</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Iron ore²</td> + <td class="tdcx">thousand metric tons</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 188</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 585</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 870</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 792</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 993</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Manganese ore²</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 13</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 12</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 10</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 12</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Pig iron</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 136</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 547</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,064</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,195</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,329</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Crude steel</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 253</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 588</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,461</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,800</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,947</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Rolled steel</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 193</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 431</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,028</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,420</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,752</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Steel tubes</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 11</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 10</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 19</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 114</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 136</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Copper ore²</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 11</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 30</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 37</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 42</td> + <td class="tdcx"> n.a.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Lead-zinc²</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 173</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 180</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 168</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 173</td> + <td class="tdcx"> n.a.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Electrolytic copper</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 14</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 24</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 37</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 38</td> + <td class="tdcx"> n.a.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Lead</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 40</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 93</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 93</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 97</td> + <td class="tdcx"> n.a.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Zinc</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 17</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 66</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 75</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 76</td> + <td class="tdcx"> n.a.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Cement</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,568</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,681</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3,512</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3,668</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3,880</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Timber</td> + <td class="tdcx">thousand cubic yards</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5,046</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5,680</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5,140</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 5,166</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4,923</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Paper</td> + <td class="tdcx">thousand metric tons</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 54</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 85</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 187</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 200</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 215</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Nitrogen fertilizers³</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 84</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 246</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 276</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 287</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 306</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Urea³</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 15</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 228</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 315</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 256</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Superphosphate⁴</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 41</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 94</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 136</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 148</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 146</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267">[Pg 267]</a></span> + Pesticides⁵</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 6</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 12</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 15</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 16</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Automobile tires</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 172</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 327</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 333</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 546</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 730</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Internal combustion engines</td> + <td class="tdcx">thousand horsepower</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 155</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 179</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 280</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 229</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 250</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Metalcutting machine tools</td> + <td class="tdcx">thousand units</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3,145</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 8,063</td> + <td class="tdcx">11,160</td> + <td class="tdcx">13,945</td> + <td class="tdcx">14,636</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Presses</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 203</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 609</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 944</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 977</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 763</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Textile looms</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 505</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 555</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,088</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 676</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 437</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Tractors</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> ...</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,800</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,961</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3,493</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 4,668</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Freight cars</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,007</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,583</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,550</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 1,991</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 2,016</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Electric forklift</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3,104</td> + <td class="tdcx">16,562</td> + <td class="tdcx">22,673</td> + <td class="tdcx">29,641</td> + <td class="tdcx">30,202</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Telephones</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 80</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 57</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 245</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 349</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 416</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Ships</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 12</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 11</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 26</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 27</td> + <td class="tdcx"> n.a.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Radio sets</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 157</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 130</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 139</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 145</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 148</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Television sets</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> ...⁶</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 74</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 158</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 193</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 158</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Refrigerators (domestic)</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 3</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 41</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 91</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 134</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 140</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Electric washing machines (domestic)</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="vertical-align: bottom;">do</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="vertical-align: bottom;"> 38</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="vertical-align: bottom;"> 89</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="vertical-align: bottom;"> 184</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="vertical-align: bottom;"> 56</td> + <td class="tdcx" style="vertical-align: bottom;"> 57</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Cotton textiles</td> + <td class="tdcx">million yards</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 239</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 355</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 349</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 349</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 355</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Woolen textiles</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 20</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 31</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 25</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 29</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 31</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">Footwear⁷</td> + <td class="tdcx">million pairs</td> + <td class="tdcx"> 7,534</td> + <td class="tdcx">10,062</td> + <td class="tdcx">15,671</td> + <td class="tdcx">13,627</td> + <td class="tdcx">16,095</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> Leather shoes</td> + <td class="tdcx">do</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (4,251)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (5,154)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (5,781)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (4,105)</td> + <td class="tdcx"> (4,694)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdlz">Rubber footwear</td> + <td class="tdcxz">do</td> + <td class="tdcxz">11,239</td> + <td class="tdcxz">12,683</td> + <td class="tdcxz">13,485</td> + <td class="tdcxz">12,805</td> + <td class="tdcxz">13,683</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="7">n.a.—not available.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="7">¹Anthracite, bituminous, and brown coal.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="7">²Metal content.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="7">³Nitrogen content.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="7">⁴P<sub>₂</sub>O<sub>₅</sub> content.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="7">⁵Active ingredients.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="7">⁶Fewer than 400 units.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" colspan="7">⁷Excluding house slippers and rubber footwear.</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268">[Pg 268]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269">[Pg 269]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>SECTION IV. NATIONAL SECURITY</h2> + +<h2>CHAPTER 15</h2> + +<h3>PUBLIC ORDER AND SECURITY</h3> + + +<p>To maintain order and to retain control of the population, party and +governmental authorities rely on a number of police and security +organizations that are able to exert physical force and, also, upon a +group of large social organizations that are able to apply social +pressures. When individuals, in spite of the efforts of the law +enforcement agencies and the social organizations, engage in antisocial +or criminal behavior, the courts are charged with handing down +appropriate sentences, and the penal institutions are concerned with +rehabilitating the individuals for eventual return to society as +cooperative and productive members.</p> + +<p>People's Militia units throughout the country are the local police +forces that enforce the laws, combat crime, and monitor the population. +They are assisted in local law enforcement by part-time voluntary +paramilitary auxiliaries and, in serious situations, by a small, +centrally organized, full-time internal security force that can act as a +light infantry unit and move quickly to any part of the country. State +security police, evolved from the secret police of the 1940s and 1950s +but much reduced in size, deal with crimes that are national in scope or +that pose a threat to the society or its institutions. Authorities +credit the security police with having almost eliminated the possibility +of large-scale subversive activities. The militia, its volunteer +auxiliaries, and the security units are organized within the Ministry of +Internal Affairs.</p> + +<p>Border and construction troop organizations are administered separately. +The Border Troops, charged with defense of the country's boundaries and +with control of a border zone around the country's periphery, are a part +of the Bulgarian People's Army and are under the Ministry of National +Defense. The Construction Troops are labor forces, but the bulk of their +personnel comes from the annual military draft, and they are organized +into regular military units and are subject to military regulations and +discipline.</p> + +<p>The rights of the individual citizen are defended in the 1971 +Constitution and in the Criminal Code of 1968, which was not altered by +the constitution. The latter states that a crime can only be an act so +identified in the code and for which a punishment is prescribed. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270">[Pg 270]</a></span>These +principles can and have been abused—the state is set above the +individual, and the judicial machinery is within an agency of the +executive branch of the government—but those who exercise the machinery +have become increasingly responsive to its guiding statutes. The limits +on punishments that are set down in the code allow somewhat greater +sentences to be handed down upon those committing crimes against the +state or state property than upon individuals or private property.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">INTERNAL SECURITY</p> + +<p class="cen">State and Internal Security Forces</p> + +<p>During the time of readjustment after Joseph Stalin's death in 1953, +Bulgaria's police state period gradually came to a close. In the postwar +period until then, the country had had police machinery modeled on that +of Stalinist Soviet Union, with state security troops (secret police) +and garrisoned interior troops equipped like mobile army infantry units. +The state security troops, the garrisoned interior troops, and the +regular police forces are estimated to have totaled about 200,000 men.</p> + +<p>Although state and internal security organs have been shifted among +ministries and renamed, and there has been an occasional move to abolish +them, they continue to exist in Bulgaria. Although the organizational +form is probably much the same as before, that is, an internal security +force and a state security police, the security apparatus has only a +fraction of its former personnel and has been shorn of its more +arbitrary powers. According to some observers, Bulgaria has emerged from +a police state, wherein security forces held arbitrary powers of arrest +that instilled fear in the people, to a police bureaucracy in which the +militia meddles in peoples' lives to the point of public frustration. +People no longer have reason to fear the tyranny of a secret police, but +they have developed a strong resentment of the petty militia regulations +that affect their daily lives.</p> + +<p>State security functions—those that deal with espionage, treason, and +the group of so-called political crimes aimed at undermining or +upsetting the system—have been performed by a separate secret police +organization that was typical in communist systems, particularly during +the Stalinist period. An overriding preoccupation with state security +has not been as prevalent in Bulgaria as in many communist countries, +because the communist government had established itself firmly in +control of the country in a relatively short time. Nonetheless, a +sizable secret police force existed for many years and, after a reign of +terror lasting until 1948, the secret police contributed to a general +atmosphere of repression that lasted until the mid-1950s. After that +time most police functions were assumed by the People's Militia, and the +secret police faded into the background, greatly <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271">[Pg 271]</a></span>reduced in size and +importance but still functioning within one of the government +ministries.</p> + +<p>After the unsuccessful coup d'etat of April 1965, there was a resurgence +of secret police activity with the creation of the new Committee of +State Security. As the political situation stabilized in the late 1960s, +the Committee of State Security was reabsorbed into the Ministry of +Internal Affairs, where the remaining units of state security police +continue to operate. They are evidently considered necessary in order to +take care of relations with foreigners, to collect some military +intelligence at the governmental level, and to monitor any potential +espionage or criminal activities that might pose a threat to the state. +The day-to-day role of the small remnant of the internal security force +is unknown. This elite, militarized unit, however, is probably held as a +bulwark against any large-scale, organized dissension.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">The People's Militia</p> + +<p>The People's Militia (local police) deals with crime and maintains +routine day-to-day contacts with the people. The militia operates under +the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and has intermediate +administrative offices at the level of the <i>okrug</i> (district) and local +police stations at the <i>rayon</i> (municipal) or <i>obshtina</i> (urban borough +or village commune) level. Although the primary control descends from +the Ministry of Internal Affairs, all militia organizations have a +degree of responsibility to the people's councils at their levels.</p> + +<p>Local militia forces ordinarily work only in the areas under the +jurisdiction of their people's councils. In urgent circumstances they +may be called upon the Ministry of Internal Affairs to assist the +militia in neighboring areas, and they may even cross <i>okrug</i> lines. To +operate outside their own areas on their own volition they must have the +permission of an agency in the ministry.</p> + +<p>The police are charged with maintaining order, enforcing the laws, +protecting personal and public property, and regulating traffic. They +assist governmental and party agencies in the execution of their various +resolutions, orders, and instructions. They monitor the rules of +residence and the collection of taxes. In the event of natural disasters +or major accidents they are equipped to rescue, to give first aid, and +to transport victims to medical facilities. They supervise observance of +quarantine measures imposed by health authorities. They monitor drinking +establishments to ascertain that alcoholic beverages are not served to +alcoholics, obviously drunken persons, juveniles, and drivers of motor +vehicles. They are instructed to combat rowdy and irresponsible +behavior—hooliganism, begging, and vagrancy—and other antisocial +manifestations. They see that unsupervised and stray children are +provided for.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272">[Pg 272]</a></span>Many militia functions are peripheral to the primary police duties of +law enforcement and criminal investigation. Such functions include +social controls having diverse objectives ranging from gun control to +keeping undesirables off Sofia streets during visits of foreign +dignitaries. The police have unusual powers in dealing with beggars, +vagabonds, and others in the category that they classify as socially +dangerous. Some of the controls are directed at preventing crime; others +appear intended to reduce the possibility of incidents on occasions when +the presence of such persons could be embarrassing. The regulation +allows the police to prohibit individuals from visiting specified towns +or areas or even from leaving their residences for a twenty-four-hour +period. Some may be prohibited from meeting certain other specified +persons or from frequenting certain parts of towns. Such restrictions +can be for definite or for indefinite periods of time. Persons may be +denied the use of common carriers or the privilege of attending sports +events or of visiting certain public institutions. Some, prostitutes for +example, may be denied the right to become telephone subscribers. If +they think it advisable, the police may require some persons whom they +are monitoring to report to them on a daily or other regular basis.</p> + +<p>Individually held weapons, ammunition, and explosives are accounted for +and are registered with the militia. Certain forestry and farm +personnel, hunters, sportsmen, and youth organizations are authorized to +retain controlled weapons. Explosives are permitted when they are +required in, for example, construction projects. By law there is no +production of cold weapons—brass knuckles, daggers, scimitars, and the +like—in the country.</p> + +<p>The police collect or maintain a major share of local records for the +<i>obshtina</i> people's councils. These records deal with vital statistics, +citizenship, identification, travel visas, registration of residences, +licenses and permits, and employment data. A person acquires Bulgarian +citizenship in the circumstances that are accepted in most other +countries—by ancestry, place of birth, or naturalization—but there may +be somewhat more than the usual number of situations in which he may +lose it. Persons are deprived of citizenship if they leave the country +unlawfully, leave lawfully but fail to return within a reasonable time +after their visas expire, go abroad to avoid military service, acquire +foreign citizenship in a manner not specified in Bulgarian law, or if +they conduct themselves abroad in ways that are contrary to Bulgaria's +interests or that are unworthy of a Bulgarian citizen. Persons not +ethnically Bulgarian are released from their citizenship upon +emigration, although they are not released unless all of their +obligations in the country are settled.</p> + +<p>Laws governing the stay of foreigners in the country also are +administered and enforced by the militia. According to the revised law +that took effect in 1972, the whereabouts of a foreigner is subject <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273">[Pg 273]</a></span>to +the same rules that apply to Bulgarian citizens. His hotel or other +local address, therefore, must be reported to the militia within +twenty-four hours of his arrival at each stop. Tourists are usually +unaware that such detailed records of their stays are being maintained, +because hotel personnel ordinarily take care of the reporting. If the +visitor stays at the home of a Bulgarian, that citizen must report his +presence on the same twenty-four-hour basis.</p> + +<p>A foreign visitor may travel freely otherwise, except that he may not go +to certain restricted areas or to the border zone at any place other +than at one of the designated crossing points. He must leave the country +when the time specified in his visa has expired unless he has a criminal +charge against him and is awaiting trial, has been sentenced and is +serving a term in prison or at a correctional labor camp, or has the +obligation to provide support for a person in the country.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Border Troops</p> + +<p>The Border Troops are part of the Bulgarian People's Army and are +organized within the Ministry of National Defense. Border units resemble +regular military forces more than they do the police. They are +considered militarized security units, and some 15,000 men serve in +them.</p> + +<p>Their mission is described as safeguarding the country's frontiers +against penetration or illegal crossing. Because they are a part of the +regular armed forces, it is presumed that in time of war they would work +in coordination with those forces. If the enemy were to penetrate into +Bulgaria, the Border Troops would be expected to control the area +immediately behind the ground forces. If Bulgarian armies were driving +the enemy beyond the borders, they would probably remain at the old +border or establish a new one if the leadership expected to retain any +newly occupied territory.</p> + +<p>The most strictly defended borders are those shared with Greece, Turkey, +and Yugoslavia, but the border with Romania is also defended. The Border +Troops operate a number of patrol boats, both on the Danube River, where +it forms the border with Romania, and along the Black Sea coast. The +troops also control the movement of people into and within a border +zone, which is a strip approximately eight miles wide in from the +border. Smuggling, however, even large-scale smuggling, is the concern +of the Ministry of Internal Affairs customs police and not of the Border +Troops.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Construction Troops</p> + +<p>A Bulgarian institution that is unique among the Eastern European +communist countries is the organization known as the Construction +Troops. Thousands of young men who are not called for service in the +regular armed forces are drafted into the Construction Troops, from +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274">[Pg 274]</a></span>which the government derives productive labor at the same time that it +instills military discipline and political indoctrination into a large +segment of the young male population. Similar organizations have been +maintained since the establishment of the original Labor Service in the +early 1920s, which was a means of circumventing the World War I peace +terms that prohibited large conscript military forces. Obligatory +military service was restored during the 1930s and, as part of the +change, the Labor Service was militarized. It was made a part of the +army and remained so during World War II, when it became known as the +Labor Army.</p> + +<p>Two types of compulsory labor forces emerged after the communist seizure +of power in 1944. The Labor Army continued in existence and, following +the example of the Soviet Union under Stalin and of the other states in +the Soviet post-World War II orbit, Bulgaria also placed those of its +citizens considered politically dangerous in forced labor camps. These +were the prison colonies populated by victims of the secret police, +persons who might or might not have had proper trials but who were +considered to be enemies of the party or the government. Some camps were +temporarily located at sites where large numbers of manual laborers were +needed, but more often camps were at permanent locations. Buildings at +all camps were flimsy, and facilities were minimal. In the early period, +while the Communists were establishing their control over the country, +about 1 percent of the population was imprisoned at hard labor in such +camps at any given time.</p> + +<p>In the early 1970s the Construction Troops organization that had evolved +from the Labor Army was military in form and character. Its men were +provided from the annual draft and were subject to military regulations +and discipline. Its officers, who had regular military ranks, were +provided from the armed forces or had been prepared for that specific +assignment in the Construction Troops own school. The headquarters of +the organization, however, was a main administration responsible +directly to the Council of Ministers; it was not within either the +Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Internal Affairs. +Furthermore, the work of the organization was heavy construction and, at +least in peacetime, the greatest portion of it was unrelated to any +requirement of the armed forces. The Construction Troops worked on +various construction projects on a five-day-week basis but assumed a +military routine on Saturdays, which were devoted to platoon and company +drill and to political education classes.</p> + +<p>Until the mid-1960s the troops were used mainly in roadbuilding and land +reclamation. By the early 1970s more than one-half of their work was in +factory, housing, water supply, and other such construction. Its 1972 +projects included building a tire manufacturing plant and a resort hotel +complex and harnessing a river for hydroelectric power, recreation, and +supplies of irrigation water and city water. One of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275">[Pg 275]</a></span>the organization's +spokesmen claimed that there was not a large-scale project underway +anywhere in the country where its troops were not at work.</p> + +<p>The men acquired in the annual draft serve two years, which satisfies +their military service obligation. Almost all of the conscripts in the +Construction Troops work as unskilled laborers. During or at the end of +their two-year tours, those who enjoy or show a special aptitude for +construction work may volunteer for extended duty tours and serve as +noncommissioned officers. Some of those who are accepted are sent to +technical schools for further education.</p> + +<p>Career officers who are educated in the Construction Troops service +academy are expected to serve for ten years after graduation. This +school, the full title of which is the General Blagony Ivanov People's +Military School for Officers in the Construction Troops, offers a +so-called semihigher course of instruction. Applicants to it must have +completed their secondary education, and its three-year course can be +used for undergraduate transfer credit toward a university-level degree +elsewhere. Many graduates continue their education at the Higher +Institute of Construction and Engineering in Sofia, from which they may +receive a further career specialization and bachelor's or advanced +degrees.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">CIVIL DEFENSE</p> + +<p>Authorities responsible for the civil defense program justify their +efforts by arguing that modern warfare has virtually eliminated the +difference in importance between the armed forces at the front and their +support in the rear areas. They stress that it is essential to provide +for continued production and delivery of supplies, primarily foodstuffs, +that are needed for survival. Such arguments have been effective in +Bulgaria, and civil defense training is compulsory for all citizens from +twelve to sixty years of age.</p> + +<p>The civil defense organization is staffed at all administrative levels +in the country. It is within the Ministry of National Defense in the +national government and has committees under the people's councils in +each <i>okrug</i> and <i>rayon</i> or <i>obshtina</i>. Committees or working teams are +also set up in manufacturing plants, enterprises, schools, and +collectives. Indicative of the importance placed upon civil defense +activities, its national chief in the early 1970s was one of the deputy +ministers of national defense, a level shared with only the topmost +officers of the military establishment.</p> + +<p>Civil defense tasks are divided into three categories. The first +includes provision of shelters and defense for the population, providing +warning of attack, and training of the people for implementation of +dispersal and evacuation plans and for defense and salvage work. The +second includes implementation of measures intended to maintain +production and to keep transportation, communications media, and <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276">[Pg 276]</a></span>power +supplies in operation. The third includes industrial salvage, +restoration of production, fire fighting, decontamination, and provision +of medical assistance.</p> + +<p>Specific work assignments vary widely in differing locations and +enterprises. For example, industrial teams train to maintain or restore +production. Agricultural teams work to save crops, farm animals, or to +protect feed and watering spots. People's councils at all levels, party +and youth groups, and the mass organizations are instructed to assist in +specific ways and to volunteer in other ways as opportunities arise.</p> + +<p>Enthusiasm for civil defense activities varies widely. One town with a +population of just over 1,000, for example, built or modified areas to +shelter 6,000 people. In more typical situations tasks such as those of +civil defense that have little to contribute to the needs of the moment +receive much lower priority.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">PUBLIC ORDER</p> + +<p class="cen">The Communist Party and Social Organizations</p> + +<p>The most important element in establishing control of the country at the +inception of the post-World War II communist government was the +Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see Glossary), with the iron discipline +it held over its carefully chosen members and its single-minded planning +and direction. After gaining control, the party attempted to retain its +exclusive character, insofar as possible recruiting as members only +those whose loyalty was unquestioned and who could organize and lead.</p> + +<p>To maintain control based on a broader segment of the population, the +party then encouraged the development of a number of social and +special-interest organizations, designed to appeal to the interests of +as many of the people as possible and to enlist them in activities that +shape public opinion, regulate the conduct of the people, and support +the party and its policies. These organizations ranged in size from the +extremely large Fatherland Front and the trade unions to the painters, +writers, and composers unions, whose memberships numbered between 100 +and 800 (see ch. 9).</p> + +<p>With the exceptions of the party, the Fatherland Front, and the small +artists unions, these groups are called mass organizations. The small +unions do not qualify because they are far from massive in size; the +party and the front have the requisite membership, but they are set +apart from the others. The Fatherland Front attempts to gather members +from all other socially or politically active organizations in the +country, combining as many as possible of them within it. Its membership +includes nearly one-half of the country's population. The party, +although ostensibly a member organization of the Fatherland Front, is +set above all other organizations. It controls and directs <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277">[Pg 277]</a></span>the others +and requires them to support it in general and specific ways (see ch. +9).</p> + +<p>The largest of the mass organizations are, in descending order, the +trade unions, the Bulgarian Red Cross, the Dimitrov Communist Youth +Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz—commonly referred to +as the Komsomol), the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sports, +and the Bulgarian Union of Tourists. Their memberships range from about +1 million to approximately 2.5 million. The Bulgarian Agrarian Union, +the Bulgarian Hunting and Fishing Union, the Teachers Union, and the +Scientific and Technical Union are much smaller, having memberships +between 100,000 and 200,000. The Fatherland Front attracts nearly 4 +million people; the party has 700,000 members.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Youth Programs</p> + +<p>The first sizable leftist youth organization in the country, then called +the Union of Working Youth, was formed in 1926, and by 1940 it had a +membership of approximately 15,000. It and the party furnished most of +the partisan fighters that harassed the Germans and the pro-German +government of the country during World War II. Both the party and the +youth group grew stronger during the war, largely because the partisan +cause was more popular than that of the government.</p> + +<p>The youth organization became the Dimitrov Communist Youth Union after +the war. The new name did not come about from a major reorganization or +reorientation of the group; transition to its postwar status was smooth, +but it saw fit to honor Georgi Dimitrov, who had by then become the most +powerful and famous of the party's leaders. Even after its renaming in +Dimitrov's honor, the organization has usually been referred to, in +official government communications as well as in conversation, as the +Komsomol, which is the name of the Soviet Union's youth organization.</p> + +<p>The Komsomol became the organization through which the party reached the +nation's youth. Its responsibilities were expanded, and its membership +grew rapidly. In the ideal situation the entire youth segment of the +population of eligible age, both male and female, would be members of +the organization. In 1970 its 1.16 million members did include about 77 +percent of those between fourteen and twenty-four years of age. Some of +the organization's leaders, instructors, and exceptionally active +members stay in the group beyond the upper age limit of twenty-four, but +their number is too small to alter the membership statistics +significantly. Male members outnumbered female members by a large +margin; 88 percent of the eligible males were members, only 66 percent +of the females. The disparity in membership by sex reflects the fact +that more of the organization's activities—sports and premilitary +training, for example—appeal to or are <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278">[Pg 278]</a></span>oriented toward the future +needs of the males. Membership is either a prerequisite for admission to +higher educational institutions or makes admission much easier.</p> + +<p>Statistics notwithstanding, party and other national leaders complain +that Komsomol membership is lower than it should be, but they have +greater concern about the number who are members merely for expediency +and who are apathetic toward the organization's activities. A low point +in the Komsomol's appeal was reached during the 1960s and, sensing an +urgent need to reattract the cooperation of the nation's youth, its +programs were given a major reevaluation and overhaul beginning in about +1968.</p> + +<p>The youth problem in 1968 was probably less serious in Bulgaria than it +was in many Western countries and other communist countries, but it had +reached proportions that warranted action. Among symptoms cited by the +authorities was apathy toward education, work, and party ideology. Young +people in rural areas seemed anxious to move to the cities, where +idleness, crime, and so-called parasitic living were increasing. +Consumption of alcohol by young people was up markedly.</p> + +<p>Many young people were described as silent nihilists, persons who were +characterized by unresponsiveness and vast indifference. No expression +of group youth protest, for example, was recorded between the inception +of the communist government and the late 1960s. When individual +complaints were solicited, however, they appeared to come out freely. +Some said that they would have cooperated but spoke of the anemic and +empty lives of the youth organizations where the dull, boring meetings +consisted largely of upbraiding sermons full of pious admonitions and +reprimands. Others assumed an offensive posture, indulging in +self-praise, pointing out shortcomings in party work, complaining about +the lack of individual freedom and the lack of opportunity for showing +initiative, and criticizing the older generation.</p> + +<p>Consumption of alcoholic beverages is common enough in typical families +so that early exposure to it is considered natural, but its use by young +people became excessive enough to be considered a national problem in +the mid-1960s. According to a survey published in 1971, more than 50 +percent of the students in Sofia secondary schools consumed alcohol +regularly. Percentages were considerably higher in provincial secondary +schools. Few of the youthful users had consumed it over a long enough +period to have become addicted, but more than one-half of the inebriated +persons brought to sobering-up facilities in Sofia hospitals and clinics +were young people.</p> + +<p>Authorities blame advertising of alcoholic beverages, imitation of +Western fashions, disillusionment, and monotony in daily living for most +of the increase in youthful drinking. They also blame lax parental +control, but the surveys concluded that the influence of contemporary +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279">[Pg 279]</a></span>social habits and the pressures of peer groups were forces more +powerful than those exerted by the family.</p> + +<p>Measures have been undertaken to reduce the so-called parasitic element +that according to party and governmental spokesmen, is composed of those +who neither study nor work. As early as 1968 the minister of national +education was given six months to organize a nationwide program to cope +with the problem, and the Center for Amateur Scientific and Technical +Activities among Youth and Children was created to coordinate planning. +The Committee for Youth and Sports, the State Committee on Scientific +and Technical Progress (renamed the State Committee for Science, +Technical Progress, and Higher Education), the Komsomol, and the trade +unions were charged with contributing ideas and assistance. As a result +of the center's activities, the next year each <i>okrug</i> was directed to +organize schools with three-month-long vocational training courses and +to canvass its area for young people who required the instruction. +Enterprises in the <i>okrug</i> were directed to cooperate by indicating the +skills they most needed, by furnishing facilities and, finally, by +hiring those who completed the training.</p> + +<p>As of 1972 the program had achieved spotty or inconclusive results. Most +spokesmen considered it as satisfactory as could have been expected. +They did not consider that it reflected badly on the effort when a few +groups reported that about 30 percent of the students who completed +their classes never reported to the jobs for which they had been +prepared and that others stayed at work for only a short time. Other +observers consider that the authorities are concerned over a problem +much of which does not exist or that is blown out of proportion to its +seriousness. For example, 85 percent of the offending group were girls +or young women. A few of them were undoubtedly ideological malcontents, +members of youth gangs, prostitutes, or criminals, but a large majority +considered themselves living inoffensively at home or, at the worst, +were working at small family enterprises. In rural areas they might have +been attending the family's private agricultural plot or the privately +owned livestock.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">CRIME AND JUSTICE</p> + +<p class="cen">Crime</p> + +<p>The country's most widely quoted authorities on crime view it as a +social phenomenon, that is, actions by people within society against the +interests of the society as a whole or against the principles directing +it. Combating crime, therefore, becomes a matter both of law enforcement +and of social edification and persuasion. Although they adhere to the +argument that in a developing communist society most of the crime is +related to holdover attitudes from the old society and to unavoidable +contacts with such societies still existing, they do not <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280">[Pg 280]</a></span>expect to +eradicate crime according to any existing timetable.</p> + +<p>Petty crime is an irritant to the leadership, not so much for the damage +or lasting effects of the individual criminal acts, but because such +acts reflect an attitude on the part of the perpetrators indicating that +they hold the society, if not in ridicule or contempt, at least in less +than proper respect. Such attitudes prompted an official in the Ministry +of Internal Affairs to state, "Social democracy does not take a +conciliatory attitude toward petty criminals, or tolerate individuals +who disturb the public order or who are engaged in a parasitical life." +The actual amount of petty crime is less worrisome to the authorities +than the fact that it is increasing. Also disturbing are statistics +showing that most of those apprehended for it are in the +eighteen-to-thirty-year age-group.</p> + +<p>Authorities have found themselves facing a problem in relation to petty +crime that is in no way unique to Bulgaria. Misuse of government +property, including theft and pilfering, has become rampant and is +considered forgivable by those who are guilty because "everybody does +it." The courts have become reluctant to hand down harsh sentences upon +people who consider that they have done no wrong and, at least in the +opinion of some government spokesmen, lenient court sentences have +helped foster a view that theft of public property is wrong only because +it is so described in certain of the laws.</p> + +<p>The authorities also point out that statistics accumulated on such +thefts reported in 1970 are revealing in other respects. Almost 90 +percent of those recorded fell into the category of petty crime, but +about one-half of them were carried out by overcoming locks or other +barriers protecting the property. Over one-half of the persons +apprehended for such thefts were repeaters. Analysis of other records +also indicated that in all but a very few cases the most serious crimes +were committed by individuals who had begun their criminal careers by +stealing.</p> + +<p>At the same time the courts were handing down sentences of the minimum +punishment for theft or even less than the prescribed minimum. More +often than not, the culprits were given suspended sentences. Of those +convicted of serious theft, less than one-half were sentenced to a +period of deprivation of freedom considered appropriate—that is, the +six months or more prescribed in the criminal code.</p> + +<p>More serious are the crimes of violence, political crimes, and economic +crimes involving abuse of management positions or large amounts of +property. In the period since the mid-1950s crimes of violence have +increased; political and serious economic crimes have decreased.</p> + +<p>Citizens convicted of political crimes no longer constitute the bulk of +the prison population, as they did during the early post-World War II +period. Active or aggressively vocal opposition to the regime is usually +called ideological subversion, diversion, or revisionism, and it is +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_281" id="Page_281">[Pg 281]</a></span>described as activity or expression of thoughts related to the old +society and not in accord with the policies of the new. It is still +listed among the more serious crimes. Officials of the Ministry of +Internal Affairs blame both external influences and dissident internal +factions for having caused the Hungarian revolution in 1956 and the +Czechoslovak troubles in 1968. They say, however, that such events are +unlikely in Bulgaria because the ministry's state security agencies are +busy combating foreign intelligence efforts and the native elements that +would bore from within. The success of their efforts is credited with +having reduced political trials to only a few each year.</p> + +<p>Economic crimes include those of dishonest or illegal operation of an +enterprise, the misuse of socialist property by its management or +workers, currency manipulations, and improper sale or transfer of +property. If inefficient management practices are serious enough to +result in less than optimum production, they are considered criminal, +but sufficient guilt has been difficult to prove, and those accused are +rarely, if ever, prosecuted. They are occasionally reprimanded, +transferred, or dismissed for bureaucratic practices. Management +personnel who are brought before the courts are usually tried for +corruption, using their positions for personal enrichment, or violation +of administrative or financial regulations.</p> + +<p>Workers can be prosecuted for theft, waste, willful damage, or illegal +use of materials. Poor labor discipline, shirking on the job, or +nonmalicious negligence may result in individuals or entire work shifts +being brought before party groups or trade union committees. Action in +such cases usually involves counseling, social pressure, or the like.</p> + +<p>Consumption of alcohol is not excessive when compared with that of other +European countries, but it has been increasing steadily and has been a +major contributor to crime and antisocial behavior. During the 1960s per +capita consumption of absolute alcohol increased by a factor of nearly +50 percent, from 4.01 quarts per person annually to 5.93 quarts. +Strenuous efforts on the part of the country's leadership to combat the +trend resulted in a decrease between 1968 and 1970, but the dip in +consumption was temporary. Per capita consumption in 1971 reached the +highest level yet recorded.</p> + +<p>Police are involved in aspects of the programs combating the rise in +consumption of alcohol and alcoholism because alcohol has figured +increasingly in crime. Nearly 90 percent of those charged with rowdiness +or disturbing the peace were under its influence, as were increasing +percentages of those apprehended on rape, assault, and murder charges.</p> + +<p>Many more men than women have alcohol problems, but the percentage of +women problem drinkers has risen more rapidly. Similarly, consumption by +youths is less than that of adults, but the numbers of youths becoming +habitual drinkers has been increasing. Many of <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282">[Pg 282]</a></span>the campaigns against +the use of alcohol are also directed against smoking and drugs, although +neither of these is considered a cause of serious concern. Smoking is +viewed as an evil that may be damaging to the user's health but that has +no serious social consequences. By 1973 drugs had not become a serious +problem.</p> + +<p>The police monitor a large number of alcoholics whose conditions are +chronic but who can work. These persons get a period—ordinarily from +six months to a year—of compulsory treatment. This may include work +therapy in groups that are supervised to the degree necessary to prevent +the members from acquiring alcoholic beverages.</p> + +<p>Increasing tourism has resulted in special problems in resort areas. +Spokesmen note that what they refer to as petit bourgeois attitudes +toward moneymaking have shown up, especially at the new Black Sea +coastal resorts. Local people inflate prices for tourists, accept and +encourage tips, and buy and sell merchandise illegally. On some +occasions the Bulgarians exploit their guests; at other times the +foreigners exploit the local population. Most seriously viewed of the +adverse tourist influences are the introduction of unacceptable ideology +and foreign encouragement of moral laxity which, according to the +authorities, pervades the area. Occasionally, however, there is an +example of an ideological diversity in a direction opposite that of lax +morality. One group of tourists was evicted from the country after +distributing what the police described as forty Bibles and 150 godly +booklets. Many tourists enter the country by automobile; traffic has +become congested, and violations of traffic laws are more numerous than +the police can cope with.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Criminal Code</p> + +<p>The criminal code's preamble states that its purpose is to protect the +society and the state, the person and the rights of its citizens, the +economy, and the state's property and laws and to educate the citizens +in the rules of life in the socialist society. It defines crimes as +socially dangerous acts that are identified and declared by law as +punishable.</p> + +<p>In addition to the qualification that a crime must be set down as such +and declared punishable, the individual is further protected by the +stipulation that he may be punished only when he has been found guilty +of one of the listed crimes by a proper court. The punishment may be +only what is set down in the code and declared consistent with the +crime, and it may be imposed only by the court trying the case.</p> + +<p>Adults, eighteen years of age or older, are criminally liable. Minors, +between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, are criminally liable if they +are judged capable of understanding the act and its significance and of +controlling their actions. Juveniles under fourteen years of age and +mentally deficient persons unable to understand the nature or +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283">[Pg 283]</a></span>significance of a criminal act are not criminally liable.</p> + +<p>Courts may hand down punishments of eleven different varieties. In +addition to fines, confiscation of property, and confinement, they may +sentence a guilty person to corrective labor or compulsory residence +without confinement. They may deprive an individual of the right to +occupy certain governmental or public positions, of the right to +practice certain professions or activities, of the right to residence in +a specified place, or of the right to earn decorations and awards. If he +is on duty with the military, a court may remove his rank. It may also +administer a public reprimand, alone or in combination with another type +of punishment. The sentence, however, should be within the upper and +lower limits in the amounts of fines or the time period for which the +other sentences may apply. Such limits are set down in the code.</p> + +<p>The death penalty is never a mandatory sentence in peacetime. It is +optional for a considerable number of crimes, but it is handed down only +if the circumstances of a particular crime that is before the court are +exceptionally serious. When the maximum sentence is deprivation of +freedom and does not include a possible death sentence, the duration of +the sentence will be no longer than fifteen years. If the maximum +sentence can be death, twenty years deprivation of freedom may be +substituted for execution.</p> + +<p>The stipulated sentences for crimes against the state tend to be more +severe than sentences for crimes against individuals. Theft of public +property is punishable by confinement of up to eight years, of private +property by no more than three years. Robbery involving public property +may result in a sentence of from three to ten years; if it involves +private property, the range is from three to eight years.</p> + +<p>Although the individual's rights appear to have more than ample +safeguards, the situation may be less utopian than the wording of the +criminal code would suggest. For example, a 1973 amendment to the laws +pertaining to personal property states that "when a citizen is found to +possess more property than he could reasonably have acquired from his +regular income, he is considered to have acquired it illegally unless he +can prove to the contrary."</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Courts</p> + +<p>All of the formal judicial machinery of the country is within the +governmental organization under the Ministry of Justice, but special +courts—such as those of the military establishment—may be administered +separately and independently in their lower echelons. Although the +ministry serves as a part of the executive branch of the government, as +the interpreter of laws it can check upon their compatibility with the +constitution and other legislation. It might also function as a check +upon the powers of the legislature and upon the other ministries in the +executive branch. So far as is known, however, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284">[Pg 284]</a></span>during the framing of +legislation its professional expertise is used only to provide technical +advice on the phrasing or structure of the text, to make sure that it +says in legal terms what the framers intend (see ch. 8).</p> + +<p>The Ministry of Justice is responsive to the policies of the BKP, +although the minister appears to be chosen for his professional +qualifications. In the early 1970s the incumbent was one of the very few +important officials in the government who did not also have a +high-ranking party position, and only one of his immediate staff was a +member of the Central Committee of the BKP. None of the others is +believed to have had an equivalent party status.</p> + +<p>Each people's council has a legal department or a group that provides it +with legal counsel. The chiefs of such departments at <i>obshtina</i> level +are appointed and relieved by the <i>okrug</i> people's council.</p> + +<p>The size and legal qualifications of the legal staff vary with the +population of the <i>okrug</i> or <i>obshtina</i>. The departments at <i>okrug</i> +level and those of the larger <i>obshtini</i> have staffs that are relied +upon for competence in a wide range of criminal and administrative +procedures; the legal problems that are encountered by a remote rural +<i>obshtina</i> are usually minor.</p> + +<p>Legal departments are charged with monitoring the activities of the +people's councils and their committees to keep them consistent with the +law; with interpreting laws for the people's councils and for +inhabitants in the area of their jurisdiction; with strengthening the +contractual and financial disciplines of the people's councils and of +enterprises within their areas; and, as a by-product, with tightening +the safeguards on public property. Most of the daily work of the +departments consists of giving legal counsel to the people's councils +and of reviewing the councils' resolutions to ensure that they conform +to national laws and party policies.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Penal Institutions</p> + +<p>The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the overall administration, +activities, and security of prisons. Outside guards are provided by the +Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to the regulations, the primary +responsibilities of prison administrators are to rehabilitate and to +reeducate inmates.</p> + +<p>Reeducation includes political reorientation, general education, and +vocational training. All inmates are obligated to receive political +indoctrination, which is intended to reorient them toward becoming +cooperating members of the community. All of them are also required to +perform useful labor—for vocational training, prison income, and +benefit to the state. General education is compulsory for all prisoners +under forty years of age who have not completed eight years of primary +schooling. Vocational training, other than that derived from prison +labor, varies with facilities available.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285">[Pg 285]</a></span>The physical facilities for confinement are classified as prisons, +labor-correctional institutions, and correctional homes. The +correctional homes are for minors. According to the seriousness of the +offense and other factors, a prisoner may be confined in light, general, +strict, or enforced strict disciplinary regimes, one of which is +specified in his court sentence. The light regime is prescribed for +first offenders who are serving time for minor crimes. The enforced +strict regime is applied to recidivists, as an alternative to the death +sentence, or to those considered dangerous or willfully and excessively +uncooperative. The stricter regimes have less comfortable cells and +furnishings, more rigid discipline, fewer individual privileges, and +tighter security.</p> + +<p>Prisoners are segregated by age, sex, and disciplinary regime. Women and +minors serve their sentences in separate prisons or correctional homes. +They are subject to much the same schedules as those in the prisons for +male adults, except that theirs have no enforced strict regime. +According to the law, those serving in different regimes are to be +confined separately, and repeaters are to be confined in separate +prisons from first offenders. Because there are a limited number of +prisons, it may be necessary to meet the law's requirement for +separation of prisoners by having different regimes in wards or +buildings of the same prison complex.</p> + +<p>The law on prison labor states that prisoners have the right to +employment and political education and, at the same time, that they have +the obligation to do the work and receive the political indoctrination. +Inmates are given work assignments within seven days of their arrival at +a prison. Their wages are based on the norms for the same kind of work +done in enterprises throughout the country, and the same work and safety +regulations apply. Inmates receive 20 percent or more of their wages. +None except minors, incapacitated persons, or individuals who would work +but who are for some reason unemployed may receive money from the +outside.</p> + +<p>Prisoners have the right to communicate with the prosecutors and courts +that investigated and tried their cases and to submit petitions to them +and to the Ministry of Justice. They may also see the chiefs of their +prisons, correctional homes, or labor-correctional institutions in +person. Other rights include time outdoors, exercise, visitors, +correspondence, food parcels, possession of personal effects, and +meetings and special correspondence with lawyers or other persons having +a status or authority relative to their sentencing or confinement. The +amount of time outdoors and correspondence and the numbers of visitors +and parcels allowed vary with the severity of the inmate's disciplinary +regime.</p> + +<p>Correspondence and parcels are opened and inspected by prison officials. +Visits are monitored; conversation must be in Bulgarian unless the +administration has or can find a person who can understand <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286">[Pg 286]</a></span>the language +to be spoken. Inmates are not allowed to gamble, consume alcohol, use +narcotics, or sell or exchange personal property with other inmates. +Minors may not smoke. Prisoners and their property may be searched.</p> + +<p>Prisoners are rewarded for good behavior and punished for bad. When his +pattern of conduct has become apparent over a period of time and it +appears appropriate, a prisoner may be moved into a lighter or more +severe disciplinary regime. If he has insufficient time remaining in his +sentence to be moved into a different regime, he may be given extra +privileges or be denied some of those to which he would ordinarily be +entitled. Commitment to solitary confinement is limited to two weeks at +any one time.</p> + +<p>A number of sentences do not involve confinement. For a group of +offenses related to poor working discipline, an individual can be given +a corrective labor sentence. This usually involves harder work, somewhat +longer hours, and strict supervision on the job. The law also provides +for sentences that restrict the movement of an individual. In the most +severe of these, he may be banished to and be required to remain in one +certain area. In other situations he may be prohibited from visiting +specified areas or, in the least severe case, he may visit but not take +up residence in some specified locality.</p> + +<p>Another such sentence involves "internment without deprivation of +liberty." This sentence restricts the individual to his place of +residence or to another specified place. The term is usually from one to +three years but, in the case of a repeated crime or in some other +special circumstance, it can be for as long as five years. The essence +of the penalty is that it consists of a restriction to the confines of +the area within which the offender lives and works. He may not hold a +job outside of the area, but he does not live in a special billet, nor +is he isolated from his neighbors and local society. The usual +objective, when this type of sentence is handed down, is to keep the +individual in his home environment, where he retains responsibility for +his share of the family support and is subject to its influences.</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287">[Pg 287]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>CHAPTER 16</h2> + +<h3>ARMED FORCES</h3> + + +<p>Bulgaria's regular military forces are organized within the Bulgarian +People's Army (Bulgarska Narodna Armiya) and are subordinate in the +governmental system to the Ministry of National Defense. Approximately +80 percent of the personnel are in the ground forces. Of the remaining +20 percent about three-quarters are in air and air defense units, and +about one-quarter are naval forces.</p> + +<p>Although Bulgaria is possibly the most staunch and sympathetic of the +Soviet Union's allies in Eastern Europe, the country has no common +border with the Soviet Union nor with any other of its Warsaw Treaty +Organization (Warsaw Pact) allies except Romania. Because Romania has +succeeded in establishing a precedent prohibiting movement of any +foreign forces across its borders—even those of its closest +allies—Bulgaria is to a large degree isolated from pact affairs. Unable +to participate in more than token fashion in pact training, short of +skilled men to care for complex equipment, and possibly restricted from +an ability to become engaged during the early days of a combat +situation, Bulgaria has undoubtedly lost some Soviet matériel support.</p> + +<p>Because of this the forces have only small armored units, although the +military establishment as a whole is large in relation to the population +of the country. The air forces have been supplied with a few modern +aircraft, but most of its airplanes are older than those of its pact +allies. Naval forces are small. Even though logistic support has been +meager, morale has been considered good, and the men and their leaders +have been considered ideologically reliable.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">HISTORICAL BACKGROUND</p> + +<p>The communist leadership considers only a few incidents in the history +and tradition of the armed forces before World War II to be significant. +Even in respect to that war, the sole esteemed service is that of the +partisans in their resistance movement against their own government and +against German troops in the country. Driving out the Turks to gain +national independence in 1878 is remembered, as is the abortive uprising +of the leftists against the government in September 1923. Emphasis on +only these few historical events is encouraged, at least in part, +because in much of their other warfare Bulgaria's fighting men +frequently experienced frustration or defeat, sometimes violent and +humiliating.</p> + +<p><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288">[Pg 288]</a></span>As no indigenous armed forces had been allowed during the five centuries +of Ottoman occupation, there were no national forces at the time that +independence was gained. The uprising by the local population two years +earlier, in 1876, had been heroic, and it contributed to the weakening +of the Turkish grip on the land, but it was a failure at the time. It is +still, however, remembered. On ceremonial military occasions a roll call +of the local men killed in the uprising is read aloud at memorial rites.</p> + +<p>Participation in four wars between 1912 and 1945 produced negative +results for the country. Bulgarian forces were engaged in a major share +of the fighting during the First Balkan War (1912) but, from its +standpoint, the country received an inadequate share of the spoils at +the peace table. A year later, when Turkey and its former allies joined +forces against Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria was defeated.</p> + +<p>Allied with Germany in both world wars, Bulgaria experienced defeat +twice more, although the situation was somewhat different in World War +II. The government and nationalists bent on acquiring territory they +considered theirs—primarily from Greece and Yugoslavia—succeeded in +joining in the war on Germany's side. The population was generally far +more sympathetic to the Soviet Union, however, and during the years of +German success in the early part of the war, Bulgarian forces did little +in support of their ally. In the latter days of the war, as the Germans +were being driven back, the Bulgarians joined the armies of the Soviet +Union. In fact, the 30,000 casualties they claim to have suffered in +campaigns against the Germans were far more than were suffered in their +support (see ch. 2).</p> + +<p>After World War II, when the Communists had gained control of the +country, training and unit organization were modeled on those of the +Soviet army; heavy matériel items were supplied by the Soviet Union; and +all other equipment was made to adapt to Soviet specifications. +Personnel considered unreliable by the new regime were weeded out as +fast as possible, and rigorous measures were taken to ensure that +political orientation considered correct in the new atmosphere would be +adhered to by those who replaced them.</p> + +<p>Equipment received first was surplus to the needs of the Soviet Union as +three-quarters or more of its massive wartime forces were demobilized. +Replacement matériel came more slowly, having to await the reequipping +of Soviet units, but by the late 1950s the most essential combat weapons +had been upgraded.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">GOVERNMENTAL AND PARTY CONTROL OVER THE ARMED FORCES</p> + +<p>The armed forces are subordinate to the Ministry of National Defense, +which is one of the governmental ministries whose chief is a member of +the Council of Ministers. Administration and routine <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289">[Pg 289]</a></span>operational +controls are accomplished through government channels. The party, +however, has policy authority and ultimate operational control. Division +of authority is more apparent than real because nearly all high-ranking +governmental officials are also important party members. The minister of +national defense in 1973, Army General Dobri Dzhurov, was also a member +of the party's Central Committee. Almost without exception the higher +ranking military officers are party members, as are nearly 85 percent of +the officers of all ranks. The 15 percent who are not in the party are +junior officers who are still members of the Dimitrov Communist Youth +Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz), commonly referred +to as the Komsomol. Only a small percentage of Komsomol members become +party members, but all except a very few of the young officers are +selected for party membership when it becomes apparent that they +probably will be successful career officers.</p> + +<p>Political education is given priority equal to that of combat training +at all levels in the military organization. Party cells are formed in +all units where there are three or more party members; Komsomol cells +exist in virtually all units. In 1972, 65 percent of the armed forces +participated in scientific-technical competitions, symposia, +conferences, reviews, exhibitions, and other Komsomol activities.</p> + +<p>One-man command has superseded the dual control system of the 1950s. In +those days a political officer was placed alongside the commanding +officer of all units to ensure the reliability of the forces. The +political officer was in many ways equal in authority to, and +independent of, the commander. The unit commander has allegedly +reassumed a position where he is described as the central figure, +leader, planner, and organizer; he is responsible for the discipline and +combat effectiveness of his unit and for fulfilling its party tasks. The +unit commander's deputy is still a political officer in most units and, +although there is no question of his subordinate position, the political +officer is still responsible in part directly to the Main Political +Administration of the army.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">ORGANIZATION AND MISSION</p> + +<p>The several military forces under the Ministry of National Defense are +referred to collectively as the Bulgarian People's Army. The army +includes the ground, naval, and air and air defense forces and also the +Border Troops (see ch. 15). Tradition prevails in common usage and even +in official pronouncements, so that when the term <i>army</i> is used alone, +it invariably refers to the ground forces or the directorates and +service organizations that are common to all of the forces. Naval and +air forces are frequently referred to as though they were separate +service branches.</p> + +<p>Uniformed military personnel permeate the Ministry of National Defense. +All deputy ministers and, with the exception of the medical branch, all +major administrative chiefs are military officers. During <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290">[Pg 290]</a></span>the early +1970s the first deputy minister of national defense was also chairman of +the General Staff and chief of the ground forces. One of the deputies +was chief of the air and air defense forces, and all of the others were +generals. Following the pattern of other Warsaw Pact armed forces +organizations, the political, rear services (logistics), training, +armor, artillery, communications, engineering, and chemical sections are +directorates, administrations, or branches responsible to the minister +of national defense. This is the case in spite of the facts that such +branches as armor and artillery are concerned primarily with the ground +forces and that others—training, for example—must be tailored to +widely different kinds of operations of all the individual services.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria is the point of contact between the Warsaw Pact nations and +Greece and Turkey, which are the North Atlantic Treaty Organization +(NATO) countries on the southern flank of the Soviet alliance. Although +little is known of Warsaw Pact war plans, it is probable that Bulgarian +forces would be charged with containing an attack from the south. +Statements of military leaders indicate that considerable thought has +been given to the problems they would face in a nuclear war. They +apparently anticipate involvement in the initial engagements but, if +nuclear weapons are used, they would employ holding tactics, staying +alert to exploit any opportunities that might develop. Their +pronouncements repeatedly affirm a determination to perform their pact +mission to the best of their capabilities.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Ground Forces</p> + +<p>The ground forces have approximately 120,000 men. Their major units +consist of eight motorized rifle divisions and five tank brigades. There +are also various smaller special purpose units and support +organizations. The forces are distributed among three territorial +commands having headquarters at Sofia, Plovdiv, and Sliven. The division +is the basic organizational unit in Warsaw Pact combat forces and has +about 10,000 men. Five of Bulgaria's divisions are believed to be near +combat strength, but three probably have only skeletal strengths and +would be built up with the mobilization that would accompany a major +national emergency.</p> + +<p>Each of the other Warsaw Pact armies has a number of tank divisions. The +fact that Bulgaria has only tank brigades, which are probably one-half +or less the strength of divisions, reflects the austerity of its armed +forces. Motorized rifle divisions have one tank regiment, one artillery +regiment, and three motorized rifle regiments. The tank brigades, +because they are smaller, probably have fewer tanks than the motorized +rifle divisions.</p> + +<p>Most of the tanks used by the Bulgarian army are the early post-World +War II model T-54. There are some newer models in the inventory, and a +few of the older World War II T-34s are still being retained. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291">[Pg 291]</a></span>Artillery +pieces include guns and gun-howitzers from 82 mm to 152 mm, antitank +weapons up to 100 mm, and small antiaircraft guns. Some units are +equipped with short-range missiles and unguided rockets. There are +enough personnel carriers or self-propelled weapons so that all men in a +unit can be transported simultaneously.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Air and Air Defense Forces</p> + +<p>The air and air defense forces have approximately 20,000 men, 250 combat +aircraft, an assortment of antiaircraft guns, a few surface-to-air +missiles, and a modest quantity of air defense radar and communications +equipment. Combat aircraft are organized in squadrons, usually with +twelve airplanes each. In 1973 there were six fighter-bomber, twelve +fighter-interceptor, and three reconnaissance squadrons.</p> + +<p>The fighter-bomber squadrons use the MiG-17, an aircraft that is +obsolescent but that performs well in a ground support role. About +one-half of the fighter-interceptors are also MiG-17s, but three of the +interceptor squadrons have the newer MiG-21. The only bomber aircraft in +the air forces is the near-obsolete Il-28. The Il-28 squadron has a +reconnaissance role. A few old cargo or passenger planes provide a +minimal transport capability, but there are about forty helicopters that +can perform shorter range personnel and transport functions.</p> + +<p>Air defense forces are positioned to provide protection for the +country's periphery as well as for a few cities and air installations. +Ground and naval forces have antiaircraft weapons to defend their own +units. Early warning radars are located mainly along southern and +western borders, and their communications lines are presumably linked +with the Warsaw Pact air defense warning network.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Naval Forces</p> + +<p>Naval forces, with only about 7,000 men, constitute less than 5 percent +of the armed forces' personnel strength. They man a variety of vessels, +however, including escort ships, patrol boats, torpedo boats, two +submarines, and miscellaneous supply and service vessels. They also +include a contingent of naval infantry, or marines. Some of the smaller +craft make up a Danube River flotilla. Other than the torpedo- and +missile-carrying patrol boats, the major offensive strength consists of +the submarines, which are Soviet-built W-class medium boats, and about +twenty landing craft. All of the larger vessels built since World War II +have been Soviet built or designed.</p> + +<p>Although the naval mission includes tasks confined to the portion of the +Black Sea near Bulgaria's coastline, a few fleet units have joined the +Soviet fleet for maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea, and the naval cadet +training ship sails any of the high seas. For example, it visited Cuba +on its 1972 summer cruise.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292">[Pg 292]</a></span>FOREIGN MILITARY RELATIONS</p> + +<p>Bulgaria joined the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, +Romania, and Albania in bilateral treaties of friendship, cooperation, +and mutual assistance during the early post-World War II period and +added another with the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) a few +years later. This group became the tighter and more formal Warsaw Pact +military alliance in 1955. Albania dissociated itself from the pact in +the early 1960s, and its treaties with Bulgaria and the other members +have not been renewed since then. Bulgaria's treaties with the remainder +of the original allies have been renewed regularly and are the cause for +official observances each year on their anniversary dates.</p> + +<p>Although Bulgaria may be the most loyal and reliable of the Soviet +Union's allies, military cooperation between the two countries is +limited by their geographical separation. Even if Romania were to permit +Bulgaria's forces to cross its territory in order to participate in +Warsaw Pact training, it is probable that Bulgaria's role in a future +European war would be limited to southeastern Europe, an area that would +be of less immediate concern at the outset of a war between the Warsaw +Pact members and NATO. In any event, air and sea transport is in limited +supply and is not used for the delivery of large numbers of Bulgarian +troops to exercises in an area where they probably would not be +employed. As a consequence, Bulgaria sends only token forces and +observers to the larger pact exercises.</p> + +<p>Bulgaria is not a warm proponent of ideological coexistence but is +strongly in favor of arms reductions and limitations on future weapons. +It was a member of a United Nations disarmament committee in the early +1970s, and much space in the printed media is devoted to support of +proposals for restricting deployment and use of nuclear weapons in +certain areas.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">MANPOWER, TRAINING, AND SUPPORT</p> + +<p class="cen">Manpower</p> + +<p>Interpolations of the United Nations estimate of the country's 1973 +population indicate that there were about 2.3 million males in the +fifteen- to forty-nine-year age-group, which Bulgarian authorities +consider military age. There were also about 70,000 in the annual groups +that were reaching the draft age of nineteen each year. Those +conscripted serve two- or three-year duty tours. The basic ground force +tour is two years; that of special units and air and naval forces is +three years.</p> + +<p>Approximately 70 percent of the military age groups, or 1.6 million +males, are considered physically and otherwise fit for military duty. +Any number of them could be called up in the event of an emergency +requiring total mobilization, but it is likely that many of the group +would be occupying positions having higher priority than basic military +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293">[Pg 293]</a></span>duty. A somewhat larger proportion, or about 75 percent, of the +nineteen-year-olds are in satisfactory physical condition. Most of them +are drafted; a turnover of one-third of the 150,000-man regular armed +forces each year would require nearly all of the group. Because there is +very little room for flexibility, a young man's education is interrupted +unless he was actually enrolled in a university or college before he +reached the age of eighteen. In this case he continues his education but +serves his military obligation upon completion of his education. +Occupational deferments were eliminated by law in 1970, and other +deferments are given infrequently and reluctantly. Young men unfit for +military duty or for work in the Construction Troops, but who are fit to +earn a living in some other work, pay a military tax (see ch. 15).</p> + +<p>Those who have had military service and who have not reached the age of +fifty are considered reserves. Officers remain in the reserve until the +age of sixty. Various factors—primarily occupational situations, +physical condition, and lack of reserve training—operate to erode this +force, and those considered useful, or trained, reserves constitute +one-half or less of the group. Most of the some 250,000 men released in +the latest five-year period, however, are available, physically fit, and +familiar with the weapons and equipment in use by the armed forces.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Training</p> + +<p>In common with its Warsaw Pact allies, Bulgaria uses equipment that is +produced or designed in the Soviet Union or that is compatible with +Soviet designs. The training program is patterned after that of the +Soviet army because the Soviet equipment dictates the training required +to maintain and operate it, and joint maneuvers participated in by any +or all of the pact forces make it necessary to employ standard +procedures and tactics.</p> + +<p>The program is carried on in an annual cycle. Immediately after +induction a conscript's time is spent in so-called individual or basic +training. Physical exercise is rigorous, and the soldier is initiated +into the care and use of individual weapons, military drill, and the +various aspects of military existence with which he had not been +familiar and to which he must learn to adjust. He also learns individual +actions that may become necessary in group or combat situations, ranging +from personal combat techniques to first aid treatment for battle wounds +or exposure to gas or nuclear radiation.</p> + +<p>As the cycle progresses, the individual usually becomes part of a crew +manning a larger weapon or a more complex piece of equipment. When the +crew knows its equipment, it then becomes involved in exercises of +increasing size, in which it learns to employ weapons and equipment in +coordination with other systems. The training cycle culminates in late +summer or autumn with the largest of the year's maneuvers. Although the +more important Warsaw Pact maneuvers have been held in the <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294">[Pg 294]</a></span>northern +group of Eastern European countries, smaller exercises are held in +Bulgaria and are occasionally participated in by visiting Soviet or +Romanian forces.</p> + +<p>Air defense crews with small-caliber antiaircraft guns and tracking +radar practice in conjunction with the early warning network and air +defense communications. After target identification they practice +holding their weapons on the aircraft by radar or visual sighting. +Target aircraft average about 450 miles per hour and fly just above the +treetops.</p> + +<p>Ground forces train with a wide variety of weapons and in many +situations, but they claim special capabilities and excellence in +mountain and winter exercises. These maneuvers are scheduled to exploit +the long winter nights and fog, snow, or blizzard conditions to teach +troops how to achieve surprise in encircling movements. Troops +exercising in the snow are provided a white outergarment for camouflage.</p> + +<p>Combined arms exercises are held when all support units are engaged in +supporting offensive operations led by tank and motorized rifle groups. +In such exercises the equipment is used as realistically as possible, +with blank ammunition and training grenades. Ultra-shortwave +communication equipment, whose normal fifty- to sixty-mile range would +suffice more than adequately in small maneuver areas, is relayed over +long distances to simulate a more typical combat situation.</p> + +<p>Political education is the responsibility of a main administration of +the Ministry of National Defense and has status on a par with the other +most important ministry functions. The administration states its mission +as "cultivating moral-political and combat virtues that train men and +units for skillful and selfless action under the conditions of modern +warfare." Its leaders stress the point that, although large forces and +massive firepower are employed in modern combat, the complexity and use +of weapons is such that individual initiative is increasingly important. +A small group left alone to employ a highly complex weapon must be able +to make decisions and must be motivated to do the best that is possible +under any kind of unpleasant circumstances.</p> + +<p>Political indoctrination is also aimed at combating potentially +subversive elements. Political instructors urge stronger "ideological +vigilance" and act to counter the influences of, for example, Western +radio stations.</p> + +<p>Schools and the Komsomol, with the various youth clubs and organizations +that it sponsors, are charged with preparing predraft-age youths for +military service. A preliminary training program was reorganized and +revitalized in 1968. National leaders had noted that the physical +condition of the average conscript was becoming less satisfactory each +year and that the idea of serving in the armed forces appeared to be +meeting with resistance from a small but increasing number of youths. +They also were aware that juvenile crime was increasing. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295">[Pg 295]</a></span>Sensing that +poor physical fitness, a reluctance to perform military duty, and +increasing crime could be related and have common causes, they +attributed much of the problem to a change in youth attitudes. Political +indoctrination and ideological subjects, presented in an attempt to +encourage a more proper attitude are, therefore, given highest +priorities in the new program.</p> + +<p>The formal portion of the program initiated in 1968 consists of a +schedule of premilitary training, obligatory for all young men and women +between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. Facilities for it were made +available in schools for those who were students and at cooperative +farms, enterprises, or anywhere that groups of working youths were +employed. Young army officers on active duty and reserve officers in the +local area were made available for classroom and field instruction.</p> + +<p>The party's Politburo issued a statement in March 1971 to the effect +that the Komsomol had successfully organized the required program. It +cited statistics on recreational facilities, among which were camps that +were preparing to accept 125,000 boys and girls for that summer. Camp +programs feature political instruction, physical training, sports +activities, military field training, and a wide variety of specialized +subjects. Other Komsomol cells sponsor aero clubs for those interested +in air force service and rowing, sailing, and diving clubs for those +interested in the navy. Radio communication, vehicle driving, +marksmanship, and many other subjects are sponsored at year-round +classes in local areas.</p> + +<p>Other than preinduction orientation, conscripts get their basic +training, weapons and skills specialization, and combat training while +in the service. Noncommissioned officers may also come up from the ranks +and be prepared for better positions at in-service schools, but they may +also attend special schools and enter regular military units for the +first time with a noncommissioned officer grade. Noncommissioned officer +secondary schools were provided for in a 1971 law. The schools were to +be available to acceptable applicants who had completed the eighth grade +and were seventeen years of age or younger. The courses would last a +minimum of three years, during which students would be considered to be +on active military duty and after which graduates could continue in the +service as noncommissioned officers. If an individual did not go on with +a military career, he would be credited with a completed secondary +school education and also with the completion of his regular required +military service. Under any but exceptional circumstances, however, +graduates would be obligated to serve in the armed forces for at least +ten more years.</p> + +<p>Cadet programs in several university-level higher military schools +provide officers for the services. Applicants to these schools must have +completed secondary school, be active members of the Komsomol, and +indicate an intention that, upon graduation, they would accept +appointment to serve in one of the armed services. They must also be +single, in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296">[Pg 296]</a></span>excellent physical condition, and under twenty-four years of +age. Many apply during their tours of conscript service but are accepted +only if they have the prerequisite educational qualifications.</p> + +<p>Line officers for infantry or armored units and logistics officers have +four-year courses. Engineer, signal, transportation, artillery, +electronics, and other technical specialties are five-year courses, as +are those that fit candidates for air and naval careers. The men are +commissioned in a common ceremony shortly after they have graduated.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Morale and Conditions of Service</p> + +<p>The basic ingredients of good morale are present in good measure in +Bulgaria's armed forces. The vast majority of the troops believe in +their overall mission, take their obligation for granted, enjoy a +respected status, and receive valuable training. The country's principal +ally, the Soviet Union, is a long-standing friend and is held in high +esteem. Greece and Turkey, the countries that the men are taught to +expect to fight, are traditional enemies; so also is Yugoslavia.</p> + +<p>In addition to being obligatory, military service is nearly universal, +and it is difficult to evade. Service life is extolled in the media, and +no widespread criticism, either of the forces as a whole or of +individuals as servicemen, is aired. Military experience provides +vocational training, much of which is beneficial to the individual and +to the national economy.</p> + +<p>Special social benefits are available to the forces' personnel. If their +service results in unusual hardships for their dependents, the families +are given extra consideration. Monthly benefit payments to wives or +parents experiencing financial problems exceed those to nonmilitary +families by 30 percent. Wives who remain behind get preferential +treatment for prenatal or child care or while job hunting. As the men +come to the end of their duty tours, they are assisted in their +transition to civilian life, in their search for educational +opportunities, or in job placement. If disabled in the service, a +veteran gets a pension that is more liberal than usual for the same +disability acquired elsewhere and continuing assistance that includes +free transportation on public transport as well as medical treatment and +care of such things as orthopedic apparatus.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Medicine</p> + +<p>The medical service provides treatment and preventive medicine for +military personnel and, in certain circumstances, for dependents and for +persons employed by the military. Its services are also available to the +public at large during individual emergencies, if they are the most +immediately available, and on a larger scale during epidemics or natural +disasters. Military personnel may also avail themselves of emergency +facilities in nonmilitary hospitals or clinics.</p> + +<p>Since about 1960 the medical service has been upgraded in several <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297">[Pg 297]</a></span>major +respects. That year saw the formation of a higher military medical +institute, located on the site of the army's general hospital, for +advanced, specialized training of physicians. In addition to providing +better training for military doctors, the objective was to establish a +research center for in-depth study of the special military aspects of +medical science. A more pragmatic objective was to initiate long-overdue +improvement in medical services for the armed forces. In its first ten +years the institute gave advanced instruction to 6,500 medical personnel +and an additional specialty to some 200 medical officers.</p> + +<p>After the formation of the higher medical institute, the medical +services were given considerably broader authority over sanitation and +hygienic conditions throughout the military establishment. They +determine standards to be maintained and make inspections of living +quarters, food services, water supplies, bathing and laundry facilities, +and training and recreational areas; they give instruction in personal +and group hygiene. They also participate in the planning and design of +new barracks and any other buildings where troops work or train.</p> + +<p>Appropriate to the enhanced status and authority of the medical service, +its section of the ministry was upgraded and has become one of the dozen +more important branches under the minister of national defense. Its +chief has been a doctor, the only major staff member who has been +neither a general officer of one of the armed services nor a +high-ranking party official.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Military Justice</p> + +<p>Military courts, or tribunals, are special courts but are part of the +national judicial system and subject to the same codes as are the +civilian courts. In the same kind of relationship, military crimes are a +special category of crime but are listed within the overall Bulgarian +criminal code. The separation of military justice from the rest of the +judicial machinery is almost complete, however, although jurisdiction in +a criminal situation could be in question and, in its early treatment, a +case could be transferred from the jurisdiction of a military to a civil +court or vice versa. Once tried before a military tribunal, the +proceedings and sentence of a trial might be reviewed by a higher +military court or might go to the Supreme Court, but it would be +extremely rare for a case to be reviewed by a civil court. Within the +Supreme Court a review would be accomplished only by a military panel of +that court.</p> + +<p>Military crimes are those committed on military installations or those +that relate to the performance of military duty, to military property or +personnel, to military honor, or to certain aspects of national +security. Servicemen of all ranks, military reserves during their +training or whenever they are under military control, personnel of the +police or any of the other militarized security units, or any other +persons involved in military crimes are liable to military justice. <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298">[Pg 298]</a></span>In +general, sentences for military crimes are more severe than for +equivalent crimes tried before civilian courts. For example, failing to +carry out the order of a superior is punishable by up to two years' +deprivation of freedom, and conviction for "clearly indicating +dissatisfaction with an instruction" can result in a year's confinement. +On the other hand, in many such crimes the perpetrator's fate is subject +to the discretion of his commander. If the commander determines that the +offense does not "substantially affect military discipline," he may +administer some lesser punishment without a trial, or he may refer the +case to a Komsomol or party cell in his unit and allow it to take +whatever action it sees fit. In times of war or under combat conditions +possible sentences are much more severe, and the death penalty may be +handed down for many more crimes.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Logistics</p> + +<p>Bulgaria's armed forces cost the country considerably less per man than +do those of its allies, and the amount spent on equipment and +maintenance is relatively austere. This is also indicated by the +composition of its forces, in which all armored units, for example, are +of less than division strength.</p> + +<p>Nearly all heavier and more complex items of military hardware are +produced in the Soviet Union, and Bulgaria receives only those items +that are being replaced in the Soviet forces' inventory or that have +been produced in quantities greater than needed in Soviet units. Older +equipment, however, is seldom retained after it has become obsolete. +Armies engaged in combined operations must have compatible equipment, +and maintaining supply channels required for indefinite maintenance of +old items can become more costly than replacing them.</p> + +<p>Each of the Warsaw Pact allies produces ammunition, small arms, some +vehicles, and spare parts for a portion of its matériel that was +originally produced elsewhere. Bulgaria, with its less developed +industrial base, produces a relatively small amount of military +equipment locally. In order to preserve items on hand, much of the +training schedule is devoted to proper storage and handling of +equipment. Because the standard of living in the country is low, most of +the troops are familiar with few luxuries and get along with fewer +nonessentials than do the forces of its more relatively affluent allies.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">Ranks, Uniforms, and Decorations</p> + +<p>Ground and air forces use the same system of ranks although, at least +during peacetime, the four-star army general rank has no equivalent in +the air or naval forces. Below the army general there are three general +grade, three field grade, and four company grade officer ranks. In +descending order the general grades are colonel general, lieutenant +general, and major general; the field grades are colonel, lieutenant +colonel, and major; and the company grades are captain, senior +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299">[Pg 299]</a></span>lieutenant, lieutenant, and junior lieutenant. Naval officer ranks +include three admiral, four captain, and three lieutenant grades. The +ground and air forces have six enlisted grades: four sergeant and two +private. The naval forces have equivalent petty officer and seaman +grades.</p> + +<p>According to military spokesmen there has been a continuing program to +improve uniforms since about 1958, when the forces began to replace +Soviet World War II styles with locally designed and manufactured +models. Most of the changes adopted since the original change-over have +consisted of improvements in the materials used and increasing the +number of clothing items issued to each man. Until the early 1960s, for +example, the same uniform was used by several classes of draftees. Each +draftee now receives a complete new issue and receives new trousers and +footwear each year.</p> + +<p>New styles, several including changes in materials and minor changes in +color, were shown and tested in 1970. Issue of the newer varieties to +the forces was begun in 1972. Most changes involved tailoring details +and the use of more wrinkle-resistant and lighter, tighter woven cloth. +The aim has been to improve the appearance of the men with as little as +possible sacrifice in long-wearing qualities.</p> + +<p>Officers continue to wear a service uniform consisting of a tailored +blouse with patch pockets and trousers that tuck into high boots. A Sam +Browne belt and sidearms are optional. The styles introduced in the +early 1970s have a vent in the blouse to make it fit in a better +tailored fashion, and they are a lighter green than their predecessors. +Ground forces have stripes and piping on caps and rank insignia that +vary in color to identify their branch of service (armored forces, +infantry, transport, engineer, and others). The enlisted men's uniform +is similar in design but has different quality material and less ornate +trim. Air forces have the same uniforms but may be identified by their +blue stripes and piping. Naval personnel wear the traditional navy blues +and whites.</p> + +<p>Rank insignia on the uniforms seen most frequently consists of stars or +stripes on shoulder boards. Officer ranks are identified by varying +numbers of stars. The boards themselves become progressively more ornate +with higher rank. Those of the company grades are relatively plain; +those of the generals are highly ornate. Enlisted grades are shown by +stripes. Privates have none, their shoulder boards are plain; and the +number and width of the stripes increase with promotion to higher +grades.</p> + +<p>Decorations and medals are awarded profusely, and most of them are +ornate and colorful. The highest ranking and most respected, however, is +a simple gold star, which identifies its recipient as a Hero of the +People's Republic of Bulgaria. The Order of Georgi Dimitrov and the +newer Stara Planina medal, which has been declared equal to the former +in seniority, are the next most important. These three most highly +cherished decorations are awarded in only one class each. The <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300">[Pg 300]</a></span>highest +of the orders that are presented in several classes are the Order of the +People's Republic of Bulgaria and the Madarski Konnik medal, which are +equal in seniority. They are awarded in three and two classes, +respectively.</p> +<br /> + +<p class="cen">THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT AND THE NATIONAL ECONOMY</p> + +<p>Bulgaria's gross national product (GNP) is only about one-third the +average of the other Warsaw Pact allies, and during the late 1960s and +early 1970s Bulgaria spent a smaller proportion of its GNP on defense +than did any of its allies. Although its 1973 estimated population was +less than one-half the average of its allies, it maintained about +five-sixths as many men in its regular forces. On the surface, +therefore, it would appear that the armed forces were a +less-than-average financial burden but a greater-than-average manpower +burden.</p> + +<p>The appearances may be misleading to some degree. The country has been +the slowest of the pact nations to industrialize, and its standard of +living has been the lowest. It is probably, therefore, less able to +afford its relatively moderate defense costs. Its labor force is large +enough for the level of the country's industrialization, but there is a +shortage of skilled workers. The training and experience that young men +receive in the armed forces broaden their familiarity with complex +mechanical and electronic equipment and provide many of them with skills +that are of value to the national economy. The regime also considers +that the disciplinary habits and the political orientation acquired in +military service are of positive social value, outweighing the time that +young men are withheld from the labor force.</p> + +<p>When extraordinary measures are required in an emergency situation—such +as during the 1972 drought—the armed forces are able to provide a mass +labor force and to contribute the use of a considerable amount of heavy +mechanical equipment. In 1972 force units were called upon to get +maximum efficiency from irrigation systems and to add to the sources of +irrigation water whenever possible. Military units also do field work on +public projects. They are encouraged to contribute the days before +public holidays, the holidays themselves, and other time that does not +interfere with training schedules.</p> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301">[Pg 301]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>BIBLIOGRAPHY</h2> + +<h3>Section I. Social</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang"><i>ABC World Airways Guide</i>, CDLV, May 1972, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, +England: ABC Travel Guides.</p> + +<p class="hang">Anderson, Raymond H. "Bulgarians Like Zip in Wash Cycle," <i>New York +Times</i>, May 21, 1973, 7.</p> + +<p class="hang">Apanasewicz, Nellie, and Rosen, Seymour M. <i>Studies in Comparative +Education.</i> (OE-14115.) Washington: U.S. Department of Health, +Education and Welfare, 1965.</p> + +<p class="hang">Baldwin, Godfrey (ed.). <i>International Population Reports.</i> (U.S. +Department of Commerce, Series P-91, No. 18.) Washington: GPO, 1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Big Prospects for Education," <i>Bulgaria Today</i> [Sofia], XX, No. 8, +August 1971, 6.</p> + +<p class="hang">Blumenfeld, Yorick. <i>Seesaw: Cultural Life in Eastern Europe.</i> New +York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1968.</p> + +<p class="hang">Brown, James F. <i>Bulgaria Under Communist Rule.</i> New York: Praeger, +1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Bulgaria. State Information Office with the Council of Ministers. +<i>Statistical Pocket Book 1970.</i> Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Bulgaria: History." Pages 385-400 in <i>Encyclopaedia Britannica</i>, IV. +Chicago: William Benton, 1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Bulgaria." Pages 41-50 in Moshe Sachs (ed.), <i>Worldmark Encyclopedia +of the Nations</i>, V: Europe. New York: Harper and Row, 1967.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Bulgaria." Pages 225-233 in <i>World Survey of Education</i>, V. Paris: +United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, +1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">"The Buyers' Market," <i>East Europe</i>, XIV, No. 2, February 1965, 11-14.</p> + +<p class="hang">Carver, Elena Borikova. <i>Bulgarian Folk Tales.</i> New York: n. pub., +1964.</p> + +<p class="hang">Cary, William. <i>Bulgaria Today.</i> New York: Exposition Press, 1965.</p> + +<p class="hang">Davis, Fitzroy. "Bulgarian Filmmakers: Looking for a Place in the +Cinematic Sun," <i>East Europe</i>, XX, No. 3, March 1971, 29-35.</p> + +<p class="hang">Dellin, L. A. D. (ed.) <i>Bulgaria: East-Central Europe Under the +Communists.</i> New York: Praeger, 1957.</p> + +<p class="hang">Egbert, Donald D. "Politics and the Arts in Communist Bulgaria," +<i>Slavic Review</i>, XXVI, No. 2, June 1967, 204, 216.</p> + +<p class="hang">The Europa Yearbook, 1972. London: Europa Publications, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Evans, Stanley G. <i>A Short History of Bulgaria.</i> London: Lawrence and +Wishart, 1960.</p> + +<p class="hang"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302">[Pg 302]</a></span>Georgeoff, John. "Elementary Education in Bulgaria," <i>School and +Society</i>, XCIV, February 5, 1966, 71-74.</p> + +<p class="hang">Georgeoff, Peter J. <i>The Social Education of Bulgaria Youth.</i> +Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1968.</p> + +<p class="hang">Georgiev, Emil, et al. <i>Bulgaria's Share in Human Culture.</i> Sofia: +Sofia Press, 1968.</p> + +<p class="hang">Grant, Nigel. "Education Reform in Bulgaria," <i>Comparative Education</i>, +VI, No. 3, November 1970, 179-191.</p> + +<p class="hang">——. <i>Society, Schools and Progress in Eastern Europe.</i> Oxford: +Pergamon Press, 1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">"He Who Laughs," <i>Bulgaria Today</i> [Sofia], XVI, No. 10, October 1967, +25-26.</p> + +<p class="hang">Hoffman, George W. <i>The Balkans in Transition.</i> Princeton: Van +Nostrand, 1963.</p> + +<p class="hang">——. "Transformation of Rural Settlement in Bulgaria," <i>Geographical +Review</i>, XL, No. 1, 1964, 45-65.</p> + +<p class="hang">Ivanov, Vicho. "Vladimir Dimitrov—The Master," <i>Bulgaria Today</i> +[Sofia], XXI, No. 5, May 1972, 20-21.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>Jane's World Railways</i>, 1968-69. (11th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill, +1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">Jelavich, Charles, and Jelavich, Barbara (eds.). <i>The Balkans in +Transition.</i> (Russian and East European Studies.) Berkeley, +University of California Press, 1963.</p> + +<p class="hang">Jordanov, Lyubomir, and Nikolov, Yuri. <i>The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, +A Guide.</i> Sofia: Sofia Press, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">Kaiser, Robert G., and Morgan, Dan. "Housing Blight Plagues Planners +in <i>East Europe</i>," <i>Washington Post</i>, December 19, 1972, A1, A20.</p> + +<p class="hang">Katsarova, Raina D. <i>Dances of Bulgaria.</i> New York: Crown, 1951.</p> + +<p class="hang">Kossev, D.; Hristov, H.; and Angelov, D. <i>A Short History of +Bulgaria.</i> Sofia: Foreign Languages Press, 1963.</p> + +<p class="hang">Lauwerys, Joseph A., and Scanlon, David G. "Education in Cities," <i>The +World Year Book of Education, 1970.</i> New York: Harcourt, Brace and +World, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Manning, Clarence A., and Smal-Stocki, Roman. <i>The History of Modern +Bulgarian Literature.</i> New York: Bookman Associates, 1960.</p> + +<p class="hang">Mishev, Dimitur. <i>The Bulgarians in the Past.</i> New York: Arno Press, +1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">Mladenov, Lyubomir. "International Recognition," <i>Bulgaria Today</i> +[Sofia], XXI, No. 7, July 1972, 15.</p> + +<p class="hang">Monov, Georgi. "Semi-Boarding Schools," <i>Bulgaria Today</i> [Sofia], XX, +No. 8, August 1971, 7-8.</p> + +<p class="hang">Morgan, Dan. "Bulgaria Moving Cautiously to Better U.S. Ties." +<i>Washington Post</i>, March 29, 1973, A15.</p> + +<p class="hang">Moser, Charles A. <i>A History of Bulgarian Literature 1865-1944.</i> New +York: Humanities Press, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">"National Revival Architecture," <i>Bulgaria Today</i> [Sofia], XXI, No. +7, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303">[Pg 303]</a></span>July 1972, 16-17.</p> + +<p class="hang">"The New Architecture," <i>East Europe</i>, XIV, No. 4, April 1965, 7-15.</p> + +<p class="hang">Newman, Bernard. <i>Bulgaria Background.</i> London: Robert Hale, 1961.</p> + +<p class="hang">Olson, Kenneth E. <i>The History Makers.</i> Baton Rouge: Louisiana State +University Press, 1966.</p> + +<p class="hang">Oren, Nissan. <i>Bulgarian Communism.</i> New York: Columbia University +Press, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">——. <i>Revolution Administered: Agrarianism and Communism in +Bulgaria.</i> Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973.</p> + +<p class="hang">Oshavkov, Zhivko. "Religious Belief in Bulgaria," <i>Bulgaria Today</i> +[Sofia], XVI, No. 10, October 1967, 20-22.</p> + +<p class="hang">Parkin, Frank. <i>Class Inequality and Political Order.</i> New York: +Praeger, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">Perl, Lila. <i>Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria.</i> Camden: Thomas Nelson, +1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Petrov, Staian. <i>The Struggle of the Bulgarian Communist Party to +Organize the Social Basis of the Revolution.</i> Sofia: Sofia Press, +1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Pounds, Norman J. G. <i>Eastern Europe.</i> Chicago: Aldine, 1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">"The Professional Gap," <i>East Europe</i>, X, No. 10, October 1969, 40.</p> + +<p class="hang">Rizov, Alexander (ed.). <i>Bulgaria, A Survey.</i> Sofia: Foreign Languages +Press, 1965.</p> + +<p class="hang">Rose, Harold. <i>Your Guide to Bulgaria.</i> London: Alvin Redman, 1964.</p> + +<p class="hang">Rothschild, Joseph. <i>Communist Eastern Europe.</i> New York: Walker, +1964.</p> + +<p class="hang">Rusinov, Spas. <i>Bulgaria: A Survey.</i> Sofia, Sofia Press, 1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">Sanders, Irwin T. <i>Balkan Village.</i> Lexington: University of Kentucky +Press, 1949.</p> + +<p class="hang">Schöpflin, George (ed.). <i>The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.</i> New +York: Praeger, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Severin, R. Keith. "Bulgaria's Agricultural Economy in Brief," U.S. +Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. <i>Foreign +Agriculture</i>, (ERS-Foreign 136.) September 1965, 1-11.</p> + +<p class="hang">Sharp, Samuel L., and Fedlam, Fruzsina H. <i>The Soviet Union and +Eastern Europe, 1972.</i> (The World Series.) Washington: Stryker-Post +Publications, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Staar, Richard F. <i>The Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe</i> (Rev. ed.) +Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>The Statesman's Year Book, 1972-73.</i> (Ed., John Paxton.) London: +Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, 1972, 789-797.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>Statistical Yearbook, 1971.</i> Sofia, National Information Office, +1971.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>Statistical Yearbook, 1972.</i> Sofia, National Information Office, +1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Stavrianos, Leften S. <i>Balkan Federation: A History of the Movement +Toward Balkan Unity in Modern Times.</i> (Smith College Studies in +History, XXVII, Nos. 1-4.) Northampton: Department of History, Smith +College, 1942.</p> + +<p class="hang">Stillman, Edmund (and the Editors of Life). <i>The Balkans</i> (Life World +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304">[Pg 304]</a></span>Library Series.) New York: <i>Time</i>, 1964.</p> + +<p class="hang">Stoyanov, Lludmil. "Poet, Humanist and Fighter," <i>Bulgaria Today</i> +[Sofia], XXI, No. 7, July 1972, 22.</p> + +<p class="hang">Sylvester, Anthony. "The Bulgaria Paradox," <i>East Europe</i>, XVII, No. +1, January 1968, 15-19.</p> + +<p class="hang">Todorov, Nikolai. "Pencho Koulekov, an Original Master of Graphic Art" +<i>Bulgaria Today</i> [Sofia], XXI, No. 5, May 1972, 32.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1971.</i> Paris: United Nations +Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1971, 59.</p> + +<p class="hang">U.S. Department of Army. <i>Communist Eastern Europe: Analytical Survey +of Literature.</i> (DA Pam 550-8) Washington: GPO, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint +Publications Research Service—JPRS (Washington). The following +items are from the JPRS series <i>Translations on Eastern Europe: +Economic and Industrial Affairs</i>.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">"Analysis of Changes in Average Family Budget Made," <i>Otechestven +Front</i>, Sofia, March 27, 1973. (JPRS 58,842, No. 874, 1973.)</p> + +<p class="hang">"Dynamics of Personal Income Described, 1965-70," <i>Ikonomicheski +Zhivot</i>, Sofia: December 16, 1970. (JPRS 52,476, No. 424, 1971.)</p> + +<p class="hang">"Household Income, Consumption Statistics Given," <i>Statistika</i>, +Sofia, No. 5, September-October 1970. (JPRS 52,106, No. 397, +1971.)</p> + +<p class="hang">"Light Ministry Plans to Supply Lacking Goods Revealed," +<i>Otechestven Front</i>, Sofia, May 7, 1972. (JPRS 56,742, No. 727, +1972.)</p></div></div> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint +Publications Research Service—JPRS (Washington). The following +items are from the JPRS series <i>Translations on Eastern Europe: +Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs</i>.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">"Admission Rules to Foreign-Language High Schools," <i>Durzhaven +Vestnik</i>, Sofia, June 8, 1971. (JPRS 53,764, No. 396, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Aspects of Standard of Living Analyzed," <i>Statistika</i>, Sofia, No. +3, 1969. (JPRS 48,717, No. 126, 1969).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Caloric Intake of Blue-Collar Workers and Cooperative Farm +Members," <i>Khranitelna Promishlenost</i>, Sofia, No. 2, 1968. (JPRS +45,795, No. 8, 1968).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Causes for 1961-65 Infant Mortality Reviewed," <i>Statistika</i>, Sofia, +December 1969. (JPRS 49,929, No. 187, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Census Studies Bulgarian Educational Level," <i>Statistika</i>, Sofia, +November-December 1968. (JPRS 47,697, No. 81, 1969).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Class Influence on Consumption Analyzed," <i>Ikonomicheski Zhivot</i>, +Sofia, October 10, 1968. (JPRS 46,866, No. 42, 1968).</p> + +<p class="hang">"The Communists and the Family," <i>Partien Zhivot</i>, Sofia, XVI, +November 1971. (JPRS: 55,275, No. 485, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Decree on Post-Graduate Training for Specialists Issued," +<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_305" id="Page_305">[Pg 305]</a></span><i>Durzhaven Vestnik</i>, Sofia, February 20, 1973. (JPRS 58,807, No. +700, 1973).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Economics of Higher Education Reviewed," <i>Novo Vreme</i>, Sofia, +September 1970. (JPRS 50,328, No. 280, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Health Minister Describes Public Health Plans," <i>Zdraven Front</i>, +Sofia, June 19, 1971. (JPRS 54,178, No. 421, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Improvements in Standard of Living Traced," <i>Ikonomicheski Zhivot</i>, +Sofia, November 1970. (JPRS 52,321, No. 310, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Military Training for Secondary Students," <i>Narodna Mladezh</i>, +Sofia, March 20, 1972. (JPRS 55,828, No. 516, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Minister Cites Progress in Public Health Service," <i>Khigiena i +Zdraveopazvane</i>, Sofia, No. 1, January-February 1969. (JPRS +48,333, No. 110, 1969.)</p> + +<p class="hang">"New Model for Secondary Polytechnical School," <i>Vecherni Novini</i>, +Sofia, January 25, 1972. (JPRS 55,447, No. 495, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Party Policy at Center of Educational Work," <i>Armeyski Komunist</i>, +Sofia, December 1972. (JPRS 58,368, No. 676, 1973).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Physicians' Attitude Toward Polyclinics Surveyed," <i>Suvremenna +Meditsina</i>, Sofia, No. 12, 1970. (JPRS 52,840, No. 337, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Religious Survey in Plovdiv Okrug Taken," <i>Filosofska Misul</i>, +Sofia, VI, June 1968. (JPRS 46,478, No. 30, 1968).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Schools Experiment with New Educational Program," <i>Zemedelsko +Zname</i>, Sofia, July 24, 1968. (JPRS 46,334, No. 25, 1968).</p> + +<p class="hang">"School Statistics," <i>Uchitelsko Delo</i>, Sofia, September 7, 1971. +(JPRS 54,419, No. 435, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Serious Shortage of Medical Personnel Reported," <i>Pogled</i>, Sofia, +July 19, 1971. (JPRS 54,004, No. 409, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Shortages of Schoolteachers in Some Areas Noted," <i>Trud</i>, Sofia, +August 21, 1971. (JPRS 54,094, No. 415, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Sociological Legal Analysis of Divorce," <i>Khigiena i +Zdraveopazvane</i>, Sofia, III, 1970. (JPRS 51,271, No. 250, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Specialization, Training of Polyclinic Physicians Discussed," +<i>Zdraven Front</i>, Sofia, June 12, 1971. (JPRS 53,958, No. 407, +1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Statistics on Rising Living Standard Given," <i>Naruchnik na +Agitatore</i>, Sofia, No. 24, December 1972. (JPRS 58,480, No. 851, +1973).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Status Prospects of Medical Science Discussed," <i>Zdraven Front</i>, +Sofia, April 24, 1971. (JPRS 53,482, No. 375, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Study of Services in Burgas Area Reviewed," <i>Narodni Suveti</i>, +Sofia, No. 1, 1970. (JPRS 50,150, No. 197, 1970).</p></div></div> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Intelligence and Research. +<i>Educational and Cultural Exchanges Between Communist and +Non-Communist Countries in 1970.</i> (Research Study RSES-34.) +Washington: 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs. Office of Media +Services. "Educational and Cultural Exchange Between Communist <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306">[Pg 306]</a></span>and +Non-Communist Countries in 1971." (News Release.) December 8, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">U.S. Department of State. Geographer. Office of Research in Economics +and Science. <i>Bulgaria-Greece Boundary.</i> (International Boundary +Study, No. 56). Washington: 1965.</p> + +<p class="hang">Wolff, Robert Lee. <i>The Balkans in Our Time.</i> Cambridge: Harvard +University Press, 1956.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>World Christian Handbook, 1968.</i> (Eds., H. Wakelin Coxill and Kenneth +G. Grubb.) New York: Abingdon Press, 1967.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>World of Learning, 1972-73.</i> London: Europa Publications, 1973, +207-212.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>World Population Data Sheet, 1972.</i> Washington: Population Reference +Bureau, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Yovkov, Yordav. <i>Short Stories.</i> (Trans., Monco Mincoff and Marguerite +Alexieva.) Sofia: Foreign Language Press, 1965.</p> + +<p class="hang">(Various issues of the following periodicals were also used in the +preparation of this section: <i>Bulgaria Today</i> [Sofia], 1967-1972; +and <i>East Europe</i> [New York], 1965-1973.)</p></div> +<br /> + +<h3><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307">[Pg 307]</a></span>Section II. Political</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">Antonoff, Nicolas. <i>The Bulgarian Crisis.</i> New York: Mid-European +Studies Center, 1953.</p> + +<p class="hang">——. <i>The Constitutional Evolution of Bulgaria.</i> New York: +Mid-European Studies Center, 1953.</p> + +<p class="hang">Black, Cyril E. <i>The Establishment of Constitutional Government in +Bulgaria.</i> Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1943.</p> + +<p class="hang">Blemenfeld, Yorick. <i>Seesaw: Cultural Life in Eastern Europe.</i> New +York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1968.</p> + +<p class="hang">Bromke, Adam. "The CSCE and Eastern Europe," <i>World Today</i> [London], +XXIX, No. 5, May 1973, 196-206.</p> + +<p class="hang">Brown, James F. "Bulgaria." Pages 11-15 in Richard F. Staar (ed.), +<i>Yearbook on International Communist Affairs, 1973.</i> Hoover +Institution Press, 1973.</p> + +<p class="hang">——. <i>Bulgaria Under Communist Rule.</i> New York: Praeger, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Bulgaria. Central Council of the Trade Unions. <i>Bulgaria Traditions</i>, +Sofia, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">Bulgaria. Laws, Statutes, etc.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang"><i>Constitution of the People's Republic of Bulgaria.</i> Sofia: Sofia +Press, 1971.</p></div></div> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">Bulgaria. State Information Office with the Council of Ministers. +<i>Statistical Pocket Book, 1970.</i> Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Bulgaria," <i>East Europe</i>, XVII, No. 2, February 1968, 25-26.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Bulgaria: History". Pages 385-400 in <i>Encyclopaedia Britannica</i>, IV. +Chicago: William Benton, 1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Bulgaria: Introductory Survey." Pages 570-588 in <i>The Europa +Yearbook, 1972</i>,I. London: Europa Publications, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Bulgarian Books Abroad," <i>Bulgaria Today</i> [Sofia], XVI, No. 10, +October 1967, 10.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Bulgarian Television," <i>Bulgaria Today</i> [Sofia], XV, No. 2, February +1966, 36-50.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Bulgaria." Pages 41-50 in Moshe Sachs (ed.), <i>Worldmark Encyclopedia +of the Nations</i>, V: Europe. New York: Harper and Row, 1967.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Bulgaria." Pages 789-796 in <i>Statesman's Yearbook, 1971-72</i>. London: +Macmillan, 1973.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Bulgaria." Pages 205-206 in <i>The World of Learning, 1972-73</i>. London: +Europa Publications, 1973.</p> + +<p class="hang">Cary, William. <i>Bulgaria Today.</i> New York: Exposition Press, 1965.</p> + +<p class="hang">Costello, Michael. "Bulgaria." Pages 135-157 in Adam Bromke and Teresa +Rakowska-Harmstone (eds.), <i>The Communist States in <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308">[Pg 308]</a></span>Disarray, +1965-71</i>. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Davis, Fitzroy, "Bulgarian Filmmakers: Looking for a Place in the +Cinematic Sun," <i>East Europe</i>, XX, No. 3, March 1971, 29-35.</p> + +<p class="hang">Dellin, L. A. D. (ed.) <i>Bulgaria: East-Central Europe Under the +Communists.</i> New York: Praeger, 1957.</p> + +<p class="hang">Dinkova, Maria. <i>The Social Progress of the Bulgarian Woman.</i> Sofia: +Sofia Press, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Dobrev, Georgi Mihailov. "Library Organization in Bulgaria," <i>UNESCO +Bulletin for Libraries</i>, IX, No. 8-9, August-September 1955, +161-164.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>Editor and Publisher International Year Book, 1972.</i> New York: Editor +and Publisher, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Exposing the 'Pseudo-Marxists'," <i>East Europe</i>, XVIII, No. 7, July +1969, 29-30.</p> + +<p class="hang">Feron, James. "Ideology on Decline in Eastern Europe," <i>New York +Times</i>, March 22, 1973, A-15.</p> + +<p class="hang">Fischer, Lewis A. "COMECON and the Brezhnev Doctrine," <i>East Europe</i>, +XXI, No. 10, October 1972, 4-7.</p> + +<p class="hang">Georgeoff, Peter J. <i>The Social Education of Bulgarian Youth.</i> +Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1968.</p> + +<p class="hang">Gloghinski, Bogdan (ed.). <i>Meet Bulgaria and Its Trade Unions.</i> +(Trans., Petko Drenkov, et al.) Sofia: Profizdat, 1966.</p> + +<p class="hang">Gsovski, V. (ed.) "Bulgaria: Motion Pictures Under New Regulations," +<i>Highlights of Current Legislation and Activities in Mid-Europe</i>, +II, No. 3, March 1, 1954, 55-60.</p> + +<p class="hang">Gyorgy, Andrew. "External Forces in Europe." Pages 221-235 in Adam +Bromke and Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone (eds.), <i>The Communist States +in Disarray 1965-71</i>. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, +1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Kane, Robert S. <i>Eastern Europe: A to Z.</i> New York: Doubleday, 1968.</p> + +<p class="hang">Karadelkov, Petko. "The Fires of Mount Bouzloudja," <i>Bulgaria Today</i> +[Sofia], XX, No. 8, August 1971, 3-4.</p> + +<p class="hang">——. "The Founders of the Bulgarian Communist Party," <i>Bulgaria +Today</i> [Sofia], XX, No. 8, August 1971, 2.</p> + +<p class="hang">Kharalampi, Georgiev H. <i>The Bulgarian Agrarian Union: Seventy Years +Since the Foundation.</i> Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Koritarova, Roza. "The Role and the Position of Trade Unions in the +System of Social Administration at the Contemporary Stage: A +Report." (A report delivered by Roza Koritarova, President of the +Central Council of the Trade Unions at the Tenth Plenum of the +Central Council of the Bulgarian Trade Unions.) Sofia: Profizdat, +1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">Kraus, Wolfgang. "Is Bulgaria Closing the Gap?" <i>East Europe</i>, XV, No. +4, April 1966, 2-11.</p> + +<p class="hang">Larabee, F. Stephen. "Bulgaria's Politics of Conformity," <i>Problems of +Communism</i>, XXI, No. 4, February 20, 1972, 42-53.</p> + +<p class="hang"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309">[Pg 309]</a></span>Lauwerys, Joseph A., and Scanlon, David G. "Education in Cities," <i>The +World Year Book of Education</i>, 1970. New York: Harcourt, Brace and +World, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Liberals Under Fire," <i>East Europe</i>, XXI, No. 5, May 1972, 35.</p> + +<p class="hang">Morgan, Dan. "Bulgaria Moving Cautiously to Better U.S. Ties," +<i>Washington Post</i>, March 29, 1973, A15.</p> + +<p class="hang">Mossechkov, Nedyalko. "University Library," <i>Bulgaria Today</i> [Sofia], +X, No. 7, July 1961, 25-26.</p> + +<p class="hang">Newman, Bernard. <i>Bulgarian Background.</i> London: Robert Hale, 1961.</p> + +<p class="hang">Olson, Kenneth E. <i>The History Makers.</i> Baton Rouge: Louisiana State +University Press, 1966.</p> + +<p class="hang">Oren, Nissan. <i>Revolution Administered: Agrarianism and Communism in +Bulgaria.</i> Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973.</p> + +<p class="hang">Ostoich, Peter D. <i>The Bulgarian Communist Party—Builder of a +People's Democratic State.</i> Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Perl, Lila. <i>Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria.</i> Camden: Thomas Nelson, +1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Popoff, Emil. "Bulgaria's Young: The Silent Nihilists," <i>East Europe</i>, +XVII, No. 7, July 1968, 7-11.</p> + +<p class="hang">Rakowska-Harmstone, Teresa. "Patterns of Political Change." Pages +323-347 in Adam Bromke, and Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone (eds.), <i>The +Communist States in Disarray, 1965-71</i>. Minneapolis: University of +Minnesota Press, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Rothschild, Joseph. <i>Communist Eastern Europe.</i> New York: Walker, +1964.</p> + +<p class="hang">——. <i>The Communist Party of Bulgaria: Origins and Development, +1883-1936.</i> New York: Columbia University Press, 1959.</p> + +<p class="hang">Rusinov, Spas. <i>Bulgaria: A Survey.</i> Sofia: Sofia Press, 1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">Schöpflin, George (ed.). <i>The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.</i> New +York: Praeger, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Sharp, Samuel L., and Fedlam, Fruzsina H. <i>The Soviet Union and +Eastern Europe, 1972.</i> (The World Series.) Washington: Stryker-Post +Publications, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Sokolski, Alexander. "A Glance at the New Bulgarian Films," <i>Bulgaria +Today</i> [Sofia], XXI, No. 7, July 1972, 28-29.</p> + +<p class="hang">Staar, Richard F. <i>The Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe.</i> Stanford: +Stanford University Press, 1967.</p> + +<p class="hang">——. <i>The Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe.</i> (Rev. ed.) Stanford: +Stanford University Press, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>The Statesman's Year Book, 1972-73.</i> (Ed., John Paxton.) London: +Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, 1972, 789-797.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>Statistical Yearbook, 1972.</i> Sofia, National Information Office, +1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Stavrianos, Leften S. <i>Balkan Federation: A History of the Movement +Toward Balkan Unity in Modern Times.</i> (Smith College Studies in +History XXVII, Nos. 1-4.) Northampton: Department of History, Smith +College, 1942.</p> + +<p class="hang"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_310" id="Page_310">[Pg 310]</a></span>Sylvester, Anthony. "The Bulgarian Paradox," <i>East Europe</i>, XVII, No. +1, January 1968, 15-19.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Television in Eastern Europe," <i>East Europe</i>, XV, No. 4, April 1966, +12-15.</p> + +<p class="hang">Toma, Peter A. (ed.) <i>The Changing Face of Communism in Eastern +Europe.</i> Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Triska, Jan F. (ed.) <i>Constitutions of the Communist Party-States.</i> +Stanford: Hoover Institution, 1968.</p> + +<p class="hang">United Nations. "Delegations to the General Assembly and the Councils +Delegations to the Twenty-fifth Session of the General Assembly 15 +September-17 December 1970." Page 1083 in <i>Yearbook of the United +Nations</i>, 1970. New York: U.N. Office of Information, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1971.</i> Paris: United Nations +Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1972, 700-731.</p> + +<p class="hang">United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. +<i>World Communications: Press, Radio, Television, Film.</i> (4th ed.) +New York: UNESCO, 1964.</p> + +<p class="hang">United Nations. Office of Public Information. Press Section. "United +Nations Bodies and Their Membership, 1972." (Press Release ORG/ +713.) May 1, 1972, 1-58.</p> + +<p class="hang">U.S. Department of the Army. <i>Communist Eastern Europe: Analytical +Survey of Literature.</i> (DA PAM 550-8.) Washington: GPO, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint +Publications Research Service—JPRS (Washington). The following +items are from the JPRS series <i>Translations on Eastern Europe: +Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs</i>.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">"Aspects of New Constitution Interpreted," <i>Novo Vreme</i>, Sofia, +January 1969, 1. (JPRS: 47,959, No. 93, 1969).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Attention Called to Problems of Working Women," <i>Trud</i>, Sofia, +March 14, 1972. (JPRS 55,798, No. 514, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"BCP Greetings Message Outlines Tasks of Bulgarian Propaganda," +Sofia, December 3, 1971. (Speech by Georgi Bokov recorded on Sofia +Radio.) (JPRS 54,763, No. 458, December 22, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Book Publication Circumstances Criticized," <i>Partien Zhivot</i>, +Sofia, II, February 1970. (JPRS 50,510, No. 197, March 25, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Communist Party Courts Full Support of KOMSOMOL," <i>Rabotnichesko +Delo</i>, Sofia, March 27, 1971. (JPRS 52,862, No. 339, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Constitutional Problems of People's Councils Viewed," <i>Narodni +Suveti</i>, Sofia, No. 4, 1971. (JPRS: 54,667, No. 388, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Control Committee Scores Serious Lack of Textbooks," <i>Otechestven +Front</i>, Sofia, August 1, 1970. (JPRS 51,187, No. 246, August 18, +1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Czechoslovak Normalization Process Discussed," <i>Literaturen Front</i>, +Sofia, No. 39, September 19, 1968. (JPRS 46,866, No. 42, <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311">[Pg 311]</a></span>November +14, 1968).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Development of TV Relay Station Network Discussed," <i>Radio i +Televiziya Sofia</i>, No. 11, 1969. (JPRS 50,112, No. 268, March 20, +1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"The Effectiveness of Ideological Propaganda at the Contemporary +Stage," <i>Politichecka Prosveta</i>, Sofia, July 1972. (JPRS 57,025, +No. 592, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Facts, Figures on Printed Broadcast Media Published," +<i>Rabotnichesko Delo</i>, Sofia, November 25, 1971. (JPRS 54,716, No. +456, December 16, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Further Upgrading of Role of Fatherland Front," <i>Novo Vreme</i>, +Sofia, No. 7, July 1970. (JPRS 51,271, No. 250, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Greater Role Urged for People's Councils," <i>Otechestven Front</i>, +Sofia, August 10, 1972. (JPRS: 57,149, No. 600, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Ideological Peaceful Coexistence Criticized," <i>Literaturen Front</i>, +Sofia, April 18, 1968. (JPRS 45,428, No. 346, May 17, 1968).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Importance of Leading Role of Party Emphasized," <i>Politicheska +Prosveta</i>, Sofia, December 1970. (JPRS 52,298, No. 309, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Improvement in Construction Troops Work Urged," <i>Trudovo Delo</i>, +Sofia, January 23, 1973. (JPRS 58,600, No. 690, 1973).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Increased National Assembly Role Foreseen," <i>Pravna Misul</i>, Sofia, +No. 2, 1971. (JPRS: 53,656, No. 387, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Medicosocial Problems of the Antialcoholism Campaign," <i>Nevrologiya +Psikhiatriya i Nevrokhirurgiya</i>, Sofia, XI, No. 2, 1972. (JPRS +56,973, No. 589, September 7, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Military Training for Secondary Students," <i>Narodna Mladezh</i>, +Sofia, March 20, 1972. (JPRS 55,828, No. 516, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Minister Stoilov's Keynote Address at World Conference on +Pollution," BTA, Sofia, April 27, 1972. (JPRS 55,907, No. 520, May +5, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"National Conference on Party Propaganda Reviewed," <i>Politicheska +Prosveta</i>, Sofia, No. 5, May 1970. (JPRS 50,880, No. 233, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"New Television Studio Opens in Ruse," <i>Zemedelsko Zname</i>, Sofia, +November 6, 1972. (JPRS 57,590, No. 631, November 24, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"The Obshtina Party Committees and Organizations—Political +Leaderships," Partien Zhivot, Sofia, No. 18, December 1968. (JPRS +47,447, No. 69, 1969).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Party Application of Democratic Centralism Discussed," <i>Partien +Zhivot</i>, Sofia, No. 8, June 1970. (JPRS 51,534, No. 257, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Party Guidance of the Fatherland Front," <i>Partien Zhivot</i>, Sofia, +No. 9, 1972. (JPRS 57,109, No. 598, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Patriotism and Internationalism Defined," <i>Trudovo Delo</i>, Sofia, +April 16, 1969. (JPRS 48,138, No. 100, 1969).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Political Knowledge of Working People Analyzed," <i>Partien <span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312">[Pg 312]</a></span>Zhivot</i>, +Sofia, February 1972. (JPRS: 56,081, No. 530, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Qualifications for Party Membership Analyzed," <i>Novo Vreme</i>, Sofia, +April 1969. (JPRS 48,428, No. 114, 1969).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Radio, TV Development, Progress Viewed," <i>Transporten Glas</i>, Sofia, +April 7, 1971. (JPRS 53,205, No. 471, May 24, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Special TV Program for Tourists Inaugurated," <i>Otechestven Front</i>, +Sofia, July 30, 1972. (JPRS 56,813, No. 579, August 18, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"State Council Formation Discussed," <i>Pravna Misul</i>, Sofia, No. 2, +1971. (JPRS 53,656, No. 387, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Strengthening of Contemporary Ideological Struggle Needed," +<i>Rabotnichesko Delo</i>, Sofia, August 4, 1972. (JPRS 56,851, No. +582, August 23, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Study of Religiousness of Socialist Society Made," <i>Politicheska +Prosveta</i>, Sofia, No. 10. (JPRS 47,047, No. 52, December 10, +1968).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Twenty-Five Years of Publishing Reviewed," <i>Bulgarski Knigi</i>, +Sofia, September 1969. (JPRS 49,166, No. 152, October 30, 1969).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Youth Warned Against Western Psychological Warfare," <i>Mladezh</i>, +Sofia, No. I, January 1973. (JPRS 58,807, No. 700, April 19, +1973).</p></div></div> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Intelligence and Research. +"Bulgaria." Pages 61-63 in <i>World Strength of the Communist Party +Organization</i>, (23rd annual edition.) Washington: GPO, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs. Office of Media +Services. "Educational and Cultural Exchange Between Communist and +Non-Communist Countries in 1971." (News Release.) December 8, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Verin, Velko. "Getting Into Print in Bulgaria," <i>East Europe</i>, XVIII, +No. 1, January 1969, 22-24.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>Women in the People's Republic of Bulgaria.</i> Sofia: Sofia Press, +1971.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>World Radio-TV Handbook, 1973.</i> (Ed., J.M. Frost.) Hvidovre: World +Radio-TV Handbook, 1973.</p> + +<p class="hang">"Youth Time" <i>East Europe</i>, XXI, No. 10, October 1972, 23-24.</p></div> +<br /> + +<h3><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313">[Pg 313]</a></span>Section III. Economic</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">Alton, Thad P. "Economic Structure and Growth in Eastern Europe." In +U.S. Congress. 91st, 2d session. Joint Economic Committee. +<i>Economic Development in Countries of Eastern Europe.</i> Washington: +GPO, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Costello, Michael. "Bulgaria." Pages 135-157 in Adam Bromke, and +Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone (eds.), <i>Communist States in Disarray, +1965-1971</i>. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Dellin, L. A. D. (ed.) <i>Bulgaria: East-Central Europe Under the +Communists.</i> New York: Praeger, 1957.</p> + +<p class="hang">Dobrin, Boguslav. <i>Bulgarian Economic Development Since World War II.</i> +New York: Praeger, 1973.</p> + +<p class="hang">Koleva, M. "Size, Structure and Efficiency of Production Funds +Invested in Dairy Cattle Breeding." <i>Ikonomika Selskoto Stopanstvo</i> +[Sofia], August 1971, 71-83.</p> + +<p class="hang">Narodna Respublika Bulgariya. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri +Ministerskiya Suvet. <i>Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika +Bulgariya, 1963.</i> Sofia: Sofia Press, 1963.</p> + +<p class="hang">——. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri Ministerskiya Suvet. +<i>Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika Bulgariya, 1966.</i> +Sofia: Sofia Press, 1966.</p> + +<p class="hang">——. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri Ministerskiya Suvet. +<i>Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika Bulgariya, 1968.</i> +Sofia: Sofia Press, 1968.</p> + +<p class="hang">——. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri Ministerskiya Suvet. +<i>Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika Bulgariya, 1971.</i> +Sofia: Sofia Press, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">——. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri Ministerskiya Suvet. +<i>Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika Bulgariya, 1972.</i> +Sofia: Sofia Press, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Osborne, R. H. <i>East-Central Europe.</i> New York: Praeger, 1967.</p> + +<p class="hang">Pick, Franz. <i>Pick's Currency Yearbook, 1972.</i> New York: Pick +Publication, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Pounds, Norman J. G. <i>Eastern Europe.</i> Chicago: Aldine, 1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">Rusinov, Spas. <i>Bulgaria: A Survey.</i> Sofia, Sofia Press, 1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">Selucky, Radoslav. <i>Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe.</i> New York: +Praeger, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Starodubrovskaya, V. N. <i>Kooperativnaya sobstvennost v selskom +khozyastve sotsialisticheskikh stran.</i> Moscow: Nauka, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>Statistical Yearbook, 1971.</i> National Information Office, Sofia, +1971.</p> + +<p class="hang"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314">[Pg 314]</a></span><i>Statistical Yearbook, 1972.</i> National Information Office, Sofia, +1972.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>Statisticheskii Ezhegodnik, 1971.</i> Moscow: Tipografiia Sekretariata +SEV, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">U.S. Congress. 91st, 2d Session. Joint Economic Committee. <i>Economic +Developments in Countries of Eastern Europe.</i> Washington: GPO, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">U.S. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service. <i>The +Agricultural Economy and Trade of Bulgaria.</i> (Bulletin ERS-Foreign +256.) Washington: GPO, February 1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">U.S. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Mines. "The Mineral +Industry of Bulgaria." Washington: GPO, n.d. (Preprint from <i>1971 +Bureau of Mines Minerals Yearbook</i>.)</p> + +<p class="hang">Wilczynski, J. <i>Socialist Economic Development and Reforms.</i> New York: +Praeger, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>Yearbook of National Account Statistics, 1971.</i> New York: United +Nations, 1973.</p></div> +<br /> + +<h3><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315">[Pg 315]</a></span>Section IV. National Security</h3> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">Baldwin, Godfrey (ed.). <i>International Population Reports.</i> (U.S. +Department of Commerce, Series p-91, No. 18.) Washington: GPO, +1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">Bulgaria. State Information Office with the Council of Ministers. +<i>Statistical Pocket Book 1970.</i> Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Cary, William. <i>Bulgaria Today.</i> New York: Exposition Press, 1965.</p> + +<p class="hang">Dellin, L. A. D. (ed.) <i>Bulgaria: East-Central Europe Under the +Communists.</i> New York: Praeger, 1957.</p> + +<p class="hang"><i>The Military Balance, 1972-73.</i> London: Institute for Strategic +Studies, 1972.</p> + +<p class="hang">Newman, Bernard. <i>Bulgarian Background.</i> London: Robert Hale, 1961.</p> + +<p class="hang">Oren, Nissan. <i>Bulgarian Communism.</i> New York: Columbia University +Press, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">Perl, Lila. <i>Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria.</i> Camden: Thomas Nelson, +1970.</p> + +<p class="hang">Popoff, Emil. "Bulgaria's Young: The Silent Nihilists," <i>East Europe</i>, +XVII, No. 7, July 1968, 7-11.</p> + +<p class="hang">Pounds, Norman J. G. <i>Eastern Europe.</i> Chicago: Aldine, 1969.</p> + +<p class="hang">Rothschild, Joseph. <i>Communist Eastern Europe.</i> New York: Walker, +1964.</p> + +<p class="hang">U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint +Publications Research Service—JPRS (Washington). The following +items are from the JPRS series <i>Translations on Eastern Europe: +Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs</i>.</p> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">"Bulgarian Criminal Code," <i>Sbornik postanovleniya i +razporezhdaniya na Ministerskiya suvet na NRB</i>, Sofia, May 1968. +(JPRS: 45,757, No. 5, 1968).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Bulgarian Customs Operations," <i>Otechestven Front</i>, Sofia, 1971, +(JPRS: 55,110, No. 475, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Civil Defense Plans and Tasks," <i>Narodna Armiya</i>, Sofia, February +21, 1972. (JPRS: 58,495, No. 685, 1973).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Crime Treatment in Socialist Society," <i>Filosofska Misul</i>, Sofia, +1971. (JPRS: 53,920, No. 405, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Execution of Court Sentences," <i>Durzhaven Vestnik</i>, Sofia, April +15, 1969. (JPRS: 48,065, No. 98, 1969).</p> + +<p class="hang">"History of Military Medical Institute," <i>Voenno Meditsinsko Delo</i>, +Sofia, No. 5, 1970. (JPRS: 52,242, No. 308, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Intermediate-Level Service School Entrance Exams," <i>Trudovo Delo</i>, +Sofia, May 12, 1970. (JPRS: 50,783, No. 228, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang"><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316">[Pg 316]</a></span>"Internment Without Deprivation of Liberty," <i>Pravna Misul</i>, Sofia, +1971. (JPRS: 56,452, No. 550, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Law Governing Stay of Foreigners in Belgium," <i>Durzhaven Vestnik</i>, +Sofia, November 28, 1972. (JPRS: 58,035, No. 658, 1973).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Law on Universal Military Service," <i>Durzhaven Vestnik</i>, Sofia, +August 11, 1970. (JPRS: 51,354, No. 257, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Medicosocial Problems of Alcoholism," <i>Nevrologiya Psikhiatriya i +Nevrokhirurgiya</i>, Sofia, 1972. (JPRS: 56,973, No. 589, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Military School Cadet Entrance Exams," <i>Narodna Armiya</i>, Sofia, May +17, 1970. (JPRS. 50,687, No. 224, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Military Training for Secondary Students," <i>Narodna Mladezh</i>, +Sofia, March 20, 1972. (JPRS: 55,828, No. 516, 1972).</p> + +<p class="hang">"New Medals," <i>Armeyski Pregled</i>, Sofia, September 11, 1969. (JPRS: +48,790, No. 129, 1969).</p> + +<p class="hang">"New Training Year," <i>Armeyski Pregled</i>, Sofia, December 1969. +(JPRS: 49,929, No. 187, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"New Uniforms for Officers and Noncoms," <i>Pogled</i>, Sofia, March 22, +1971. (JPRS: 53,014, No. 347, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Party Program for Defense," <i>Otechestven Front</i>, Sofia, July 8, +1971. (JPRS: 53,641, No. 386, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"People's Councils Legal Departments," <i>Durzhaven Vestnik</i>, Sofia, +March 6, 1970. (JPRS 50,415, No. 210, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Pre-Induction Military Training Reorganized," <i>Narodna Armiya</i>, +Sofia, August 8, 1968. (JPRS: 46,551, No. 31, 1968).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Provisions for Servicemen, Families," <i>Narodna Armiya</i>, Sofia, +February 8, 1973. (JPRS: 58,336, No. 676, 1973).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Regulations on Obshtina Militia," <i>Durzhaven Vestnik</i>, Sofia, May +12, 1970. (JPRS: 50,920, No. 236, 1970).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Scientific Training for Youth," <i>Durzhaven Vestnik</i>, Sofia, +December 6, 1968. (JPRS: 47,136, No. 56, 1968).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Significance of CEMA Defense Programs," <i>Narodna Armiya</i>, Sofia, +September 22, 1971. (JPRS: 54,261, No. 549, 1971).</p> + +<p class="hang">"Winter Defense Exercise," <i>Armeyski Pregled</i>, Sofia, December 1969. +(JPRS: 49,929, No. 187, 1970).</p></div></div> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">Wolff, Robert Lee. <i>The Balkans in Our Time.</i> Cambridge: Harvard +University Press, 1956.</p></div> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317">[Pg 317]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>GLOSSARY</h2> + +<div class="blockquot"><p class="hang">BKP—Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya (Bulgarian Communist Party). +Party dates its origins from the founding of the Bulgarian Social +Democratic Party in 1891. Through many years of factional splits, +coalitions, changes of designation, underground operations, and front +organizations, the BKP finally emerged from World War II (with Soviet +backing) as the only viable political force in the country.</p> + +<p class="hang">COMECON—Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Economic alliance +founded in 1949 to further cooperation among member states. Members +are Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Mongolia, +Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. Headquarters is in Moscow.</p> + +<p class="hang">Fatherland Front—An umbrella organization for all other mass +organizations; provides a structure for democratic electoral processes +but, actually, is controlled by the BKP.</p> + +<p class="hang">greenback—United States legal tender. Term used in international +monetary transactions since convertibility of the United States dollar +into gold was suspended on August 15, 1971.</p> + +<p class="hang">lev (pl., leva)—Basic unit of currency; divided into 100 stotinki +(<i>q.v.</i>). Officially rated at the artificial level of 0.97 per US$1. +Lev is nonconvertible and is actually exchanged at several different +rates depending on type of transaction.</p> + +<p class="hang">stotinki (sing., stotinka)—100 stotinki equal one lev.</p> + +<p class="hang">Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact)—A military alliance founded +in 1955. The Soviet minister of defense is traditionally the supreme +commander of the joint pact forces. Members are Bulgaria, +Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet +Union.</p></div> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318">[Pg 318]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319">[Pg 319]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>INDEX</h2> + + + +<ul><li> Academy of Agricultural Sciences: <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> + +<li> Academy of Sciences: <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> + +<li> Agitation and Propaganda Department (Agitprop): <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> + +<li> Agrarian Party. <i>See</i> Bulgarian Agrarian Union</li> + +<li> agriculture (<i>see also</i> agroindustrial complexes): <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225-247</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> civil defense teams, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>;</li> + <li> collectivization, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52-53</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>;</li> + <li> cropping pattern, <a href="#Page_230">230-231</a>;</li> + <li> erosion, <a href="#Page_227">227-228</a>;</li> + <li> faulty practices, <a href="#Page_243">243-244</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245-246</a>;</li> + <li> fertilizers and pesticides, <a href="#Page_243">243-244</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266-267</a>;</li> + <li> five-year plans, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>;</li> + <li> income, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>;</li> + <li> investment, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238-239</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>;</li> + <li> irrigation, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_229">229-230</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>;</li> + <li> labor, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237-238</a>;</li> + <li> land protection, <a href="#Page_227">227-229</a>;</li> + <li> land use, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45-46</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227-231</a>;</li> + <li> livestock and livestock products, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244-247</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</li> + <li> marketing, <a href="#Page_240">240-241</a>;</li> + <li> mechanization, <a href="#Page_239">239-240</a>;</li> + <li> national income, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>;</li> + <li> organization, <a href="#Page_231">231-235</a>;</li> + <li> planning and management, <a href="#Page_235">235-237</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>;</li> + <li> private farm plots, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_234">234-235</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>;</li> + <li> production, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_241">241-247</a>;</li> + <li> shortage of skilled workers, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>;</li> + <li> Thracian Plain, <a href="#Page_45">45-46</a>;</li> + <li> trade, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_247">247</a>;</li> + <li> traditional, <a href="#Page_76">76-77</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> agroindustrial complexes: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231-234</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> communications problems, <a href="#Page_236">236-237</a>;</li> + <li> labor, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>;</li> + <li> land ownership, <a href="#Page_234">234</a>;</li> + <li> legal and economic aspects, <a href="#Page_233">233-234</a>;</li> + <li> marketing, <a href="#Page_241">241</a>;</li> + <li> planning and management, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>;</li> + <li> types, <a href="#Page_232">232-233</a>;</li> + <li> voluntary nature, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> air and air defense forces: <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> training, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> airlines: <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62-63</a></li> + +<li> Albania: <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> historic, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> alcoholism: <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278</a>, <a href="#Page_281">281-282</a></li> + +<li> Algeria: <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> + +<li> Andonov, Ivan: <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> + +<li> Angel, Isaac: <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> + +<li> architecture: <a href="#Page_133">133-135</a></li> + +<li> armed forces (<i>see also</i> air and air defense forces; army; navy): <a href="#Page_7">7-8</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287-300</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> cadet programs, <a href="#Page_295">295-296</a>;</li> + <li> equipment, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>;</li> + <li> logistics, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>;</li> + <li> manpower, <a href="#Page_292">292-293</a>;</li> + <li> medical service, <a href="#Page_296">296-297</a>;</li> + <li> military justice, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297-298</a>;</li> + <li> military service, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292-293</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>;</li> + <li> morale, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>;</li> + <li> officers, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298-299</a>;</li> + <li> officers' training, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>;</li> + <li> political indoctrination, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>;</li> + <li> ranks, uniforms, and decorations, <a href="#Page_298">298-300</a>;</li> + <li> reserves, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>;</li> + <li> social benefits, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet aid, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet officers, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>;</li> + <li> state and party control, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288-289</a>;</li> + <li> training, <a href="#Page_293">293-296</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Armenians: <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> + +<li> army: <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7-8</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290-291</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> border troops, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>;</li> + <li> Bulgarian People's Army, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>;</li> + <li> Construction Troops, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273-275</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a>;</li> + <li> equipment, <a href="#Page_290">290-291</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet model, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> art: <a href="#Page_131">131-133</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> National Revival, <a href="#Page_131">131-132</a>;</li> + <li> Turnovo School of, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> artisans and craftsmen: <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86-87</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> historic, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> artistic and intellectual expression: <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123-135</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> First Congress on Culture—1967, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>;</li> + <li> Golden Age, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>;</li> + <li> government and party control, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124-125</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>;</li> + <li> ideological messages, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>;</li> + <li> library clubs, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>;</li> + <li> minority groups, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>;</li> + <li> National Revival, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131-132</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>;</li> + <li> National Theater, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>;</li> + <li> prestige, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>;</li> + <li> self-censorship, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet model, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>;</li> + <li> Stalinist period, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>;</li> + <li> subsidies, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_127">127</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>;</li> + <li> unions, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Asen: <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> + +<li> Attila the Hun: <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> + +<li> Australia, relations: <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> + +<li> Austria, historic: <a href="#Page_17">17</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> Bagrianov, Ivan: <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> + +<li> Balkan-Bulgarian Airlines (BALKAN): <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62-63</a></li> + +<li> Balkan Pact: <a href="#Page_26">26-27</a></li> + +<li> Balkan wars, 1912, 1913: <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22-23</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li> + +<li> banks and banking: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215-219</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>;</li> + <li> Bulgarian National Bank, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320">[Pg 320]</a></span></li> + <li> credit, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216-217</a>;</li> + <li> state lotteries, <a href="#Page_217">217</a>;</li> + <li> State Savings Bank, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215-216</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Basil II: <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> + +<li> Battle of Ankara: <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + +<li> Battle of Varna: <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + +<li> Belgium, relations: <a href="#Page_178">178-179</a></li> + +<li> Black Sea: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> effect on climate, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>;</li> + <li> patrol boats, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>;</li> + <li> ports, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>;</li> + <li> tourism, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Black Wind: <a href="#Page_44">44</a></li> + +<li> Blagoev, Dimiter: <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> + +<li> Bobov Dol: <a href="#Page_253">253-254</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> + +<li> Bokov, Georgi: <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> + +<li> border troops: <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a></li> + +<li> Boris I: <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> + +<li> Boris III: <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> + +<li> Botev: <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> + +<li> Botev, Khristo: <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> + +<li> boundaries: <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48-50</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Congress (Treaty) of Berlin—1878, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</li> + <li> Greece, <a href="#Page_49">49-50</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>;</li> + <li> post-World War I, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</li> + <li> post-World War II, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</li> + <li> Romania, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>;</li> + <li> Treaty of San Stefano—1878, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</li> + <li> Turkey, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>;</li> + <li> Yugoslavia, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Boyana Church: <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> + +<li> Bozhinov, Alexander: <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + +<li> Brezhnev, Leonid: <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></li> + +<li> budget: <a href="#Page_213">213-215</a></li> + +<li> Bulgars: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> + +<li> Bulgaranov, Boyan: <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> + +<li> Bulgarian Academy of Sciences: <a href="#Page_245">245</a></li> + +<li> Bulgarian Agrarian Union: <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163-164</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> membership, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>;</li> + <li> organization, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP) (<i>see also</i> Politburo; State Council; Tenth Congress): <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157-163</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Central Committee, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157-158</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;</li> + <li> democratic centralism, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</li> + <li> first secretary, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>;</li> + <li> growth of, <a href="#Page_30">30-36</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158-159</a>;</li> + <li> membership, <a href="#Page_158">158-160</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>;</li> + <li> New Course, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</li> + <li> news organization, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>;</li> + <li> nomination of candidates, <a href="#Page_150">150-151</a>;</li> + <li> organization, <a href="#Page_157">157-158</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>;</li> + <li> Party Congresses, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160-163</a>;</li> + <li> party uprising—1923, <a href="#Page_25">25-26</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>;</li> + <li> pre-World War II, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>;</li> + <li> purges, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>;</li> + <li> Secretariat, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162-163</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet leadership, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>;</li> + <li> structure, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>;</li> + <li> supremacy over all aspects of Bulgarian life, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276-277</a>;</li> + <li> women members, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Bulgarian Hunting and Fishing Union: <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> + +<li> Bulgarian National Library: <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> + +<li> Bulgarian Red Cross: <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> + +<li> Bulgarian Telegraph Agency: <a href="#Page_186">186-187</a></li> + +<li> Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sports: <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> + +<li> Bulgarian Union of Tourists: <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> + +<li> Bulgarians abroad: <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> + +<li> Bulgars: <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> + +<li> Burgas: <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> + +<li> Byzantine Empire: <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10-11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12-17</a> <i>passim</i><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> Canada, relations: <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> + +<li> Carpathian Mountains: <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li> + +<li> caves: <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> + +<li> Central Leninist Party School: <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> + +<li> Chelopets: <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> + +<li> Chervenkov, Vulko: <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> + +<li> China, People's Republic of: <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160-161</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> + +<li> citizenship: <a href="#Page_272">272</a></li> + +<li> civil defense: <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275-276</a></li> + +<li> civil rights: <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285-286</a></li> + +<li> climate: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42-44</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> + +<li> Committee for Science, Art, and Culture: <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> + +<li> Committee of Bulgarian Women: <a href="#Page_168">168-169</a></li> + +<li> Committee of State Security: <a href="#Page_36">36</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> + +<li> Committee on Art and Culture: <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> + +<li> communications. <i>See</i> mass communications</li> + +<li> Communist Party. <i>See</i> Bulgarian Communist Party</li> + +<li> Congress of Berlin: <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> + +<li> Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON): <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179-180</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li>trade with, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Council of Ministers: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145-147</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218-219</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> administration of ministries, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>;</li> + <li> agricultural programs, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_238">238</a>;</li> + <li> Department of Motion Pictures, <a href="#Page_201">201</a>;</li> + <li> establishment, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>;</li> + <li> functions, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145-147</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235-236</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>;</li> + <li> legislative initiative, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>;</li> + <li> organization (chart), <a href="#Page_146">146</a>;</li> + <li> police power, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Couve de Murville, Maurice: <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> + +<li> crime: <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269-270</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_279">279-282</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> criminal code, <a href="#Page_282">282-283</a>;</li> + <li> death penalty, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>;</li> + <li> economic, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>;</li> + <li> juvenile, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>;</li> + <li> military, <a href="#Page_297">297-298</a>;</li> + <li> penalties, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283</a>;</li> + <li> political, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>, <a href="#Page_280">280-281</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Crusades: <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> + +<li> Cuba: <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> + +<li> currency: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219-220</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> exchange rates, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Cyril: <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> + +<li> Czechoslovakia: <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Bulgarian students, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>;</li> + <li> relations, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet invasion, 1968, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189-190</a></li> + </ul> +<br /> +</li> + + +<li> dams: <a href="#Page_42">42</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_321" id="Page_321">[Pg 321]</a></span></li> + +<li> Danube River: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61-62</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> as boundary, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</li> + <li> Iron Gate, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>;</li> + <li> patrol boats, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Danubian plateau: <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226-227</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> population density, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Dimitrov, Georgi: <a href="#Page_2">2-3</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> + +<li> Dimitrov, Vladimir: <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + +<li> Dimitrov Communist Youth Union (Komsomol): <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166-168</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277-278</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> membership, <a href="#Page_217">217-218</a>;</li> + <li> officer training, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>;</li> + <li> premilitary training, <a href="#Page_294">294-295</a>;</li> + <li> source of manpower reserve, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Dimitrovgrad: <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> + +<li> Dimov, Dimitur: <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> + +<li> divorce: <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> + +<li> Dobrudzha: <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_43">43</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> + +<li> Dolni Dubnik: <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> + +<li> Dospevaki, Vladislav: <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + +<li> Dragoman Pass: <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> + +<li> Dragoycheva, Tsola: <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> + +<li> drainage: <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41-42</a></li> + +<li> Dzhurov, Dobri: <a href="#Page_289">289</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> Economic Commission for Europe: <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> + +<li> economy: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203-223</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> automation, <a href="#Page_203">203-204</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236-237</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>;</li> + <li> BKP policies, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>;</li> + <li> Bulgaria's Great Leap Forward, <a href="#Page_160">160-161</a>;</li> + <li> decentralized management, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>;</li> + <li> five-year plans, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>;</li> + <li> investment, <a href="#Page_210">210-213</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260-261</a>;</li> + <li> national income, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206-207</a>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>;</li> + <li> New Economic Model, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>;</li> + <li> organization, <a href="#Page_204">204-206</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet aid, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>;</li> + <li> State Planning Committee, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>;</li> + <li> trusts, <a href="#Page_205">205-206</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220-221</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a>;</li> + <li> Twenty-Year Plan of Economic Development, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>;</li> + <li> World War I, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>;</li> + <li> World War II, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> education: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6-7</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93-122</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> abroad, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116-117</a>;</li> + <li> administration, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106-107</a>;</li> + <li> adult, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>;</li> + <li> boarding schools, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>;</li> + <li> Center for Amateur Scientific and Technical Activities among Youth and Children, <a href="#Page_279">279</a>;</li> + <li> Communist policies, <a href="#Page_97">97-99</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>;</li> + <li> ethnic minorities, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>;</li> + <li> financing, <a href="#Page_107">107-108</a>;</li> + <li> foreign student exchange, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116-117</a>;</li> + <li> graduate, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>;</li> + <li> higher (<i>see also</i> students of worker or peasant origin, preference, <i>infra</i>), <a href="#Page_6">6-7</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94-95</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100-101</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113-118</a>;</li> + <li> history, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95-97</a>;</li> + <li> ideological indoctrination, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97-99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>;</li> + <li> literacy, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95-96</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>;</li> + <li> of prisoners, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>;</li> + <li> polytechnic schools, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_105">105</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110-111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>;</li> + <li> private schools, <a href="#Page_120">120-121</a>;</li> + <li> reforms, <a href="#Page_6">6-7</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99-105</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>;</li> + <li> religious, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98-99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>;</li> + <li> scholarships, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>;</li> + <li> science and technology, emphasis on, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117-118</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet pattern, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>;</li> + <li> special, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_119">119-120</a>;</li> + <li> state control, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97-99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a>;</li> + <li> students of worker or peasant origin, preference, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93-94</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>;</li> + <li> teacher training, <a href="#Page_101">101</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_118">118-119</a>;</li> + <li> Teachers Union, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>;</li> + <li> technical and vocational schools, <a href="#Page_96">96-97</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101-102</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112-113</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>;</li> + <li> Turkish period, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>;</li> + <li> work concept, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101-102</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_109">109</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> elections: <a href="#Page_3">3-4</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149-151</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> BKP membership, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>;</li> + <li> Central Election Commission, <a href="#Page_149">149-150</a>;</li> + <li> Law of Election for the National Assembly, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</li> + <li> 1971 Constitution, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</li> + <li> nominations, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>;</li> + <li> Secretariat, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>;</li> + <li> trade unions, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> electric power: <a href="#Page_255">255-257</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> hydroelectricity, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Elin Pelin Bulgarian Bibliographical Institute: <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> + +<li> Eliseyna: <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> + +<li> ethnic groups: + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Armenians, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;</li> + <li> Bulgar, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>;</li> + <li> Greek, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>;</li> + <li> Jews, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>;</li> + <li> Macedonians, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>;</li> + <li> minority languages, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>;</li> + <li> Romanians, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;</li> + <li> Turks, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65-66</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> European Conference for Security and Cooperation: <a href="#Page_176">176</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> family: <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67-71</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> extended family (<i>zadruga</i>), <a href="#Page_67">67-68</a>, <a href="#Page_70">70-71</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>;</li> + <li> family allowance payments, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>;</li> + <li> traditional, <a href="#Page_67">67-69</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Father Paisi: <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> + +<li> Fatherland Front: <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137-138</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165-166</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> BKP use of, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>;</li> + <li> <i>Izgrev</i>, official organization, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;</li> + <li> National Council (Committee), <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>;</li> + <li> State Council, relationship, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>;</li> + <li> World War II, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31-32</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Ferdinand, King: <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> + +<li> films: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200-202</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Soviet, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> finance (<i>see also</i> budget): <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a></li> + +<li> folk arts: <a href="#Page_126">126</a>,130-131</li> + +<li> folk songs: <a href="#Page_18">18</a></li> + +<li> forced labor camps: <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> + +<li> foreign policy: <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171-181</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Chervenkov, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>;</li> + <li> Communist countries, <a href="#Page_175">175-176</a>;</li> + <li> conduct of, <a href="#Page_173">173-175</a>;</li> + <li> historical factors, <a href="#Page_172">172-173</a>;</li> + <li> irredentism, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21-22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>;</li> + <li> military relations (<i>see also</i> Warsaw Treaty Organization), <a href="#Page_292">292</a>;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322">[Pg 322]</a></span></li> + <li> noncommunist states, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176-179</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet model, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>;</li> + <li> Western Europe, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178-179</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> foreigners, laws governing stay of: <a href="#Page_272">272-273</a></li> + +<li> France: <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> + +<li> freedom of information: <a href="#Page_186">186-187</a></li> + +<li> French Revolution: <a href="#Page_18">18</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> Gabrovo: <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> + +<li> Genkov, Genko: <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> + +<li> Genov, Todor: <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> + +<li> geography: <a href="#Page_v">v</a>, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_xiv">xiv</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> + +<li> Georgiev, Iliya: <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> + +<li> Georgiev, Kimon: <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> + +<li> German Democratic Republic: <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> + +<li> Germany (<i>see also</i> World War I; World War II): <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> + +<li> Germany, Federal Republic of: <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> + +<li> Ghiaurov, Nikolai: <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> + +<li> Goths: <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> + +<li> government (<i>see also</i> Bulgarian Communist Party; Chervenkov; Council of Ministers; Dimitrov, Georgi; National Assembly; State Council; Zhivkov): <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3-5</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137-151</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> BKP control, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>;</li> + <li> central, <a href="#Page_142">142-147</a>;</li> + <li> Dimitrov constitution, 1947, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32-33</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97-98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100-101</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139-140</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>;</li> + <li> Fatherland Front coalition—1944-1947, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31-32</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>;</li> + <li> interwar years, <a href="#Page_25">25-27</a>;</li> + <li> local, <i>see</i> local government;</li> + <li> 1971 constitution, <a href="#Page_137">137-138</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140-142</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163-164</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet model, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>;</li> + <li> structure (chart), <a href="#Page_144">144</a>;</li> + <li> Turkish rule, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>;</li> + <li> Turnovo Constitution—1879, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138-139</a>;</li> + <li> unity of rule, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141-142</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Greece: <a href="#Page_26">26-27</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Balkan Wars, <a href="#Page_22">22-23</a>;</li> + <li> historic, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>;</li> + <li> radio relay lines, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>;</li> + <li> World War I, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Greeks: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> + +<li> Grigorov, Mitko: <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> + +<li> Gypsies: <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> health: <a href="#Page_79">79-83</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> feldshers, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</li> + <li> hospitals, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</li> + <li> life expectancy, <a href="#Page_79">79-80</a>;</li> + <li> physicians, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>;</li> + <li> polyclinics, <a href="#Page_80">80-82</a>;</li> + <li> Public Health Service, <a href="#Page_80">80-83</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> history (<i>see also</i> Turkish rule): <a href="#Page_9">9-36</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Balkan wars—1912 and 1913, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22-23</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>;</li> + <li> Byzantine Empire, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12-14</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</li> + <li> early, <a href="#Page_9">9-15</a>;</li> + <li> early migrations, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>;</li> + <li> feudalism, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>;</li> + <li> First and Second Bulgarian Kingdoms, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11-15</a>;</li> + <li> Golden Age, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>;</li> + <li> independence, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>;</li> + <li> interwar years, <a href="#Page_25">25-27</a>;</li> + <li> monarchy abolished in 1946, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>;</li> + <li> postliberation, <a href="#Page_20">20-21</a>;</li> + <li> Slavs, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Holy Roman Empire: <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> + +<li> housekeeping: <a href="#Page_70">70</a>, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> + +<li> housing: <a href="#Page_85">85</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87-89</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> conveniences, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>;</li> + <li> rural, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>;</li> + <li> shortage, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87-88</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Hungary: <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> historic, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Huns: <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li> + +<li> hydroelectricity: <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Danube River cooperative project, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> + </ul> +<br /> +</li> + + +<li> industry: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222-223</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249-261</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> civil defense teams, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>;</li> + <li> economic crime, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>;</li> + <li> forced labor camps, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>;</li> + <li> growth, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>;</li> + <li> investment, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260-261</a>;</li> + <li> labor, <i>see</i> labor;</li> + <li> organization, <a href="#Page_249">249-252</a>;</li> + <li> production, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264-265</a>;</li> + <li> programs for improvement, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>;</li> + <li> quality, <a href="#Page_264">264-265</a>;</li> + <li> raw materials, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257-260</a>;</li> + <li> raw materials, fuels and power shortages, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet aid, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</li> + <li> State Inspectorate for Industrial Power and Power Control, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>;</li> + <li> state ownership, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32-33</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>;</li> + <li> supply system, <a href="#Page_251">251-252</a>;</li> + <li> textile, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>;</li> + <li> trusts, <a href="#Page_5">5-6</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_249">249</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_251">251</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Institute for the Improvement of Teachers: <a href="#Page_118">118-119</a></li> + +<li> Institute for Political Instruction: <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> + +<li> international organizations: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a></li> + +<li> irredentism: <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21-22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li> + +<li> Iskur River: <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> + +<li> Italy: <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> + +<li> Ivan Asen II: <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> + +<li> Ivan Vazov State Library: <a href="#Page_199">199</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> Jews: <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> emigration, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>;</li> + <li> World War II, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Johnson, Lyndon B.: <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> + +<li> judicial system: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148-149</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283-284</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Chief Prosecutor, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148-149</a>;</li> + <li> district courts, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>;</li> + <li> military courts, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297-298</a>;</li> + <li> party control, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</li> + <li> penal institutions, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284-286</a>;</li> + <li> special courts, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>;</li> + <li> Supreme Court, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_297">297</a></li> + </ul> +<br /> +</li> + + +<li> Kalarov, Vasil: <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> + +<li> Kaloyan: <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> + +<li> Kamchiya River: <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> + +<li> Karavelov, Lyuben: <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> + +<li> Khristov, Boris: <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> + +<li> Khrushchev, Nikita: <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102-103</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323">[Pg 323]</a></span></li> + +<li> Komsomol. <i>See</i> Dimitrov Communist Youth Union</li> + +<li> Kostov, Traicho: <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a></li> + +<li> Koulekov, Pencho: <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> + +<li> Kozloduy: <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> + +<li> Kremikovtsi: <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> + +<li> Krumovo: <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> + +<li> Kurdzhali: <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> + +<li> Kyustendil: <a href="#Page_196">196</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> labor: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207-210</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252</a>, <a href="#Page_261">261</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262-264</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> agricultural, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237-238</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>;</li> + <li> BKP membership, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>;</li> + <li> Construction Troops, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273-275</a>;</li> + <li> employment, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_264">264</a>;</li> + <li> Labor Army, <a href="#Page_274">274</a>;</li> + <li> lack of incentive, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>;</li> + <li> preferential treatment of workers, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93-94</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>;</li> + <li> shortage of skilled workers, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207-208</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_245">245</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>;</li> + <li> sickness and disability benefits, <a href="#Page_89">89-90</a>;</li> + <li> wages, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208-210</a>, <a href="#Page_237">237-238</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262-263</a>;</li> + <li> workweek, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> language: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Cyrillic alphabet, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>;</li> + <li> foreign, education in, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>;</li> + <li> minorities, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>;</li> + <li> Russian, compulsory education, <a href="#Page_109">109</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Lasarov, Ivan: <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> + +<li> Levski, Vasil: <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> + +<li> liberation, 1878: <a href="#Page_1">1-2</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19-21</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>;</li> + <li> Congress (Treaty) of Berlin, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</li> + <li> growth of nationalism, <a href="#Page_17">17-20</a>;</li> + <li> Internal Secret Revolutionary Organization, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>;</li> + <li> "moderates"-"radicals", <a href="#Page_19">19</a>;</li> + <li> revolution of 1876, <a href="#Page_19">19-20</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>;</li> + <li> Russian role in, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>;</li> + <li> Treaty of San Stefano, 1878, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</li> + <li> Turnovo Constitution, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138-139</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> libraries: <a href="#Page_183">183-184</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199-200</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Cyril and Methodius Library, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> literature: <a href="#Page_125">125-128</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> historic, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>;</li> + <li> periodicals, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>;</li> + <li> <i>Slav-Bulgarian History</i>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>;</li> + <li> writers' revolt, <a href="#Page_127">127-128</a>;</li> + <li> Writers' Union, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> living conditions (<i>see also</i> health; housing): <a href="#Page_79">79-91</a>, <a href="#Page_300">300</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Commission on the Living Standard, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>;</li> + <li> consumer goods, shortage, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>;</li> + <li> cost of living, <a href="#Page_83">83-84</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a>;</li> + <li> leisure, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>;</li> + <li> rural, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>, <a href="#Page_88">88</a>;</li> + <li> special plenum on, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_83">83-84</a>, <a href="#Page_87">87</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209-210</a>;</li> + <li> workers and peasants, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> local government: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50-52</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147-148</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> budget, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>;</li> + <li> cities and towns (<i>rayoni</i>), <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>;</li> + <li> civil defense, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>;</li> + <li> districts (<i>okruzi</i>), <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>;</li> + <li> elections, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>;</li> + <li> legal departments, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>;</li> + <li> police, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>;</li> + <li> townships (<i>obshtini</i>), <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Lovech: <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> + +<li> Lulchev, Kosta: <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> Macedonia: Bulgarian territorial claims, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13-14</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21-23</a>, <a href="#Page_24">24</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> historic, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20-23</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>;</li> + <li> Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a>;</li> + <li> People's Republic of, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Macedonians: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> + +<li> Macedonian terrorism: <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> + +<li> Madan: <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> + +<li> Magyars: <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> + +<li> Manov, Emil: <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li> + +<li> Maritsa-Iztok coalfield: <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> + +<li> Maritsa River: <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> + +<li> Marxism-Leninism (<i>see also</i> ideological indoctrination <i>under</i> education): <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> + +<li> mass communications (<i>see also</i> films; press; publishing; radio and television): <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183-202</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> administration, <a href="#Page_187">187-188</a>;</li> + <li> local groups, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>;</li> + <li> objectives, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184-185</a>;</li> + <li> party control, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>;</li> + <li> pro-Soviet themes, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;</li> + <li> public opinion, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>;</li> + <li> relative popularity, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>;</li> + <li> state ownership and regulation, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>;</li> + <li> themes, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188-189</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> mass organizations (<i>see also</i> Dimitrov Communist Youth Group; Fatherland Front): <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164-169</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> BKP control through, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>;</li> + <li> civil defense, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>;</li> + <li> ideological training, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>;</li> + <li> memberships, importance, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>;</li> + <li> public order role, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>;</li> + <li> social pressure by, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>;</li> + <li> sources of popular opinion, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>;</li> + <li> trade unions, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_276">276</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>;</li> + <li> youth groups, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167-168</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277-279</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> merchant marine: <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> + +<li> Mesta River: <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> + +<li> Methodius: <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> + +<li> Mihailov, Ivan: <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> + +<li> Milev, Ivan: <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + +<li> mineral resources: <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47-48</a>, <a href="#Page_252">252-257</a></li> + +<li> mineral waters: <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> + +<li> Ministry of: Agriculture (and Food Industry), <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a>, <a href="#Page_228">228</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>, <a href="#Page_235">235</a>, <a href="#Page_236">236</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Chemical Industry and Power Generation, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>;</li> + <li> Culture, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>;</li> + <li> Education, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>;</li> + <li> Finance, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>;</li> + <li> Foreign Affairs, <a href="#Page_173">173-174</a>;</li> + <li> Foreign Trade, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173-175</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>;</li> + <li> Information and Communications, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>;</li> + <li> Interior, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>;</li> + <li> Internal Affairs, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324">[Pg 324]</a></span></li> + <li> Justice, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_283">283-284</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>;</li> + <li> National Defense, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_273">273</a>, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289-290</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>;</li> + <li> National Education, <a href="#Page_106">106-107</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>;</li> + <li> Public Education, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>;</li> + <li> Public Health, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>;</li> + <li> Supply and State Reserves, <a href="#Page_251">251-252</a>;</li> + <li> Transport, <a href="#Page_63">63</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Montenegro: <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> + +<li> motor vehicles: <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> + +<li> Murad I: <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> + +<li> Murkvichka, Ivan: <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + +<li> music: <a href="#Page_129">129-130</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> National Assembly. (<i>See also</i> State Council): <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> elections, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a>;</li> + <li> establishment, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>;</li> + <li> functions, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139-140</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213-214</a>;</li> + <li> presidium, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> National Liberation Army: <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> + +<li> National School of Choreography: <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> + +<li> national security (<i>see also</i> armed forces; border troops; civil defense; police): <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269-286</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> organization, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>;</li> + <li> police state period, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270-271</a>;</li> + <li> state security police, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> nationalism: <a href="#Page_189">189</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> historic, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> naval base (Varna): <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> + +<li> navy: <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_289">289</a>, <a href="#Page_291">291</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a>, <a href="#Page_299">299</a></li> + +<li> Nedkova, Maria: <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> + +<li> Nicephorus: <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li> + +<li> North Atlantic Treaty Organization: <a href="#Page_290">290</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> opera: <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129-130</a></li> + +<li> <i>Otechestven Front</i>: <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192-193</a></li> + +<li> Ottoman Turks (<i>see also</i> Turkish rule): <a href="#Page_15">15-16</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> Panagyurishte: <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> + +<li> <i>Partisan Song</i>: <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + +<li> Pavlov, Todor: <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> + +<li> Pavlovich, Nikola: <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + +<li> Peasant Union Party: <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> + +<li> peasants (<i>see also</i> Bulgarian Agrarian Union): <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> BKP membership, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>;</li> + <li> populism movement, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>;</li> + <li> postliberation period, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>;</li> + <li> preferential treatment for education, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>;</li> + <li> Turkish rule, <a href="#Page_16">16-17</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Pelin, Elin: <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> + +<li> penal institutions: <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284-286</a></li> + +<li> pensions: <a href="#Page_89">89</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> + +<li> Pernik coalfields: <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> + +<li> Peter, rebellion against Byzantine Empire: <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> + +<li> Petkov, Nikolai: <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> + +<li> Petrov, Ilia: <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + +<li> Philip of Macedon: <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> + +<li> Pioneers (Young Septembrists): <a href="#Page_167">167-168</a></li> + +<li> Pirdop: <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> + +<li> Pirin range: <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li> + +<li> Pleven oil refinery: <a href="#Page_254">254-255</a></li> + +<li> Pliska: <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li> + +<li> Plovdiv: <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> libraries, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>;</li> + <li> railroads, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>;</li> + <li> universities, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Poland: <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> + +<li> police: <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> People's Militia, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_269">269</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271-273</a>;</li> + <li> registration of weapons, etc., <a href="#Page_272">272</a>;</li> + <li> secret police (police state period), <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270-271</a>;</li> + <li> voluntary paramilitary auxiliaries, <a href="#Page_269">269</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Politburo: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> composition, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162-163</a>;</li> + <li> foreign policy role, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Pomaks: <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> + +<li> Popov, Lyuben: <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> + +<li> population (<i>see also</i> ethnic groups): <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55-58</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> by age and sex, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>;</li> + <li> exchanges, <a href="#Page_57">57-58</a>;</li> + <li> growth rate, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>;</li> + <li> minorities,</li> + <li> percent, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>;</li> + <li> rural, <a href="#Page_56">56</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> ports: Black Sea (<i>see also</i> Burgas; Varna): <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> + +<li> Preslav: <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> + +<li> press: <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190-193</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> BTA, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>;</li> + <li> circulation, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>;</li> + <li> foreign language, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>;</li> + <li> party control, <a href="#Page_186">186-187</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190-191</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>;</li> + <li> periodicals, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>;</li> + <li> provincial, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>;</li> + <li> public attitude, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>;</li> + <li> Sofia Press Agency, <a href="#Page_187">187-188</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet pattern, <a href="#Page_191">191-192</a>;</li> + <li> Union of Bulgarian Journalists, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> private ownership: <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_204">204</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Law on Citizens' Property, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> propaganda: <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> anti-Western (<i>see also</i> Western influence), <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188-189</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet Press Agency, <a href="#Page_187">187-188</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> publishing: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197-199</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> ideological content, <a href="#Page_198">198-199</a>;</li> + <li> party control, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>;</li> + <li> promotion of books abroad, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>;</li> + <li> textbooks, <a href="#Page_197">197-198</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>;</li> + <li> translations, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> + </ul> +<br /> +</li> + + +<li> <i>Rabotnichesko Delo</i>: <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> + +<li> radio and television: <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_193">193-196</a>, <a href="#Page_267">267</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> color TV, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>;</li> + <li> foreign language, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>;</li> + <li> Intervision, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>;</li> + <li> party control and use, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>;</li> + <li> popularity, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>;</li> + <li> programming, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>;</li> + <li> radio relay ties, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>;</li> + <li> TV subscribers, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> railroads: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59-61</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Orient Express, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> rainfall: <a href="#Page_43">43-44</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a></li> + +<li> Rakovsky, Georgi: <a href="#Page_19">19</a></li> + +<li> religion: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66-67</a>, <a href="#Page_189">189</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Bulgarian Orthodox Church, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>;</li> + <li> Christianity, early, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>;</li> + <li> church schools, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>;</li> + <li> Committee for Religious Affairs, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325">[Pg 325]</a></span></li> + <li> freedom of, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66-67</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>;</li> + <li> government control, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</li> + <li> Greek (Eastern) Orthodox Church, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_95">95</a>;</li> + <li> Jews, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</li> + <li> Moslem, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</li> + <li> Protestants, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33-34</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</li> + <li> religious art, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>;</li> + <li> Roman Catholics, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</li> + <li> Russian Orthodox Church, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>;</li> + <li> Turkish era, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Rila Monastery: <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> + +<li> Rila mountains: <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_46">46</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> mineral resources, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>;</li> + <li> Mount Musala, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Rilska River: <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> + +<li> roads: <a href="#Page_61">61</a></li> + +<li> Rodopi (Rhodope) Mountains: <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_39">39-40</a> <i>passim</i>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> as boundary, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>;</li> + <li> mineral resources, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>;</li> + <li> Pomaks in, <a href="#Page_67">67</a>;</li> + <li> population density, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Romania: <a href="#Page_26">26-27</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Balkan War—1913, <a href="#Page_22">22-23</a>;</li> + <li> border crossing, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</li> + <li> cooperative hydroelectric power complex, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a>;</li> + <li> World War I, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Romanians: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> + +<li> Romans: <a href="#Page_9">9-10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> + +<li> Rositsa River: <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> + +<li> Rumili (Rumelia): <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> + +<li> Ruse: <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> railroads, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Russia: <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Revolution—1917, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> + </ul> +<br /> +</li> + + +<li> Saint Sophia church: <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> + +<li> Saint Theodor of Plateina: <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> + +<li> Sakar mountains: <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> + +<li> Samuel, King: <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> + +<li> Scientific and Technical Union: <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> + +<li> sculpture: <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> + +<li> Serbia: <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> + +<li> settlement patterns: <a href="#Page_52">52-55</a></li> + +<li> shipbuilding: <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> + +<li> Shumen: <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> + +<li> Simeon, regency for: <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> + +<li> size: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> + +<li> Slaveikov, Pencho: <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> + +<li> Slaveikov, Petko: <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> + +<li> Slavs: <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> + +<li> Sliven: <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> + +<li> Slunchev Bryag: <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> + +<li> smuggling: <a href="#Page_273">273</a></li> + +<li> Smyrnenski, Khristo: <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> + +<li> social benefits: <a href="#Page_89">89-91</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> + +<li> Social Democratic Party: <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_33">33</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> + +<li> social system: <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65-77</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> BKP membership, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>;</li> + <li> Communists, effect of, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_69">69</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73-77</a>;</li> + <li> feudal, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>;</li> + <li> party elite, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73-74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>;</li> + <li> peasants (<i>see also</i> peasants), <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_71">71</a>,72, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>;</li> + <li> rural-urban differences, <a href="#Page_71">71-73</a>;</li> + <li> social mobility, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75-76</a>;</li> + <li> traditional, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_72">72-73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76-77</a>;</li> + <li> urban intelligentsia, <a href="#Page_72">72</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Socialist patriotism: <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> + +<li> Sofia: <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53-54</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Academy of Fine Arts, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>;</li> + <li> administrative district, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>;</li> + <li> Bulgarian National Library, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>;</li> + <li> climate, <a href="#Page_44">44</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a>;</li> + <li> education in, <a href="#Page_107">107</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>;</li> + <li> Higher Institute of Construction and Engineering, <a href="#Page_275">275</a>;</li> + <li> hot springs, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_53">53-54</a>;</li> + <li> industry, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>;</li> + <li> libraries, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>;</li> + <li> media administrative center, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>;</li> + <li> mineral resources, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>;</li> + <li> Radio Sofia, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>;</li> + <li> television, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>;</li> + <li> theaters, <a href="#Page_128">128</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a>;</li> + <li> transportation, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>;</li> + <li> Turkish period, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>;</li> + <li> University of, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>;</li> + <li> World War II, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Sofia Basin: <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li> + +<li> soils: <a href="#Page_44">44-45</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226-227</a></li> + +<li> Soviet Union: Bulgarian students, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Bulgarian timber workers, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_263">263</a>;</li> + <li> electricity imports from, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>;</li> + <li> influence, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29-30</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a>;</li> + <li> relations, <a href="#Page_153">153-154</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>;</li> + <li> trade, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>;</li> + <li> World War II, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28-29</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30-31</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> sports: <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> + +<li> Sredna Gora: <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a></li> + +<li> Stalin, Joseph: <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172-173</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191-192</a>, <a href="#Page_270">270</a></li> + +<li> Stambolisky, Alexander: <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_163">163</a></li> + +<li> Stara Planina: <a href="#Page_38">38-46</a> <i>passim</i>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Botev Peak, <a href="#Page_38">38</a>;</li> + <li> mineral resources, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>;</li> + <li> population density, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Stara Zagora: <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_255">255</a></li> + +<li> State Committee for Education and Technical Progress: <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_140">140</a></li> + +<li> State Council: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> BKP membership, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>;</li> + <li> establishment, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>;</li> + <li> executive council of Council of Ministers, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>;</li> + <li> Fatherland Front, relationship, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>;</li> + <li> functions, <a href="#Page_4">4-5</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143-145</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>;</li> + <li> legislative initiative, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>;</li> + <li> president, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Strandzha mountains: <a href="#Page_40">40</a>, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a></li> + +<li> Strategic Arms Limitation Talks: <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> + +<li> Struma River: <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a>, <a href="#Page_253">253</a></li> + +<li> suffrage: <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li> + +<li> Suleiman the Magnificent: <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + +<li> Svishtov: <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> Tarabanov, Milko: <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li> + +<li> Tatars: <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + +<li> taxes: <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> + +<li> Tenth Party Congress: <a href="#Page_140">140-141</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161-163</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Soviet-Bulgarian relations, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>;</li> + <li> theme, <a href="#Page_162">162</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> theater: <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a>, <a href="#Page_128">128-129</a></li> + +<li> Thrace: <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Bulgarian territorial claims, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_28">28</a>, <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Thracian Plain: <a href="#Page_38">38-45</a> <i>passim</i>, <a href="#Page_226">226</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326">[Pg 326]</a></span> + <ul class="nest"> + <li> agriculture, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45-46</a>;</li> + <li> population density, <a href="#Page_57">57</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> timber: <a href="#Page_260">260</a>, <a href="#Page_266">266</a></li> + +<li> Timok River: <a href="#Page_49">49</a></li> + +<li> Todorov, Stanko: <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> + +<li> topography: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37-41</a></li> + +<li> tourism: <a href="#Page_133">133</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> laws on stay of foreigners, <a href="#Page_272">272-273</a>;</li> + <li> official currency exchange rate, <a href="#Page_219">219</a>;</li> + <li> special problems, <a href="#Page_282">282</a>;</li> + <li> television programs, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> trade (<i>see also</i> Council for Mutual Economic Assistance): <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_207">207</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220-223</a>, <a href="#Page_259">259</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Arab countries, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>;</li> + <li> balance of trade, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>;</li> + <li> foreign trade organizations, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a>;</li> + <li> historic, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>;</li> + <li> imports of minerals, <a href="#Page_253">253</a>, <a href="#Page_254">254</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>, <a href="#Page_258">258</a>, <a href="#Page_260">260</a>;</li> + <li> incentives and subsidies, <a href="#Page_220">220-221</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet Union, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a>, <a href="#Page_257">257</a>;</li> + <li> state monopoly, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>; U.S., <a href="#Page_177">177-178</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> transportation: <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59-63</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> airways, <a href="#Page_ix">ix</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62-63</a>;</li> + <li> Berlin-to-Baghdad route, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</li> + <li> cargo, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61-62</a>;</li> + <li> merchant marine, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>;</li> + <li> passenger, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>;</li> + <li> railroads, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59-61</a>;</li> + <li> roads, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61</a>;</li> + <li> waterways, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_61">61-62</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Traykov, Georgi: <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + +<li> Treaty of San Stefano: <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_20">20</a>, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> + +<li> Tsar Ivailo: <a href="#Page_14">14</a></li> + +<li> Tsar Simeon: <a href="#Page_12">12</a></li> + +<li> Tundzha River: <a href="#Page_42">42</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li> + +<li> Turkey (<i>see also</i> Turkish rule; Turks): <a href="#Page_26">26-27</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Balkan Wars, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>;</li> + <li> radio relay lines with Bulgaria, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Turkish rule (<i>see also</i> liberation): <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15-20</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> administration, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>;</li> + <li> culture, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_126">126</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>;</li> + <li> education, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>;</li> + <li> reforms, <a href="#Page_18">18-19</a>;</li> + <li> religion, <a href="#Page_16">16</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>;</li> + <li> rise of nationalism, <a href="#Page_17">17-20</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Turks: <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_2">2</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65-66</a>, <a href="#Page_106">106</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> emigration, <a href="#Page_57">57-58</a>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Turnovo: <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Balkantourist Hotel, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Tyulenovo: <a href="#Page_254">254</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> Union of Working Youth: <a href="#Page_277">277</a></li> + +<li> United Nations: Committee on Disarmament, <a href="#Page_181">181</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> membership, <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>;</li> + <li> participation, <a href="#Page_180">180-181</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> + +<li> United States relations: <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177-178</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> + +<li> urban development: <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> + +<li> Ustashi: <a href="#Page_26">26</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> Valley of Roses: <a href="#Page_38">38</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a></li> + +<li> Vaptsarov, Nikola: <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> + +<li> Varna: <a href="#Page_54">54</a>, <a href="#Page_57">57</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_250">250</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> radio and television, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>;</li> + <li> railroads, <a href="#Page_59">59</a>, <a href="#Page_60">60</a>;</li> + <li> universities, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Vazov, Ivan: <a href="#Page_126">126-127</a></li> + +<li> vegetation: <a href="#Page_45">45-46</a></li> + +<li> Velev, Angel: <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> + +<li> Veliko Turnovo: <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> + +<li> Velsko: <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> + +<li> Vidin Kingdom: <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> + +<li> Vietnam, North: <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> + +<li> Visigoths and Ostrogoths: <a href="#Page_10">10</a></li> + +<li> Vitosha mountains: <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> + +<li> Vladigerov, Pancho: <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> + +<li> Vratsa: <a href="#Page_254">254</a></li> + +<li> Vucha River: <a href="#Page_42">42</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact): <a href="#Page_vii">vii</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>, <a href="#Page_290">290</a>, <a href="#Page_292">292</a>, <a href="#Page_293">293-294</a>, <a href="#Page_298">298</a></li> + +<li> Western influence: <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a></li> + +<li> wildlife: <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> + +<li> women: <a href="#Page_69">69-70</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> alcoholism, <a href="#Page_281">281</a>;</li> + <li> BKP membership, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>;</li> + <li> Committee of Bulgarian Women, <a href="#Page_168">168-169</a>;</li> + <li> labor, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>, <a href="#Page_262">262</a>;</li> + <li> maternity leave, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>;</li> + <li> penal institutions, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>;</li> + <li> rights of, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>;</li> + <li> traditional role, <a href="#Page_68">68</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Workers Party: <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> + +<li> World War I: <a href="#Page_23">23-25</a></li> + +<li> World War II: <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23-25</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> declaration of war against Germany, <a href="#Page_29">29</a>;</li> + <li> effect, <a href="#Page_29">29-30</a>;</li> + <li> partisans, <a href="#Page_30">30-31</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277</a>, <a href="#Page_287">287</a>;</li> + <li> relations with Soviet Union, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30-31</a>, <a href="#Page_288">288</a>;</li> + <li> Soviet occupation, <a href="#Page_28">28-29</a>, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> + </ul> +<br /> +</li> + + +<li> youth: crime, <a href="#Page_280">280</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>, <a href="#Page_294">294</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> films on, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>;</li> + <li> ideological training, <a href="#Page_viii">viii</a>, <a href="#Page_6">6</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97-99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_121">121</a>, <a href="#Page_159">159</a>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_284">284</a>, <a href="#Page_285">285</a>;</li> + <li> labor, <a href="#Page_237">237</a>;</li> + <li> news organization, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>;</li> + <li> nihilist attitude, <a href="#Page_155">155-156</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_278">278-279</a>, <a href="#Page_295">295</a>;</li> + <li> sources of information, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> youth organizations (<i>see also</i> Dimitrov Communist Youth Union): <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167-168</a>, <a href="#Page_277">277-279</a></li> + +<li> Yovkov, Yordan: <a href="#Page_127">127</a></li> + +<li> Yugoslavia: <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_256">256</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> Macedonians, treatment of, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>;</li> + <li> relations, <a href="#Page_26">26-27</a>, <a href="#Page_34">34-35</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_296">296</a>;</li> + <li> World War II, <a href="#Page_28">28</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Yugov, Anton: <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a><br /><br /></li> + + +<li> Zakhariev, Vasil: <a href="#Page_133">133</a></li> + +<li> Zemen Monastery: <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> + +<li> Zhivkov, Todor: <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35-36</a>; + <ul class="nest"> + <li> agricultural policy, <a href="#Page_230">230</a>, <a href="#Page_231">231-232</a>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a>;</li> + <li> attempted coup against in 1965, <a href="#Page_35">35-36</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_271">271</a>;</li> + <li> Committee of Bulgarian Women, <a href="#Page_168">168-169</a>;</li> + <li> cultural policy, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_132">132</a>;</li> + <li> economic reforms, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>;</li> + <li> foreign policy, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>;</li> + <li> head-of-state, <a href="#Page_4">4-5</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>;</li> + <li> loyalty to Soviet Union, <a href="#Page_1">1</a>, <a href="#Page_35">35</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>;</li> + <li> media restrictions, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>;<span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_327" id="Page_327">[Pg 327]</a></span></li> + <li> on education, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>;</li> + <li> on Politburo membership, <a href="#Page_162">162-163</a>;</li> + <li> pension system, criticism of, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>;</li> + <li> reforms, <a href="#Page_83">83</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154-155</a>;</li> + <li> Tenth Party Congress, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>;</li> + <li> wage system reform, <a href="#Page_208">208-209</a>;</li> + <li> "Youth Theses", <a href="#Page_155">155</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a></li> + </ul> +</li> + +<li> Zlatni Pyassutsi (Golden Sands): <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> + +<li> Zveno (link) group: <a href="#Page_26">26</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> +</ul> + +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328">[Pg 328]</a></span> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /><span class='pagenum'><a name="Page_329" id="Page_329">[Pg 329]</a></span> + +<hr /> +<br /> +<h2>PUBLISHED AREA HANDBOOKS</h2> + +<div class="centered"> +<table border="0" width="80%" cellpadding="2" cellspacing="0" summary="Handbooks"> + <tr> + <td class="tdl" width="12%">550-65</td> + <td class="tdl" width="38%">Afghanistan</td> + <td class="tdl" width="12%">550-50</td> + <td class="tdl" width="38%">Khmer Republic (Cambodia)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-98</td> + <td class="tdl">Albania</td> + <td class="tdl">550-81</td> + <td class="tdl">Korea, North</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-44</td> + <td class="tdl">Algeria</td> + <td class="tdl">550-41</td> + <td class="tdl">Korea, Republic of</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-59</td> + <td class="tdl">Angola</td> + <td class="tdl">550-58</td> + <td class="tdl">Laos</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-73</td> + <td class="tdl">Argentina</td> + <td class="tdl">550-24</td> + <td class="tdl">Lebanon</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-66</td> + <td class="tdl">Bolivia</td> + <td class="tdl">550-38</td> + <td class="tdl">Liberia</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-20</td> + <td class="tdl">Brazil</td> + <td class="tdl">550-85</td> + <td class="tdl">Libya</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-168</td> + <td class="tdl">Bulgaria</td> + <td class="tdl">550-163</td> + <td class="tdl">Malagasy Republic</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-61</td> + <td class="tdl">Burma</td> + <td class="tdl">550-45</td> + <td class="tdl">Malaysia</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-83</td> + <td class="tdl">Burundi</td> + <td class="tdl">550-161</td> + <td class="tdl">Mauritania</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-166</td> + <td class="tdl">Cameroon</td> + <td class="tdl">550-79</td> + <td class="tdl">Mexico</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-96</td> + <td class="tdl">Ceylon</td> + <td class="tdl">550-76</td> + <td class="tdl">Mongolia</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-159</td> + <td class="tdl">Chad</td> + <td class="tdl">550-49</td> + <td class="tdl">Morocco</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-77</td> + <td class="tdl">Chile</td> + <td class="tdl">550-64</td> + <td class="tdl">Mozambique</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-60</td> + <td class="tdl">China, People's Rep. of</td> + <td class="tdl">550-35</td> + <td class="tdl">Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-63</td> + <td class="tdl">China, Rep. of</td> + <td class="tdl">550-88</td> + <td class="tdl">Nicaragua</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-26</td> + <td class="tdl">Colombia</td> + <td class="tdl">550-157</td> + <td class="tdl">Nigeria</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-67</td> + <td class="tdl">Congo, Democratic Rep. of</td> + <td class="tdl">550-94</td> + <td class="tdl">Oceania</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl"> </td> + <td class="tdl"> (Zaire)</td> + <td class="tdl">550-48</td> + <td class="tdl">Pakistan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-91</td> + <td class="tdl">Congo, People's Rep. of</td> + <td class="tdl">550-46</td> + <td class="tdl">Panama</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-90</td> + <td class="tdl">Costa Rica</td> + <td class="tdl">550-156</td> + <td class="tdl">Paraguay</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-152</td> + <td class="tdl">Cuba</td> + <td class="tdl">550-92</td> + <td class="tdl">Peripheral States of the</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-22</td> + <td class="tdl">Cyprus</td> + <td class="tdl"> </td> + <td class="tdl"> Arabian Peninsula</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-158</td> + <td class="tdl">Czechoslovakia</td> + <td class="tdl">550-42</td> + <td class="tdl">Peru</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-54</td> + <td class="tdl">Dominican Republic</td> + <td class="tdl">550-72</td> + <td class="tdl">Philippines</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-155</td> + <td class="tdl">East Germany</td> + <td class="tdl">550-162</td> + <td class="tdl">Poland</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-52</td> + <td class="tdl">Ecuador</td> + <td class="tdl">550-160</td> + <td class="tdl">Romania</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-150</td> + <td class="tdl">El Salvador</td> + <td class="tdl">550-84</td> + <td class="tdl">Rwanda</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-28</td> + <td class="tdl">Ethiopia</td> + <td class="tdl">550-51</td> + <td class="tdl">Saudi Arabia</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-167</td> + <td class="tdl">Finland</td> + <td class="tdl">550-70</td> + <td class="tdl">Senegal</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-29</td> + <td class="tdl">Germany</td> + <td class="tdl">550-86</td> + <td class="tdl">Somalia</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-153</td> + <td class="tdl">Ghana</td> + <td class="tdl">550-93</td> + <td class="tdl">South Africa, Republic of</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-87</td> + <td class="tdl">Greece</td> + <td class="tdl">550-05</td> + <td class="tdl">Soviet Union</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-78</td> + <td class="tdl">Guatemala</td> + <td class="tdl">550-27</td> + <td class="tdl">Sudan, Democratic Republic</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-82</td> + <td class="tdl">Guyana</td> + <td class="tdl"> </td> + <td class="tdl"> of</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-164</td> + <td class="tdl">Haiti</td> + <td class="tdl">550-47</td> + <td class="tdl">Syria</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-151</td> + <td class="tdl">Honduras</td> + <td class="tdl">550-62</td> + <td class="tdl">Tanzania</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-165</td> + <td class="tdl">Hungary</td> + <td class="tdl">550-53</td> + <td class="tdl">Thailand</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-21</td> + <td class="tdl">India</td> + <td class="tdl">550-89</td> + <td class="tdl">Tunisia</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-154</td> + <td class="tdl">Indian Ocean Territories</td> + <td class="tdl">550-80</td> + <td class="tdl">Turkey</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-39</td> + <td class="tdl">Indonesia</td> + <td class="tdl">550-74</td> + <td class="tdl">Uganda</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-68</td> + <td class="tdl">Iran</td> + <td class="tdl">550-43</td> + <td class="tdl">United Arab Republic (Egypt)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-31</td> + <td class="tdl">Iraq</td> + <td class="tdl">550-97</td> + <td class="tdl">Uruguay</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-25</td> + <td class="tdl">Israel</td> + <td class="tdl">550-71</td> + <td class="tdl">Venezuela</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-69</td> + <td class="tdl">Ivory Coast</td> + <td class="tdl">550-71</td> + <td class="tdl">Vietnam, North</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-30</td> + <td class="tdl">Japan</td> + <td class="tdl">550-55</td> + <td class="tdl">Vietnam, South</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-34</td> + <td class="tdl">Jordan</td> + <td class="tdl">550-99</td> + <td class="tdl">Yugoslavia</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td class="tdl">550-56</td> + <td class="tdl">Kenya</td> + <td class="tdl">550-75</td> + <td class="tdl">Zambia</td> + </tr> +</table> +</div> + +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> +<br /> + +<div class="tr"> +<p class="cen"><a name="TN" id="TN"></a>Transcriber's Note</p> +<br /> +Typographical errors corrected in the text:<br /> +<br /> +Page 17 beseiged changed to besieged<br /> +Page 28 prisioners changed to prisoners<br /> +Page 83 footware changed to footwear<br /> +Page 86 knitware changed to knitwear<br /> +Page 105 knowlege changed to knowledge<br /> +Page 111 gymasium changed to gymnasium<br /> +Page 129 Ghiaourov changed to Ghiaurov<br /> +Page 168 activitists changed to activists<br /> +Page 193 Blageovgrad changed to Blagoevgrad<br /> +Page 205 offically changed to officially<br /> +Page 218 organizaton's changed to organization's<br /> +Page 240 officialy changed to officially<br /> +Page 255 billiion changed to billion<br /> +Page 256 bilowatt changed to kilowatt<br /> +Page 261 distruption changed to disruption<br /> +Page 302 Vladimer changed to Vladimir<br /> +Page 306 Youkov changed to Yovkov<br /> +Page 322 Ghiaourov changed to Ghiaurov<br /> +Page 322 hydroelecticity changed to hydroelectricity<br /> +Page 323 okrugi changed to okruzi<br /> +Page 324 Rabotnickesko changed to Rabotnichesko<br /> +</div> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AREA HANDBOOK FOR BULGARIA***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 32627-h.txt or 32627-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> 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Baluyut, William Giloane, Anne K. Long, James M. Moore, +and Neda A. Walpole + + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + + + + +Title: Area Handbook for Bulgaria + + +Author: Eugene K. Keefe, Violeta D. Baluyut, William Giloane, Anne K. +Long, James M. Moore, and Neda A. Walpole + + + +Release Date: May 31, 2010 [eBook #32627] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII) + + +***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AREA HANDBOOK FOR BULGARIA*** + + +E-text prepared by Barbara Kosker, Juliet Sutherland, and Project +Gutenberg the Online Distributed Proofreading Team (http://www.pgdp.net) + + + +Note: Project Gutenberg also has an HTML version of this + file which includes the original maps and charts. + See 32627-h.htm or 32627-h.zip: + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32627/32627-h/32627-h.htm) + or + (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/32627/32627-h.zip) + + +Transcriber's note: + + In the footnotes to Table 20, two subsrcipted numbers are + represented as _{2} and _{5}. + + + + + +AREA HANDBOOK FOR BULGARIA + +_Coauthors_ + +Eugene K. Keefe + +Violeta D. Baluyut +William Giloane +Anne K. Long +James M. Moore, Jr. +Neda A. Walpole + + + + + + +Research completed August 1973 + +First Edition +Published 1974 + +DA Pam 550-168 + +Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data + +Keefe, Eugene K. +Area handbook for Bulgaria. + +"DA Pam 550-168." +"One of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area Studies (FAS) +of the American University." + +Bibliography: p. 301-316 +Supt. of Docs. no.: D 101.22:550-168 +1. Bulgaria. I. American University, Washington, D.C. Foreign Area +Studies. II. Title. + +DR90.K4 914.977 03'3 74-600028 + +For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing +Office +Washington, D.C. 20402--Price $5.55 + + + + +FOREWORD + + +This volume is one of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area +Studies (FAS) of The American University, designed to be useful to +military and other personnel who need a convenient compilation of basic +facts about the social, economic, political, and military institutions +and practices of various countries. The emphasis is on objective +description of the nation's present society and the kinds of possible or +probable changes that might be expected in the future. The handbook +seeks to present as full and as balanced an integrated exposition as +limitations on space and research time permit. It was compiled from +information available in openly published material. An extensive +bibliography is provided to permit recourse to other published sources +for more detailed information. There has been no attempt to express any +specific point of view or to make policy recommendations. The contents +of the handbook represent the work of the authors and FAS and do not +represent the official view of the United States government. + +An effort has been made to make the handbook as comprehensive as +possible. It can be expected, however, that the material, +interpretations, and conclusions are subject to modification in the +light of new information and developments. Such corrections, additions, +and suggestions for factual, interpretive, or other change as readers +may have will be welcomed for use in future revisions. Comments may be +addressed to: + + The Director + Foreign Area Studies + The American University + 5010 Wisconsin Avenue, N.W. + Washington, D.C. 20016 + + + + +PREFACE + + +Although many changes have swept across the Eastern European communist +countries, Bulgaria through the years has remained a bastion of +consistency. It is a loyal military ally of the Soviet Union as a member +of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact), and its economy is +inextricably linked to the Soviet Union through bilateral agreements as +well as through membership in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance +(COMECON). Of the six Eastern European members of the Warsaw Pact, +Bulgaria shares with the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) the +distinction of not having contiguous borders with the Soviet Union. It +is, however, important geographically because it anchors the +southeastern sector of the alliance and borders two member states of the +North Atlantic Treaty Organization--Greece and Turkey. + +The authors of the _Area Handbook for Bulgaria_ have attempted to +describe, comprehensively and objectively, the workings of the economic, +political, social, and military systems dominant in the country in the +early 1970s as those systems have developed in the post-World War II +period. Despite the concentration on the communist era, important +historical factors are referred to wherever necessary for understanding +the modern scene, and a historical chapter is included to provide the +proper setting for the modern state. + +The spelling of place names conforms to the transliteration system used +by the United States Board on Geographic Names. The use of +abbreviations, acronyms, and foreign terms has been held to a minimum. +The one abbreviation that necessarily appears throughout the work is BKP +for Bulgarian Communist Party (Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya). All +tons are metric unless otherwise stated. A glossary is appended for +convenience, but all unfamiliar terms are explained on first use in the +text. + + + + +COUNTRY SUMMARY + + +1. COUNTRY: People's Republic of Bulgaria. Proclaimed by the communist +party in the 1947 Constitution. Formerly, Kingdom of Bulgaria. + +2. SIZE AND LOCATION: Area 42,800 square miles. Located in eastern part +of Balkan Peninsula on Black Sea south of Danube River. Borders Romania, +Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey. + +3. TOPOGRAPHY: Mountains predominate in west and in ranges that run west +to east across the central and southern regions. Lower and more level +areas south of Danube River and between the mountain ranges permit +extensive cultivation. + +4. CLIMATE: Transitional between Eastern European continental and +Mediterranean. Northern regions have hot summers, cold winters; south is +more moderate but has hot, dry summers. + +5. POPULATION: About 8.7 million in 1973; density 203 persons per square +mile. Growth rate 0.7 percent annually. + +6. ETHNIC GROUPS AND LANGUAGES: 85 percent of population is Bulgar. +Persons of Turkish, Macedonian, Greek, Romanian, and other origins are +guaranteed the right to use their languages and to preserve their +cultural heritage, but Bulgarian, the official language, is spoken by +the entire population. + +7. RELIGION: 90 percent of population adheres to the Eastern Orthodox +faith. There are some 750,000 Moslems, 26,000 Protestants, 32,000 Roman +Catholics, and 3,000 to 7,000 Jews. Freedom of religion guaranteed, but +practice strictly controlled by state. + +8. GOVERNMENT: National Assembly is unicameral legislature. Council of +Ministers, performing governmental administrative functions, is +responsible to State Council, the supreme executive body. Real power +vested in communist party's first secretary, Politburo, Secretariat, and +Central Committee. + +9. ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: Administration is by people's councils at +district (_okrug_) and township or borough (_obshtina_) levels. There +are twenty-eight districts, including one composed only of metropolitan +Sofia. Districts subdivided into about 1,150 townships and boroughs. + +10. INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS: Member of the Warsaw Treaty +Organization (Warsaw Pact); the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance +(COMECON); and the United Nations (UN), including several UN specialized +agencies. + +11. JUSTICE: Three-level court system headed by Supreme Court. Military +and special courts responsible directly to Supreme Court. Judiciary +administered by Ministry of Justice within Council of Ministers. + +12. COMMUNICATIONS: Mass media are state owned and regulated. Little +latitude given subject matter produced locally; imports of foreign films +and publications are restricted. + +13. EDUCATION: Free and compulsory until age fifteen. Priority on +scientific, technological, and vocational curricula. Marxism-Leninism +stressed in all curricula. + +14. ECONOMY: Production, growth, and development programmed in five-year +plans, drawn up and monitored by party. The 1971-75 plan, dependent on +financial and technical aid from Soviet Union, recognizes need to raise +standard of living; improvement is conditional upon rising productivity. + +15. LABOR: Work force numbers about 4.4 million. About 27 percent (1.2 +million) of the total are in state and collective industries; 25 percent +(1.1 million) work full time on agroindustrial complexes. Skilled +workers in short supply. + +16. AGRICULTURE: Approximately 53 percent of land is agricultural, 69 +percent of which is cultivated. All but small mountain farms are +organized into 170 agroindustrial complexes. Grains predominate on +plains south of Danube River; irrigated Thracian Plain produces more +diversified crops. Livestock production inadequate for domestic needs +and exports. + +17. INDUSTRY: Virtually all state owned. Rapid expansion encouraged by +state, increasingly slowed by inadequate raw material resources and +skilled labor. Emphasis in early 1970s on improving unsatisfactory +productivity levels and quality of industrial products. + +18. FINANCE: Nonconvertible lev (see Glossary) has officially declared +values ranging from 0.59 to 1.65 leva per US$1; unofficial rates in +early 1973 were substantially higher. Banking system consists of +Bulgarian National Bank and subordinated Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank +and the State Savings Bank. + +19. FOREIGN TRADE: State monopoly administered by Ministry of Foreign +Trade, Ministry of Finance, and the state banks. Bulk of trade is with +Soviet Union and other COMECON countries. + +20. RAILROADS: Operational network totals about 2,620 miles, most of it +standard gauge. System carried bulk of long-distance domestic cargo and +passenger traffic. + +21. ROADS: Total mileage about 21,000, but less than one-half has +asphalt or other paved surface. Highway vehicles carry increasing +traffic, preponderance of short-haul cargo and passengers. + +22. INLAND WATERWAYS: Lower course of Danube River accommodates +2,500-ton vessels. Black Sea and ocean commerce increasing rapidly. + +23. CIVIL AVIATION: State-owned Balkan-Bulgarian Airlines (BALKAN) +connects Sofia with about a dozen cities on internal routes and almost +twice as many foreign capitals. + +24. ARMED FORCES: Bulgarian People's Army is subordinate to Ministry of +National Defense. Ground forces have 80 percent of its personnel; air +and naval forces, included in the army, have only about 15 and 5 +percent, respectively, of total strength. + +25. SECURITY: Ministry of Internal Affairs controls police and security +organizations, except Border Troops, which are part of army. Party and +mass organizations apply pressures on behalf of public order and in +defense of the system. + + + + +BULGARIA + +TABLE OF CONTENTS + + Page + + FOREWORD iii + + PREFACE v + + COUNTRY SUMMARY vii + + SECTION I. SOCIAL + + Chapter 1. General Character of the Society 1 + + 2. Historical Setting 9 + Early History--Turkish Rule--The Rise of Nationalism + --Liberation and Its Aftermath--World War I--The + Interwar Years--World War II--The Communist State + + 3. Physical Environment and Population 37 + Natural Features--Boundaries and Political + Subdivisions--Settlement Patterns--Population-- + Transportation + + 4. Social System 65 + Ethnic and Religious Composition--The Family--Social + Stratification--Other Social Groups + + 5. Living Conditions 79 + Health--Personal Income and Expenditures--Housing-- + Social Benefits--Work and Leisure + + 6. Education 93 + History of Education--Communist Educational Policies + --Educational Reforms--Literacy--The Educational + System--Teacher Training--Other Education + + 7. Artistic and Intellectual Expression 123 + The Arts and Sciences under Communism--Literature-- + Theater--Films--Music--Folk Arts--Painting and + Sculpture--Architecture --Scholarship and Science + + + SECTION II. POLITICAL + + 8. Governmental System 137 + Constitutional Evolution--Structure and Function + of the Government--Judicial Procedure--The Electoral + Procedure + + 9. Political Dynamics 153 + Major Political Developments, 1965-71--The Bulgarian + Communist Party--The Bulgarian Agrarian Union--Mass + Organizations + + 10. Foreign Relations 171 + Determinants of Foreign Policy--Conduct of Foreign + Affairs--International Relations--Membership in + Regional and International Organizations + + 11. Mass Communications 183 + Background--Objectives of Mass Communications-- + Freedom of Information--Administration of the Mass + Communications System--Themes of the Media--The + Press--Radio--Television--Publishing--Libraries--Films + + + SECTION III. ECONOMIC + + 12. Character and Structure of the Economy 203 + Organization--Structure and Growth--Labor--Investment + --Budget--Banking and Currency--Foreign Trade + + 13. Agriculture 225 + Climate and Soils--Land Use--Organization--Planning + and Management--Labor and Wages--Investment and + Mechanization--Marketing--Production + + 14. Industry 249 + Organization and Structure--Fuels and Power--Raw + Materials--Investment--Labor--Production + + + SECTION IV. NATIONAL SECURITY + + 15. Public Order and Security 269 + Internal Security--Civil Defense--Public Order-- + Crime and Justice + + 16. Armed Forces 287 + Historical Background--Governmental and Party + Control Over the Armed Forces--Organization and + Mission--Foreign Military Relations--Manpower, + Training, and Support--The Military Establishment + and the National Economy + + BIBLIOGRAPHY 301 + + GLOSSARY 317 + + INDEX 319 + + + + +LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + + Figure Page + + 1 Bulgaria xiv + + 2 Topography of Bulgaria 39 + + 3 Political Subdivisions of Bulgaria, 1973 51 + + 4 Communications Systems of Bulgaria, 1973 60 + + 5 The Bulgarian School System, 1973 111 + + 6 Bulgaria, Structure of Government, 1973 144 + + 7 Bulgaria, Organization of the Council of Ministers, 1973 146 + + + + +LIST OF TABLES + + Table Page + + 1 Bulgaria, Population by Age and Sex, 1973 Estimate 39 + + 2 Use of Transportation Facilities in Bulgaria, 1960 and + 1970 61 + + 3 Bulgaria, Percentage Distribution of Household Expenditures + by Population Group, 1962 and 1971 85 + + 4 Bulgaria, Actual and Desired Annual Consumption Levels 87 + + 5 Bulgaria, Percentage of Housing Units Equipped with + Various Amenities, December 1965 89 + + 6 Number of Schools in Bulgaria, Selected Years, 1938-70 101 + + 7 Number of Students in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, + 1938-70 101 + + 8 Number of Teachers in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, + 1938-70 102 + + 9 Number and Proportion of Students in Various Bulgarian + University Faculties, Selected Years, 1939-71 114 + + 10 Bulgaria, Newspaper Circulation by Frequency of Issue, + 1971 192 + + 11 Bulgaria, Circulation of Newspapers and Periodicals, + Selected Years, 1939-71 193 + + 12 Bulgaria, Number of Radio Stations and Subscribers, + Selected Years, 1939-71 194 + + 13 Bulgaria, Book and Pamphlet Publication, 1971 198 + + 14 Libraries in Bulgaria, 1971 200 + + 15 Bulgaria, Films Produced and Translated, Selected Years, + 1939-71 201 + + 16 Bulgaria, Production of Major Crops, Annual Average, + Selected Years, 1958-60 to 1966-70, and 1970 242 + + 17 Bulgaria, Livestock Numbers, Selected Years, 1948-72 244 + + 18 Bulgaria, Production of Meat, Selected Years, 1948-71 247 + + 19 Bulgaria, Production of Milk, Eggs and Wool, Selected + Years, 1960-71 247 + + 20 Output of Selected Industrial Products in Bulgaria, + Selected Years, 1960-71 266 + + + + +[Illustration: _Figure 1. Bulgaria_] + + + + +SECTION I. SOCIAL + +CHAPTER 1 + +GENERAL CHARACTER OF THE SOCIETY + + +In mid-1973 Bulgaria was under the complete control of the Bulgarian +Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary) as it had been since the latter days +of World War II. As that war came to a close, the Kingdom of Bulgaria +was occupied by the Soviet army and was governed by a coalition under +the communist-dominated Fatherland Front. By 1947 the monarchy had been +deposed, a new constitution had been promulgated, and the country had +become the People's Republic of Bulgaria under the BKP. Todor Zhivkov, +who became first secretary of the party in 1954, retained that position +in 1973 and, with nineteen years' tenure, was senior in length of +service among the top leaders of the Soviet-aligned, communist countries +of Eastern Europe. Zhivkov, who weathered several years of intraparty +struggles after assuming the secretaryship, has led an apparently stable +regime since an abortive coup d'etat failed to dislodge him in 1965. The +hallmark of Zhivkov's leadership has been his intense loyalty to the +leaders of the Soviet Union. + +Zhivkov's critics accuse him of what they call subservience to the +Soviet Union, stating that he relies on Soviet backing to remain in +power. His supporters, on the other hand, commend him for his loyalty to +the Soviet Union, pointing out the historical affinity between the +Bulgarians and the Russians that dates back to the nineteenth-century +Russian role in the liberation of Bulgaria from 500 years of Turkish +rule. Whether he should be condemned or praised for it, the fact is that +Zhivkov has guided his ship of state in very close conformity with +directions first taken by the Soviet Union. + +Bulgaria, motivated mainly by irredentism, fought on the German side +during both world wars. The lands that Bulgaria coveted and pressed +ancient claims for were Macedonia (which had become part of Yugoslavia) +and parts of Thrace (which had become Greek territory). Its claims to +these lands date back to the glorious days of Bulgarian kingdoms in the +Middle Ages, when its territory stretched from the Black Sea in the east +to the Adriatic Sea in the west and from the Carpathian Mountains in the +north to the Aegean Sea in the south. Five hundred years of Turkish rule +failed to erase the Bulgarian ideas of territorial grandeur. + +The 1877-78 Russo-Turkish war that liberated Bulgaria ended in the +Treaty of San Stefano, which reestablished a Bulgarian kingdom using the +ancient boundaries; but the treaty was never put into effect because the +European powers feared a large Russian client-state in the Balkans. +Meeting in the Congress of Berlin in 1878, the powers nullified the +Treaty of San Stefano and decreed Bulgarian boundaries that drastically +reduced the size of the newly liberated country. Bulgaria seethed with +irredentism and fought wars over the so-called lost territories until +World War II, from which it emerged with a communist-dominated coalition +government but confined to almost the same boundaries. After the +Communists took complete control, irredentism was overshadowed by +Marxist ideas of internationalism; but the dream of a greater Bulgaria +did not die, and irredentist opinions were commonly expressed until +1972, when they were muted, probably on the insistence of the Soviet +Union. + +The original Bulgars were of an Asian tribe that moved into the Balkan +Peninsula as conquerors during the seventh century A.D. The occupants of +the area at the time were mostly Slavs who had been migrating to that +region for more than a century, absorbing former inhabitants as they +settled. Within about two centuries of their conquest, the Bulgars also +had been completely absorbed by the much more numerous Slavs, leaving +only their name to mark the land they had conquered. From the ninth +century A.D. on, Bulgarian history is the story of this amalgamated +nation of Bulgar-Slavs who enjoyed two different epochs of independent +glory under medieval Bulgarian kingdoms but who also suffered invasion +and defeat and, eventually, 500 years of domination by Ottoman Turks. In +1878 Turkish rule was finally ended, and a truncated Bulgaria reappeared +on the map of Europe. After five centuries of foreign domination, +Bulgaria was backward, underdeveloped, and poor. + +The descendants of the Bulgar-Slavs made up the majority of the +approximately 8.7 million people living in Bulgaria in 1973. The largest +minority group, which numbered about 0.7 million people, was Turkish. +The few Greeks, Romanians, Armenians, and Jews in the population +collectively accounted for only about 1 percent of the total. These +modern Bulgarians live in a country that is almost rectangular in shape +and covers roughly 42,800 square miles of the lower Balkan Peninsula. +Their country is bounded on the east by the Black Sea, on the south by +Greece and the part of Turkey that is in Europe, on the west by +Yugoslavia, and on the north by Romania. + +The most prominent communist leader of Bulgaria was Georgi Dimitrov, a +native-born Bulgarian who had lived in exile during most of the period +between the two world wars and had become a Soviet citizen in 1935. +Dimitrov was prominent in the international communist movement and, +while resident in Moscow, had served as secretary general of the +Comintern (Communist International), founded under Lenin's guidance in +1919. Dimitrov returned to his homeland in late 1945, resumed his +Bulgarian citizenship, and took over the leadership of the BKP and the +government. He was instrumental in developing the 1947 Constitution +(usually referred to as the Dimitrov Constitution) and set about +remaking his country's economic, political, and social structures in the +Soviet image. Nationalization of all means of production, +collectivization of agriculture, and an ambitious program of +industrialization all commenced under Dimitrov. + +Dimitrov died in 1949 but, before he died, his programs were well under +way, the Moscow-oriented BKP was in complete control, and the country +was firmly in the Soviet orbit. Several years later, even though the +term _satellite_ was no longer used to describe the Eastern European +countries aligned with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria was considered to be +the most rigidly loyal of all former Soviet satellites. Shortly after +the death of Dimitrov, the top position of leadership was secured by +Vulko Chervenkov who, over the next few years, earned a reputation as +Bulgaria's version of Stalin. After Stalin died, Chervenkov's power base +eroded to the point that he was forced to give up the top party post in +favor of Zhivkov; Chervenkov retained the top position in the +government, however, and remained on the scene as an opposing locus of +political power. The intraparty factional strife that ensued lasted into +the 1960s, but Zhivkov, who had established a close relationship with +Soviet party leader Nikita Khrushchev, eventually overcame the +opposition and stabilized his regime. Zhivkov also managed to establish +close relations with the Soviet leaders who ousted Khrushchev and has +apparently maintained good rapport with Leonid Brezhnev, the general +secretary of the Soviet party. + +The BKP in 1973 was structured very much like the Communist Party of the +Soviet Union. The structure is pyramidal in form, the general membership +making up the base and the office of first secretary occupying the apex. +Between the two extremes the most important bodies from bottom to top +are the Party Congress, the Central Committee, the Secretariat, and the +Politburo. The Party Congress is a large gathering of delegates, +representing the rank and file, that meets every five years, +theoretically, to make party policy, amend party statutes if necessary, +and determine the party program for the ensuing five-year period. +Actually the congress is a large, unwieldy body (over 1,500 delegates at +the 1971 congress), which meets to demonstrate solidarity rather than to +make policy. The congress, by party statute, elects the Central +Committee, which is a permanently sitting body that acts in the name of +the congress during the long intervals when the larger body is not in +session. The so-called election of the Central Committee is, in fact, a +ratification of preselected members. The same holds true for the +election of the Politburo and the Secretariat by the Central +Committee--in effect, the Politburo has already determined its own +membership and that of the Secretariat, and the election process by the +Central Committee is unanimous confirmation rather than election, +making the Politburo a self-perpetuating body. + +The Politburo for policymaking and the Secretariat for policy +implementation are the true centers of power in the overall +party-government system. The Central Committee is an operating body and +is made up of important members of the party, although they rank below +the small group that has reached the top echelons of the structure. It +is the interlocking of various party and government positions that +really concentrates power in the hands of a few individuals and permits +the ultimate leader, Zhivkov, to control the entire apparatus. Zhivkov +himself is an example of the interlocking in that, since 1971, he has +been the first secretary of the party and a member of the Politburo at +the same time that he was the president of the governmental State +Council. Only one other individual in 1973 combined membership in the +party's most prestigious bodies--Politburo and Secretariat--with +membership in the government's leading body--the State Council. Two +other party secretaries were candidate (nonvoting) members of the +Politburo, but they did not concurrently hold any high government +office. + +The government established under the Dimitrov Constitution, as changed +by the Constitution of 1971, is the instrument through which the party +administers the country. The central government consists, essentially, +of the National Assembly, the State Council, and the Council of +Ministers. The unicameral National Assembly is described in the +constitution as "a supreme body of state power," whereas the State +Council is described as "a supreme constantly functioning body of state +power." In practice, if one or the other were to be described as the +single supreme body of state power, it would be the State Council, the +membership of which in 1973 included seven (out of twenty-four) members +or candidate members of the party Politburo and the operations of which, +during its first two years of existence, have stamped it with the mark +of supreme authority. + +The role of the National Assembly as a legislative body is circumscribed +by the infrequency of its meetings. The assembly is popularly elected +from a single list of nominees at five-year intervals, but it is +required to meet only three times annually. The sessions of the assembly +are usually so brief that it functions as an after-the-fact approving +body rather than as a legislature. The development and initiation of new +legislation, therefore, is handled outside of the actual legislature, +primarily by the State Council and the Council of Ministers. + +At its first session after general elections the National Assembly +elects the State Council, but it would be highly unlikely if not +impossible for the assembly to refuse to elect the complete slate of +nominees that has been preselected by the party hierarchy. The election +of the State Council, therefore, as is the case with various party +elections, is a unanimous vote of approval rather than a true election. +The State Council is the true center of the government. When it was +created by the 1971 Constitution, Zhivkov chose to relinquish his +governmental post as chairman of the Council of Ministers (the +country's premier) and assume the position of president of the State +Council, leaving no doubt about where real governmental power lay. The +State Council, in effect, is a collective executive body that, because +the National Assembly meets so infrequently, also becomes a major +initiator of legislation. + +The Council of Ministers, also elected by the National Assembly in the +same manner as the State Council, functions as the administrative arm of +the government. Here again, party influence is pervasive. In 1973 the +chairman of the council (premier) and four deputy chairmen were +concurrently members of the party Politburo, the minister of internal +affairs was a candidate member of the Politburo, and most other +ministers were members of the Central Committee. + +Matters of state--such as defense, foreign affairs, education, and +welfare--usually associated with the central government of any country +are handled by individual ministries and are overseen by the Council of +Ministers. In addition to such affairs of state, however, various +ministries, as well as the council itself, are charged with +administering the country's entire economy, as is the case in other +communist-ruled states. In mid-1973 eleven ministries out of a total of +twenty-two dealt exclusively with economic matters. In addition, the +State Planning Committee, the chairman of which holds ministerial rank, +is of great importance in the overall economic structure. + +The economic ministries control virtually every aspect of the country's +economy. The goals of nationalization of all industry and +collectivization of agriculture were achieved early in the communist +era, and the efforts of the party-government ever since have been toward +increased efficiency. In Bulgaria the quest for greater production has +led to ever greater centralization of control. In the early 1970s this +quest has brought about the reorganization of industry wherein +industrial enterprises have been grouped into huge trusts at the same +time that collective and state farms have been similarly grouped into +so-called agroindustrial complexes. + +The consolidation of agriculture into extremely large complexes, begun +in 1970, was intended to raise productivity through concentration of +effort, specialization of production, and increased control by the +central government. The reorganization is a long-range program that is +expected to be completed by 1980, at which time authorities predict that +farm incomes will have risen to equal industrial incomes and, because +agricultural enterprises will be run just like factories, the social +differences between peasants and workers will have been eliminated. By +1973 results of the reorganization that had already occurred were mixed, +and it was still too early to assess the long-range value of the +agroindustrial complexes. + +In the industrial sector the consolidation of various enterprises into +trusts was undertaken in the early 1970s for the same reasons that the +agroindustrial complexes were formed, that is, greater efficiency +through concentration, specialization, and increased control. Bulgarian +industrial growth since World War II had been remarkable, considering +particularly the inadequate base of skilled labor and natural resources +in a country that had been predominantly agricultural. Bulgaria's need +for raw materials, machinery, and technological assistance during its +long period of industrialization and the Soviet Union's willingness to +supply them accounted in large measure for the extremely close economic +ties between the two countries. Because the growth rate had begun to +slow toward the end of the 1960s, the BKP decided to try a massive +reorganization of the economic structure as a remedy for the situation. + +In addition to the political and economic systems of the country, the +social system has been a major concern of the party and government ever +since the BKP took power. Social restructuring has resulted in a system +wherein the party elite occupies the highest level. This group is small +and represents the apex of the social pyramid. The next level down, +which is much broader, includes lesser party functionaries, +professionals, administrators and managers, technicians, and all +white-collar workers. The next level is made up of blue-collar +industrial workers, who constitute the largest group in the society. At +the bottom of the structure are the peasants. There are, of course, +gradations of power, privilege, and prestige within all of the social +groupings. The society has been very mobile since World War II with +rapid upward mobility based mainly on the expanding economy, +industrialization, and modernization. Toward the end of the 1960s, as +the economic growth rate slowed, so also did the social mobility, and +there was evidence that social groups were stabilizing. + +Education has been the key to upward mobility and, since coming to +power, the Communists have given preference in educational opportunity +to formerly underprivileged groups. At the beginning of the 1970s, +however, the percentage of students of worker and peasant origin +enrolled in institutions of higher learning was far below the percentage +of workers and peasants in the population. Students from the lower +income groups have not competed favorably against those from more +advantaged backgrounds and, although upward mobility is not blocked, it +has been becoming more difficult. Membership in the BKP remains +important for persons desiring to move upward in the social structure. + +For the leadership the importance of education lies in the fact that it +is the best means for orienting the people in the official ideology as +well as for training the professionals, technicians, and skilled workers +needed to run the country. The ideological indoctrination is pervasive +throughout the entire school system, but the concurrent goal of meeting +the needs of the economy has suffered because the system of higher +education has not expanded rapidly enough to absorb most secondary +school graduates who are desirous and capable of pursuing higher +studies. Many educational reforms have been enacted over the years, but +they have been cautious and limited and have not attacked the major +problem of providing much greater funding for higher education. + +In the cultural sphere the party and government have promoted pride in +the ancient Bulgarian heritage but have regulated art, music, and +literature in order to bring about conformity with the Soviet-developed +doctrine of Socialist Realism. Throughout the communist era there have +been periods of freeze and thaw in the controls imposed on artists and +intellectuals, but the periods of greatest restriction in later years +have not equaled the severity of the Stalinist times. In the 1960s and +early 1970s control has been exercised primarily through publishers, art +galleries, theaters, and other outlets. Artists and intellectuals know +that their work must pass through state-owned outlets if it is to be +seen or heard; therefore, they exercise self-censorship to ensure +acceptability. Other means of control are the professional unions that +all artists, writers, and actors must join if their work is to be +exhibited or published. The unions are run by the BKP and, in effect, +become instruments through which the party promotes its cultural +policies. For some artists conformity with ideological goals leads to +upward social mobility, and some enjoy privileges and life-styles that +are usually reserved for the ruling elite. + +For control of the general population the government relies on the +regular police, court, and penal systems, which are supplemented by +state security police, paramilitary police auxiliaries, and militarized +border guards. The regular police forces, the auxiliaries, and the state +security police are all under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of +Internal Affairs, whereas the border guards are subordinated to the army +and are regulated by the Ministry of National Defense. Courts and penal +institutions are under the Ministry of Justice. + +Also as means of control, the government sanctions and the party +operates a number of mass organizations that affect or influence the +lives of most people in the country. The Fatherland Front is a large +umbrella organization that includes all other groups as well as +individual members. The other mass organizations include trade unions, +youth groups, athletic societies, and similar interest groups. Other +than these officially sanctioned groups, there are no organizations +permitted and, because the party retains control through the leadership +positions, all organized activity in the country comes under BKP +supervision. Such organizations also serve as upward channels of +information through which the party hierarchy is able to keep in touch +with popular opinion. + +Militarily, Bulgaria in 1973 maintained about 160,000 men in its armed +forces, which are committed to the Soviet-dominated alliance known as +the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact). Ground forces constitute +the great bulk of the so-called Bulgarian People's Army, but it also +includes a small air and air defense force, a small naval force, and the +border guards. All of the armed forces are under the supervision of the +Ministry of National Defense, but top-level policymaking is a +prerogative of the BKP. The party maintains great influence in the armed +forces through the officer corps, 85 percent of which is made up of +party members. Those officers who are not party members usually belong +to the communist youth organization. Many career noncommissioned +officers are also party members and, for the conscript in the ranks, +political indoctrination is as regular as his military training. + + + + +CHAPTER 2 + +HISTORICAL SETTING + + +The history of Bulgaria is marked by four interrelated motifs or themes. +The first motif is that of regional rivalry coupled with irredentism. +The second is Bulgaria's strategic significance for the leading powers +of Europe and the varying relationships with those powers. The third +theme is Bulgaria's constant conflict between loyalty to, and alliances +with, the East--particularly Russia and the Soviet Union--on the one +hand and to the West--particularly Italy and Germany--on the other. The +fourth major theme in Bulgarian history is the influence exerted by +Russia (and the Soviet Union) on the internal and external affairs of +Bulgaria. This influence was intermittent from the late nineteenth +century until World War II but was constant after that war. + +From its earliest history Bulgaria was in continual conflict with its +Balkan neighbors. The area that eventually became Bulgaria was the +object of regional disputes as early as the fourth century B.C. Later, +when that area was taken over by the Slavs in the sixth century A.D. and +the Bulgars in the seventh, a state evolved that proceeded to encroach +on the territory of the mighty Byzantine Empire itself. Despite +successful raids and conquests during the periods of the First Bulgarian +Kingdom and the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, Bulgaria was eventually +reduced to subject status by the Byzantines and later by the Ottoman +Turks. During Turkish rule the country was not only under constant +attack by neighbors but was also utilized by the Turks as a base for +Turkish expansion. When Bulgaria was finally liberated from the Turks by +the Russians, irredentism and regional rivalry became the prime focus of +its foreign policy. Macedonia, a much-valued land throughout Bulgarian +history, became the major object of Bulgaria's irredentist campaigns, +although eventually most of the land reverted to Serbia and was later +incorporated into Yugoslavia. Macedonia, in addition to Thrace, which +was valued because it provided access to the sea, was the primary motive +for Bulgaria's role not only in the two Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913 but +also in the two world wars. + +Bulgaria was not only struggling for power throughout its history; it +was also a pawn in the power struggles of the so-called great powers. +Before the Christian era the area was conquered first by Greece and +later by Rome and was influenced strongly by both of these early +cultures. Later, when the Slavs and Bulgars succeeded in forming a +united state, the country was still besieged by both Byzantium and +Rome. Although the Romans eventually lost their hold over Bulgaria, the +Byzantine Empire took both political and religious control of the +country for two centuries. When Bulgaria managed to reassert its +autonomy in the time of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, independence was +short lived, and the country again fell under alien control, this time +to the Ottoman Turks. The Turks dominated Bulgaria for five centuries, +until liberation by the Russians temporarily gave the country full +sovereignty. Before each of the two world wars of the twentieth century, +Bulgaria was actively courted by both sides as a potentially strategic +ally. Realizing Bulgaria's territorial aspirations, Germany played upon +Bulgarian irredentism in order to gain its collaboration in the wars, +and both times Bulgaria emerged on the losing side. When World War II +ended for Bulgaria in 1944, it fell under Soviet influence, where it has +remained ever since. + + +EARLY HISTORY + +The history of the country that became modern Bulgaria can be traced +back many hundreds of years before the time of Christ, predating by +fifteen or more centuries the arrival of the people known as Bulgars, +from whom the country ultimately took its name. The earliest people to +have a viable political organization in the area were the Thracians, +whose loosely organized tribes occupied and controlled much of the +Balkan Peninsula. Later, when their society began to disintegrate, the +Thracians fell under Greek influence and joined forces with Athens to +overrun neighboring Macedonia. In the fourth century B.C., however, +Philip of Macedon, competing with the Greeks in a power struggle over +Thrace, conquered Thrace and made the Thracians a subject people. + +This invasion was followed in the second century B.C. by a Roman +invasion of Macedonia and a subsequent conquest of Thrace. By the first +century A.D. the Romans totally dominated the area. Despite their strict +and unpopular military control over the population, under their tutelage +cities grew, roads were constructed, and mining and farming were +developed. + +In the third century A.D. a series of mass migrations into the Balkans +began; these migrations lasted for several centuries (see ch. 3). The +Goths came in four separate waves during the third century. In the +fourth century the Huns swept across the country, razing cities and +villages. They were followed in the fourth and fifth centuries by the +Visigoths and Ostrogoths who, like the Huns, continued to ravage the +country. These invasions culminated in the eventual conquest and +settlement by the relatively civilized Slavs in the sixth century. + +In A.D. 330 the Emperor Constantine established what was to be +considered a second Rome and named it Constantinople. In this period the +Roman Empire in the Balkans was split into two parts: in the east, +Thrace was once again under Greek domination, and the west was +dominated by the Romans. Constantinople was growing in power, and Greek +influence was eroding the political and cultural influence of the +Romans. By the mid-fourth century Rome and Constantinople were actively +struggling for domination over the Balkans. + +In the sixth century A.D. the Slavs crossed the Danube River and +occupied much of the Balkan Peninsula. Although the Byzantines built +fortresses to protect themselves, they were unable to hold the Slavs at +bay. Once the Slavs had taken over most of the Balkan Peninsula, they +succeeded in destroying the existing social system, rapidly replacing it +with their own. Soon the entire Thracian population became slavicized. + +In the seventh century A.D. the Bulgars in turn began to migrate into +the Balkans. They had come originally from central Asia and were said to +be related to the Huns. They were of the same stock as the Turks and +spoke a language similar to Turkish. Before migrating to the Balkans, +they had lived north of the Black Sea. Their social order was vastly +different from that of the Slavs, although eventually the Slavic system +became dominant. The Bulgars, unlike the Slavs who repudiated the +concept of kingship, were governed autocratically by khans. The Bulgars +were warriors who fought on horseback, and their customs and dress were +Asiatic. + +When the Bulgars overran what is now northeastern Bulgaria, they found +Slavic tribes already established and quickly made peace with them in +order to strengthen themselves against the Byzantines. As the Slavs were +far more numerous than the Bulgars, the latter were assimilated, and +within two centuries the Bulgars had been completely slavicized. The +Slavic language and culture were adopted, although the Bulgarian name +and political structure were retained. A Slav-Bulgarian state was formed +with the capital at Pliska. + +The First Bulgarian Kingdom lasted from A.D. 679 to A.D. 1018, when it +fell to Byzantium. During this period the social system resembled the +feudal system of Western Europe. The king, or tsar, was the leading +nobleman. As the political situation of the period varied, he was +alternately supported or opposed by the boyars (large landowners). The +great majority of the people were serfs. + +During the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. the Bulgarians consolidated +and further reinforced their power. By the ninth century they were so +powerful that they challenged the Byzantine Empire itself. Twice in this +period the Bulgarians controlled areas of Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia, +Romania, and even Russia. In a battle in 811 the Bulgars completely +devastated the Byzantine army that had invaded their country; killed the +Byzantine emperor, Nicephorus; and went on to lay siege to +Constantinople itself. The siege failed, but Bulgaria had established +itself as a power with which to be reckoned. + +During the ninth century A.D. Bulgaria once again became the focus of +Greek and Roman cultural and political rivalry. The dispute was finally +terminated when Bulgaria, under King Boris I, accepted Christianity +from Constantinople rather than from Rome. As early as 836 the Byzantine +Empire had sent two brothers, Cyril and Methodius, to convert the Slavs. +When the brothers were in Venice, they argued in favor of church +services and literature in the Slavic language, opposing the Roman +bishops who believed that only Hebrew, Greek, and Latin were suitable +languages for worship. This dialogue further exacerbated the tensions +between Byzantium and Rome. By 870 Boris made Orthodox Christianity the +official religion of the state. At this juncture Bulgaria fell under the +Byzantine sphere of influence, completing--for the moment--its break +with the Roman religion and culture. + +The influence of Cyril and Methodius upon the Bulgarian language and +culture is incalculable. They not only carried a new liturgical form to +Bulgaria but also devised a new alphabet known as Cyrillic. This new +alphabet soon replaced Latin and Greek as the only form of writing, and +on its base a new Slavic literature and culture grew up. + +When Bulgaria adopted Christianity from Byzantium, it also adopted +Byzantium's territorial ambitions. Under Tsar Simeon (A.D. 893-927), a +period known as the Golden Age, Bulgaria extended its territories from +the Black Sea in the east to the southern Carpathian Mountains in the +north, to the Sava River in the west, and to Macedonia in the southwest. +It was in this period that Bulgaria reached the peak of its territorial +expansion, penetrating deep into the Byzantine Empire. Macedonia and +Albania became Bulgaria's new frontiers; in 924 Serbia fell under +Bulgarian rule. With these victories Simeon claimed the title tsar of +all the Bulgarians and the Greeks. + +With the territorial expansion came a domestic flourishing in the arts +and an increase in trade. The arts and architecture of the period were +significant for their beauty and vitality. Preslav, then the capital +city, became the center of culture. Crafts, such as goldsmithing, +pottery, stonemasonry, and blacksmithing grew, and shops sprang up +everywhere. At the same time literature flourished, and education and +scholarship took on a new importance. Knowledge of Slavic literature +became widespread, and writers treated such varied topics as religion, +grammar, logic, and patriotism. + +By the end of the tenth century A.D., however, the First Bulgarian +Kingdom was beginning to decline. Internally, the local population was +weary from continual warring and from the oppression of feudalism. The +boyars continued to struggle against the king and his council for their +own autonomy. Because of the internal weakness of the country, +Bulgaria's neighbors began to encroach on her borders. The Magyars +(Hungarians) attacked from the northwest, seizing territory north of the +Danube River. The Byzantines in 967 formed an alliance with the prince +of Kiev in Russia and, because of this alliance, succeeded in invading +Bulgaria repeatedly. + +In the late tenth century there was a brief revival of Bulgarian power +under Samuel, when the Bulgarians succeeded in liberating the +northeastern sector of the country from Byzantine control and captured +southern Macedonia. But the revival was short lived. The Byzantine +emperor, Basil II, was determined to regain his lost land and once again +recaptured the northeastern sector. In 1014 Basil again invaded +Bulgaria; defeated Samuel's army; and, in an act of matchless cruelty, +blinded 14,000 Bulgarian soldiers. From 1018 until 1185 all of Bulgaria +was under Byzantine rule. + +The eleventh and twelfth centuries witnessed a period of extreme +hardship for the country. Byzantine domination was harsh and punitive. +Monetary taxes, which added to the already heavy burdens of the +peasantry, were levied in 1040. Bulgarian feudalism was replaced by +Byzantine feudalism. The Byzantine church itself was a vehicle of +oppression as it was later to become under Turkish rule; the church +owned entire estates and villages and the people who inhabited them. +There were a series of revolts during the eleventh century, but none +were successful in overthrowing Byzantine tyranny. During this period +the first and second crusades made their way through the Balkan +Peninsula, wreaking havoc among the local populations. + +The Second Bulgarian Kingdom was established in 1186 and lasted until +1396, when--like the First Bulgarian Kingdom--it was conquered by a +powerful enemy and neighbor. Ironically, history came full circle to +spell defeat for the Bulgarians. In the twelfth century, when the +Byzantine Empire was declining because of internal weakness, the +Bulgarians were able to free themselves from domination. In the +fourteenth century, when Bulgaria itself was weakened by domestic +strife, it was conquered by an enemy whose oppression was greater than +that of the Byzantine Empire: the Ottoman Turks. + +At the close of the twelfth century the internal situation in Bulgaria +was deteriorating. Taxes had been increased, and the burden borne by the +peasants became still heavier. The feudal lords openly began to proclaim +their independence from Byzantium, whose empire was by now steadily +declining. Bulgaria was surrounded by its enemies: the Ottoman Turks, +the Magyars, and the Normans. In 1183 the Magyars invaded, penetrating +as far as Sofia. Realizing the vulnerability of the Byzantine Empire, +the Bulgarians rebelled under the leadership of two brothers, Asen and +Peter. The brothers first liberated northeastern Bulgaria and then +proceeded into Thrace, where they were opposed by Isaac Angel, then +emperor of Byzantium. In 1187 a peace treaty was concluded in which +Byzantium conceded autonomy to Bulgaria. + +Despite the peace treaty, however, the Bulgarians continued to wage war +against the empire, hoping to regain northern Bulgaria and Macedonia--a +contested territory and bitterly disputed issue throughout Bulgarian +history. In 1201 the empire again concluded a peace treaty with the +Bulgarians, ceding all of northern Bulgaria and a large part of +Macedonia. Eventually, in 1207 Constantinople recognized the complete +independence of Bulgaria, and Bulgarian freedom was firmly established. + +This new-found independence, however, did not extend to the Bulgarian +church, which was still under the aegis of the empire. For that reason +Kaloyan, the Bulgarian ruler, negotiated with the Roman pope, Innocent +III, in order to ally the Bulgarian church with the church of Rome. The +motives of Rome and those of Kaloyan were similar: to isolate the +influence of Byzantium from Bulgaria. In 1204 Kaloyan was crowned king +by the papal nuncio in Turnovo. Although this union lasted only briefly, +it served the purpose for which it was designed, and Bulgaria was +effectively cut off from Byzantium. + +During the thirteenth century the Holy Roman Empire replaced the +Byzantine Empire on the borders of Bulgaria, and Byzantine aggression +was replaced by that of the Holy Roman Empire. When Rome declared war on +Bulgaria, the Bulgarians invaded Thrace, defeating the crusaders at +Adrianople in 1205. The reestablishment of the Bulgarian patriarchate in +1235 represented the end of the short-lived alliance between the +Bulgarian church and Rome. + +Under the reign of Ivan Asen II in the mid-thirteenth century peace was +again restored, and the country once more extended its territories. The +Bulgarians succeeded in capturing eastern Thrace, the Aegean coast, +Albania, and Macedonia. Bulgarian territory at this time was as great as +under the reign of Tsar Simeon; with these conquests Bulgaria became the +largest state in the Balkans. The country was now surrounded by three +seas--the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, and the Adriatic Sea--opening the +country's doors to foreign trade and culture. + +Again, as in the time of Simeon, the arts and cultural life of the +country flourished. Monasteries, churches, and fortresses were +constructed. Religious literature and art achieved a high level of +excellence, and secular works became popular. The first chronicle of +Bulgarian history was written, and an interest in history grew among the +people. The first Bulgarian coins were minted at this time. Trade, +particularly with Italy, increased greatly because of Bulgaria's free +access to the sea. Merchants and ambassadors came to Bulgaria from +abroad, lending their influence to Bulgaria's economic and cultural +life. + +By the second half of the thirteenth century, however, internal +conditions in the country had deteriorated. The feudal system, which had +been further consolidated during the thirteenth century, had exacerbated +the tensions of the peasants, and hostilities among the boyars +increased. The throne was contested between 1257 and 1277 and was +eventually taken forcibly by Ivailo, known as the swineherd tsar because +of his leadership of a peasant uprising in 1277. + +Meanwhile, Bulgaria's neighbors again sensed an opportune time to attack +because of the internal divisions in the country. The Byzantines +conquered several parts of Macedonia and Thrace, and the Hungarians and +Tatars invaded on another front. At one point the Hungarian king +declared himself king of Bulgaria. In 1242 there was a large-scale +Mongol invasion. Tatar raids went on continually between 1241 and 1300. +The country was totally fragmented; each separate area attempted to ally +itself with its former enemies, whether Russian, Hungarian, or Tatar, in +order to prevent widespread damage. + +By the fourteenth century the Turks began to envision the conquest of +Bulgaria. Internally the boyars continued to fight among themselves, and +externally the country was threatened alternately by Byzantium and by +Serbia. By the mid-fourteenth century all of Macedonia was under Serbian +control, and the Serbian tsar--much like the Hungarian king before +him--called himself the tsar of the Bulgars. The area of the country +retained by the Bulgars by this time was divided into three parts: the +last Bulgarian tsar maintained his capital at Turnovo in the central +highlands; the so-called Vidin Kingdom, ruled by the tsar's brother, +existed in the far northwest; and a principality of Dobrudzha was +established in the northeast. + +At the same time the Ottoman Turks were beginning to advance. Having +seized areas of Asia Minor, they proceeded to raid the Balkans from 1326 +to 1352. Under their leader, Murad I, they began to attack Thrace, +Macedonia, and parts of Bulgaria. By 1371 they were attacking +territories in northeastern Thrace. At this point they marched against +Sofia and, despite active resistance, succeeded in capturing it. Despite +an alliance with the Serbs, the Bulgarians were too weak to resist +further; in 1388 the Turks easily won a battle against the Serbs. The +fall of Turnovo was followed by the fall of Vidin and Dobrudzha. By 1396 +all of Bulgaria was under Turkish domination. + + +TURKISH RULE + +The Second Bulgarian Kingdom, like the first, had ended in total defeat, +and the darkest period in Bulgarian history began with the Turkish +conquest. Only the priests of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church--despite its +takeover by the Greeks--were able to preserve Bulgarian national +literature and culture to some degree. The Bulgarians once again were +subjected to foreign domination, only this time foreign rule lasted for +five centuries. Historians agree that Turkish rule was a death blow to +the creative forces that had been responsible for the development of the +country to that time. With Turkish domination the normal economic, +political, and social life of Bulgaria ground to a halt. + +The Ottoman Turks were at a far lower stage of social development than +either the Byzantine Empire, which preceded them in their occupation of +the Balkans, or the Balkan states themselves. The Turks lived an almost +nomadic life in primitive communal systems that were headed by tribal +chiefs. When the Turks occupied Bulgaria, they replaced the established +feudal system with their own more rudimentary and conservative +feudalism. Many boyars were executed or rendered powerless if they +failed to convert to Islam. The peasants were more completely under the +feudal yoke than they had ever been under Byzantine rule. The Turks +imposed heavy taxes and hard labor on the people of the conquered +country, whom they considered cattle. Young boys were taken from their +homes, proclaimed Muslims, and conscripted into the army. + +The Turks ruled Bulgaria by means of a sharply delineated administrative +system. Bulgaria as an entity did not exist for the Turks; the entire +Balkan Peninsula was known as Rumili (Rumelia) and was ruled for the +sultan by a _beylerbey_ (governor general) whose headquarters was +located in Sofia. Rumili was divided into _vilayetlar_ (sing., +_vilayet_), which were further subdivided into _sanjaklar_ (sing., +_sanjak_), each in turn ruled by lesser officials. Bulgaria itself was +divided into five _sanjaklar_: Kyustendil, Nikopol, Silistra, Sofia, and +Vidin. Although all land was considered to be the property of the +sultan, on the local level the land was distributed to feudal lords and +was tilled by non-Muslim serfs. + +A second vehicle for both administration and oppression that the Turks +employed--in addition to the land administrators--was the Greek Orthodox +Church. By 1394, before the final conquest, the See of Turnovo had been +subordinated to the Patriarchate of Constantinople, where it remained +until 1870. Greek bishops replaced Bulgarians, as Greek liturgy replaced +the Slavic. The patriarchate, in turn, was totally subordinate to the +sultan. The Greek clergy destroyed Bulgarian books and banned Slavic +liturgy. The Bulgarian language and all Slavic literature were +forbidden. Greek became the language in all schools. + +The hellenization of the Bulgarian church was used by the Turks as a +means to negate the nationalism of the people and thus dominate them. +The Turks attempted to some extent to convert the Bulgarians to Islam in +order to assimilate them more fully. Although many Bulgarians fled to +the mountains with the coming of the Turks, others stayed on and +accepted the Muslim faith, often for purely opportunistic purposes. +Those who did were generally placed in strategically significant +positions; frequently, as a reward for their conversion, they paid no +taxes to the state. The Bulgarian converts to Islam were called Pomaks +(see ch. 4). + +The plight of the peasants grew worse. Agricultural production dropped +as their exploitation continued. Although landowners were not persecuted +to the same degree as the peasantry, they were frequently displaced from +the land. Turkish cattle breeders entered the country to settle on their +lands. Lands were also taken to reward army commanders, provincial +governors, and knights in the service of the sultan. Still other lands +were given to immigrant Turkish peasants. The only food that was not +subject to requisition by the conquerors was pork, which was not allowed +in the Muslim diet. + +As the life of the Bulgarian countryside declined, so too did urban +life. Bulgarians were expelled from most urban centers and replaced by +Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and Turks. By the end of the sixteenth century +two-thirds of Sofia's population was Turkish. Trade was virtually halted +for a time, and, when resumed, it also was dominated by Greeks, +Armenians, and Jews rather than Bulgarians. The towns themselves were in +a state of deterioration. The crafts had declined, economic life was +stagnant, and the Black Sea was closed to all foreign ships. + +As life within Bulgaria declined, the Turks began to perceive the +country as a springboard for further aggression against other +territories. Although Bulgarian hopes rose briefly when it appeared that +the Turks might be destroyed by their enemies, such hopes eventually +were dashed when the Turks emerged victorious throughout a period of two +centuries of conquest and aggression. + +In the early years of Turkish domination, the Turks waged continuous war +with Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia, and what remained of +the Byzantine Empire. Bulgarian hopes of liberation were fueled by the +Turkish defeat at the Battle of Ankara in 1402, when the Turkish army +was defeated by the Tatars. Resistance was eventually crushed, however, +and the Turks began to renew their conquests after capturing Salonica in +1430. In the Battle of Varna the Turks succeeded in capturing +Constantinople itself. + +After the defeat of Constantinople the Turks overran Serbia, Wallachia, +Bosnia, and Albania. Their conquests expanded to include Mesopotamia, +Syria, Arabia, and North Africa. In the sixteenth century Turkish +conquests continued under Suleiman the Magnificent, who succeeded in +capturing Serbia and Hungary in 1526. This triumphant expansion of the +Turkish state caused Bulgarian dreams to be destroyed, although sporadic +struggling within the country continued intermittently. + + +THE RISE OF NATIONALISM + +During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the first seeds of real +resistance to Turkish rule were planted in Bulgaria. On the foreign +front the Turks were constantly besieged by the Austrians and the +Russians. By 1683 the Austrian army succeeded in liberating Hungary and +Transylvania; they also were able to penetrate areas of Bulgaria and +Macedonia. These victories over the Turks again sparked Bulgarian hopes. + +During the same period the internal situation in Bulgaria continued to +signal the eventual decline of Turkish power and the rise of a Bulgarian +national spirit. Because of the increase in corruption and oppression by +the Turks, the Bulgarians began to rebel openly. In the 1590s, the +1680s, and the 1730s significant local uprisings took place. Although +these rebellions were not successful, they gave rise to the _haiduk_ +(forest outlaw) movement, which continued to carry out acts of rebellion +against the Turkish overlords. The people praised their acts of daring +and wrote folk songs detailing their adventures and exploits. In +addition to the revolutionaries the _chorbadzhi_ (squires), who were on +the whole a progressive force, were able to gain some concessions from +the Turks. + +In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries this latent nationalism grew +swiftly under the influence of outside forces penetrating the country. +The French Revolution--with its democratic ideals--had a widespread and +vital impact on Bulgarian national sentiment. Western concepts and +standards penetrated the country mainly by means of trade, an activity +that Bulgarian traders realized could only be expanded when Turkish rule +was terminated. In addition Bulgarian students studying in foreign +universities as well as Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries +brought back tales of Western life and ideals. At the same time, +currents of Russian revolutionary thought, as well as contact with +Polish refugees from the revolution of 1848, were sweeping Bulgaria. All +these factors coalesced and spurred the rising tide of nationalism +within the country. + +During this period of the so-called Bulgarian National Revival, a +cultural rebirth--which also stirred Bulgarian national sentiment--took +place on the national scene. In 1762 Father Paisi, a Macedonian monk, +wrote a treatise called _The Slav-Bulgarian History_ that appealed to +Bulgarians to recognize their national culture and to fight for their +own land and beliefs. Although the book was not published until after +his death, Father Paisi spread his credo by preaching his ideas in small +villages and towns. His message carried weight with many Bulgarians, and +his idealism promoted many to become politically active against their +Turkish oppressors. + +The Turks, during this period of growing Bulgarian nationalism, +attempted to recoup their losses by effecting some moderate reforms. +Although most of these acts came too late, they did succeed in enacting +administrative, social, and financial legislation that improved the lot +of the Bulgarians. Native leaders were consulted by their Turkish +overseers, and in one case a Bulgarian governor was appointed. +Provincial assemblies began to meet on a regular basis, and by 1876 it +was determined by the Turks that some degree of self-rule should be +granted the Bulgarians. + +The Turks were by this period in an inevitable decline. Although Turkish +rule extended over parts of three continents, the Turks continued to +expand their conquests. Military expenses became a staggering burden. +The Turkish economy was in an unfavorable position, and the Turks were +beginning to lose battles to increasingly well trained European armies. +The original Spartan life-style of the sultans and army officers was +becoming one of luxury and indulgence. All the signals for the fall of +the Turks were in evidence. + +As the movement toward national revolution grew up in the mid-nineteenth +century in Bulgaria, an ideological schism separated the movement into +two schools. The "moderates," led by a Bulgarian group in +Constantinople, favored negotiations with the Turks. The "radicals" felt +that such an approach would lead to inevitable failure. Although the +radicals turned to the West--France, Great Britain, Italy, and +Switzerland--for models of revolution and to Russia for practical +assistance in freeing Bulgaria from the Turks, in fact they hoped to +free the country from all foreign domination. Ironically, in light of +Bulgaria's later history, one radical leader wrote, "If Russia comes to +liberate, she will be met with great sympathy, but if she comes to rule, +she will find many enemies." + +The leaders of the radicals were Georgi Rakovsky and Vasil Levski. +Rakovsky continued for twenty-five years to organize armed detachments +along the borders of neighboring countries. Levski, for his part, +realized that a social revolution as well as a national revolution was +imperative for the true liberation of the Bulgarian people. He worked +sub rosa in Bulgarian villages and organized a network of committees for +the revolution, known as the Internal Secret Revolutionary Organization. +In 1873 he was captured by the Turks and hanged. + +By the early 1870s the seeds of revolution were sown as Bulgarians won +some political victories over their conquerors. In 1870, primarily +because of the activity of the Bulgarian priests, the Bulgarian Orthodox +Church was reestablished. Although the Bulgarian clergy was in large +part responsible for this action, it was probably tolerated by the Turks +because of their anger with the Greeks, who were then embroiled in a +revolt in Crete. In 1872 the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee +was formed in Bucharest; by 1875 this group became active in the +uprisings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, uprisings that were not easily +quelled by the Turks. + +As Bulgarian revolutionary sentiments grew, the Bulgarians turned to +Russia to help win freedom from the Turks. Although the motives of the +Russians and the Bulgarians were not identical, both wanted to rid the +Balkans of Turkish oppression. The Russians perceived the Ottoman Empire +as a very dangerous rival that they hoped to annihilate, thus gaining +control of Western European trade. The Bulgarians, although their +motives were also pragmatic, felt a deep sense of kinship with the +Russian people. The Russians, like the Bulgarians, were Slavs. Their +religion was identical. Even their language was similar. Thus, they +sensed a commonality not only of interests but also of cultures. + +The precursor to the liberation in 1878 was an unsuccessful uprising in +1876. The Bulgarians, at this point, were ill prepared for war, +politically and strategically. Thousands of Bulgarians were killed in +April of that year. Soon thereafter Turkish reprisals followed. Fifteen +thousand Bulgarians were massacred in Plovdiv alone. The savagery of +these reprisals was so brutal that Western public leaders spoke out in +protest. The governments of the West, however, fearing an increased +Russian penetration in the area, refused to act against the Turks. + +Although the revolution of 1876 had met with failure, it had succeeded +in loosening the Turkish grip on the country and in increasing the +feeling of the Russians that the time to attack was imminent. Finally, +after the Russo-Turkish war of 1877, the Russians invaded Bulgaria, +liquidating the Turkish army by March 1878. In these battles for +Bulgarian liberation, the Russians lost over 200,000 lives, a sacrifice +the Bulgarians never failed to recognize. + +The results of 1878 were mixed, and the outcome of the original peace +treaty was reversed within five months of its signing. Bulgaria became +an autonomous tributary of the Turkish sultan; complete independence was +not established until 1908. The original peace treaty, the Treaty of San +Stefano, signed on March 3, 1878, granted Bulgaria additional +territories, including Thrace and the much-valued Macedonia. This treaty +was reversed, primarily because of Western fear of Russian encroachment, +by the Congress of Berlin; the Treaty of Berlin, signed on July 13, +1878, unlike the Treaty of San Stefano, delimited Bulgarian territories. +The Bulgarians were forced to give Thrace and Macedonia back to the +Turks. Bulgaria itself was carved into two separate entities: the +principality of Bulgaria, including northern Bulgaria and Sofia, and +eastern Rumelia, or southern Bulgaria. + + +LIBERATION AND ITS AFTERMATH + +Although the 1877-78 war freed Bulgaria from Turkish rule, the outcome +of the Congress of Berlin once again denied to Bulgaria the land that it +perceived to be rightfully Bulgarian, thus setting the tone for an +irredentist foreign policy that lasted through World War II. Because the +West, particularly Great Britain, played a significant role in carving +up the Balkans, and Bulgaria in particular, in hopes of curbing Russian +power, many historians speculate that Bulgaria's alliances with Germany +in both World War I and World War II were products of irredentist +sentiment that grew out of the Treaty of Berlin. + +Bulgaria moved to recapture its lost territory only seven years after +the Treaty of Berlin. In 1885 it annexed eastern Rumelia--or southern +Bulgaria--by means of a military coup. The British were in favor of the +annexation as it represented an obstacle to Russian ambitions in the +Balkans; the Russians quite naturally were disturbed by the act. This +was the first in a series of Bulgarian moves designed to reestablish +earlier boundaries. + +The establishment of a Bulgarian government in 1878 was relatively +easily accomplished, and that government achieved a certain degree of +stability in the aftermath of Turkish rule. The Turnovo Constitution +(1879)--originally drafted by the Russians but rewritten by +Bulgarians--established an essentially advanced and democratic system. +It set up a unicameral parliament, which was to be elected on the basis +of universal suffrage; the parliament was to control the executive. The +monarchy, which lasted from the 1880s until World War II, was +established at this time under a Germany dynasty that was acceptable to +the European powers. Although the first prince was forced to abdicate by +the Russians, his successor established firm and advanced economic and +administrative institutions in the country. Eventually, because of a +crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the country was able to declare itself +an independent kingdom in 1908. + +One historian has described the postliberation period as the "only +prolonged period of peaceful development" for Bulgaria. After the +liberation, land rose in value. Peasants were able to purchase land from +the Turks, and agricultural production rose markedly. Modern industry +grew up at a relatively rapid pace, although the country remained +primarily agrarian. The state began to take steps in education and +culture. All levels of education were expanded; students of higher +education studied both in Bulgaria and abroad; and illiteracy, which was +overwhelming at the period of liberation, was reduced to 76 percent by +1900 and to 54 percent by 1920. Science and the arts were actively +encouraged, and literature flourished once again. + +Financial burdens, however, escalated rapidly between 1886 and 1911. In +1911 the national debt was actually more than three times the size of +the national budget. At the same time, as industry increased, two +antagonistic groups developed: the urban middle class--composed of +merchants and white-collar workers--and the poor, who were generally +laborers or peasants. Working conditions in factories were nearly +intolerable, causing factory workers to interest themselves in the cause +of socialism, while on the farms the peasants began to organize a +movement known as the Bulgarian Agrarian Union (also called the Agrarian +Party), which was designed to offset the growing power of the urban +groups. In 1891 the Social Democratic Party was established; this party +later formed the base of the communist party in Bulgaria. + + +The Macedonian Issue + +By the early twentieth century the country was once again embroiled in +war; the Balkan wars of 1912 and 1913 impeded economic and social +development in the country. Once again, as in the case of eastern +Rumelia, irredentism was the Bulgarian motive for war. Both eastern +Thrace and Macedonia, the lands ceded to Bulgaria by the Treaty of San +Stefano, were still under Turkish rule. The lands had not only large +Bulgarian populations but also strategic and economic significance. +Macedonia, more than Thrace, was of extreme importance to Bulgaria; +Bulgarians believed the population of Macedonia to be composed almost +exclusively of Bulgarians. The issue of Macedonia was, in fact, a focal +point around which Bulgarian political life revolved after 1878, because +that issue was seen by the Bulgarians as involving the territorial +integrity of their nation. + +Between the tenth and fourteenth centuries Macedonia was alternately +occupied by the Bulgarians, the Serbs, and the Turks. At the time of +liberation Macedonia was ceded to the Bulgarians by the Treaty of San +Stefano, only to be returned to the Turks by the Treaty of Berlin. In +1893 the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO) was +founded. This terrorist organization, with the battle slogan "Liberty or +Death for Macedonia," fought a continual underground war of terrorism +against the Turks. In 1903 there was a major Macedonian uprising in +which two factions participated. Although the predominant faction +favored Bulgarian annexation of Macedonia, another group favored +complete autonomy for Macedonia. In 1908, when King Ferdinand proclaimed +Bulgaria completely independent, memories of the medieval Bulgarian +empire, which included Macedonia, were rekindled. + + +The Balkan Wars + +The tumultuous history of Macedonia set the stage for the two Balkan +wars. In 1912, at the onset of the First Balkan War, Serbia, Bulgaria, +Montenegro, and Greece formed an alliance to drive the Turks from +Europe. Turkey, who was at war with Italy at the time, was weak and +disunited. Macedonia and Thrace were hotbeds of internal disorder. In +October 1912 Turkey declared war on Serbia and Bulgaria, a move that was +countered by a Greek declaration of war on Turkey. In 1913 the +Bulgarians succeeded in capturing Adrianople, and the Greeks captured +Salonica, Crete, and Samos. Eventually, the Turks were badly defeated. +But the question of Macedonia remained. Serbia, Greece, and Bulgaria all +laid claim to the land at the end of the first Balkan War. Eventually a +compromise was reached: the northern section went to Serbia and the +eastern section, to Bulgaria. + +Despite this compromise, the Serbs and Greeks remained wary of the +Bulgarians. In 1913 the Second Balkan War began, the Greeks, +Montenegrins, Serbs, and Romanians joining forces with their previous +enemy, the Turks, against their former ally, the Bulgarians. This +rivalry had been fostered by both Austria and Russia. Eventually, the +Bulgarians turned to the Russians for arbitration and finally signed a +mutual defense treaty with Russia. When the Romanians crossed into +Bulgaria, the Bulgarians--who were simultaneously fighting in Macedonia +and were therefore weakened by fighting on two fronts--were forced to +surrender. As a result of this loss, when the peace treaty of Bucharest +was signed in August 1913 and Macedonia was partitioned between Greece +and Serbia, Bulgaria managed to retain only a tiny fragment in the +eastern sector. + +Macedonia, however, remained an issue for Bulgaria. In World War I +Bulgaria succeeded in invading Macedonia. During the interwar period +Macedonia was divided between Greece, Bulgaria, and Yugoslavia, +Yugoslavia retaining the largest portion of the land. In the 1923-34 +period Macedonian terrorism plagued the country and wreaked havoc on +Bulgarian political and social life. During World War II the Bulgarians +invaded both Greek Macedonia and Yugoslav Macedonia once again. Although +the Macedonians themselves were divided in their sentiments between +loyalties to Greeks, Yugoslavs, and Bulgarians, the land eventually +reverted to Yugoslavia during World War II. As an issue, however, it +still burns in the minds of the Bulgarians. The Macedonian question has +been aptly referred to as "that eternal Balkan sore spot of rival +nationalism." + + +WORLD WAR I + +As was the case in the Balkan wars, Bulgaria's primary motivation for +engagement in World War I was irredentism. Again the country was +determined to regain the two lands that had escaped her grasp in the +past: Macedonia and Thrace. Although Macedonia was prized for political +and social reasons, Thrace represented a strategically more significant +objective. In order to develop foreign trade, Bulgaria required an +outlet to the sea; Thrace represented that outlet. + +The domestic situation in the country before World War I was mixed. +Although Bulgaria's army had been demobilized at the end of the Second +Balkan War (1913) and economic conditions were rapidly improving, the +mood of the monarchy and the middle class was one of vindictiveness and +retaliation against those countries that had stripped Bulgaria of its +territories. The country became divided between those who wanted closer +relations with Russia and the Triple Entente and those who preferred an +alliance with the Central Powers. As the war neared, the struggle +between these camps intensified. + +Bulgaria, of all the Balkan states, was the only one to join the Central +Powers, led by Germany and Austria, in World War I. It was deeply ironic +that Bulgaria chose to side with her former enemy and oppressor, Turkey, +and against her former friend and protector, Russia. Again, the issue +for Bulgaria was the Macedonian question. Serbia and Greece, which had +triumphed over Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War, were allied with the +entente powers. Bulgaria chose to fight against these enemies in order +to regain Macedonia. Although the entente powers hoped to woo Bulgaria +to their side, they refused--because of Serb and Greek pressures--to +cede Macedonia to Bulgaria. The Central Powers, on the other hand, who +were already at war with Serbia, were willing to promise Macedonia to +the Bulgarians in exchange for their collaboration. + +In the early stages of the war Germany won victories in France and on +the eastern front. Although the government then ruling Bulgaria was +already inclined to join the Central Powers, these early successes made +German promises even more appealing. In August 1915 a secret treaty of +alliance was signed by Bulgaria and Germany, containing a clause that +promised Serbian, Greek, and Romanian territories to the Bulgarians. +Thus the quadripartite alliance was born, composed of Germany, +Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Bulgaria. + +By September 1915 Bulgarian troops were mobilized and began to deploy +along the borders of Greece and Serbia. On October 1, 1915, Bulgaria +declared war on Serbia and, with the assistance of Austrian and German +troops, succeeded in defeating the Serbian army. At the same time the +Bulgarian army began to advance on Macedonia. There the local +population, a proportion of which was openly sympathetic to Bulgarian +aspirations, joined in the fighting on the side of the Bulgarians. +Although the Bulgarian army attempted to drive the entente forces from +southern Macedonia, it met with failure. This defeat was followed by a +period of prolonged trench warfare on the Balkan front. By 1916 Bulgaria +was also at war with Romania and, with the help of German and Austrian +units, managed a victory over the Romanians. + +While the war dragged on, the internal political situation was rapidly +deteriorating. The country was in a state of economic chaos, and the +living conditions of laborers and peasants continued to decline. Farm +production dropped quickly, resulting in famine and soaring prices. +These dire conditions gave a strong impetus to the growing antiwar +movement in the country. The movement was headed by the left-wing +Socialists, who attempted to correlate the antiwar movement with +socialist propaganda. The Russian Revolution of 1917 stirred some +elements of the Bulgarian population who, like the Russian people, felt +that their government failed to represent their interests and was +unresponsive to their needs. There were open revolts in the towns and +villages; underground activities were growing within the Bulgarian army +itself. + +By 1918 Bulgaria and the Central Powers were defeated, leaving Bulgaria +in a worse position than before the war. Hopes of regaining Thrace and +Macedonia were dashed, and the country was immeasurably weakened by +external fighting and internal division. The people were frustrated and +bitter. Although the war had stimulated Bulgaria's industry--there were +345 industrial enterprises in 1911 and 1,404 in 1924--it had been costly +in other respects. Bulgaria was forced to pay both reparations and +payments for the allied occupation that followed. Taxes rose, and the +value of the currency declined. As a result, King Ferdinand was forced +to abdicate in 1918, shortly before the armistice was signed. + +The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine was signed on November 27, 1919, ending +Bulgaria's role in the war and establishing her boundaries. Once more +Bulgaria had entered a war on the losing side, and once more its +irredentist ambitions had resulted in no territorial gains. At the end +of the war Bulgaria lost Thrace to Greece--thus failing in her attempts +to gain access to the sea--and a small area in the Rodopi (or Rhodope +Mountains) and a portion of its western frontier to Yugoslavia. As a +result of these losses, Bulgaria was left with a still greater sense of +frustration and hostility toward its Balkan neighbors. + + +THE INTERWAR YEARS + +The period between the first and second world wars was one of political +unrest and Macedonian terrorism. The country was in an almost untenable +economic situation at the close of the war: prices skyrocketed, people +died of starvation, and strikes were almost continuous. Out of this +situation two extreme political groups grew up. On the extreme Right was +a faction of the IMRO, which at that time demanded the annexation of +Greek and Yugoslav Macedonia. On the Left was the Bulgarian Agrarian +Union, the only party at the time more popular than the Communists. + +When Ferdinand was forced to abdicate, he was succeeded by his son, +Boris III. Real political power was, however, in the hands of Alexander +Stambolisky, the leader of the Bulgarian Agrarian Union. He led the +country as its prime minister from 1919 to 1923. When Stambolisky took +power, the peasants formed 80 percent of the population. Stambolisky and +the Bulgarian Agrarian Union were dedicated to improving the lot of +these people; in his words "to raising the standards both economic and +educational, of the desperately poor and depressed peasant class." + +Stambolisky, on behalf of the peasant populism movement, made several +sweeping reforms. He instituted various social reforms, spread +education, and built roads. His strong dislike of the commercial and +professional classes in the cities led him toward the objective of a +peasant republic. When in power he instituted tax and land reforms and +radically altered the legal system. His domestic policies were not +popular with all strata of society; his foreign policies were even less +popular. He favored reconciliation with Yugoslavia over the Macedonian +issue. In 1923 he was overthrown by a group composed of IMRO, military, +and other factions and was beheaded. + +The murder of Stambolisky was followed by a communist attempt to foment +revolution in the country. The leaders were Georgi Dimitrov and Vasil +Kalarov, later leading figures in the Bulgarian communist state. The +country was in a state of civil war, which was subsequently crushed by +the right-wing political factions of the country. Thousands of +Bulgarians were killed, and Dimitrov and Kalarov were exiled. In 1925 +the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary) was officially +outlawed. Although Boris continued as monarch, the country was ruled by +coalition governments and military dictatorships for a decade following +Stambolisky's death. + +From 1923 until the putsch of 1934 IMRO terrorism dominated the country. +Bulgaria's position toward Macedonia was clear and unequivocal: it +sought to annex Macedonia completely as it considered the land to be +Bulgarian and the people to be Bulgarians. In the Bulgarian sector of +Macedonia the Macedonians were given a high degree of latitude, some +Macedonians even holding high offices in Bulgaria. In the Yugoslavian +sectors of Macedonia, however, most Macedonians felt oppressed and +restricted. As a result of this mixed status and treatment, there was a +certain ambivalence in Macedonian sentiment, the IMRO terrorists +favoring complete independence and self-rule. Among Macedonian patriots, +two predominant factions grew up. The federalists favored an autonomous +Macedonia--which could, if necessary, be allied with Yugoslavia and +Bulgaria--and the Supremists sought to incorporate Macedonia within +Bulgaria, with aspirations of dominating the entire Balkan area. The +results of these divergent opinions were expressed in acts of violence +and terrorism that wreaked havoc in Bulgaria and eventually culminated +in federalist collaboration with the Ustashi--a group of Croat +separatists--and the murder of King Alexander of Yugoslavia. + +Macedonian terrorism was virtually ended by the putsch of 1934. The +government, the People's Bloc, which was a coalition of four parties +including the Bulgarian Agrarian Union was overthrown by the so-called +Zveno--or link--group. The Zveno group was headed by Kimon Georgiev and +was aided by the League of Reserve Officers. As soon as it seized power, +Zveno suspended the constitution and dissolved parliament. The king was +left with only nominal powers. Although the group did succeed for the +most part in ridding the country of Macedonian terrorism, its rule was +overtly authoritarian. By 1935 the king, with the aid of the military, +had regained his power and replaced the Zveno group with a more moderate +government. + +With the reestablishment of the monarchy, a royal dictatorship took +power and ruled over Bulgaria until 1943, when Boris died. There were at +this time no forces left to oppose the king, political parties were +negligible, and only a shadow parliament existed. Ironically, the +military, which had aided the Zveno in the overthrow of the king, now +was an instrument of his control. + +Foreign relations under Boris III before World War II were leading the +country again inevitably into a war that would bring it to total defeat. +In 1934, despite the suppression of IMRO by the newly formed government, +Romania, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey, as in the Second Balkan War, +were once again wary of Bulgaria's irredentist ambitions. In that year +the four powers signed the Balkan Pact, from which Bulgaria naturally +was excluded, in order to prevent Bulgarian encroachment in the area. +Although Bulgaria and Yugoslavia later established a rapprochement in +1937, the potential of a Bulgarian annexation of Macedonia was still +considered a threat by its neighbors. + +During the 1930s, while Bulgaria was viewed with suspicion by its +neighbors, it began to form new friendships with Germany and Italy. +Boris had married the daughter of King Victor Emanuel of Italy, a +country that had already become fascist, thus strengthening ties with +that country. At the same time, Bulgaria began to solidify its ties with +Germany, principally by means of trade. A new-founded prosperity was +based almost exclusively on German trade, an arrangement that eventually +weakened the country. Within a short period German agents were pouring +into the country. Thus, Bulgaria was on one side alienated from its +neighbors and on the other being drawn into the nazi-fascist camp. + + +WORLD WAR II + +Bulgaria's motives for entering World War II were once again based on +irredentism, coupled with almost total economic dependence on Germany. +Once more it hoped to regain the lands of Thrace and Macedonia, which +were lost after the Treaty of San Stefano was reversed by the Congress +of Berlin. The lesson of the two subsequent Balkan wars and World War I +had fallen on deaf ears. Bulgaria was still estranged from its Balkan +neighbors and once more was being courted by the former ally of World +War I, Germany. Germany, again realizing Bulgaria's territorial +aspirations, hoped to bribe the Bulgarian leadership with southern +Dobrudzha, which was eventually ceded to Bulgaria in 1940. + +In December 1941 Bulgaria placed herself squarely on the German side by +declaring war on Great Britain and the United States and joining the +Rome-Berlin Axis. This alignment, which derived primarily from +Bulgaria's irredentist policy, was given further force by dislike of the +British, who were held to blame by the Bulgarians for the loss of +Macedonia to Yugoslavia and Greece. + +Despite the declaration of war against Great Britain and the United +States, Bulgaria refused throughout World War II to declare war on the +Soviet Union. The Russians, unlike the British and Americans, were +popular with the Bulgarian people. They were still remembered for their +assistance to the Bulgarians in the past and were viewed by the people +as their liberators from Turkish rule. Not only did Bulgaria refuse to +declare war on its former liberator, but it also refused to make its +army available to Adolf Hitler for his eastern campaign. When Germany +declared war on Russia, Bulgaria continued to retain neutrality toward, +and to maintain diplomatic relations with, the Soviet Union. + +In the early stages of the war, before Bulgaria had declared war on the +Allies, it had already begun to regain some of the land lost during the +Balkan wars and World War I. Southern Dobrudzha, which had been ceded to +Romania in 1913, reverted to Bulgaria by August 1940. In the spring of +1941, supporting Germany against Yugoslavia and Greece, Bulgaria +regained Macedonia and part of Greek Thrace. When Bulgaria was rewarded +with these lands by the Nazis, Bulgarians perceived their gains as a +"historical national unification." By 1941 Yugoslavia was overrun, and +some of its territories were taken by Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria. +Italy received Montenegro, Hungary took part of northern Yugoslavia, and +Bulgaria gained, in addition to the much-prized Macedonia, the frontiers +of southeastern Serbia. The Bulgarians at this point were once again +approaching the frontiers that had been established by the Treaty of San +Stefano. + +Internally, the country was in relatively good condition during the +early stages of the war. The economy, based primarily on active trade +with the Germans, was booming. The Bulgarian people perceived the +fighting as essentially a "paper war" and were generally apathetic +regarding their role in the war. There was little suffering within +Bulgarian boundaries and little expression of hatred toward Bulgaria's +ostensible enemies. Despite Bulgaria's alliance with the Nazis and +Fascists, within the country Jews were for the most part protected +rather than persecuted. + +By 1943, however, the war began to change for the Bulgarians. Slowly the +Allies began to turn back German power. At this time Bulgaria was hit +frequently by British and United States air raids. Because of Bulgaria's +strategic significance and its declaration of war, albeit symbolic, +against Great Britain and the United States, Sofia and other major +Bulgarian cities became targets for American and British bombers. Sofia +was reduced to little more than rubble at one point, and over 30,000 +casualties were suffered by the Bulgarians. + +In 1943 Boris died and was succeeded by his six-year-old son, Simeon. In +fact, however, a three-man regency retained power, with Ivan Bagrianov +as premier. The regency was less actively pro-Axis in orientation than +was the late king; with its coming to power, thousands of political +prisoners were released from jail, and all persecution of Jews was +terminated. + +By 1944, when Germany and its allies were clearly losing the war, the +Bulgarian leaders sought to reverse the earlier decision of the king and +to seek peace with the Allies as well as with the Greek and Yugoslav +governments-in-exile. Despite sub rosa attempts to release itself from +agreements with the Axis, Bulgaria was unable to extricate itself from +the alliance. On August 22, 1944, the Bulgarian government publicly +announced that it was ready for a peace agreement with the Allies. + +The war was ended for Bulgaria when, on September 4, 1944, the Soviets, +after taking over Romania, entered Bulgaria. The exact sequence of +events has been interpreted differently by various historians. There are, +however, two major interpretations. One suggests that, once the Soviets +had occupied Romania and declared war on Bulgaria, Bulgaria--under a +hastily formed anti-Axis coalition government--immediately quit the pact +with the Axis and declared war on its former ally, Germany. The other +interpretation posits the theory that, on August 26, the Bulgarian +government had declared itself neutral, thus withdrawing from the war. +At this time it ordered German troops on its soil to disarm. When Soviet +troops arrived in Bulgaria, they found this so-called neutrality +unacceptable and insisted on a Bulgarian declaration of war against +Germany. This declaration was promptly carried out on the eve of the day +that it was requested. + +When the Soviets occupied the country in September 1944, the government +of the so-called Fatherland Front (Otechestven Front) seized power from +the existing government within five days of the occupation. On September +9, 1944, the Fatherland Front--under the leadership of Georgiev--officially +took control of the country on what was then termed an interim basis. On +October 28, 1944, an armistice was signed between Bulgaria and the Soviet +Union, which stated that all territories gained by Bulgaria since 1941 +would be surrendered. Only southern Dobrudzha, taken from Romania in 1940, +was to be retained. The agreement also established the Allied Control +Commission in Sofia under direct Soviet control. + +The results of the war for Bulgaria were mixed. In terms of financial +burdens Bulgaria's position was relatively favorable compared with that +of other countries on the losing side. In terms of territorial losses, +which resulted in a legacy of bitterness and continued irredentism, its +position was poor. As Bulgaria had suffered over 30,000 casualties in +the war, the Allies imposed relatively light peace terms. The Soviet +Union extracted no reparations from Bulgaria, despite the fact that +reparations were demanded from Germany, Hungary, and Romania. Yugoslavia +also canceled Bulgaria's debts. Overall war damages to the country +itself were generally moderate. + +In terms of losses, however, Bulgaria not only lost most of the +territories it had regained at the beginning of the war but also +ultimately lost its constitutional monarchy and became a Soviet +satellite. Although it was allowed to retain southern Dobrudzha, all the +territories that were of significance to Bulgaria's sense of nationhood +were gone. Macedonia reverted to Yugoslavia, and Thrace to Greece. The +Treaty of Paris, signed in February 1947, confirmed Bulgaria's pre-1941 +boundaries. Not only had Bulgaria lost these prized territories, but her +sovereignty as a nation was severely curtailed by the Soviet military +occupation. Both the armistice agreement of September 1944 and the +British-Soviet agreement of October of that year recognized Soviet +dominance in the country. Although this power over the country was not +expected by the Western powers to endure indefinitely, this illusion was +dispelled as Bulgaria soon succumbed completely to Soviet influence. + + +THE COMMUNIST STATE + +Growth of the Communist Party + +In 1891 the Social Democratic Party was founded; the Communist party was +eventually an offshoot of this movement. By 1903 the Social Democrats +had begun to split into what were known as the "broad" and "narrow" +factions. The broad faction retained the ideology of social democracy, +but the narrow faction became the Bulgarian counterpart of the Russian +Bolsheviks; its leader was Dimiter Blagoev, the so-called father of +Bulgarian communism. In 1919 the narrow faction split off from the +Second Socialist International and assumed the name Bulgarian Communist +Party (BKP). Although the party had great prestige abroad, it failed to +enjoy domestic popularity. The most popular party at the time--and that +favored by the peasant class, which was predominant in this +still-agrarian society--was the Bulgarian Agrarian Union. The BKP, on +the other hand, was composed almost exclusively of intellectuals and +students and held little appeal for the working and peasant classes. + +In 1923 there was an unsuccessful attempt by the Communists to bring the +country to revolution. When this uprising was quelled, the Communists +turned to terrorism in order to gain their goals, and in 1925 a plot to +assassinate King Boris was formulated. Once again the Communists met +with failure, as the king not only lived but grew more powerful. In the +last half of the 1920s the party faded from the scene, but by the early +1930s it was again revived and grew in popularity. + +During the late 1930s the party went underground as the king increased +his power. In 1939 the Communists reappeared and merged with the +left-wing Workers Party; in the 1939 elections the party doubled its +representation and took on an air of greater respectability. In 1941, +while the war was under way, the Communists realized that Bulgaria was +falling into the German camp. Although they were powerless to stop this +alliance, their activity in evoking pro-Soviet sentiment was successful +to the extent that--coupled with the basically favorable sentiments of +the Bulgarian people toward the Russians--it prevented the monarchy from +declaring war against the Soviet Union. + +Once the Germans began to invade the Soviet Union itself, the Bulgarian +Communists committed themselves to a policy of armed resistance, known +as the partisan movement. Historians dispute the extent of partisan +activity; some state that it did not become active until the Soviet +victory at Stalingrad in 1943, and others claim that the movement was +active from the onset of the German invasion of the Soviet Union. + +In 1942, on the initiative of Dimitrov, the Fatherland Front was +established. The organization was essentially a coalition, composed of +members of the Workers Party, the Bulgarian Agrarian Union, the Social +Democratic Party and the BKP. Its purpose was to overthrow Boris and rid +the country of the Germans, simultaneously forming a new government that +could more adequately meet the needs of the workers and the peasants. + +In 1943 the National Committee of the Fatherland Front was formed, and +this committee became the vehicle for the communist takeover in 1944. In +the same year the so-called National Liberation Army, composed of +partisans and certain units of the Bulgarian army who had joined forces +with them, was established. In the fall of 1944 there were approximately +18,000 people in the National Liberation Army, augmented by some 200,000 +people who sheltered and assisted them. + +Before 1944, however, the Communists were still not widely popular. The +apathy of a large portion of the population was due primarily to the +fact that the country had remained relatively untouched by the war; but, +as the country was not actually at war with the Soviet Union, little +rationale was provided to the Soviet-backed Communists in their attempts +to enlist the support of the partisans. The Bulgarian army and police +were active in hunting down the known Communists. All of these factors +precluded the possibility of the country becoming totally committed to +either the communist cause or armed resistance. By 1944, however, when +Soviet troops entered Romania, activity became widespread within +Bulgaria. In August 1944 Romania completely capitulated. By early +September the Soviet Union declared war on the Bulgarian government, an +act more symbolic than real, as Soviet armies met no Bulgarian +resistance. On September 9, 1944, the Fatherland Front was installed, +and the Communists were firmly entrenched in the country. + + +Development Since World War II + +At the time of the Fatherland Front takeover in Bulgaria the Soviets, +with the assistance of the partisans and units of the National +Liberation Army, occupied many Bulgarian towns and cities. It is said +that they were received by the people with gifts of bread and salt, a +traditional Bulgarian gift of welcome (see ch. 7). At the same time, on +the political front, the Soviets and their Bulgarian collaborators took +over the key ministries in the capital city and arrested members of the +government. + +The Fatherland Front--a coalition composed at that time of Communists, +members of the left wing of the Bulgarian Agrarian Union, members of the +left wing of the Social Democratic Party, and the Zveno group--was led +by Georgiev as the new premier. Dimitrov and Kalarov returned from +Moscow, where they had been in exile since 1925, to assist the new +government in its takeover. The Communists proceeded to rid the +coalition of certain opposing elements within its ranks. Nikolai Petkov +of the Peasant Union and Kosta Lulchev of the Social Democratic Party +were temporarily retired from the coalition. Large-scale purges were +initiated against German collaborators and sympathizers; many thousands +were either executed or imprisoned by the Communists. + +When plans for elections were made in 1945, both Great Britain and the +United States made a strong bid for the holding of popular elections. +Their hopes were temporarily defeated when, on November 18, 1945, +communist-controlled elections were held. The Fatherland Front won a +decided victory, eventually resulting in Georgiev's formal installation +as premier. His tenure in office was brief, and he was quickly succeeded +by Dimitrov. At this point Great Britain and the United States +protested, insisting that the Communists broaden their governmental +base. Thus, although the two leading figures of the BKP, Dimitrov and +Kalarov, were installed eventually as premier and president, +respectively, Petkov and Lulchev were allowed to take over control of +the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Justice, two vital +organs of the government. + +By 1946, however, the Communists had whittled down all opposition. In +July 1946 control over the army had been transferred from noncommunist +members of the ostensible coalition government to exclusively communist +control. At this time 2,000 so-called reactionary army officers were +dismissed. A plebiscite held in September abolished the monarchy, +declared Bulgaria a republic, and gave all power to Dimitrov as premier. +He officially took the title on November 4, 1946, and held it until his +death in 1949. When Dimitrov took power, any opposition that remained +was quickly eliminated. Once the United States had ratified the +Bulgarian Peace Treaty--a moment for which the Communists waited +anxiously in order to rid themselves of all Western control over +Bulgarian affairs of state--Petkov was summarily arrested and executed. +His party, the Peasant Union, had been dissolved one month before his +death. + +On December 4, 1947, a new constitution was adopted. It was called, +after the premier, the Dimitrov Constitution and was modeled on the +Soviet Constitution of 1936 (see ch. 8). One historian claims that, at +its first drafting, it closely resembled the Turnovo Constitution of the +late 1800s but was later amended to parallel more closely the +constitution of the Soviet Union. The Dimitrov Constitution created the +National Assembly as a legislative body. In fact, however, laws were +proposed by the Council of Ministers and passed pro forma by the +National Assembly. The constitution was approved by the National +Assembly in 1947. It defined collective ownership of production, stated +that the regime held the power to nationalize any and all enterprises, +and declared that private property was subject to restrictions and +expropriation by the state. + +By 1948 the small forces that continued to oppose the Communists were +finally eliminated. Many opposition Socialists and their leader, +Lulchev, were arrested, and the Socialist Party was abolished. The only +remaining Socialist party--the Fatherland Front Socialists--was forced +to merge with the Communists in August 1948. Thus, absolute communist +control was achieved within four years of the seizure of power. + +Bulgaria underwent a series of rapid changes in the early years as a +communist state. Agricultural collectivization--initiated in 1946--was +begun in the form of cooperative farming. By the end of 1947 +nationalization of banks, industry, and mines was well under way. +Nationalization was not a new phenomenon for the country, as railroads, +ports, and mines had been under state control since 1878, but it was +greatly extended by the Communists (see ch. 13; ch. 14). + +Religion was viewed by the Communists as a means for manipulating and +indoctrinating the people, much as it had been during the periods of +Byzantine and Turkish rule. Since its founding in the ninth century, the +Bulgarian Orthodox Church had claimed most of the population as members. +The Communists perceived a dual purpose in their cooptation of this +institution. On the one hand, by patronizing the Bulgarian church, they +believed that they would receive support from its members. On the other +hand, they sought to unify the churches by placing the Bulgarian +Orthodox Church under close control of the Russian Orthodox Church. +Therefore, the regime reestablished the Bulgarian patriarchate; the +patriarch, in turn, required all church members to support governmental +policies. + +Minority religions were treated as separate entities, although all of +them had to register with the Committee for Religious Affairs, a body +attached to the Council of Ministers. The leadership of all churches was +considered responsible ultimately to the state. The churches became +financially dependent upon the government as all church funds were in +the hands of the bureaucracy. A certain percentage of Muslims--who +constituted the largest minority religion--were expelled from the +country. Those Muslims who remained were organized into small +communities, and their religious leader, the grand mufti, was allowed to +retain his position as long as he remained subservient to the state. + +As far as other minority religions were concerned, their churches were, +for the most part, closed, and their leaders were either harassed or +executed. Roman Catholic churches were closed, the church hierarchy was +abolished, and in 1952 forty leading Catholics were tried and sentenced +to death. The Protestants were allowed slightly more latitude. Although +all Protestant schools were immediately closed, five Protestant +denominations were allowed to merge into the United Evangelical Church. +In 1949, however, fifteen Protestant pastors were executed. Some Jews +were allowed to emigrate to Israel in the early period of communist +rule, but in Bulgaria the grand rabbi, like the Moslem grand mufti, was +rendered completely subordinate to the state. + +In 1949 Dimitrov died and was succeeded by his brother-in-law, Vulko +Chervenkov, known as the Stalin of Bulgaria, who controlled the +government from 1950 until 1956. His was a one-man rule, patterned +completely on the rule of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. He was both +the premier and the First Secretary for the six years of his rule. There +was an increase in industrial production under Chervenkov. Production +plans, however, appeared to be conceived more in the light of Soviet +five-year plans than with regard to Bulgaria's economic needs. +Agriculture was almost completely collectivized, although production +goals were not achieved, and the standard of living declined appreciably +under Chervenkov's rule. + +In foreign policy Bulgaria under Chervenkov continued to follow the +Soviet example. International communism dominated all Bulgaria's foreign +policies. In the early 1950s Bulgaria supported the abortive communist +uprising in Greece. Chervenkov attempted to rid the country of all +Western influence and severed diplomatic relations with the United +States in 1950. After Chervenkov's term relations were reestablished in +1960 and promoted from legation to embassy status in 1966. Again, +following the example of the Soviet Union, which was then on strained +terms with the nationalistic Yugoslavs, Chervenkov purged 100,000 +nationalists from the party and executed Traicho Kostov, the deputy +premier, on the grounds that he was a Titoist. Because of Bulgaria's +antisocial behavior in the world community, the country was excluded +from the United Nations until 1955. + +Although Stalin died in 1953, Chervenkov retained his office as premier +until 1956 but held only nominal powers. He was ultimately purged in +1962. Chervenkov, in the post-Stalin period, was openly charged with +supporting the personality cult policies of Stalin. After Stalin's death +there was a degree of political relaxation under a policy known as the +New Course. Police terrorism abated, and there was greater freedom of +movement in the society as a whole. Travel abroad was tolerated to a +greater degree, and an increased interest in the welfare of the people +was manifested. The government actively courted the peasants in order to +win them over to its policy of collectivization. The working classes, +office workers, and even artisans were given more latitude by the +government. On the foreign front, following the example of Nikita +Khrushchev, who sought reconciliation with Tito, and despite Bulgaria's +reluctance over the still-fiery Macedonian issue, Bulgaria made some +efforts at reconciliation with Yugoslavia. In order to establish better +relations both with the Yugoslavs and with the Bulgarian nationalists, +Kostov was posthumously rehabilitated in 1956. + +In 1954 Chervenkov gave up his title as first secretary of the party, +thus setting a new precedent for separation of party and state posts and +dispelling the concept of one-man rule. Although Chervenkov retained his +title as premier temporarily, Todor Zhivkov became the first secretary. +Shortly thereafter, Chervenkov was replaced as premier by Anton Yugov. +As Zhivkov, despite his backing by Khrushchev, was not firmly in control +of the party, his takeover was followed by widespread purges. + +Zhivkov's rule, like that of his predecessor, emulated the Soviet model. +Unlike Chervenkov, however, Zhivkov based his government on the +principle of collective leadership. In the early years of his rule he +based his foreign policy on allegiance to the Soviet Union. He strongly +supported the Soviets in their border conflicts with the People's +Republic of China (PRC). Bulgaria, despite basic sentiments concerning +Macedonia, still attempted to renew its friendship with Yugoslavia, +again following the Khrushchev example. + +In 1962 Zhivkov purged the party of both Chervenkov and Yugov and made +himself premier as well as first secretary, thus reestablishing the +principle of unity of rule (see ch. 9). At the same time, this move +increased Zhivkov's control over the party. Internal problems continued +to plague the Zhivkov government. There were, in the 1960s, severe +shortages of food, housing, and consumer goods. + +Bulgaria's foreign policy under Zhivkov, however, continued on an even, +strongly Soviet, keel. Bulgaria's foreign policy has been assessed by +some observers as "a carbon copy of Moscow's." Bulgaria was, and is, +considered to be the most reliable partner of the Soviet Union in the +Balkans. In contrast, Albania has supported the PRC, Romania has pressed +its case for independence, and Yugoslavia has essentially followed a +nationalistic policy. + +Bulgaria's relations with Greece, which had been basically negative for +twenty years, became more positive in 1964 when trade, air traffic, +communications, and tourist agreements were signed. Because of the issue +of Macedonia, relations with Yugoslavia were, for the most part, cool, +although Zhivkov attempted to improve them from time to time. Relations +with the United States remained cool but correct. + +In 1965, shortly after Khrushchev's ouster in the Soviet Union, there +was an attempted coup against Zhivkov. The government tried in vain to +silence the story but, when pressed, stated that the conspirators in the +plot were Maoists, alienated by Bulgaria's anti-PRC policies. As the +coup was attempted only five months after Khrushchev's removal from +office, Zhivkov--whose power had been based to a large extent on +Khrushchev's support--was in a highly vulnerable position. For this +reason many attributed the conspiracy to those opposed to Zhivkov's +government itself and particularly those opposed to its subservience to +the Soviet Union. The conspirators included Bulgarian Communists, army +officers, and World War II partisans. The discovery of this plot +resulted in purges, the suicide of one of the leading conspirators, and +the reorganization of the Ministry of the Interior and the transfer of +its security functions to the new Committee of State Security, which +fell directly under Zhivkov's personal control. + + + + +CHAPTER 3 + +PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT AND POPULATION + + +Bulgaria occupies 42,800 square miles of the Balkan Peninsula, and its +1973 population was estimated at 8.7 million (see fig. 1). It is a +member of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact), together with +five other Eastern European countries to its north and northwest and the +Soviet Union. Bulgaria's location is such that its natural features are +combinations of those found in the western Soviet Union and in southern +Europe. Its climate is transitional between that of the Mediterranean +countries and that of north-central Europe. The blend of the various +geographic influences is unique, however, and gives the country a degree +of individuality that is not anticipated until it is explored in some +detail. + +It is a land of unusual scenic beauty, having picturesque mountains, +wooded hills, beautiful valleys, grain-producing plains, and a seacoast +that has both rocky cliffs and long sandy beaches. Soil and climate are +adequate to permit production of a variety of crops. Although only a few +mineral resources are present in quantity or in good quality ores, the +country has a number of them. Large quantities of brown coal and lignite +are available, but resources of the better fuels are limited. + +The people of the country have been influenced by its location, which is +close to the point of contact between Europe and the Orient. The area +had been overrun by so many conquerors and occupied for so long that +only since liberation in 1878 have a majority of the peasants dared come +out of the hills to farm the better land of the plains and valleys. + +The country fared poorly in the distribution of the spoils after the +First Balkan War in 1912. It was then on the losing side of the Second +Balkan War in 1913 and of the two great wars since. In spite of this, +its boundaries contain most of the Bulgarian people in the area, and +only some 10 to 15 percent of the population within its borders is not +ethnically Bulgarian. It has until recently been predominantly +agricultural. Industrialization was undertaken late, and it was not +until 1969 that the urban population equaled that of the rural areas +(see ch. 2). + + +NATURAL FEATURES + +Topography + +Alternating bands of high and low terrain extend generally east to west +across the country. The four most prominent of these from north to +south are the Danubian plateau, the Stara Planina (Old Mountain), or +Balkan Mountains, the central Thracian Plain, and the Rodopi (or Rhodope +Mountains). The western part of the country, however, consists almost +entirely of higher land, and the individual mountain ranges in the east +tend to taper into hills and gentle uplands as they approach the Black +Sea (see fig. 2). + +The Danubian plateau, also called a plain or a tableland, extends from +the Yugoslav border to the Black Sea. It encompasses the area between +the Danube River, which forms most of the country's northern border, and +the Stara Planina to the south. The plateau rises from cliffs along the +river, which are typically 300 to 600 feet high, and abuts against the +mountains at elevations on the order of 1,200 to 1,500 feet. The region +slopes gently but perceptibly from the river southward to the mountains. +The western portion is lower and more dissected; in the east it becomes +regular but somewhat higher, better resembling a plateau. Bulgarians +name local areas within it, but they do not name the region as a whole. +It is a fertile area with undulating hills and is the granary of the +country. + +The southern edge of the Danubian plateau blends into the foothills of +the Stara Planina, the Bulgarian extension of the Carpathian Mountains. +The Carpathians resemble a reversed S as they run eastward from +Czechoslovakia across the northern portion of Romania, swinging +southward to the middle of that country, where they run westward and +cross Romania as the Transylvanian Alps. At a famous gorge of the Danube +River known as the Iron Gate, which forms part of the Romania-Yugoslavia +border, the Carpathians again sweep eastward, becoming Bulgaria's Stara +Planina range. + +Considered in its local context, the Stara Planina originates at the +Timok Valley in Yugoslavia, continues southeastward as it becomes the +northern boundary of the Sofia Basin, and then turns more directly +eastward to terminate at Cape Emine on the Black Sea. It is some 370 +miles in length, and some twelve to thirty miles in width. It retains +its height well into the central part of the country, where Botev Peak, +its highest point, rises to about 7,800 feet. The range is still +apparent until its rocky cliffs fall into the Black Sea. Over most of +its length, its ridge is the divide between drainage to the Danube River +and to the Aegean Sea. In the east small areas drain directly to the +Black Sea. + +Sometimes considered a part of the foothills of the Stara Planina, but +separated from the main range by a long geological trench that contains +the Valley of Roses, is the Sredna Gora (Middle Forest). The Sredna Gora +is a ridge running almost precisely east to west, about 100 miles long. +Its elevations run to only a little more than 5,000 feet, but it is +narrow and achieves an impression of greater height. + +The southern slopes of the Stara Planina and the Sredna Gora give way to +the Thracian Plain. The plain is roughly triangular in shape, +originating at a point east of the mountains that ring the Sofia Basin +and broadening as it proceeds eastward to the Black Sea. It +encompasses the Maritsa River basin and the lowlands that extend from it +to the Black Sea. As is the case with the Danubian plateau, a great deal +of this area is not a plain in strict terms. Most of its terrain is +moderate enough to allow cultivation, but there are variations greater +than those of a typical plain. + +[Illustration: _Figure 2. Topography of Bulgaria_] + +The Rodopi occupies the area between the Thracian Plain and the Greek +border. This range is commonly described as including the Rila mountain +range south of Sophia and the Pirin range in the southwestern corner of +the country. As such, the Rodopi is the most outstanding topographic +feature, not only of the country, but also of the entire Balkan +Peninsula. The Rila contains Mount Musala--called Mount Stalin for a few +years--whose 9,500-foot peak is the highest in the Balkans. About a +dozen other peaks in the Rila are over 9,000 feet. They feature a few +bare rocks and remote lakes above the tree line, but the lower peaks are +covered with Alpine meadows, and the general aspect of the range is one +of green beauty. + +The Vitosha range is an outlier of the Rila. A symmetrical, 7,500-foot +high, isolated peak in the range is a landmark on the outskirts of +Sofia. Snow covers its conical summit most of the year, and its steep +sides are forested. + +The Pirin is characterized by rocky peaks and stony slopes. An +impression of the landscape is provided by a local legend, which says +that when the earth was being created God was flying over the peninsula +with a bag of huge boulders. The rocks were too heavy for the bag, and +it broke over southwestern Bulgaria. + +Some Bulgarian geographers refer to the western Rodopi and the Pirin as +the Thracian-Macedonian massif. In this context, the Rodopi includes +only the mountains south of the Maritsa River basin. There is some basis +for such a division. The Rila is largely volcanic in origin. The Pirin +was formed at a different time by fracturing of the earth's crust. The +uplands east of the Maritsa River are not of the same stature as the +major ranges. + +Sizable areas in the western and central Stara Planina and smaller areas +in the Pirin and in Dobrudzha have extensive layers of limestone. There +are some 2,000 caves in these deposits. The public has become more +interested in the caves during the past three or four decades, but only +about 400 of them have been completely explored and charted. + +To the east of the higher Rodopi and east of the Maritsa River are the +Sakar and Strandzha mountains. They extend the length of the Rodopi +along the Turkish border to the Black Sea but are themselves +comparatively insignificant. At one point they have a spot elevation of +about 2,800 feet, but they rarely exceed 1,500 feet elsewhere. + +Formation of the Balkan landmasses involved a number of earth crust +foldings and volcanic actions that either dammed rivers or forced them +into new courses. The flat basins that occur throughout the country +were created when river waters receded from the temporary lakes that +existed while the rivers were cutting their new channels. The largest of +these is the Sofia Basin, which includes the city and the area about +fifteen miles wide and sixty miles long to its northwest and southeast. +Other valleys between the Stara Planina and the Sredna Gora ranges +contain a series of smaller basins, and similar ones occur at intervals +in the valleys of a number of the larger rivers. + + +Drainage + +From a drainage standpoint, the country is divided into two nearly equal +parts. The slightly larger one drains to the Black Sea, the other to the +Aegean. The northern watershed of the Stara Planina, all of the Danubian +plateau, and the thirty to fifty miles inland from the coastline drain +to the Black Sea. The Thracian Plain and most of the higher lands of the +south and southwest drain to the Aegean Sea. Although only the Danube is +navigable, many of the other rivers and streams have a high potential +for the production of hydroelectric power and are sources of irrigation +water. Many are already being exploited. + +Insignificant when compared with the watersheds that drain to the seas, +about 125 square miles of the country drain into a few small salt lakes +that have no outflowing water. The largest such lake has a surface area +of 2.5 square miles. + +By far the greater part of the country that drains to the Black Sea does +so through the Danube. Most of its major tributaries in the country +(from west to east, the Ogosta, Iskur, Vit, Osum, Yantra, and Lom) carry +more water than do the combination of the Provadiyska, Kamchiya, +Fakiyska, and Veleka rivers, all of which flow directly into the Black +Sea. Of the Danube's Bulgarian tributaries, all but the Iskur rise in +the Stara Planina. The Iskur rises in the Rila and flows northward +through a narrow basin. Territory not far from the river on both sides +of it drains in the opposite direction, to the south. The Iskur passes +through Sofia's eastern suburbs and cuts a valley through the Stara +Planina on its way to join the Danube. + +The Iskur and the other of the Danube's north-flowing tributaries have +cut deep valleys through the Danubian plateau. The eastern banks tend to +rise sharply from the rivers; the western parts of the valleys may have +broad fields with alluvial soils. The peculiar, though consistent, +pattern is caused by forces resulting from the earth's rotation; these +forces give the water a motion that tends to undercut the right banks of +the streams. Some of these rivers are sizable streams, but the Danube +gets only a little more than 4 percent of its total volume from its +Bulgarian tributaries. As it flows along the northern border, the Danube +averages one to 1.5 miles in width. Its highest water levels are usually +reached during June floods, and in normal seasons it is frozen over for +about forty days. + +Several major rivers flow directly to the Aegean Sea, although the +Maritsa with its tributaries is by far the largest. The Maritsa drains +all of the western Thracian Plain, all of the Sredna Gora, the southern +slopes of the Stara Planina, and the northern slopes of the eastern +Rodopi. Other than the Maritsa, the Struma in the west and the Mesta +(which separates the Pirin from the main Rodopi ranges) are the two +largest of the rivers that rise in Bulgaria and flow to the Aegean. Most +of these streams fall swiftly from the mountains and have cut deep, +scenic gorges. The Struma and Mesta reach the sea through Greece. The +Maritsa forms most of the Greek-Turkish border after it leaves Bulgaria. + +About 3,750 square miles of agricultural land have access to irrigation +waters. Dams provide the water for about one-half of the acreage; +diversions from rivers and streams serve about one-third; and water +pumped from the ground and from streams accounts for the remainder. + +Of the dams, ninety-two are termed large state dams. Their combined +capacity is three times that of some 2,000 smaller dams. The sources of +four large rivers--the Maritsa, Iskur, Mesta, and Rilska (a major +tributary of the Struma)--are within a few miles of each other in the +high Rila. Water from the upper courses of these and several other +streams supplies the Sofia area with both water and electricity, and +they have a potential for further development. There are major dams on +the Tundzha, Iskur, Rositsa, and Struma rivers. The Danube is too +massive a stream to harness, and damming the Maritsa along most of its +course would flood too much valuable land. The rivers flowing north +across the Danubian plateau also tend to be overly difficult to use in +the areas where they are most needed. + +The Vucha River, flowing from the Rodopi into the Maritsa River, is +often used to illustrate how rivers have been effectively harnessed to +provide a variety of benefits. Its cascade system of hydroelectric +development employs six dams having the capacity to generate over +600,000 kilowatts of electricity. The water they back up serves the +municipal water systems in Plovdiv and a number of other towns in its +vicinity, and the dams provide irrigation water for nearly 250,000 acres +of cropland. The reservoirs themselves are being developed as +recreational areas and mountain resorts. + +Where a stream is difficult to dam or to divert, water is pumped from +it. This has been feasible only since about 1950, when low-cost diesel +engines and sufficient hydroelectric power became available from newly +constructed dams on other streams. About eighty-five huge pumping +stations have been set up along the Danube River, which furnishes about +three-quarters of the water acquired by this method; and in 1970 there +were about 1,200 lesser stations operating on smaller streams, most of +them on the Thracian Plain. + + +Climate + +For so small an area, the climate varies widely and is unusually +complex. Depending upon the depth to which they study the area, +climatologists list six or more climatic subzones. The country lies on +the line of transition between the strongly contrasting Eastern European +continental and the Mediterranean climatic zones, and its mountains and +valleys are local factors that act as barriers or channels to the air +masses, contributing to sharp contrasts in weather over relatively short +distances. The Black Sea, although too small to be a primary influence +over much of the country's weather, also affects the immediate area +along its coastline. + +In general, continental systems prevail in the north. They are +characterized by hot summers, cold winters, and precipitation well +distributed throughout the year, a major portion of it in early summer +thunderstorms. The Mediterranean climate that is influential most of the +time in the south has mild, damp winters but hot, dry, rain-free +summers. The Stara Planina marks the lower limits of the area in which +continental air masses circulate freely in typical circumstances. In the +area between them and the Danube River there is an extension of the +climate that is common to east-central Europe and adjoining regions of +the Soviet Union. + +In the same fashion, the Rodopi marks the northern limits of domination +by Mediterranean weather systems. The southern slopes of these mountains +are sufficiently mild to merit the region's being called the Green +Greece or Bulgarian California. + +The area in between, which includes the Thracian Plain, is influenced by +both types of climate, but more of the time by continental systems. The +result is a plains climate resembling that of the corn belt in the +United States, which is characterized by long summers and high humidity. +The climate is generally more severe than that of Spain and the portions +of Italy, France, and Soviet Georgia that are in the same latitude. +Because it is a transitional area and the Mediterranean systems may +prevail for most of some seasons or retreat from the scene altogether in +other seasons, average temperatures and precipitation are erratic and +may vary widely from year to year. + +Precipitation over the country averages about twenty-five inches a year +and, when it is distributed normally throughout the seasons, it is +satisfactory for most agricultural crops. Dobrudzha, in the northeast, +the Black Sea coastal area, and parts of the Thracian Plain usually +receive less than twenty inches. The remainder of the Thracian Plain and +the Danubian plateau get less than the country average. Higher +elevations are the most generously watered, in some places receiving +forty inches or more. + +Although a low figure of 7.6 inches was recorded in Dobrudzha for one +year and the normal precipitation is marginal, both Dobrudzha and the +Danubian plateau are in the continental climate zone and usually receive +most of their rainfall during crop-growing seasons. The Thracian Plain, +however, has frequent seasons when it is under Mediterranean influences +and, when this is the case, it may experience prolonged summer droughts. +Irrigation is, therefore, necessary for dependable agricultural +production. + +A few sheltered pockets in the higher mountains may remain covered with +snow all year, and much of the other higher land remains white well into +springtime. Lower elevations are snow covered an average of twenty-five +to thirty days a year. Average cloudiness is about 55 percent, and +average relative humidity is as high as 70 to 75 percent. + +The many valley basins throughout the uplands frequently have +temperature inversions resulting in stagnant air. The Sofia area, for +example, is occasionally troubled by smog. The city's elevation of about +1,800 feet, however, tends to moderate summer temperatures and to +relieve the oppressive quality of the high humidity. It is also +sheltered from the northern European winds by the mountains that ring +the basin. Its temperatures in January average about 29 deg. F, and in +August they average about 70 deg. F. Its rainfall is near the country +average, and the overall result of the several contributing features is +a rather unexpectedly pleasant climate. + +The climate of the coast is moderated by the Black Sea, but there are +many windy days and violent local storms during the winter. The area +along the Danube River experiences bitterly cold winters, and sheltered +valleys opening to the south along the Greek and Turkish borders may, in +contrast, be as mild as though they were on the Mediterranean or Aegean +coasts. The so-called Black Wind, a local phenomenon similar to the +African sirocco, consists of hard-blowing, hot, very dry air and wreaks +havoc on crops. It gets its name from the quantities of dust it carries, +which often darken the skies. + +Regions in the Rodopi and the higher elevations around Sofia feature sun +and snow in a pleasant combination for about four months a year. Several +places have good and reasonably dependable skiing and are being +developed into holiday resorts. + + +Soils + +Fine, dark chernozem (black earth) soils, rich in loess and humus, occur +over a considerable portion of the northern Danubian plateau. They are +fertile, easy to work, and compare with the best soils in Europe. Away +from the river, approaching the mountains, there is a broader area that +is basically similar, but the subsoils are more porous and have allowed +the humus and loess to leach downward from the surface. The resulting +gray soil no longer rates among the finest, but it yields good crops in +some areas and, where it is less satisfactory, the land is forested. + +The Thracian Plain has comparatively little of the finest soils, but it +has much soil that is more than adequate to produce reasonably good +crops. The best on the plain is locally called _smolnitsa_. It is +basically a chernozem, but it is less fully matured and coarser than the +darker variety along the Danube. The plain also features fairly +extensive areas of good brown and brown forest soils. Meadow soils occur +in large areas in the vicinity of Plovdiv. Some are irrigated and +cultivated. + +Meadow and layered podzol (gray forest) soils occur in most of the +higher elevations throughout the country. Intermediate elevations +usually have brown forest soils, some of which are excellent. The +Maritsa and Tundzha and the major rivers that flow into the Danube have +wide valleys with alluvial soils. They may be coarse, but most of them +are fertile, drain well, and are extensively cultivated. + + +Vegetation + +Both the natural vegetation and the cultivated crops that have replaced +it on all areas that could be put to agricultural use reflect the +transitional climate of the country. North of the Stara Planina the +original flora was a continuation of that on the Russian steppe. The +steppe influence was greatest in the east, giving way to deciduous +forests farther to the west. + +Lands south of the mountains, sheltered from the colder extremes of the +continental weather systems, have been able to support plant life that +could not exist on the steppe. Areas along the Black Sea coast and in +valleys of the Rodopi that open to the south experience further +moderation. Many Mediterranean and subtropical species have existed in +them naturally, and others introduced by man have thrived. + +What remains of the original vegetation on the Danubian plateau is found +mainly along the river, where the land has been difficult to cultivate. +It includes brush grass, reeds, and licorice. The last two have +commercial value. Most of the original lowland deciduous forests have +been removed, and grain flourishes on the level expanses where the soils +are favorable. Other food and fodder crops are grown to satisfy local +requirements. The foothills of the Stara Planina are dotted with +orchards; plums are the most prevalent fruit in these northern areas. + +The depression, or geological trench, between the Stara Planina and the +Sredna Gora ranges, which is at the near center point of the country and +contains the upper valleys of the Tundzha, Stryama, and Topolnitsa +rivers, is sheltered and very humid and is ideal for the raising of +roses. One in particular, Rosa Alba, has become known as Bulgaria's +gold. Its flower is not an especially lovely variety, but it is +extremely rich in the rose oil that is the basic fragrance in many +perfumes and a flavor in certain liqueurs. Fields of them flourish in +the Kazanluk area, the so-called Valley of Roses. + +The Thracian Plain, between the Sredna Gora and the Rodopi, originally +featured a mixture of midlatitude forest and Mediterranean flora. The +forests have been removed from the level lands and have been replaced by +a diversification of crops, including truck vegetables, fruit orchards, +strawberries, raspberries, vineyards, tobacco, and cotton. The plain +also produces a variety of herbs and medicine derivatives. Digitalis is +produced from foxgloves; menthol, from peppermint; opium, from a species +of poppy; linseed oil, from flaxseed; laxatives, from iris and rhubarb; +and castor oil, from the castor bean. All of them are grown on this +plain. + +Where the plain touches the Black Sea, varieties of tropical or +subtropical vegetation appear. Vegetation is dense along the Kamchiya +River and on the banks of a few of the smaller streams as they approach +the sea. Reeds, lianas, exotic flowers, and huge old trees that grow +nowhere else in the country flourish in this region. + +In the southern Rodopi, where a few of the river valleys--those of the +Struma, Mesta, and Maritsa, for example--open to the south, the +vegetation is typically Mediterranean. Natural species include the +Mediterranean scrubby underbrush, maquis, and an assortment of flowering +plants and shrubs. Vineyards and subtropical fruit grow well in these +valleys. Such areas produce the country's peaches, figs, and peanuts. + +Mountainous regions feature Alpine meadows and pastures above the tree +line, where the terrain permits, and conifer forests immediately below +the tree line. Deciduous trees are native to all of the uplands of the +country with tolerable elevations. Beech predominates at intermediate +elevations, particularly on northern slopes, and oak, on the lower +foothills. There are dense elm, oak, and ash forests at lower elevations +in the Kamchiya River valley where it descends from the eastern part of +the Stara Planina. Scrub and brush prevail at all upland elevations +where terrain and soil conditions are poor or where the original forest +has been removed and has not been replaced. + +The Stara Planina has grassy meadowland and pastures on rounded summits +and higher slopes. In the springtime these higher lands may also be +brilliant with wild flowers and flowering shrubs. Cherry laurel, for +example, grows wild over wide areas. The meadows usually give way to +beech and to other mixed deciduous forests at lower elevations. Mixed +forests may contain varieties of oak, chestnut, hornbeam, elm, and ash. + +The most valuable forests are in the Rodopi, although many of them are +interspersed among inaccessible craggy hills. A majority of the +country's conifers, both the natural forest and those that have been +planted in preference to the slower growing deciduous, are in the higher +Rodopi, including the Rila and the Pirin. The most common of the +conifers are pine and fir. At elevations beneath those dominated by the +conifers, the mixture of broad-leaved deciduous trees is similar to that +of the Stara Planina. Of the forest area, only about one-half has tall +timber. Scrub on the remainder, however, serves to stabilize the soil of +the forest lands against erosion and to slow the runoff of water. The +rare and exotic edelweiss can be found on the higher slopes of the +Pirin. + + +Wildlife + +The clearing of forestland and the increase in human population have +driven most of the larger wildlife from their natural habitats, except +in the higher and more rugged terrain. Of the larger species, some +bears, wild boars, wild goats, wolves, elk, and several species of deer +continue to exist naturally. Foxes, wildcats, polecats, squirrels and +other rodents, and hare--better able to adjust to existing +conditions--are also surviving. + +Quail, turtledoves, wild fowl, and other game birds are hunted in +restricted seasons. Hunting seasons are also provided for some of the +deer species; the seasons usually last between two and four months, +depending upon the need to protect the animal, between the months of +August and February. There are bounties on wolves and foxes. Wildcats, +falcons, and hawks are also considered harmful and may be killed at any +time. The polecat--in Europe the _Mustela putorius_, a fetid-smelling +member of the weasel and otter family--is a bloodthirsty, insatiable +hunter that terrorizes poultry. It also may be exterminated. + +The many caves in limestone-dominated regions have given rise to various +types of blind fauna. The largest of them are crabs, but most are +insects, including mosquitoes, butterflies, spiders, locusts, and common +flies. Although they are blind, exposure to light is usually fatal to +such species. + +Rivers contain several kinds of freshwater fish, the most plentiful of +which are sturgeon, whitefish, and European carp. Mackerel account for +the largest percentage of fish taken from the Black Sea. There are no +sharks or other dangerous fish in these waters, but a rare Black Sea +seal breeds along the rocky coast north of Varna. + + +Mineral Resources + +The country's mountains contain a variety of metallic and nonmetallic +minerals. A few are of good quality, but most of these occur in very +small quantities. Iron and coal, which are basic to a metallurgical +industry, are mined, but neither of them is of the proper variety or +quality nor are they available in adequate quantities to be used +economically. + +Largest deposits of iron ore occur in the far western Stara Planina and +the Strandzha mountain range. There are smaller deposits in the vicinity +of Burgas, along the Black Sea coast, and near Sofia to the north and +west of the city. Estimated reserves total in excess of 10 million tons. + +Coal has been located in some twenty small deposits. There is an +anthracite basin in the Stara Planina twenty miles north of Sofia and +another in the extreme northwest end of the range. Bituminous coal +occurs in a larger basin in the central Stara Planina, but brown coals +and lignite are much more abundant. + +Copper, lead, and zinc are mined in quantities that exceed domestic +requirements. Bulgaria ranks high in the production of them among the +eastern and southeastern European countries and exports small amounts of +them. Among the other metallic ores, Bulgaria has three of the more +important alloying metals--manganese, molybdenum, and chromium--but the +manganese is of poor quality. Uranium has been discovered in several +deposits near Sofia and is being extracted from one or more of them. +Gold occurs in a number of locations but in small quantities. + +Of the fuels, coal is by far the most abundant and most important to the +economy. The search for oil and natural gas resources was intensive in +the early post-World War II years, and what were hoped to be valuable +fields were discovered in the early 1960s. Production, however, reached +a peak in the latter part of that decade. If it becomes economic to +exploit them, there are oil-bearing shales west of Sofia and in the +northwestern region of the country. The extent of these shales appears +to be limited, but their potential is believed to be considerably +greater than that of the oil-bearing formations where the crude product +is extracted by pumping. + +Other minerals extracted include salt, kaolin, chalk, talc, asbestos, +gypsum, mica, fluorite, quartzite, antimony, lime, sandstone, slate, and +pyrites. The pyrites are plentiful and produce exportable quantities of +sulfur and sulfur products. Fuel resources tend to be concentrated in +basins and on lower lands; most other resources, both metal and +nonmetal, are more frequently found in the Rodopi, the western Stara +Planina, and in the other western highlands. + +Mineral waters are locally considered to be an important resource. The +country boasts some 500 mineral springs, about one-half of which are +warm or hot. Their mineral content varies, as does the concentration of +the chemicals. The stronger of those considered medicinal are used for +drinking only. The milder are used for drinking and bathing. Sofia has +active hot springs that have been in use and have attracted people to +the area for centuries. Its first settlement was built around such a +spring. + + +BOUNDARIES AND POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS + +Boundaries + +Bulgaria has had nearly a century of modern independence, during which +its borders have invariably been imposed upon it by others. This has +been the case partly because the Balkan Peninsula was for many years a +pawn in the balance-of-power politics of the more powerful European +nations and also because Bulgaria has been on the losing side in three +of its four major wars. It even fared badly at the peace table after the +only war in which it emerged victorious (see ch. 2). + +In spite of these circumstances, the country has boundaries that have +many natural physical characteristics and that have imposed no serious +economic hardship on any significant group of people. They also contain +a large percentage of the Bulgarian people, although numerous population +resettlement movements have contributed to this end. None of its borders +are officially disputed. + +The total boundary of Bulgaria is about 1,415 miles long. Rivers account +for about 425 miles of it, the Black Sea coast for 248 miles, and a +great portion of the remainder adheres to ridges in high terrain. + +The western and northern boundaries are shared with Yugoslavia and +Romania, respectively, and the Black Sea coastline constitutes the +entire eastern border. The southern boundary is shared with Greece and +Turkey. + +Nationalists have territorial ambitions stemming from the size of the +Middle Ages Bulgarian empire that encompassed about one-half of the +Balkan Peninsula but, in the local political climate that has existed +since World War II, such ambitions are not seriously considered. + +The post-World War I boundaries were established in rough detail by the +Treaty of Peace between the Allied and associated powers and Bulgaria, +signed in 1919 at Neuilly-sur-Seine. They were demarcated by +international commissions between 1919 and 1922, formalized by the +Treaty of Lausanne in 1923, and reconfirmed by the Treaty of Paris in +1947. + +During World War II, again as an ally of Germany, Bulgaria briefly +reacquired the coveted portions of Macedonia and Thrace, but the +interwar boundaries were restored without much deliberation in 1947 with +the agreement of the Soviet Union as well as all of the other major +victorious allies. Small deviations from the borders established in the +early 1920s have been made for local reasons, but none of them have been +of national significance. + +The 335-mile border with Yugoslavia was drawn in an attempt to follow +the high ridges separating the watersheds of the Morava and Vardar river +valleys in Yugoslavia from those of the Iskur and Struma valleys in +Bulgaria. The border starts in the north at the junction of the Timok +River and the Danube, but it follows the river for only about ten miles. +Leaving the Timok (with a few exceptions when it must cross river +valleys), it remains on high ground until it reaches the tripoint with +Greece. Although nationalist Bulgarians continue to feel that Bulgaria's +share of Macedonia--which it shares with both Yugoslavia and Greece--is +less than just, there are no overt official disputes of the boundary. + +The border with Greece is 307 miles long--all but forty-nine miles of +which are overland. The major portion of it follows higher elevations +and ridges in the Rodopi. East of the Struma and Mesta river valleys, +insofar as it is feasible, the border is at the dividing line between +the Maritsa River basin and those of the streams that flow southward to +the Aegean Sea. + +Following an official visit by the Greek foreign minister to Sofia in +1946, the Bulgarian premier stated that "all territorial claims [between +Greece and Bulgaria] are excluded forever." This statement indicates +that boundary frictions that had persisted for many years were +officially eliminated at that time, and as of 1973 the border was not +disputed. + +The Turkish border is 149 miles long. It follows small rivers and +streams for more than 40 percent of its length, but neither they nor the +overland sections constitute physical boundaries or barriers of any +consequence. + +The Romanian border follows the Danube River for about 290 miles from +the northwestern corner of the country to the city of Silistra and then +cuts to the east-southeast for about eighty-five miles across the old +province of Dobrudzha. The Danube, with steep bluffs on the Bulgarian +side and a wide area of swamps and marshes along much of the Romanian, +is one of the better natural river boundaries in Europe. Most of the +river islands that might be expected to bridge the gap between the +countries are damp and covered with marsh vegetation. They are subject +to regular inundation by floodwaters and, therefore, are uninhabited. +The line across Dobrudzha is arbitrary and has been redrawn on several +occasions. The population of the area that has changed hands is mixed, +but most of those who have strong national preferences have been +resettled in the country of their choice. + +A joint resolution adopted between Bulgaria and Romania in April 1971 +allowed somewhat easier transit of their border. A passport was still +required, but residents of the twelve-mile-wide zone on each side of the +border became able to make one crossing each month without a visa. Each +visit was limited to six days, and the destination and residence to be +visited were subject to the approval of local police. The agreement made +no changes in custom regulations and was not, therefore, intended to +change trade relations between the countries. + + +Political Subdivisions + +The country is subdivided into twenty-eight _okruzi_ (sing., _okrug_), +which are usually translated as districts, and has some 200 towns and +cities and approximately 5,500 villages or settlements. The cities and +larger towns are subdivided into _rayoni_ (sing., _rayon_), and the +smaller villages are grouped together into _obshtini_ (sing., +_obshtina_). The _rayoni_ and _obshtini_ are the urban boroughs and +village communes that are the smallest units of local government, that +is, those that have people's councils (see fig. 3). + +The twenty-eight _okruzi_ include one for the city of Sofia and its +immediate vicinity as well as one for a larger Sofia district. Each +_okrug_ is named for the city that is its administrative center. They +have areas ranging from 794 to 2,916 square miles and populations of +about 130,000 to about 650,000. + +[Illustration: _Figure 3. Political Subdivisions of Bulgaria, 1973_] + +The number of _okruzi_ has been changed only at times of major +governmental reorganization, the most recent of which was in 1959. The +_obshtini_, on the other hand, are in a state of relatively constant +change. Cities grow, towns become cities, new enterprises are set up and +attract population, and other factors affect the need for local +administration. Since the reorganization of 1959, when the _obshtini_ +were reduced by nearly one-half--from about 1,950 to just over +1,000--their number has tended to grow again. By the late 1960s there +were about 1,150 of them. + + +SETTLEMENT PATTERNS + +The Bulgarians, who were mounted archers from the steppes of central +Asia, rode into the area between the Danube River and the Stara Planina +in the seventh and eighth centuries A.D. They interbred with the Slavs +and adopted a Slavic language and many Slavic customs, but they retained +enough individuality to remain readily identifiable. In spite of +horrifying defeats and treatment at the hands of Byzantines and +Ottomans, they were in the land to stay and never relinquished their +title to a share of the peninsula. + +For several centuries before their independence from the Turks, the +people preferred to live in the hills, motivated by the sheer necessity +of having to escape the notice of their oppressive occupiers. They +returned to the fertile plains and valleys in large numbers only after +independence in 1878. Since 1945 there has been a major movement of +people to the cities as the country has become industrialized, and there +has been a lesser movement of the rural population resulting from the +collectivization of agricultural lands. + +Each major movement has brought about some improvement over the +conditions of the period that preceded it. Settlement in the back hills +was particularly necessary during the last years of Turkish control, +when the Ottoman Empire was in decline and its local controls and +taxation became increasingly oppressive. To avoid attracting attention +to themselves, the people settled into small hamlets and built their +homes as bare and unattractive as possible. + +With independence life on the plains was safer and easier. For a time +there was plenty of good land available but, as the population grew, +inevitably the land became occupied, and the size of individual +landholdings decreased. Between the turn of the century and the +mid-1980s, for example, the average landholding decreased from 18.2 to +12.2 acres, a size that was agriculturally uneconomic and that +overpopulated the rural areas. People remained poor and, although it was +no longer necessary to keep them plain, peasant homes amounted to little +more than small, bare, essential shelter. + +Under the communist government, the first near-complete collectivization +program served to increase the size of farmland units in collective and +state farms to an average of about 10,000 acres each. In 1970, with an +average of less than 1,100 fully employed farmers at each of the larger +units, the ratio of farmers to acres of arable land had fallen sharply. +In 1973 the agricultural lands were again recombined, this time into +about 170 units called agroindustrial complexes. The rural population is +still, however, for the most part clustered in unplanned, nucleated +villages or hamlets. Long, single-street villages are rare. Many +villages are situated in valleys for shelter from cold winter winds. A +gradual movement to housing at the agroindustrial centers will +undoubtedly take place, but there was no indication in 1973 that the +movement would be a rapid one or that the government intended to make it +a matter of urgent priority. + +Post-World War II emphasis on educational and cultural pursuits and +rural development has made more community life and more amenities +available to the rural areas. Dwelling space remains meager, with only a +little more than 500 feet of floorspace per dwelling. By 1970 central +water supplies were available to over 90 percent of the population, but +fewer than one half of the dwellings had individual service. Nearly all +dwellings have electricity. + +Bulgaria has been primarily agricultural and has been overrun, pillaged, +and occupied by so many conquerors that its cities have suffered, and +their inhabitants have had less opportunity than have those in most +European countries to develop a culture. There are relatively few cities +with noteworthy associations with the country's past. There are, +however, a few notable exceptions, and some of their histories antedate +the introduction of the Bulgar people into the region. There are others +that, if not altogether new, have had rapid and well-planned growth +during the country's recent history. Modern city growth has been +accompanied by the construction of large numbers of apartment houses, +many of them built as rapidly as possible to recover space destroyed +during World War II and to accommodate the heavy influx of people to +urban areas. + +Sofia was founded by the Thracians and has had a continuous history of +some importance for 2,000 years. No trace of its original founders +remains in the city, although it retained its Thracian name, Serdica, +while it was a part of the Roman Empire. It is situated in a sheltered +basin at the base of the Vitosha range, a location that has been both +strategically and esthetically desirable. Long-established +communications routes cross at the city. The most traveled and most +famous is that from Belgrade to Istanbul. It is Sofia's main street for +that portion of its route. At the city it crosses the north-south route +from the Aegean Sea to the Danube River that uses the Struma and Iskur +river valleys. Some of the other routes that radiate from the city, +particularly those to the Black Sea coastal cities, are of more local +importance than the international routes. Sofia's pleasant climate, plus +its strategic location, made the city a contender in the selection of a +capital for Rome in Emperor Constantine's reign. Its hot springs were an +added attraction to the Romans, and their baths remain. + +Sofia was a thriving city under the Romans. Attila the Hun destroyed it +in the fifth century A.D., but it was rebuilt in the sixth and seventh +centuries, when its population grew to about 40,000. It declined again +under the Ottomans, and in 1878, when it was liberated, it had only some +15,000-20,000 inhabitants. It has grown rapidly since becoming the +capital of the modern state. + +Sofia is the city's fourth name. Saint Sophia's sixth-century church +occupies the highest land in the city and is one of the most famous of +its landmarks, although the city was named for her several centuries +after the church was built. As the capital, the city has most of the +nation's administration and has become the educational and cultural +center of the country. It retains much charm and beauty, in spite of its +rapid growth. From its hundreds of small parks and thousands of trees, +it claims the right to call itself the garden city. + +Plovdiv is the second most important city. It is older than Sofia, +having been established in the fourth century B.C. by Philip of Macedon; +it was first named Philippopolis after him. On the plain and astride the +route from Belgrade to Istanbul, it has been exposed to all who have +passed that way, for good or ill, and this is reflected in its violent +history. It has been captured and devastated in turn by Greeks, Romans, +Goths, Huns, and Turks. It was also ravished on four different occasions +by Christian armies during the Crusades. + +Plovdiv has continued to be an important commercial city, having more +rail lines radiating from it than Sofia. It also has a university and +some of the country's most important museums and art treasures. The old +town center is typically Macedonian and, although it was severely +damaged by an earthquake in 1928, part of it has been termed a national +monument, to be reworked only for its restoration. + +Veliko Turnovo, situated astride a mountain stream on the northern +slopes of the central Stara Planina, was the fortress capital of the +medieval Second Bulgarian Kingdom. It was also the site of the first +constituent assembly held as the country was liberated from the Turks, +and the Turnovo Constitution was adopted there in 1879. It remains an +artistic and cultural center, and some of its fine examples of Bulgarian +renaissance architecture have survived. + +Varna and Burgas are the chief Black Sea ports, and Ruse is the only +major Bulgarian port on the Danube River. Burgas is a young city, +growing to most of its size in the late 1800s, and it was a more +important port than Varna until the 1950s. Varna, however, attracted the +naval academy, has become the naval base, and has acquired most of the +shipbuilding industry. Ruse has also grown rapidly. In addition to its +river trade, the first bridge across the river between Bulgaria and +Romania was built just north of the city. + +A number of new towns have been built since World War II, in some cases +from the ground up. These include some at industrial complexes, others +at resorts. Madan is a new mining center in the Rodopi; Dimitrovgrad is +a new industrial town on the Maritsa River; and there are several +mountain and seaside resort cities. Zlatni Pyassutsi (Golden Sands), +opened in 1956, is one of a group of Black Sea resort cities that, upon +opening, could accommodate tens of thousands of holiday vacationers. + + +POPULATION + +Structure + +In spite of its three most recent wars, comparatively few Bulgarians +live outside the country in the areas adjacent to its boundaries. +Bulgarian sources estimate the total number of Bulgarians abroad at +approximately 1 million. Many of these are in Greek and Yugoslav +Macedonia and are, in fact, Macedonians who may or may not prefer to be +called Bulgarians. Other Bulgarians are in Greek Thrace, and a few are +in Romanian Dobrudzha and in Soviet Bessarabia. A scattering are settled +in other Eastern European countries, Australia, and North and South +America. There are only a few in the United States. + +When The Macedonians and Gypsies in the country--whom Bulgarian official +sources include as fully integrated into the Bulgarian population--are +not counted separately, Bulgarians constitute about 91 percent of the +population. The approximately 700,000 Turks out-number all other +non-Bulgarians in the population by a large margin. Small numbers of +Greeks, Romanians, Armenians, and Jews make up a total of only about 1 +percent (see ch. 4). + +In the absence of official statistics, the number of Macedonians and +Gypsies are impossible to estimate accurately. It is probable that there +are a few more Gypsies than Macedonians and that they total about 5 +percent of the population. Pomaks (Muslim Bulgarians), who tend to live +separately, have been persecuted on occasion and have represented a +social problem. Some authorities have listed them as a separate ethnic +group but, with diminishing emphasis on religion, local authorities +attempt to make no distinctions between them and the rest of the +population. + +Bulgaria is one of an extremely few countries in the world where the +males in the population have outnumbered the females over a considerable +portion of its modern history. This has been a phenomenon that could not +be adequately explained by events or circumstances; but of nine censuses +taken between 1887 and 1965, only in those taken in 1920 and 1947 did +the females constitute a majority. These two years following the great +wars were undoubtedly atypical in that, although Bulgaria did not suffer +great manpower losses from war casualties, the males were probably more +mobile, and many of them may not have returned to the country or, in the +immediate aftermath of the wars, may not yet have settled down (see +table 1). + +_Table 1. Bulgaria, Population by Age and Sex, 1973 Estimate_ + + ---------+----------------+----------------+----------------+------------ + |Number of People| | Male Female| + | in Age Group | Percentage of |----------------|Females per + Age Group| (in thousands) |Total Population| (in thousands)| 100 Males + ---------+----------------+----------------+----------------+------------ + Under 5 | 676 | 7.8 | 348 328 | 94 + 5-9 | 609 | 7.0 | 313 296 | 94 + 10-14 | 647 | 7.5 | 331 316 | 95 + 15-19 | 665 | 7.7 | 340 325 | 96 + 20-24 | 703 | 8.1 | 357 346 | 97 + 25-29 | 629 | 7.3 | 317 312 | 98 + 30-34 | 558 | 6.4 | 280 278 | 99 + 35-39 | 616 | 7.1 | 310 306 | 99 + 40-44 | 649 | 7.5 | 327 322 | 98 + 45-49 | 668 | 7.7 | 334 334 | 100 + 50-54 | 467 | 5.4 | 231 236 | 102 + 55-59 | 421 | 4.9 | 210 211 | 100 + 60-64 | 460 | 5.3 | 225 235 | 104 + 65-69 | 372 | 4.3 | 178 194 | 109 + 70-74 | 264 | 3.0 | 122 142 | 116 + 75 year | | | | + and over| 263 | 3.0 | 110 153 | 139 + | | | | + TOTAL. | 8,667 | 100.0 | 4,333 4,334 | 100* + ---------+----------------+----------------+----------------+----------- + * Overall ratio for total population. + Source: Adapted from Godfrey Baldwin, (ed.), _International Population + Reports_, (U.S. Department of Commerce, Series P-91, No. 18), Washington, + 1969. + +The male majority, however, narrowed and has apparently evaporated for +the foreseeable future. The reversal reflects a change in life +expectancy statistics. Around the turn of the century average life +expectancy was forty years, and females are estimated to have outlived +males by less than six months. Seventy years later, average life +expectancy had increased by twenty-five years, but females were +outliving males by an average of about four years. Projected from the +1965 census and from vital statistics information accumulated since that +time, numerical equality between the sexes came about in the late 1960s, +and in mid-1973 it was estimated that females outnumbered males by the +small majority of 4.334 million to 4.333 million. + +Another exceptional feature of the Bulgarian population is the unusual +number of very old people. Nearly 1 percent of the population in 1970 +was eighty years old or older, and more than 500 people were +centenarians. Of these, three-fifths were women. + +People in rural areas, after having long outnumbered those in cities and +towns, became the minority in 1969. More than four-fifths of the +population was rural at the time of independence in 1878, and more than +three-quarters was still rural in 1947. The movement to the towns +accelerated with the post-World War II industrialization. Towns that +attracted industries have grown by factors of five or more since 1920, +and by far the most dramatic growth has occurred since 1947. + +With 8.7 million people occupying 42,800 square miles in 1972, the +average population density for the country was 203 persons per square +mile. Regions where the densities were highest include the Sofia Basin +and the southwestern portion of the Thracian Plain. The population was +more dense than average in the western and central portion of the +Danubian plateau, in the lower eastern Rodopi, and in the vicinities of +Varna and Burgas on the Black Sea coast. It was least dense in the +higher mountains, particularly in the high western Rodopi, the Pirin and +the Rila, and along the narrow high ridge of the Stara Planina. + + +Dynamics + +Warfare that was endemic to the Balkan Peninsula throughout much of its +early history, exploitation by the Ottomans, and living conditions that +contributed to a short life expectancy served to hold down the +population of the area before independence. Since 1878, although the +country has participated in four wars and most migratory movements have +been at Bulgaria's expense, the population has tripled. + +Growth has been comparatively steady during the century of independence. +Its rate has fluctuated but not widely. Until 1910 it was high. It +dropped during the 1910-20 decade, which included the Balkan wars and +World War I. The period of greatest growth occurred between the great +wars, and the three decades since 1941 have been the periods of least +growth. + +Vital statistics supplied by the Bulgarian government to the United +Nations in 1972 indicated an annual growth rate of 0.7 percent. This was +based on 16.3 births per each 1,000 of the population, as against 9.1 +deaths. Infant mortality, included in the overall death rate, was 27.3 +deaths during the first year for each 1,000 live births. In early 1973 +the government was alarmed at an apparent change in the statistical +trend. Complete information for 1971 showed that, instead of 16.3 births +per 1,000, the actual figure was 15.9. Indications were that in 1972 it +was dropping to 15.4. + +Internal migrations since 1878 have consisted largely of the initial +movement of the rural population from the hills to the plains and the +later movement of people from the rural areas to the towns. External +migrations have been more complex. The earliest occurred in the +aftermath of the liberation; later ones have resulted from the +animosities and territorial changes associated with the various wars in +which the country has been involved. + +Having occupied the territory, Turks left in wholesale numbers when they +lost control of it. More of them departed during the Balkan wars. Large +groups emigrated in the 1920s and 1930s, and more were forced to leave +after World War II. Estimates as to the numbers involved in each move +vary widely; the two largest after 1880 were those in the 1920s and +after World War II, and the total in all emigrations of Turks probably +equals or exceeds the 700,000 that remain in the country. Natural +population increases have been such that, over the long term, the actual +number of Turks in the country has changed relatively little. + +There have been smaller population exchanges with each of the other +neighbors. In the mid-1920s about 250,000 Bulgarians moved from Greek +Thrace into Bulgaria, and about 40,000 Greeks left Bulgaria for Greece. +After 1940, when southern Dobrudzha was annexed from Romania, some +110,000 Romanians were exchanged for about 62,000 Bulgarians. +Macedonians, also in considerable numbers, have chosen between Bulgaria +and Yugoslavia, requiring many of them to move. + +The Jewish people, faring much better in Bulgaria during World War II +than they did in Adolph Hitler's Germany or in most of the countries +overrun by the Germans, have nonetheless emigrated to Israel in large +numbers. Before that war there were about 50,000 of them in the country, +but 90 percent or more of them emigrated during the early postwar years. + +All of the major emigrations were completed before 1960. There appear to +be no reasons why others of similar proportions should occur in the +foreseeable future. + + +Working Force + +In mid-1972 there were 5.8 million people in the working-age group +(fifteen to sixty-four years), although the legal retirement age in most +employment situations is sixty or sixty-five for males and five years +younger for females. About 4.4 million--just over one-half of the total +population and three-quarters of those of working age--constituted the +labor force. Population projections indicate that in the ten-year period +after 1972 the working-age group will increase by 0.3 million, but a +large percentage of the increase will be in the segment of the group +aged fifty to sixty-four. + +About 95 percent of the males between twenty-five and sixty-four years +of age are economically active. The percentage of economically active +females is lower, but they have constituted over 40 percent of the labor +force. About 36.5 percent of the economically active are employed in +agricultural fields; of the remaining 63.5 percent, about one-half are +employed in industry. The others are in various service, administrative, +or other miscellaneous activities. + +Because the country was late in emerging from a predominantly +agricultural economy, its working force has had little technological +experience. Since World War II, however, schools have been increasingly +oriented to train young people to become technologically competent, and +some success in this direction has been achieved. Whether or not the +working force is being used as effectively as is possible under the +circumstances is being debated, but the government finds a decrease in +the birthrate and its possible limiting effect on industrial production +a cause for considerable concern. + + +TRANSPORTATION + +Railroads + +The first railroad built in the country was constructed by the British +in 1866 and connected Ruse on the Danube River with Varna on the Black +Sea. The famous and romantic Orient Express and the Berlin-to-Baghdad +route have used a common line through Bulgaria, entering the country +from Belgrade. The route crosses the western mountains at the Dragoman +Pass, continues through Sofia, Plovdiv, and down the Maritsa River +valley to Edirne and Istanbul in Turkey. + +The rail network consists of about 3,775 miles of track, about 2,620 of +which were being operated in 1970. Of the portion in use, about 2,470 +miles were standard gauge, and 150 were narrow gauge. Approximately 135 +miles were double track, and a little more than 500 had been +electrified. Because of the terrain, the system has a large number of +bridges and tunnels and has been constructed with tighter curves and +steeper gradients than are allowed when terrain features are less +extreme. Most of the some 1,600 bridges are short, but at Ruse, where +the Danube is crossed, the river is 1-1/2 miles wide. Most of the +approximately 175 tunnels are also short. One is 3-1/2 miles in length, +but they total only about thirty miles (see fig. 4). + +Route mileage is adequate to meet the requirements of the country. It +will probably not be expanded further; shorter spurs become uneconomic +and are abandoned as motor transport takes over short-haul traffic. +Programmed modernization includes improving roadbeds, ties, and track to +achieve a higher load-bearing capacity. Quantity installation of +continuously welded rail is also underway, and the busiest of the lines +are being electrified. + +Although the system is adequate, performs its services reasonably well, +and continues to be the backbone of domestic transport, it suffers in +bare statistical comparisons with the other carriers. Highway transport +may carry a cargo to the rail station and get credit for a second +shipment when it moves the same goods from the train to its final +destination. Trucks also carry local freight more directly and much more +simply than railroads for short hauls. Ton mileage statistics of the +merchant marine are similarly misleading. Although the railroads remain +by far the most important domestic carrier, their share of total cargo +carried and their share of ton mileage continues to decrease (see table +2). + +The railroads also continue to give way to motor vehicles in numbers of +passengers carried. Between 1960 and 1970 the situation changed +radically; on the earlier date the railroads carried more passengers +than buses did, but a decade later they carried hardly more than +one-third as many. In long-distance passenger travel, the railroads +remained the major carrier by a narrow margin in 1970, although the +difference was narrowing. + +[Illustration: _Figure 4. Communications Systems of Bulgaria, 1973_] + + +_Table 2. Use of Transportation Facilities in Bulgaria, 1960 and 1970_ + + -------------------+-------------------------+------------------------- + | Total Freight* | Ton Miles** + Cargo Traffic: |------------+------------|------------+------------ + | 1960 | 1970 | 1960 | 1970 + -------------------+------------+------------+------------+------------ + Railroads | 38.4 | 68.2 | 4,360 | 8,650 + Motor transport | 128.3 | 492.8 | 1,270 | 4,940 + Seaborne shipping | 1.1 | 14.5 | 1,530 | 24,375 + Inland waterways | 1.6 | 3.7 | 384 | 1,145 + Air transport | 0.007 | 0.083 | 0.2 | 9 + -------------------+------------+------------+------------+------------ + + -------------------+-------------------------+------------------------- + | Total Passengers** | Passenger Miles** + Passenger Traffic: |-------------------------+------------+------------ + | 1960 | 1970 | 1960 | 1970 + -------------------+------------+------------+------------+------------ + Railroads | 79.0 | 106.1 | 2,260 | 3,890 + Motor transport | 72.6 | 282.0+ | 1,020 | 3,740+ + Seaborne shipping | 0.6 | 0.6 | 12 | 17 + Inland waterways | 0.8 | 0.3 | 29 | 19 + Air transport | 0.2 | 1.1 | 56 | 750 + -------------------+------------+------------+------------+------------ + * In million tons. + ** In millions. + + 1969 information. + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1971_, Sofia, 1971. + +Conversion from steam to diesel and electric locomotives is proceeding +rapidly. As late as 1962 the country had no diesel locomotives and only +a few passenger-carrying electric trains. By 1972, about 80 percent of +the freight and a larger proportion of passenger traffic were carried on +diesel or electric trains. Steam locomotives will probably have been +replaced completely by 1978. + + +Roads + +Construction is expensive, engineering problems are frequently +challenging, and the roads are difficult to maintain on the mountainous +terrain, with its many narrow and steep gorges. Ice and snow close most +routes at times during the winter months. Spring thaws and floods damage +the best roads and make the poorer roads impassable for considerable +periods. Of the approximately 21,000 miles of roadway, about 8,000 are +paved, another 8,000 have surfaces hardened with stone or gravel, but +nearly 5,000 remain dirt surfaced. + + +Waterways + +The 290 miles of the Danube River that flow along the northern border +are navigable. Other streams are too short, too shallow, or have too +great gradients to use or to allow development as waterways. The fact +that the Danube leaves the country to exit into the Black Sea from +Romania limits its potential as an avenue to seagoing trade, and the +fact that it flows along the country's periphery keeps it from being the +central feature that it is, for example, in Hungary. Bulgaria's entire +portion of the river is, however, downstream from the Iron Gate and thus +can handle 2,500-ton vessels. There are no locks or dams in this area +and, although it freezes for a short time in the winter and floods +during the spring, it is usable for an average of about 300 days per +year. + +The Black Sea is more commercially significant to Bulgaria. Burgas and +Varna are thriving ports. Burgas has been a busy port for a longer time, +but Varna has developed rapidly and by 1970 had surpassed Burgas as the +major port and had become the center of maritime industry in the +country. Between 1971 and 1975, for example, the city expects to produce +23,000-ton and 38,000-ton dry cargo ships in series production and to +build one, and possibly more, 80,000-ton tankers. + +By 1970 inland waterways--which consisted exclusively of the Danube +River--were carrying only about 0.6 percent of the country's freight +cargo. Because the distances that the average cargo was transported +exceeded those of rail or road transport, however, they accounted for +about 2.5 percent of the total ton mileage. Seaborne shipping carried +about 2.5 percent of the total cargo weight but, because of the far +greater shipping distances, it accounted for nearly two-thirds of the +total ton mileage. Traffic transported by inland waterway remained +relatively constant during the late 1960s and early 1970s; traffic +carried on seagoing vessels was increasing rapidly. + +United Nations reports in 1971 credited Bulgaria with the fastest +developing shipbuilding industry in the world. The pronouncement is less +meaningful than it might appear, however, because the industry started +from very little. Moreover, a major portion of the products are for +export, and much of the industry's local impact is as a production, +rather than as a transportation, enterprise. Nonetheless, the country's +capability for sea shipment increased by more than five times during the +1960s. There are no large passenger vessels in the fleet, but several +hydrofoils, some having capacities to carry more than 100 passengers, +operate between the Danube River ports. + +By 1972 the merchant marine consisted of more than 100 ships, having a +total of nearly 1 million deadweight tons. It has increased at an +average rate of about 6 percent a year between 1967 and 1971, the rates +of increase accelerating in the latter part of the period. + + +Airways + +Civil aviation was carried on by Bulgarian Civil Air Transport before +1970, when that entity was reorganized as Balkan-Bulgarian Airlines +(BALKAN). Its airplanes, all of Soviet manufacture, are identified by +BALKAN inset within a five-pointed star that is elongated to give the +impression of flight. BALKAN operates under the Ministry of Transport. + +Sofia is the center of all the air operations. International routes stop +at the capitals of the six other Warsaw Pact countries and at sixteen +other cities in Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. The 1973 +scheduled flights also connected Sofia with eleven other cities within +Bulgaria, most of them on a daily basis. + +Percentages of total cargo and passenger traffic carried by air are +insignificant, and the rates of increase in the utilization of air +transportation have been erratic. Air cargo shipments, for example, +increased by a factor of seven between 1960 and 1967 but increased +little the following year and decreased for the remainder of the +decade. + + + + +CHAPTER 4 + +SOCIAL SYSTEM + + +In 1878 Bulgaria emerged from Turkish rule as a homogeneous, egalitarian +peasant society centered in the family and the community. Through the +introduction of foreign economic and social ideas and institutions, the +society gradually changed during the period between the two world wars. +At the time of World War II Bulgaria actually had two social systems: +the traditional peasant society, changing but still focused on the +family and the community, and a growing urban society that focused on +the economy and the state. When the Communists took power in 1944, they +set out to destroy the old social order and replace it with one that +would reflect communist ideology. The resulting changes have been far +reaching and basic. The traditional economic and value base has been +destroyed by the elimination of private property. Social distinctions +were introduced and magnified where none or few existed. Traditional +institutions, such as the church and the family, were weakened; and new +institutions, such as mass organizations, were introduced to take their +place. Many segments of the population benefited materially from changes +that opened new opportunities for education and social advancement; +however, the price paid for these benefits was the loss of such +important motivating forces as freedom of choice, independence of +action, and the right to own income-producing property. + +By the early 1970s the rate of change was slowing down, and the society +was settling into a discernible pattern. Some aspects of the old social +order seem to have survived, providing a continuity between the old and +the new. The changes that continue to affect the society are more the +result of economic growth than of social engineering. + + +ETHNIC AND RELIGIOUS COMPOSITION + +The Bulgarian population is homogeneous in both ethnic and religious +composition. Approximately 85 percent is Bulgarian, and some 90 percent +adheres at least nominally to the Eastern Orthodox faith. The most +significant ethnic minorities are the Turks, who number about 700,000, +or 8 percent of the population; the Gypsies, estimated at 200,000, or +2.5 percent of the population; and the Macedonians, who also number +approximately 200,000. The remainder are Greeks, Romanians, Armenians, +and Jews. + +The Turkish minority, once considerably more substantial in size, dates +back to the centuries of Turkish rule (see ch. 2). A steady emigration +of Turks from Bulgaria to Turkey after World War I and the expulsion of +some 150,000 in the 1950-51 period reduced their number. Most of the +remaining Turks are tobacco growers or artisans, who live in rural areas +in the eastern third of the country and along the Danube River. Their +traditional peasant conservatism, bolstered by their Islamic faith, has +made them less willing to adapt to the contemporary social order than +the rest of the population. A majority would like to emigrate to Turkey, +but the Bulgarian government has been unwilling to let them go because +the country cannot afford such a population loss. + +Turkey, for its part, could not absorb the Bulgarian Turks without +seriously endangering its own economy and therefore has not encouraged +their desires. By agreement between the two governments, about 30,000 +close relatives of Turks who left Bulgaria in the 1950-51 period will be +allowed to emigrate during the 1970s. The majority of Bulgarian Turks, +however, have little hope of leaving in the foreseeable future. In spite +of the desire of its members to leave the country, the Turkish minority +has posed no serious problem to the Bulgarian government. The government +has made an effort to integrate the minority into national life, at the +same time preserving its cultural distinctions, which are guaranteed by +the constitution. + +Gypsies are not considered a national minority by the state, although +they consider themselves such. Strongly attached to their nomadic way of +life, the Gypsies have been reluctant to settle in a permanent place and +to integrate themselves into the national society. They continue to +follow their traditional occupations as musicians, tinsmiths, and +horsemen. + +The existence of a Macedonian minority has been disputed over many +decades by Yugoslavia and Bulgaria. Bulgaria has consistently claimed +that Macedonians are ethnically Bulgarians, that their language is a +dialect of Bulgarian, and that their land is a part of Bulgaria. +Yugoslavia, on the other hand, has given legal recognition to a +Macedonian nationality by establishing the People's Republic of +Macedonia and by designating the Macedonian language one of the official +languages of the federal republic (see ch. 2; ch. 10). + +The vast majority of Bulgarians have been born into the Bulgarian +Orthodox Church ever since the ninth century, when Boris I adopted +Christianity for his people. Until World War II a person had no legal +existence without a baptismal certificate from the church. In keeping +with Eastern Orthodox tradition, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is an +independent national church. It is inseparably linked with Bulgarian +nationhood in the minds of most Bulgarians because of the role it played +in preserving a national consciousness during the centuries of Turkish +rule and in spearheading a national revival in the nineteenth century +(see ch. 2). + +A tradition of religious freedom and tolerance allowed religious +minorities to exist without friction. Even during World War II the Jews +in Bulgaria suffered little persecution in comparison with those in +other parts of Eastern Europe. No census of religious affiliation has +been taken since the Communists took power; however, according to +various estimates in 1965 there were about 750,000 Muslims; 26,000 +Protestants; 32,000 Roman Catholics; and between 3,000 and 7,000 Jews. +The Muslim population included most Turks and some 50,000 Pomaks +(Bulgarians who converted to Islam during Turkish rule) living in the +rugged Rodopi mountain range. + +Religious freedom is guaranteed by the constitution, but churches are +subject to strict governmental control. Formal religious education is +restricted to the training of priests. Children, however, continue to be +instructed in the rudiments of faith and ritual by their families. +Despite government efforts to secularize the milestones in the life +cycle, a large percentage of Bulgarians continue to regard the priest as +an essential officiant at baptisms, weddings, and funerals. Churchgoing +and the strict fasts prescribed by the Eastern Orthodox church have not +been carefully observed by most Bulgarians since the 1930s; +nevertheless, the people often exhibit strong religious feelings +tempered by traditional beliefs in the powers of nature, the evil eye, +and other forces. A survey conducted by the Bulgarian Academy of +Sciences in the mid-1960s classified 35.5 percent of those surveyed as +religious and 64.4 percent as nonreligious. The criteria used to +determine whether a person was religious or not was either a verbal +expression of religious conviction or regular attendance at church +services and regular prayer. + + +THE FAMILY + +Until the time of World War I Bulgarian society was frequently +characterized as familistic, that is, personal interests and +prerogatives of an individual were subordinated to the values and +demands of the family. The family was the focal unit in society; it was +the chief training ground for the young and played the leading part in +molding the individual into the accepted pattern. The family was the +center of economic life also, particularly for the peasants, who lived +relatively self-sufficient lives. Relations with other social units and +institutions were carried out through the family rather than by the +individual. An individual had no standing in society apart from that of +his family, and individual behavior and prestige reflected on the family +as a whole. Individualism, therefore, was discouraged by constant +pressure from the family to conform to custom and tradition. + +The traditional family was patriarchal and strongly authoritarian. It +reflected many features characteristic of the _zadruga_, the extended +family that formed the basis of social organization of the South Slavs, +including the Bulgarians, until its gradual decline in the late +nineteenth century. A _zadruga_ consisted of the male offspring of the +same parents and perhaps grandparents, with their wives and children, +living together and jointly owning and working the ancestral lands. The +group was ruled by the elected head, usually the oldest and most capable +male, who was responsible for directing the work, for settling disputes, +and generally for providing for the well-being of the _zadruga_ as a +whole and for each of its members. + +By law and by custom, even after the passing of the _zadruga_ as a +social institution, authority over all matters concerning the family +rested with the father. In the village married sons with their wives and +children and unmarried children all tended to live under the father's +roof until his death, at which time the oldest son took over the family +homestead, and the others built their own houses nearby. The authority +of the patriarch rested, in no small measure, on his ownership and +control of the means of livelihood of the family. Sons submitted to +their father's will in order to inherit their fair shares of the +patrimony. + +Close family relations were maintained not only with blood relatives but +with relatives by marriage and with godparents. The bond between two +families also related by marriage was as close, formally, as the bond +with blood relatives; it included not only the parents of the married +couple but also the brothers and sisters. For that reason parents took +great interest in their children's choice of mates. Similarly, the bond +between godparents and the family of the godchild was considered as +close as that of blood kin. The strong relationship between the two +families was developed partly because the same family usually provided +the godparents for another family for generations. Reciprocity of +godparenthood, however, was not allowed because a family tie was +established with the first christening. Members of families who were +related through godparenthood or through marriage could not marry +because that would have been tantamount to incest. + +Age and sex determined the individual's role within the family and his +relations with other members. Men occupied a superior position, and +women were expected to show deference to their husbands and to older +male relatives. A frequently cited image of Bulgaria at that time was +the man riding a horse or donkey empty-handed while his wife walked +behind carrying a heavy load. The position and influence of the wife, +however, was far greater than this image implies. Few husbands made +decisions or took action affecting the family without prior consultation +with their wives. + +Age was respected because it represented the accumulation of wisdom and +experience. This greater wisdom and experience also gave the older +members of the family authority over the younger ones. Children were +highly valued as tokens of successful marriages and as economic assets, +but they were not fussed over. Although they were expected to take their +places as active members of the family at a relatively early age by +performing light household tasks, running errands, and tending animals, +they were also given considerable freedom to play. Until they reached +maturity, children were expected to do what they were told by their +parents or by other adults without question. + +This traditional family system provided for great stability. Each member +knew his place in society and knew what was expected of him, and he +generally felt secure and satisfied. + +The gradual industrialization and urbanization that took place between +the two world wars slowly introduced changes into the traditional family +system--at first among the urban population and eventually among the +peasantry. Most notable among the changes was the shift toward the +nuclear family unit and the disappearance of the extended family +household. This reduced the authority of the father over his adult +children, who now formed an independent economic and social unit. It +also gave greater freedom to young people in choosing their mates and, +thereby, in their relations with each other. Within the nuclear family +the relationship between husband and wife became a more egalitarian one. +Relations between parents and children also became less authoritarian, +although the father's relations to his children continued to be rather +formal. + +The changes in family life and in the role of the family in society that +began to take place between the two world wars accelerated during World +War II in keeping with the rapid rate of economic change. The greatest +assault on the traditional system, however, came in the second half of +the 1940s and early 1950s when the new communist government set out to +revamp Bulgarian society. The already dying patriarchal system was dealt +its final blow with the elimination of inheritance through +nationalization of industry and commerce and collectivization of +agriculture. After the patrimony had been eliminated, a major incentive +for submission to the patriarch had disappeared. + +Another factor that contributed to the end of the patriarchal family and +to the end of parental authoritarianism was the government's appeal to +youth's desire for independence. Young people are taught to believe that +they are the foundation of the new Bulgaria and that their elders' +traditional ways are outmoded and should be discarded. In this way a +generation gap has been created, and youths wanting to escape parental +influence can count on the state for support. Their escape has been +facilitated through the expansion of educational facilities, the +expansion of employment opportunities resulting from economic and +bureaucratic expansion, and by the many youth organizations and youth +activities--all of which enable young people to spend much time away +from home and act independently of their parents. + +The role of women, which had begun to change in the 1930s, was greatly +altered under the influence of ideology and of economic realities. In +social doctrine and law, women are considered equal to men and are +continually urged to demand their rights in the home and in the +community. They have also gained considerable independence of movement +through the expanded employment opportunities available to them in a +developing economy. In 1968, 80 percent of employable women worked +outside the home. A large percentage of them worked because of the +necessity to supplement the family income rather than through choice; +nevertheless, the fact that they do work outside the home has altered +the pattern of family life and the relationships of family members. +Working mothers must leave their young children in state-operated +nurseries or with relatives and thereby relinquish much of their +influence in molding the children into adults. Evidence indicates that +few mothers like to leave young children in nurseries, preferring to +leave them in the care of trusted relatives or friends. Fathers appear +to be playing a greater role in the raising of children than they did in +the traditional family. + +Housekeeping is still considered to be entirely or predominantly the +responsibility of women, whether they work or not. The working woman +spends much time every day after work standing in line at food markets +and other stores, buying the daily necessities. Household appliances and +convenience foods are scarce luxuries; therefore, housekeeping is a +time-consuming and tiring activity. Even peasant women must take care of +their households and children after putting in the required hours in +cooperative labor, whereas formerly they could fit their field work in +and around their other responsibilities. + +As a consequence of these changes, the traditional roles of family +members have been altered. The dominance of the head of the family has +given way to a greater distribution of decisionmaking and a greater +independence on the part of other family members. As family members +spend less time together, the emphasis in daily life is shifted from the +family to the outside world. Persons come to be looked at more as +individuals than as members of a certain family. Individuality and +personal achievement become as important as family background in +determining the status of an individual and his nuclear family. +Similarly, individual action or personal status no longer reflects on +the larger family. + +In the eyes of the state, marriage is a secular matter governed by civil +law. Religious ceremonies are permitted but must be preceded by a civil +marriage. The minimum age for marriage without parental consent or +special permission from the local authorities is eighteen for both men +and women. The urban marriage rate in the 1960s was considerably higher +than the rural one, reflecting the higher percentage of young people +living in urban centers. Men generally marry between twenty and thirty +years of age, and women, between fifteen and twenty-five. The law +assigns equal rights and obligations to both partners in a marriage. +Divorce is relatively easy to obtain and no longer carries the social +stigma of former times; the divorce rate in the early 1970s was average +for Eastern Europe. + +Despite changing patterns of family life, most observers find that the +cohesive force of the extended family continues to be a factor in +contemporary society. In many cases the cohesiveness is perpetuated or +even strengthened by modern phenomena, such as the chronic housing +shortage and the need for grandparents or other relatives to care for +the children of working mothers. The housing shortage has revived the +traditional system of several generations of a family sharing the same +roof. The pressures of change and the burdens of daily life hold +families together, and the traditional sense of family loyalty also +seems to survive. Members of such extended families assist each other in +finding employment, in gaining admission to special schools, or in +obtaining scarce items of food or clothing. + + +SOCIAL STRATIFICATION + +Before World War II Bulgaria had a basically egalitarian peasant society +with a simple social structure. A rural-urban division was more +significant than class distinctions, which were just beginning to +emerge. The Bulgarian nobility of the Middle Ages had been destroyed +under Turkish rule and was not restored with the return to monarchy; the +small middle class of merchants, industrialists, bureaucrats, and +professionals had come into existence since independence in 1878 and +lacked tradition; an urban working class was just emerging. Few +Bulgarians were more than one or two generations removed from their +peasant ancestors, which gave most people a common background. + +The rural-urban differentiation was socially significant in that it +formed what amounted to two social systems with differing values, +controls, and institutions. The rural society focused on the family and +the community; its outlook was parochial. The urban society focused on +commerce, industry, and government; its outlook was national and often +international, and it was subject to continuous influences from abroad. +The two systems, however, were closely interrelated because most urban +dwellers had their roots in the village and because both the economy and +the government depended heavily on the peasant as a supporter and as a +client. + +The narrower focus of rural society provided few opportunities for +choice, and custom over the years set a pattern that was accepted as a +matter of course. Social standing depended to a large extent on how well +an individual performed within the established pattern, and the +gradations were very slight. The wider focus of urban society, on the +other hand, offered far greater opportunity for choice and freedom of +action. This made for greater differentiation between individuals than +was possible in the village. + +The greater freedom and the opportunity for economic and social +advancement offered by the urban society were most noticeable in the +social contrast between the urban worker and his peasant relatives. +Although most workers had a very low standard of living, they considered +themselves emancipated from the restrictions of rural society and, +therefore, better off. When they returned to the village to visit +relatives, they were looked up to as persons who had enlarged their +horizons and bettered their lot in life. + +The social contrast between the educated urban +intelligentsia--white-collar workers and professionals with a secondary +or a higher education--and the peasant was even greater. Some members of +the intelligentsia maintained a romanticized attachment to their village +origins, but most of them tried to build up their own status by +disparaging the rural population. Even the village schoolteacher and +rural physician were seen as unsophisticated country bumpkins, although +they had the same education as their city counterparts. + +The urban intelligentsia saw itself and was seen by others as the top +group in society, just below the royal family, which occupied the apex +of the social pyramid. The top level of the intelligentsia, that is, the +leaders in the political, economic, and cultural spheres, became a small +entourage surrounding the king and thereby gained additional prestige +and power. The economic position of most of the intelligentsia, however, +was very precarious because there was an oversupply of graduates for +whom government employment was virtually the only outlet. Those who had +an official position held on to it against all odds. Others, who could +not find employment appropriate to their presumed qualifications, sat +around cafes waiting for openings rather than returning to their home +villages to put their education to use there. + +The peasant, for his part, was distrustful of the city and of city ways. +He did not feel inferior--even to the intelligentsia whose education he +greatly admired. The peasant took pride in his land, in his +self-sufficiency, and in his adherence to custom and tradition. He was +conscious of belonging to the large mass of peasantry that shared his +point of view, his way of life, and his strong sense of tradition. +Differences in wealth and economic independence were recognized among +peasant families but did not affect their relationships, which were +basically egalitarian. + +The village, town, and city in pre-World War II Bulgaria each had its +somewhat different social structure. Village structure distinguished +between peasants, artisans, and intelligentsia. Innkeepers and +storekeepers were sometimes identified with the artisans but more +frequently with the peasants because they were usually peasants who had +sold their land to engage in commerce. Artisans, on the other hand, +underwent special training to prepare them for their calling. These +special skills and the fact that artisans did not have to toil long +hours in the sun or rain put them in a higher social category than +peasants. The elite group was the village intelligentsia--the teacher, +doctor, priest, mayor, and other officials who had more than an +elementary education. Their prestige derived from their education, and +their power derived from their positions. Through their ties to the +wider world, the village intelligentsia bridged the gap between rural +and urban societies. + +The social structure of towns distinguished between artisans, merchants, +and intelligentsia. In the preindustrial Bulgaria of the 1930s, the +artisans and peasants together formed the backbone of the economy. The +guild system of progression from apprentice to masterworkman still +prevailed and fostered social distinctions among the artisan group. +Merchants occupied a higher rung on the social ladder than did artisans, +primarily because they did no manual work to earn a living. The +distinction, however, was not great, and members of the two groups +generally associated with each other. The elite group in town, as in the +village, was the intelligentsia. Because towns were usually government +administrative centers and, often, garrison posts, the intelligentsia +was often quite numerous. It included all the white-collar workers, +professionals, and army officers. The town intelligentsia was a +self-contained group whose members mostly associated only with each +other. Within the group, however, distinction was made on the basis of +education and rank in the government hierarchy. + +The city social structure resembled that of the towns but had additional +strata reflecting the wider range of economic activity found in the +city. The most economically and socially disadvantaged were the workers, +including industrial and domestic workers. Just above them were petty +government employees, such as janitors, messengers, and railroad men, +whose standard of living was extremely low but who could look forward to +a secure old age with a government pension and who took pride in being +civil servants. Above these lowest groups were the artisans, shopkeepers +and merchants, and the intelligentsia, as in the social structure of +towns. A few industrialists ranked among the highest because of their +economic power, but even they paid respect to university professors for +their intellect and to higher government officials for the status and +power connected with their offices. + +When the Communists took power in 1944 they set out to destroy the old +social system and replace it with one based on Marxist-Leninist +ideology. The period of so-called socialist reconstruction that followed +resulted in a general leveling of social strata through the demotion of +formerly privileged groups and the promotion of formerly underprivileged +groups. Persons of peasant or worker origin received preferential +treatment in the allocation of housing and of other necessities of life +that were in short supply, in the appointment to jobs, and in access to +higher education. At the same time persons of middle-class or upper +class background were deprived of their housing, removed from key jobs, +and denied educational opportunities for their children through a +discriminatory quota system at secondary and higher schools. A policy of +equalization of incomes made little distinction between different levels +of education or skill, thus eliminating material rewards as a basis for +social stratification. The small political and economic elite that had +developed from the peasant society before 1944 was decimated and +replaced by a group of party stalwarts, most of them from lower class or +middle-class background, who rose rapidly to the top positions of +administrative and political power and became the new ruling elite. +Membership in the Bulgarian Communist Party and complete loyalty to the +leadership were the main criteria for occupying any position of +responsibility. + +The peasants appreciated some of the material benefits granted by the +new government, such as educational opportunities for their children and +expanded industrial employment that offered new outlets for +underemployed rural youth. As a whole, however, the peasantry bitterly +resented being grouped with workers in the ideological frame of +reference of the new leaders. To the peasant, landless workers who +lacked tradition and security occupied a lower social position than he, +and he saw this grouping together as a debasement of his own status. The +blow to his pride and to his traditional position in society was +complete when collectivization deprived him of his precious land. Were +it not for the private farm plot, which allows the peasant to continue +on a very small scale his cherished way of life and thereby perpetuate +his values, the cooperative peasant would be little more than an +agricultural worker. + +In the restructured Bulgarian society the peasantry, encompassing +roughly 30 percent of the population, forms the bottom of the social +pyramid. Although it derives some benefits from the educational, health, +and welfare services instituted by the government, the peasantry is the +forgotten and most disadvantaged segment of the population. Peasants +continue to work hard and long for very meager rewards, and they no +longer have the pride and satisfaction of owning their own land and of +being independent. + +The next social stratum, the industrial working class, has been the +object of much glorification by the regime and has benefited most by the +social measures passed since 1944. In terms of their standard of living +and their social status, workers occupy the lowest level of urban +society; however, the educational benefits available to them and the +growing job market offer prospects for betterment and advancement. The +group has grown more rapidly than any other social class as a result of +the crash industrialization program and constitute between 40 and 50 +percent of the population, as compared to about 29 percent in the +mid-1950s. Most members of the working class are peasants who have left +the village to find a better life in the growing cities and towns. Some +workers are members of the former middle or upper classes who have been +demoted by the new social order. Many members of the small prewar +working class were propelled upward out of the working class into +managerial and administrative positions of industry. + +Within the working class differentiation is made according to education +and skill, which is reflected in income and prestige. Skilled workers +are still in relatively short supply; therefore, they command +considerably higher wages and are likely to receive special housing and +other privileges and inducements from employers. The higher standard of +living that these material advantages can provide and the higher level +of education required to be skilled workers enhance their prestige in +relation to the semiskilled and unskilled workers. Workers in certain +industries, such as mining and heavy industry, are favored regardless of +their level of skill. They benefit from the special status assigned to +these industries in the overall economic plan. + +The middle level of contemporary society encompasses all persons in +nonmanual occupations who are not members of the ruling elite. It +includes administrators, managers, professionals, technicians, and all +categories of white-collar personnel. Next to the working class, this +has been the fastest growing social group. As a result, most of its +members are relatively young, and their social origins represent the +entire spectrum of precommunist society. Within the middle class further +differentiation is made in terms of income and prestige between persons +in the upper levels of management and the professions, who have a higher +education and those in the lower levels of technical and white-collar +employment, who have only a secondary education. The group as a whole +probably constitutes almost 20 percent of the population. The relative +size of the upper and lower levels was not known, although the lower +level was probably larger. + +At the top of the social pyramid is the small ruling elite composed of +the top leadership of the party, government, security forces, mass +organizations, and the various branches of the economy. The ruling elite +also includes members of the cultural and intellectual elite who, by +virtue of their political loyalty and willingness to serve the regime, +share in the privileges usually reserved to the top leadership. By +lending their talents to the party cause, however, these individuals +often lose some of the prestige and deference traditionally enjoyed by +the intellectual elite. The main criterion for membership in the ruling +elite is power derived from approved ideological orientation and +political manipulation. Most members come from peasant or worker +families and are veterans of the communist movement of the interwar +period. Membership in the ruling elite is accompanied by considerable +insecurity because it is highly dependent on political loyalty and +correct interpretation of ideology. A change in official policy can +deprive a member of his status and of all his privileges. + +Since the end of World War II, Bulgarian society has been extremely +mobile. Industrialization and socialization of the economy have created +thousands of new blue- and white-collar jobs. The attendant increase in +educational opportunities has made it possible for individuals to gain +the skill and background required to fill these jobs and, thereby, move +up the social ladder. This mobility has been aided by the government's +determined effort to reshuffle society by improving the social status +and opportunities of the formerly underprivileged groups and by denying +them to the formerly privileged ones. Because education has +traditionally been the main determinant of status, social mobility has +been directed by the state through strict control over educational +opportunities. Preference in admission to higher education has been +given to children of peasants and workers, children of long-standing +party members and children of persons killed in the resistance against +the Germans in World War II (see ch. 6). The political orientation of +the student himself and his membership in mass organizations such as the +youth union are also important factors in determining his admission to +an institution of higher learning. + +In the late 1960s there was some evidence that social mobility was +slowing down and that the society was beginning to stabilize into +self-perpetuating social groups. With the slowing of economic growth the +number of job openings in the higher levels has been reduced, and the +intelligentsia can satisfy from its own ranks most of the demand for +professional and managerial personnel. The social mix of students in +higher education in the late 1960s was far from representative of the +population as a whole--only about 39 percent of the students were from +peasant or worker families, although these groups constituted about 78 +percent of the population. In spite of all their admission advantages, +children of lower income families have not been able to compete +effectively with those of higher income background. Given education as a +main channel of mobility, disadvantage in educational opportunities +means lower possibility for social advancement. Political loyalty, +however, can still override all other considerations and propel a person +up the social ladder. Membership in the party, therefore, continues to +afford considerable advantage. + + +OTHER SOCIAL GROUPS + +Bulgarians are not by nature joiners. Formal organizations were of +little significance in national life before the 1940s. Although a wide +variety of groups existed, mostly in the towns and cities, membership +was generally small and was based on strictly utilitarian +considerations. Individuals joined to derive the benefits provided by +the organization, such as easy credit, professional standing, use of +libraries and other cultural facilities, or use of sports facilities. +Few members were actively involved in the operation or the activities of +the organizations to which they belonged. + +Banding together for a common purpose, however, was far from alien to +Bulgarian culture; but social organizations and informal groupings that +emerged from such banding together usually were based on kinship or on +close personal ties. The most important formal traditional organization +was the _zadruga_ (see The Family, this ch.). In a less formal vein, +wool-cording and spinning bees were important features of rural social +life before collectivization. In fact, many agricultural activities, +such as hoeing and harvesting, were undertaken by groups of friends and +relatives who joined together to take turns working on each other's +land. This joining together for the accomplishment of necessary tasks +served an important social, as well as economic, function. While working +together in such groups, individuals exchanged ideas, passed on +information and, thereby, either reinforced each other's traditional +values and mores or helped develop new ones. + +The cooperative farm of contemporary Bulgaria tries to derive the same +economic advantages from cooperation as did the traditional work groups. +The traditional groups, however, were based on a voluntary joining +together of friends and relatives, whereas the grouping on the +cooperative farm is forced and impersonal. The spirit of reciprocity, +which was so important in the former work groups, has also been lost on +the cooperative farm, where the peasant works land that, in his eyes, +does not belong to him but to an impersonal entity. + +In keeping with communist practice, the government and the Bulgarian +Communist Party have introduced a network of mass organizations designed +to serve specific interest groups. Most prominent among them are the +trade unions, the youth organizations, the women's organizations, and +other member organizations of the Fatherland Front (see ch. 9). Some, +such as sports clubs, discussion groups, and cultural clubs of various +kinds, are organized on community or enterprise bases. Intended to cater +to specific interests of individuals, these groups attempt to attract a +large percentage of the population into formal organizations that can be +used to promote desired norms and values or undertake specific +activities. Major emphasis is placed on collectivism, that is, working +together as a group rather than as individuals. Structurally, the +organizations are usually divided into small groups that are intended to +act as focal social units. These units engage the attention and loyalty +of an individual and then act on his behalf in relation to other social +units or larger institutions, much as the family did in traditional +Bulgarian society. The political purpose of the mass organizations, +however, makes them unattractive to most Bulgarians who have never had +much interest in organizational activities. As a result, membership in +most has been far below desired levels. As was the case with earlier +organizations, Bulgarians join them in order to derive the benefits that +they afford. Membership in a youth organization or in a trade union, for +instance, is often required to gain admission to a school or to obtain a +job. + + + + +CHAPTER 5 + +LIVING CONDITIONS + + +After a period of austerity during which the population's needs were +neglected in favor of rapid industrialization, the standard of living of +Bulgarians began to improve in the early 1960s as more goods and +services became available. The physical well-being of most of the +population has been improving steadily since the end of World War II. +Morbidity has declined noticeably, and declines in the overall death +rate and in the infant mortality rate have resulted in increased life +expectancy. Electricity and water supplies have become available even in +remote rural areas. In comparison with other Eastern European countries, +however, and particularly in comparison with Western Europe, the +standard of living in Bulgaria in 1973 was low. + +Increasing exposure to living conditions in the rest of Europe and +growing incomes of most Bulgarians created pressures to improve their +own quality of life. In December 1972 the country's leadership proposed +an extensive program for improving the standard of living and satisfying +the rising expectations of the population over the next ten years (see +ch. 12). An important element of the program is the elimination of the +continuing disparity in living conditions of the rural and urban +populations. + +In keeping with the socialist ideology of the state, the population is +entitled to free health care and an extensive system of social benefits. +Although these have greatly benefited the population in terms of their +physical and material well-being, their bureaucratic and inefficient +administration has been a source of considerable frustration and +dissatisfaction. + + +HEALTH + +Death and Morbidity + +Life expectancy at birth in the late 1960s was about sixty-nine years +for males and seventy-three for females. This was a 35-percent increase +over pre-World War II figures. Although Bulgarians have had a reputation +for longevity, which has been attributed to their diet, a high infant +mortality rate and a high incidence of morbidity had combined until the +mid-1950s to keep the life expectancy relatively low. Those who survived +to middle age tended to become octogenarians or older; but they were in +a minority. Proportionately, however, there were more older people in +Bulgaria than in most other countries in the world. + +The increase in life expectancy since World War II has been brought +about by a drop in the death rate from 12.2 per 1,000 in 1939 to seven +per 1,000 in 1970 for the urban population and from 13.7 per 1,000 in +1939 to 11.4 per 1,000 in 1970 for the rural population. During the same +period, infant mortality dropped from 139 per 1,000 live births to +twenty-seven per 1,000 live births. In the late 1960s the incidence of +infant mortality was 39 percent higher among rural infants than among +urban ones. More than one-half of the deaths of children under one year +of age were the result of pneumonia. The second major cause of infant +mortality was birth trauma, despite the fact that 98 percent of the +births took place in a public health facility under medical supervision. + +The three major causes of death in 1970 were diseases of the heart and +circulatory system, which accounted for 252 per 1,000 deaths; +cerebrovascular diseases, which accounted for 206 per 1,000 deaths; and +cancer, which accounted for 146 per 1,000 deaths. A program of +systematic treatment and prevention of infectious diseases, which were +once widespread, has either brought them under control or eradicated +them completely. The law requires that all cases of contagious diseases +be registered with the public health service. In 1971 the greatest +incidence was reported for influenza, mumps, chicken pox, dysentery, +infectious hepatitis, and measles. + + +The Public Health Service + +The public health service, modeled after that of the Soviet Union, is +based on the premise that the state has the responsibility to provide +free health care for the population and that such care should be uniform +and readily available. The health service is financed by the state, +supervised by the Ministry of Public Health, and administered by the +public health departments of the district people's councils. Free health +care is available to all citizens; medicine required for outpatient +treatment, however, must be paid for by the patient. + +The cornerstone of the health service is the polyclinic, which provides +general and specialized outpatient aid and consultation. Polyclinics may +be attached to a hospital or may be independent units serving a +designated geographic area. A separate network of polyclinics is +attached to industrial mining, transport, and construction enterprises +to serve their workers. Each polyclinic is divided into departments for +the various specialties in medicine, and each department is staffed by +one or more doctors and auxiliary personnel. Not all polyclinics, +however, have departments for all the major fields of medicine; many +have only sections for internal medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, +pediatrics, and surgery. Patients needing consultation or treatment by +other specialists are referred to the nearest hospital. + +The health care provided by the polyclinic was under serious attack in +the early 1970s both from the doctors who work there and from the +patients. The main problem seemed to be overburdening and inefficiency +imposed by the system of health care. One polyclinic in Sofia, for +example, was responsible for the health care of 70,000 inhabitants of +its area. Its physicians gave routine examinations to prospective +students and job applicants, certified the legitimacy of claims for sick +leave, and diagnosed and treated all complaints from the common cold to +the most serious illness. During four hours each day, patients were seen +on a first-come-first-served basis, except in emergencies. Waiting rooms +were jammed, and people often waited for hours without seeing a doctor +because the allotted time for office consultations had expired before +their turn came. + +Studies have indicated that one physician sees an average of thirty to +forty patients in the four-hour period of office consultations, and then +one-half again as many in a three-hour period of house calls, which +often cover a wide geographic area. The average consultation between +doctor and patient is six minutes, a time much too short for proper +diagnosis. The result has been frequently wrong diagnosis and wrong or +inadequate treatment. + +A survey of polyclinic physicians conducted in 1970 revealed that over +50 percent of those surveyed considered the outpatient treatment +provided by the polyclinic to be ineffective. They blamed poor +organization and procedure in handling patients' needs, which resulted +in the inefficient use of physicians' time, overloading of physicians, +and shortage of drugs and equipment needed for complex treatment. More +than two-thirds of the physicians questioned indicated that they would +prefer to practice at a hospital or other medical unit and that they +planned to leave the polyclinic as soon as another opportunity was +available. The physicians recommended that their work schedule and +method of handling patients be revised to make the system more +efficient; that social workers be assigned to polyclinics to handle some +of the patients' social problems that aggravated their medical problems; +that polyclinic doctors be given more specialized training in rapid +diagnosis and other skills required by them and not by hospital +physicians; and that the remuneration of polyclinic physicians be +brought in line with their arduous assignment. + +The patient's response to the inadequacy and inefficiency of polyclinic +health care has been to seek out a physician with a private practice and +pay the necessary fee. Approximately one-fourth of the polyclinic +physicians have a private practice during nonduty hours, as do almost +all specialists. By consulting a private physician rather than the free +polyclinic, the patient can choose his own doctor and establish a +personal relationship with him, hoping to develop confidence and receive +more effective treatment. + +The outpatient work of the polyclinics is supplemented by a network of +special dispensaries that provide long-term care for persons suffering +from tuberculosis, venereal disease, tumors and psychoneurotic +disturbances. The sixty-one dispensaries in 1971 also had a total of +3,670 beds for inpatient care. + +A network of hospitals provides inpatient treatment and specialized +diagnostic and clinical facilities. All hospitals are also teaching +centers for physicians, nurses, and auxiliary medical personnel. In 1971 +there were 195 hospitals throughout the country, at least one in each +district. Certain districts, however, were inadequately equipped with +hospital facilities. The total number of beds was 57,053, or 7.6 beds +per 1,000 inhabitants. One hundred and fifty-four of the hospitals, with +a total of 47,839 beds, were general hospitals. There were also fifteen +special tuberculosis hospitals and fifteen psychoneurological hospitals +with a total of slightly over 3,000 beds in each category; five +pediatric hospitals with a total of 480 beds; four obstetric and +gynecological hospitals with a total of 740 beds; one hospital for +infectious diseases; and one for orthopedic and plastic surgery. In +addition to these district-supported hospitals, the central government +operated six hospitals with a total bed capacity of 1,036 in connection +with the special medical research institutes. Extended care and physical +therapy for patients suffering from chronic ailments were offered by 182 +sanatoriums and health spas with a total bed capacity of 16,104. + +The Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) envisages increasing the number of +hospital beds to 8.4 per 1,000 inhabitants and focusing on those areas +of the country that are underserved. An increase in operating funds for +the hospitals is to be channeled mostly into improving plant and +equipment. Although most hospitals suffer from poor or outmoded plant +and equipment, they also suffer seriously from a shortage of staff, +particularly of nurses and auxiliary medical personnel. The plan states +specifically that alleviation of that shortage will have to be delayed. + +In 1971 the country had a total of 16,183 physicians, 1.9 for every +1,000 inhabitants. The number of physicians had more than doubled in the +twenty years since 1952; most of them, therefore, were between the ages +of twenty-five and forty-five. The number of other medical personnel had +expanded along the same lines. In 1971 there were 2,464 pharmacists; +26,381 nurses; 6,016 midwives; and 5,012 feldshers. Feldshers are +paramedics trained to perform a variety of medical functions, including +simple surgery, in the absence of a fully qualified physician. Many +rural health centers are in the charge of feldshers and receive periodic +visits from specialized physicians. + +Physicians and auxiliary medical personnel are all employed by the state +in the national health service. They are classed as nonproductive +workers, therefore their salary scales are lower than those for +productive workers. This has been causing a great deal of +dissatisfaction and is the principal reason for the serious shortage of +medical personnel. One Bulgarian newspaper in 1971 reported the case of +a hospital administrator trying to recruit women streetcleaners to fill +the many vacancies for nurses and aides in the hospital. The +streetcleaners refused because their wages and working conditions were +better than those for the more highly skilled positions in the hospital. + + +PERSONAL INCOME AND EXPENDITURES + +Cost of Living + +Incomes and retail prices are controlled by the government and set in +accordance with the overall economic plan. The cost of living, +therefore, is also controlled and has been relatively stable. Several +increases in the minimum wage during the 1960s were paralleled by price +increases for some of the essential commodities and services. In 1973 +the minimum monthly wage was raised to 80 leva per month (for value of +the lev--see Glossary), and basic wages for the lowest categories of +workers and employees were also raised to bring them into line with +wages in comparable kinds of work. At the same time, prices of certain +foods were reduced, whereas prices of some other essential goods were +raised. + +Although the incomes of most Bulgarians have generally kept pace with +the rise in the cost of living, a chronic scarcity of consumer goods and +services and periodic food shortages have forced a comparatively low +standard of living on the population. As in other communist countries, +the consumer industry has been neglected in favor of other branches of +the economy. Even after the government began to place greater emphasis +on the production of consumer goods in the 1960s, rising demand +outstripped production capabilities. Even the basic needs of the +population often could not be met because of poor planning or the +inflexibility of the central planning system, which does not react +effectively to changing market conditions. It is not uncommon to have +excessive inventories of certain sizes of clothing or footwear while +other sizes are in short supply. Retail outlets are either unwilling or +unable to replenish their supplies of missing sizes until the overall +stock of the item is almost depleted, regardless of consumer demand. + +The government has for some time indicated concern over the low standard +of living in Bulgaria as compared with other Eastern European countries. +One of the aims of the Sixth Five-Year Plan is to increase production of +consumer goods and meet the needs and rising demands of the population. +Limited production capacity, however, and shortages of certain raw +materials will seriously restrict the extent of possible improvements. + +In December 1972 the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party +held a special plenum on improving the standard of living of the people. +This unprecedented move showed the importance that the leadership was +attaching to this subject. In an extensive report to the plenum, party +chief Todor Zhivkov presented a far-reaching program of steps to be +taken, starting in 1973, to improve the standard of living. To implement +the decisions of the plenum over the long run, the Commission on the +Living Standard was established under prominent Bulgarian Communist +Party (BKP--see Glossary) leadership. + +As envisaged by the plenum, the standard of living will be raised by +pursuing a three-pronged policy: gradually increasing wages; keeping +prices stable; and making available an adequate supply of consumer goods +and services, including luxury goods and services to satisfy the demand +of those who are willing to pay the higher price. In the past, luxury +goods and services have been considered superfluous and undesirable in +an egalitarian socialist country. Higher incomes and exposure to the +living standards in other Eastern European and Western European +countries, however, have created pressure for more than just the +satisfaction of basic needs. According to some government officials, +Bulgarians are no longer satisfied with just any washing machine or +electric appliance; they want the latest automatic model and are willing +to pay for it. + +In the program for increasing wages, special attention will be paid to +narrowing the gap between incomes of cooperative peasants and those of +workers. In the mid-1950s a cooperative peasant's income was only 60 +percent of a worker's income. By 1971 the peasant's income had increased +to 85 percent of that of a worker, but this amount was still considered +too low by the government. To accelerate the growth of peasants' +incomes, a nontaxable minimum income was to be introduced in 1973, and +the same system of income tax was to cover both peasants and workers. +The system of remuneration on cooperative farms was to be made the same +as that on state farms, where agricultural workers are classed as +workers, not as farmers. Fringe benefits, such as pensions and +supplements for children, were also to be brought into line with those +of workers by 1975. + + +Consumption + +According to official figures, consumption has grown steadily since the +early 1960s, in spite of continued shortages of some goods. As incomes +rose and consumer goods and services became more readily available, a +greater percentage of household budgets was being spent on them. All +segments of the population spent a greater share of their income in 1971 +on household equipment and on cultural and educational pursuits, which +included such durable goods as household appliances and radios and +television sets, than they did in 1962. Changes in proportionate +expenditures for other nonessentials during the 1960s reflected the +income differences and taste preferences of the different social +categories as well as their rural or urban residence. + +The largest share of consumer expenditures in 1971 went for food, +ranging from 42.5 percent of total expenditures for peasants to 38.8 +percent of total expenditures for white-collar workers (see table 3). +In calculating expenditures for food, the value of food production for +personal consumption was included. The relative share of expenditures on +food has been dropping since 1962. At the same time, the quality of the +diet for all population groups has improved. + +_Table 3. Bulgaria, Percentage Distribution of Household Expenditures by +Population Group, 1962 and 1971_ + + ---------------------+---------------+---------------+------------------- + | Blue Collar | White Collar | Co-op Farm Member + Item +-------+-------+-------+-------+---------+--------- + | 1962 | 1971 | 1962 | 1971 | 1962 | 1971 + ---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+---------+--------- + Food | 46.0 | 42.3 | 44.6 | 38.8 | 46.3 | 42.5 + Alcoholic beverages | 2.9 | 3.4 | 2.1 | 2.1 | 6.3 | 5.1 + Tobacco | 2.3 | 1.7 | 1.9 | 1.5 | 1.3 | 1.3 + Clothing | 13.6 | 11.4 | 14.7 | 11.3 | 13.6 | 10.3 + Housing | 9.9 | 8.7 | 7.9 | 11.4 | 9.6 | 8.8 + Household furnishings| 3.5 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 5.3 | 4.0 | 5.0 + Culture and | | | | | | + entertainment | 4.3 | 5.3 | 6.0 | 7.8 | 2.8 | 5.4 + Health and hygiene | 1.2 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 1.7 + Communication and | | | | | | + transportation | 2.7 | 2.8 | 3.3 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 1.7 + Taxes and fees | 5.4 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 7.0 | 1.3 | 2.0 + Other | 8.2 | 11.1 | 7.7 | 9.1 | 12.3 | 16.2 + | | | | | | + TOTAL | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 + ---------------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+---------+--------- + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1972_, Sofia, 1972, p. 412. + +Relative expenditures on clothing were roughly the same for all +population groups, although peasants spent a somewhat smaller proportion +of their budget than families influenced by urban life-styles. The share +of the budget spent on clothing has dropped since 1962. + +The relative share of expenditures for housing went down between 1962 +and 1971 for the two lower income groups, who spent almost the same +proportion of their budget for that purpose. The higher income +white-collar group, however, spent over 3 percent more on housing in +1971 than it did in 1962. This group has been investing in its own +private housing rather than living in state- or industry-supplied +housing. Expenditures for household furnishings and equipment were +approximately the same for all segments of the population in 1971. They +occupied a greater share of the household budget than in 1962, +particularly among blue-collar workers. + +In addition to devoting a considerably higher portion of their budget to +housing than other social groups, white-collar workers also devote more +of their budget to culture and entertainment and to health and hygiene. +This is clearly a reflection of more sophisticated tastes and a higher +standard of living. The life-style of this group includes regular +attendance at the theater, operas, and concerts; the purchase of books +and records; and a higher education for their children. This, also, is +the group that prefers to consult a private physician, who sets his own +rates, rather than to use the free public clinic. + +Relative expenditures for communication and transportation services have +remained stable over the years. They vary by population group, consuming +a greater portion of the budget as one rises on the social ladder. The +proportionately higher expenditures of blue- and white-collar workers +are probably due to the expense of commuting to and from a job. The even +higher share of such expenditures in the budgets of white-collar workers +is attributable to private telephones and travel. + +The greatest variation in consumption patterns between the different +population groups is evident in the proportion of expenditures devoted +to other than the enumerated categories. Although there is no indication +in the statistical material as to what kind of expenditures are +included, this entry must certainly include expenses incurred in the +cultivation of private plots and the raising of animals in the private +sector for domestic consumption and expenses incurred in providing +private services. Therefore, these expenditures take a high share of the +total expenditures of peasants and workers. + +Despite expanding consumption, neither the government nor the population +is satisfied with the supply and quality of the goods and services +available. Some items, such as meat, housewares, furniture, building +materials, and various kinds of clothing and knitwear, are in chronic +short supply. Other items, such as fruits, vegetables, and dairy +products, are subject to periodic shortages. In addition, the quality +and selection of many goods do not meet the desired levels. An official +document published in 1972 decried the common practice of producing +high-quality goods for export and lower quality goods for the domestic +market. The same document also called for changing export priorities so +that the domestic needs could be met before scarce goods were exported. + +Another factor limiting the satisfaction of demands for goods and +services has been the small size and inefficiency of the domestic trade +network and of the service industry. Retail outlets are state owned and +have received very low priority in the allocation of funds. As a result, +they are too few in number and are seriously understaffed, making +shopping a time-consuming and frustrating activity. Stores are reluctant +to stock new styles in response to consumer demands until their old +stocks have been almost completely depleted. High-quality and specialty +items are usually available only from private craftsmen at very high +prices. + +Private craftsmen and artisans provide virtually the only service +network in the country. The service sector of the economy has been +considered as nonessential and therefore has been neglected by the state +(see ch. 12). In order to fill the gap thus created, the government +started in the mid-1960s to encourage private individuals to provide +the needed services. Many of these people are regularly employed +artisans and craftsmen in industry who provide specialized services +during their spare time. Others are pensioners or unemployed. Because +they are in great demand, they can set their own prices, and many are in +the highest income groups. The government has attempted to keep their +earnings under control through taxes and has restricted their activities +by other administrative measures, but it has made no effort to eliminate +their services. + +In the report issued by the special plenum on living conditions held by +the Central Committee in December 1972, a comparison was made of actual +consumption in 1970, desired consumption levels during the next decade, +and consumption standards developed by government scientific institutes. +In most cases the actual levels were far below the standards (see table +4). + +_Table 4. Bulgaria, Actual and Desired Annual Consumption Levels_ + + -----------------+--------------------+----------------------------------- + | | Consumption Levels + | |--------+---------------+---------- + | | | Desired | + Item | Measure | Actual |-------+-------+Scientific + | | 1970 | 1975 | 1980 | Norms* + -----------------+--------------------+--------+-------+-------+---------- + Meat and meat | | | | | + products | pounds per capita | 91.3 | 121.3 | 165.4 | 176.4 + Fish | do | 12.1 | 17.6 | 22.0 | 22.0 + Milk and milk | | | | | + products | do | 335.4 | 432.2 | 551.3 | 573.3 + Vegetable oils | do | 27.6 | 30.6 | 30.9 | 28.7 + Flour and flour | | | | | + products | do | 376.1 | 401.3 | 330.7 | 221.0 + Sugar | do | 72.5 | 81.6 | 79.4 | 70.6 + Vegetables | do | 196.0 | 299.9 | 352.8 | 396.9 + Fruits | do | 326.8 | 394.7 | 442.0 | 442.0 + Eggs | number per capita | 122.0 | 159.0 | 250.0 | 265.0 + Cotton fabrics | feet per capita | 72.8 | 81.0 | 108.2 | 118.0 + Wool fabrics | do | 12.5 | 15.4 | 19.7 | 23.0 + Shoes | pairs per capita | 1.7 | 2.1 | 3.0 | 4.0 + Radio sets | per 100 households | 100.8 | 104.0 | 110.0 | 130.0 + Television sets | do | 42.0 | 53.0 | 80.0 | 105.0 + Telephones | do | 7.0 | 9.6 | 10.0 | 50.0 + Washing machines | do | 50.0 | 50.0 | 60.0 | 70.0 + Refrigerators | do | 29.0 | 59.0 | 90.0 | 100.0 + Automobiles | do | 6.0 | 13.5 | 30.0 | 40.0 + -----------------+--------------------+--------+-------+-------+---------- + * As determined by research institutes of the Bulgarian Academy of + Sciences. + Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Technical + Services, Joint Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington), + _Translations on Eastern Europe: Political, Sociological, and Military + Affairs_, "Statistics on Rising Living Standard Given," (JPRS 58,480, + No. 851, 1973). + + +HOUSING + +In common with other Eastern European countries, Bulgaria has suffered a +serious urban housing shortage since World War II, although large +reserves have existed in rural housing. Great numbers of workers have +left the villages over the years to find employment in the rapidly +expanding industrial centers, but housing construction has not kept pace +with this migration. During the early years of communist rule, priority +in the allocation of scarce building materials and funds was given to +the building of new plants and other industrial installations rather +than to new housing. In the 1960s only between 3 and 6 percent of the +gross national income was invested in housing construction as compared +with 20 percent or more in most Western European countries. Bulgaria has +had the lowest housing investment among the communist countries of +Eastern Europe. + +In 1970 the Politburo and the Council of Ministers adopted a special +program for the solution of the housing problem within the next ten to +fifteen years. The program stated that the aim of the BKP was to enable +every family to have its own apartment, and every member of the family +his own room. In 1972 there were some 250,000 more urban families than +there were housing units. + +Aggravating the housing shortage in the early 1970s was an accelerating +deterioration of old buildings. Money and materials for maintenance of +existing structures have been even scarcer than for new buildings. In +addition, many of the postwar apartment buildings were put up hastily, +using inferior materials and workmanship, and soon turned into crumbling +slums. + +In order to spur housing construction without imposing too great a +burden on the state budget, the government was forced to abandon its +intention of providing low-rent housing for everyone. Instead, it has +encouraged the population to invest in its own housing. As a result, +special savings accounts for the purchase of private housing have grown +at a more rapid rate than regular savings accounts. During the 1968-70 +period approximately one-third of the new housing units made available +were financed entirely by state funds, another one-third were financed +entirely by private funds, and the last one-third were financed by +private funds with the aid of loans from state sources. State +enterprises are instructed to grant their employees interest-free, +fifteen-year mortgages for the purchase of an apartment or house. Up to +4,000 leva can be borrowed for this purpose in urban areas and up to +3,000 leva in rural areas. This, however, covers less than one-half of +the cost of a two-room apartment. + +Although the increasing reliance on tenant-financed housing is helping +to reduce the overall housing shortage, it has meant that most new +housing units are built for the higher income groups. Cooperative +apartments and private houses require a substantial initial investment +and the assumption of a mortgage, which are beyond the means of most +blue-collar and low-income white-collar workers. These groups continue +to rely on state-financed or industry-financed low-rent housing, which +usually has long waiting lists of prospective tenants. In order to free +more of the low-rent housing for those who cannot pay for a private +home, persons owning a second home or intending to build one are being +asked to vacate their state-supplied housing. + +In 1973 the per capita area of usable housing space was 124 square feet. +New dwelling units constructed under the Sixth Five-Year Plan were to +have an average of 857 square feet each; those constructed during the +following Seventh Five-Year Plan (1976-80) will have an average of 911 +square feet each. Inasmuch as possible, all new housing units +constructed before 1975 will be equipped with running water, +electricity, sewage disposal facilities, and central heat. After 1976 +such amenities will be mandatory. In the mid-1960s, the latest date +available, 30.7 percent of all housing units had running water, 94.7 +percent had electricity, 32.7 percent had sewage disposal facilities, +and 1.5 percent had central heat. The availability of these amenities in +housing units varied a great deal among the different social groups of +the population (see table 5). + +_Table 5. Bulgaria, Percentage of Housing Units Equipped with Various +Amenities, December 1965_ + + ----------------------+---------+-------------+------------+--------- + | | | Sewage | + | Running | | Disposal | Central + | Water | Electricity | Facilities | Heat + ----------------------+---------+-------------+------------+--------- + _Households_: | | | | + Blue collar | 29.0 | 95.2 | 32.7 | 0.8 + White collar | 72.6 | 99.3 | 73.0 | 4.9 + Cooperative farm | 6.5 | 91.6 | 7.2 | 0.0 + Cooperative artisan | 37.1 | 98.4 | 40.2 | 0.2 + Other | 54.0 | 96.5 | 56.7 | 2.9 + | | | | + ALL HOUSING | 30.7 | 94.7 | 32.7 | 1.4 + ----------------------+---------|-------------+------------+--------- + Source: Adapted from U.S. Department of Commerce, Office of Technical + Services, Joint Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington), + _Translations on Eastern Europe: Political, Sociological, and Military + Affairs_, "Aspects of Standard of Living Analyzed," (JPRS 48,717, No. + 126, 1969). + + +SOCIAL BENEFITS + +In addition to receiving free medical care, all citizens are entitled to +a variety of social benefits, including sickness and disability pay, +pensions, maternity benefits, and family allowances. Most of these are +administered by the trade unions, but pensions are under the +jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance. They are financed by the +central government and by contributions from the employers based on a +percentage of gross salaries and wages paid. + +All workers are entitled to paid sick leave after three months' service. +In the case of accidents at work, there is no waiting period. Lump-sum +compensation for temporary disablement because of an accident at work +ranges in amount, depending on severity of injury and length of +service. During the period of disablement, the worker is entitled to +benefits ranging from 30 to 100 percent of his wage, depending on the +severity of the disablement and on his income. Prolonged or permanent +disability entitles the worker to a pension. + +Old-age pensions are based on the years of service and kind of work +performed. The pensionable age is fifty-five for women and sixty for +men, but earlier retirement is possible for certain categories of work. +Pension payments range from 55 to 80 percent of wages based on a scale +covering the last five years of employment or, in some cases, three out +of the last five years. Higher rates are paid for work years past the +usual retirement age. Pensions are payable to dependents after the death +of the pensioner. Dependents also receive life insurance payments. +Cooperative farm members are entitled to pensions after twenty years of +work for women and twenty-five years of work for men provided they +worked 100 to 135 days each year. In 1972 it was suggested that 200 to +250 days of work per year should be required for pensions in exchange +for higher pension payments to cooperative farm members. + +Pensions are collectible even if a person continues working. This system +was criticized by Zhivkov in late 1972. He suggested that persons who +continued to work after being eligible for a pension should be +encouraged to do so without drawing a pension but should, instead, +accumulate additional increments to their pension for each year worked. + +In addition to old-age pensions there are pensions for special merit +payable to persons who have made an exceptional contribution to national +life and national pensions payable to fighters against fascism and +capitalism. All minimum pension payments were increased in 1972. + +Under new provisions announced in March 1973, employed women will be +entitled to four months of fully paid maternity leave and six months of +leave at minimum wages for the first child; five and seven months, +respectively, for the second child; six and eight months for the third +child; and four and six months for each subsequent child. Mothers who +are students or who do not work for some valid reason will receive +minimum wages for corresponding periods. Mothers of children under the +age of ten are entitled to special annual leave. All mothers receive a +cash payment at the birth of a child; the payments are sharply +differentiated to encourage larger families. In early 1973 the payments +were 20 leva for the first child, 200 leva for the second child, and 500 +leva for the third child. It was planned, however to raise these +payments to 100 leva, 250 leva, and 500 leva, respectively. + +Another inducement for larger families is a system of monthly family +allowance payments for children up to the age of sixteen or until they +complete secondary school. Allowances are payable to all families +regardless of whether or not the parents work. A variety of other social +assistance benefits are available to indigents, persons disabled from +childhood, orphans, and the aged with no income. + + +WORK AND LEISURE + +In 1973 the country was in the process of shifting from a +forty-six-hour, six-day workweek to a 42.5-hour, five-day workweek. The +transition was being carried out district by district according to a set +schedule. It was to be completed by 1975. Persons working in +agriculture, education, and the health service, however, were to +continue to work their forty-six hour workweek, except where the actual +work involved was adaptable to a reduced workweek. + +The reduction in working hours had been a much debated subject for +several years. It was first promised by the government in 1968, but its +implementation has been slow because it is predicated on the same level +of productivity and output by each enterprise as before implementation. +Pressure for reduced working hours has been strong because most +Bulgarians have very little time for genuine leisure in their daily +life. + +The lack of time for genuine leisure is the result not only of long +working hours but also of an inadequate trade and service network, a +shortage of time-saving household equipment, and an excessive +bureaucracy. All the daily chores, such as housekeeping, shopping, and +attending to other personal or family matters, are time consuming and +cumbersome. Studies have shown that all persons over the age of six +devote an average of four hours out of every twenty-four to housework +alone. The national leadership feels this is excessive and has proposed +measures to develop the service sector. + +The favorite leisure-time activity of young and old, urban and rural +Bulgarians is to get together with friends for informal socializing. Men +congregate at the neighborhood tavern or their favorite cafe to drink +plum brandy or wine, play cards, and talk about the latest news. Women +gather to gossip at each other's homes, at the village pump, or at the +neighborhood playground or park. The evening promenade is an important +diversion for all ages and social groups. Walking back and forth at some +designated public thoroughfare in small groups of friends or relatives, +people greet each other and exchange pleasantries. + +Sports are a major form of recreation for young people. Soccer is the +national sport, and the matches of major teams are followed with great +interest. Hiking and picnic excursions are popular among city dwellers +who like to get out into the country to enjoy the beauty and +tranquillity of nature. In towns and cities, the theater, operas, +concerts, and other cultural activities are popular leisure-time +diversions. The cinema is extremely popular in both town and village, +although increasing television viewing has been reducing cinema +audiences. + +In addition to sports, young people spend much of their leisure time +listening to popular music and also dancing. In fact, they are +periodically reprimanded by the BKP leadership for spending too much of +their time in leisure activities and not enough in socially useful +work. + + + + +CHAPTER 6 + +EDUCATION + + +The educational system in Bulgaria, as in the Balkans generally, began +to develop in a real sense only in the nineteenth century, principally +because Bulgaria had been under Turkish rule for 500 years. As education +was of little concern to the Turks and an educated Bulgarian population +would only represent a threat to their regime, the advancement of a +formal educational system was either openly repressed or neglected by +the Turks. As a result, the literacy rate in Bulgaria was one of the +lowest in Europe at the time of liberation in 1878. During the six +decades between liberation and World War II, the educational system had +made great progress in providing basic education to young people, but +there remained a hard core of illiterates in the adult population. After +the Communists took over in 1944, a massive drive in adult education +virtually eliminated the problem of illiteracy within a decade. + +The educational system under the Communists was essentially patterned on +that of the Soviet Union, and the desire on the part of Bulgarian +authorities to stay within that pattern brought about a general +cautiousness as they restructured the system to make it coincide with +the newly imposed ideology. Although educational reforms have been +enacted with great frequency, they have often dealt with matters of form +rather than of substance. The basic adherence to Soviet guidelines has +remained intact throughout the years of communist rule. + +As in most Eastern European countries, the major objectives of the +Bulgarian educational system have been premised on both ideological +issues and the demands of the national economy. One of the primary goals +of the system--both stated and implicit--is the production of the ideal +communist citizen who will work for the realization of "socialist +construction" and the betterment of the socialist society. A second +major premise of the system is that the demands of the economy must be +met; this goal is to be achieved by educating skilled personnel to fill +the specific needs of its various sectors. Because of the trend toward +industrialization that obtains in all communist countries, a corollary +policy is that the study of science and technology must be emphasized +over the study of the humanities. + +According to established principles, therefore, certain policies are +carried out in the process of education. People of worker or peasant +origin, who the Communists perceive as having been deprived of their +basic rights to an education in the past, are allowed to enter the +higher levels of the educational system without the usual prerequisite +examination if the necessary places are available. They generally +represent between 30 and 40 percent of the total higher education +population as compared with 80 percent of the population as a whole. + +Certain communist principles form the backbone of the curriculum. Work +is perceived to be an integral part of education as are directed +extracurricular activities, and a sizable percentage of formal education +is allotted for practical and vocational training. Religious education, +which was a legacy from the past, has been dismissed as superstitious +and archaic, and virtually all religious schools have been banned. The +curriculum from the earliest years of schooling to the upper levels of +higher education is filled with such courses as Marxism-Leninism, the +history of the communist party of the Soviet Union, and the history of +the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary). + +Under the many and varied educational reforms legislated under the +Communists, the pendulum has swung between relative emphasis on science +and technology on the one hand and the humanities on the other. Although +overall emphasis has always been on the sciences, that emphasis has +increased and decreased at various times since the communist takeover. +Between 1944 and 1948, for example, there was little overall emphasis on +technology in the curriculum. Between 1948 and 1967, however, these +subjects were emphasized to a large degree. Beginning in 1967 some +weight was again placed on the humanities. As of 1973 there had been +some manifestation of rededication to technology and science, but the +latest proposed reform regarding secondary education represented a +desire on the part of the government to fuse general education--which of +course includes the humanities--and specialized training into one +system. + +In mid-1973 problems inherent in the educational system of Bulgaria +continued to exist. One of the most serious was the inadequacy of funds +for education generally but particularly for higher education where the +need was the greatest. Another problem was that of overcrowding. +Although there was virtually no problem of teacher shortage, there were +far too many students in proportion to the number of schools. A third +problem lay in the area of foreign student exchange where relatively few +foreign students studied in Bulgarian universities and institutes and +few Bulgarian students were allowed to study abroad. Another problem on +the higher educational level was the discrepancy between students' +preference regarding their fields of specialization and government +dictates in this area. Although many students at the university level +were interested in the arts and social sciences, the government, feeling +the weight of the economy's demands, very often preempted their choices +and allocated many more places to the sciences than to the arts. The +most serious problem, however, in terms of higher education, was that +owing to a shortage of places at the university level only 20 percent of +the secondary students who applied for admission were accepted. This +shortage of places in higher education, coupled with the fact that +extremely few Bulgarian students were permitted to study abroad, meant +that a large proportion of potential students capable of serious work +were turned away from higher education altogether. + + +HISTORY OF EDUCATION + +Until the late eighteenth century education made virtually no progress +in the country. Although schools did exist during the period of Turkish +rule, the Turks had no interest in furthering education among their +subjects, except insofar as it would benefit themselves. From the +fourteenth through the seventeenth centuries education remained at a +standstill. During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, the Turks +allowed the Greek Orthodox Church to become predominant among Christians +in the area, and an intense hellenization campaign ensued with the +seeming purpose of assimilating the Bulgarians as a people into the +Greek society that surrounded them. The campaign, which was particularly +virulent in the 1750s, was successful in the schools, and the Bulgarian +language and customs were supplanted by those of the Greek. + +By the late eighteenth century, however, a national revival grew in +force, stimulated in large part by Father Paisi, a monk who wrote the +first Bulgarian history, _The Slav-Bulgarian History_. This work and +Father Paisi's teachings provided an incentive for the development of +education in the country. From 1762 until liberation from Turkish rule +in 1878, education made great strides. As the churches began to throw +off the domination of the Greek Orthodox Church, more church schools +staffed by monks and priests were established within the Bulgarian +Orthodox Church framework. + +Although the Greek educational system still predominated in the early +part of the nineteenth century, complemented by a rising move toward the +establishment of Bulgarian Orthodox Church schools, a movement toward +secular education was initiated at this time. Secular subjects were +introduced in the church schools, and communal schools were established. +By 1834 the first primer in Bulgarian was written, based on a western +European model, which established the basis for secondary education. In +1835 a wealthy merchant founded the first Bulgarian high school, and +within the next ten years some fifty schools had been established. + +At the time of liberation, however, over 90 percent of the population +over school age was still illiterate. Only a small proportion--some 30 +percent--of school-age children, those from seven to fourteen years of +age, were actually attending schools. After the Turnovo Constitution +(1879), however, which was enacted shortly after liberation, the +educational system was revitalized (see ch. 8). Elementary education +was made both free and compulsory. The state, the monarchy, and private +individuals contributed to the goal of making education as nearly +universal as possible. + +In 1879 the three-year compulsory elementary school was introduced. By +1880 the period of compulsory education had been extended to four years. +In 1888 the University of Sofia was founded. The university initially +had seven faculties: history and philosophy; physics and mathematics; +law; medicine; agronomy; theology; and veterinary medicine. + +In 1910 the school system, which covered a twelve-year period, consisted +of a four-year elementary school for children aged seven to eleven, a +three-year _progymnasium_ for children from eleven to fourteen, and a +five-year gymnasium for children from fourteen to eighteen. This system +continued with only slight modification until the Communists took over +in 1944. Also by 1910 both professional and vocational schools had been +established providing a relatively high quality of education in such +fields as agriculture, engineering, theology, commerce, art, and music. +Although there were many students of higher education at the University +of Sofia, about 10,000 students annually attended foreign universities, +principally in Austria and Germany. + +By the end of World War I, many villages that had more than twenty +families had their own primary school. Larger settlements in more urban +areas often had their own _progymnasia_ and gymnasiums. In towns that +had 20,000 or more citizens, there were kindergartens for children from +three to seven years of age. Both religious and linguistic minorities +had their own schools, which functioned within the public school system. +Foreign schools coexisted with the public school system. Although the +curricula of the foreign schools were similar to those of the public +secondary schools, subjects were taught in western European languages, +forming a link between Bulgaria and the West. + +By 1921 a three-tiered system of education--consisting of the four-year +elementary school, the three-year _progymnasium_, and the five-year +gymnasium--became officially compulsory in the first two stages. Many +children failed to attend school, however, and many villages, despite +the official policy, were without school facilities. The entire +educational system was controlled by the government through the Ministry +of Public Education, which regulated the contents of texts and courses +and the administration of exams. The model for the educational system +was essentially European, with a particularly strong emphasis on German +and Russian patterns. + +In 1921 the Law of Public Instruction brought an increase in emphasis on +vocational training. Orders were issued to bring about a transition to +"vocational education and respect for labor." Eventually, schoolchildren +were forced to spend two weeks of their studies in "compulsory labor," +a concept that was the precursor of the Bulgarian communist philosophy +of the integration of work with education. During this period the +students worked in such projects as cleaning school facilities, binding +texts, and cultivating school gardens. + +In 1934 a so-called modern school was established to give the student an +alternative to the academically and socially elitist gymnasium, but +there were still a number of deficiencies in the Bulgarian educational +system. The literacy rate had greatly increased, but between 20 and 30 +percent of the population was still illiterate. Although schooling was +officially compulsory, it was in fact inaccessible in smaller villages, +and many school-age children were not able to attend. Humanities were +emphasized to the virtual exclusion of technical-vocational subjects, +which were developed to only a very slight degree. Only one of five +secondary students studied technical subjects. Adult education was +virtually nonexistent. + +In 1937 there were eight institutions of higher education in addition to +the University of Sofia, the country's leading educational facility. Six +of these--the Free University, the Academy of Art, the Academy of Music, +the Military Academy, the Theological Seminary, and the School of +Physical Education--were also located in Sofia. The remaining two were +business schools located in Varna and Svishtov. A large number of +Bulgarian students also chose to continue their education abroad. One of +the major problems at the time concerned the absorption of graduates +into the various fields for which they were eligible. The country was +still predominantly agricultural, and there were simply too few +positions available for the annual influx of graduates, a situation that +caused alienation and disaffection. + + +COMMUNIST EDUCATIONAL POLICIES + +When the Communists came to power in 1944 they were determined to change +the system of education in Bulgaria. Not only did they seek to eradicate +certain elements--such as religion and social elitism--from the +educational system, but they also were determined to make education +universal and, insofar as possible, to create an entirely literate +society. As the educational system developed under communist tutelage, +however, governmental statements on the subject displayed an increasing +tendency to link the system with ideology and principles to the point +where the ultimate goal was the creation of the ideal Communist. + +When the 1947 Constitution was formulated, it established universality +and state control over the school system as the two main policies of +education. It stated: "Every citizen has the right to education. +Education is secular, democratic and progressive in spirit. Ethnic +minorities have the right to instruction in their mother tongue; they +also have the right to develop their national culture, although study of +the Bulgarian language is compulsory.... Schools belong to the State. +Private schools can be established only by the passage of a law; such +schools are placed under State control...." + +Statements in subsequent constitutions indicated an increased emphasis +on the socialist content of education and its close ties with the Soviet +model on which it was based. In 1949 the government issued a statement +declaring that education would be "in the spirit of socialism, +proletarian internationalism, and indissoluble brotherly friendship with +the Soviet Union." Two years later the government stated that "the +people's school is a powerful weapon in the hands of the Communist Party +and the people's democratic state for education and Communist +indoctrination of the people." In the present-day period both Todor +Zhivkov, who is the first secretary of the party, and the minister of +national education (formerly known as the minister of public education) +have reinforced the purpose and function of education in a socialist +society. In 1966 the minister of national education stated: "The work of +the school, its major and minor tasks--everything for which it +exists--must be subordinated to its fundamental objective: training and +educating the new man of communist society." + +Certain distinctive principles form the basis for communist policies of +education in Bulgaria. Chief among these is the close patterning of the +system on the Soviet model. For this reason Bulgaria tends to be +somewhat cautious in its approach to education and reluctant to make +sweeping reforms unless the Soviets provide a model for change. + +The principle of a universally accessible system of education has top +priority, and in fact the near-universal nature of education in Bulgaria +has brought about almost complete literacy. Whereas before 1944 many +Bulgarians had never attended school, in mid-1973 almost every Bulgarian +was able to attend some form of school. In some areas of the educational +system, particularly in institutions of higher education, the number of +students has increased as much as eightfold. + +Another principle of communist education in Bulgaria is the concept of +socially useful work, which must be performed by all students at all +levels of education. The principle of work in education is initiated at +the very lowest levels of the system; it progresses into increasingly +longer periods as the student advances in the school system. In the +higher grades, students work for significant periods of time in +agriculture, industry, and construction. In the higher levels of +education the student must sign a document that obligates him to accept +a working assignment, which should be related to his field of +specialization, for a period of three to five years. + +Another facet of the system is the eradication of old values and their +replacement with new socialist values (see ch. 4). One of the first +tasks of Bulgarian educators was to eliminate religious teachings and +practices in the schools. Religion, as a subject, was eliminated in the +early years as was the history of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. +Students are taught that atheism is both reasonable and scientific; +religion is dismissed as a relic of a superstitious and undesirable +past. By the same token, students are indoctrinated strongly by +teachers, directors of extracurricular activities, and colleagues to +revere and swear allegiance to the government. + +Another guiding principle of the educational system in Bulgaria, which +was initiated at the time of the takeover and still obtained to some +degree in 1973, is the concept that sons and daughters of the worker and +peasant classes should be favored in terms of their preference of access +to education, particularly at the higher levels. This policy was clearly +motivated by a desire to compensate for the exclusion of this class from +such institutions in the past. In the early communist years institutions +of higher education charged tuition, but children of the worker-peasant +classes were exempted. By 1954 this class constituted 20 percent of the +higher education population, a figure that by 1970 had risen to 78 +percent. In 1973 the government was still maintaining a preferential +clause for these students in higher education and reserved 10 percent of +the places in such institutions for them. + +Another principle of the educational system is the promotion of +technical or vocational education and the simultaneous downgrading of +the humanities. Academic studies were quantitatively reduced in order to +place greater emphasis on practical work. When a student has completed +his formal education in the school system, he will have at the time +spent at least one-third of his school hours working on a farm, in a +factory, or at some other enterprise. In the curriculum itself technical +subjects are given a place of greater importance than the humanities. +Although studies have indicated that a great many students seeking +admission to institutions of higher education aspire to the study of the +humanities, governmental policies have limited the number of places +available in these areas in order to train technical-vocational +specialists to meet the needs of the economy (see ch. 12). + +The last important principle of Bulgarian education is the +nationalization and secularization of the school system. When the +Communists took power in the 1940s, they quickly closed all foreign and +private schools with the exception of schools for the children of Soviet +officials and diplomats. Schools of ethnic minorities fell under the +aegis of the government and thereby lost all autonomy. Ironically, in +1973 the only private school that existed was related to the Bulgarian +Orthodox Church. As the church is subservient to and dependent upon the +state, however, the existence of such a school undoubtedly represented +little threat to the government. + + +EDUCATIONAL REFORMS + +Between the years 1944 and 1948 the Communists set about eradicating the +prewar educational system. By 1947, when the constitution (also called +the Dimitrov Constitution) was enacted, all prewar textbooks had been +replaced by communist texts; all schoolteachers and university +professors who were considered reactionary or fascist had been replaced +by persons loyal to the Fatherland Front (Otechestven Front) government; +and all institutions of higher education had been opened to workers and +their children, whereas students thought to have fascist or reactionary +tendencies were denied admittance. + +The Dimitrov Constitution stipulated further that all schools, including +those that had previously been private, would be the property of the +state; that all foreign schools would be closed for the academic year +1948-49; and that religious schools would be discontinued. Ironically, +the only denominational schools that were allowed to continue were those +that trained priests, but these schools had to have special permission +from the state in order to continue their operations. + +In 1948 and 1949 another series of reforms was initiated, which, +although less sweeping than the original reforms, tended to pattern the +Bulgarian school system more closely on that of the Soviet Union. In +August 1949 a joint resolution of the BKP Central Committee and the +Council of Ministers declared that education would be carried out in the +spirit of socialism, based both on the teachings of Karl Marx and +Vladimir Ilyich Lenin and on Bulgarian friendship with the Soviet Union. +The ideological studies introduced into the curriculum consisted of the +fundamental principles of Marx and Lenin, the history of the communist +party of the Soviet Union, and the history of the BKP. All of these +subjects became obligatory from kindergarten. + +The second initiative in the 1948-49 reforms was the declaration that +all universities and institutions of higher education as well as the +Academy of Sciences were no longer autonomous. A third reform during +this period was the reduction from five to four years of the gymnasium, +which in turn reduced the total schooling from twelve to eleven years. +The fourth reform was the redesigning of polytechnic education to +greatly increase the number of trained graduates to fill the rapidly +escalating demands of the economy. + +In statistical terms the results of the various communist reforms were +mixed. Although the number of primary and secondary schools increased +slightly overall from 1938 to 1948, there was hardly any appreciable +growth in primary schools, whereas secondary schools nearly doubled. The +number of students, similarly, barely changed in the same ten-year +period; the number of primary students actually declined, but the number +of secondary students grew appreciably (see table 6; table 7). + +Higher education, on the other hand, made great strides after the +communist takeover as the number of universities and other institutions +of higher education increased by one-third. Despite the emphasis on +technical and vocational education, such schools dropped in terms of +facilities, students, and teachers during the early communist years. The +number of teachers of polytechnic subjects also declined during the +period (see table 8). + +_Table 6. Number of Schools in Bulgaria, Selected Years, 1938-70_ + + --------------------------+---------+---------+---------+--------- + Level | 1938/39 | 1948/49 | 1960/61 | 1970/71 + --------------------------+---------+---------+---------+--------- + Kindergarten | 254 | n.a. | 6,570 | 8,037 + Primary | 7,291 | 7,872 | * | * + Secondary | 133 | 253 | * | * + | ------ | ------ | ------- | ------- + Total primary-secondary | 7,424 | 8,125 | 5,877 | 4,197 + Vocational technical | n.a. | n.a. | 236 | 132 + Secondary vocational | n.a. | n.a. | 0 | 190 + Technical | n.a. | n.a. | 231 | 246 + | ------ | ------ | ------- | ------ + Total technical | 384 | 159 | 467 | 568 + Teacher training | 5 | n.a. | 18 | 20 + Higher education | 12 | 19 | 20 | 26 + --------------------------+---------+---------+---------+--------- + n.a.--not available. + * In 1960 the primary and secondary levels were unified under one system. + +_Table 7. Number of Students in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, +1938-70_ + + --------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------- + Level | 1938/39 | 1948/49 | 1960/61 | 1970/71 + --------------------------+-----------|-----------+-----------+----------- + Kindergarten | 12,859 | n.a. | 281,000 | 331,960 + Primary | 955,330 | 928,934 | * | * + Secondary | 73,561 | 129,396 | * | * + | --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- + Total primary-secondary | 1,028,891 | 1,058,330 | 1,212,383 | 1,154,630 + Vocational technical | n.a. | n.a. | 42,123 | 47,253 + Secondary vocational | n.a. | n.a. | 0 | 83,038 + Technical | n.a. | n.a. | 93,944 | 152,919 + | --------- | --------- | --------- | --------- + Total technical | 46,925 | 31,826 | 136,067 | 283,210 + Teacher training | 401 | n.a. | 4,203 | 6,921 + Higher education | 11,443 | 29,639 | 54,965 | 89,331 + --------------------------+-----------+----------------------------------- + n.a.--not available. + * In 1960 the primary and secondary levels were unified under one system. + +The next reforms occurred in 1957 and in 1958 and placed a much stronger +emphasis on technical-vocational training, while the years of total +schooling were again increased. The period of secondary schooling +consisted of a five-year program rather than the previous four, thus +extending the entire period of education to twelve years. The network of +professional schools was expanded significantly, and teacher training +was upgraded and given new emphasis. In 1958 there were specialized +professional schools with approximately 64,000 students studying various +aspects of industry and agriculture. At approximately the same time +there were twenty-two pedagogical schools with an enrollment of 8,989 +students. + +_Table 8. Number of Teachers in Bulgaria, Selected School Years, +1938-70_ + + --------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------- + Level | 1938/39 | 1948/49 | 1960/61 | 1970/71 + --------------------------+-----------|-----------+-----------+---------- + Kindergarten | 286 | n.a. | 11,873 | 18,185 + Primary | 24,830 | 34,000 | * | * + Secondary | 2,874 | 4,893 | * | * + | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------ + Total primary-secondary | 27,704 | 38,893 | 51,067 | 54,068 + Vocational technical | n.a. | n.a. | 2,835 | 2,734 + Secondary vocational | n.a. | n.a. | 0 | 5,720 + Technical | n.a. | n.a. | 5,307 | 9,045 + | ------ | ------ | ------ | ------ + Total technical | 2,487 | 1,109 | 8,142 | 17,499 + Teacher training | 50 | n.a. | 251 | 406 + Higher education | 588 | 1,169 | 3,883 | 7,125 + --------------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------- + n.a.--not available. + * In 1960 the primary and secondary levels were unified under one system. + +The concept of practical work as an integral part of the curriculum was +again emphasized, and the scope of vocational training grew enormously +as vocational and technical schools increased threefold. Although all +students had to perform certain tasks as part of their basic education, +the 1957-58 reforms dictated that graduates of higher technical and +agricultural institutions had to perform one year of practical work +before graduation. As the concept of polytechnical education became +widespread at the secondary level, practical work consumed up to +one-third of the total hours of education. Although experimental +vocational training was introduced into the curricula of some gymnasiums +in this period, other gymnasiums, particularly in the rural areas, +required students to spend several hours weekly in formal vocational +studies. + +In the same 1957-58 period a number of broad, rather than structural, +reforms were initiated. Schools for ethnic minorities were established +in which, despite the fact that study of the Bulgarian language was +compulsory, teaching was performed in the language of the minority +group. All schools of general education became officially coeducational, +and evening classes for workers were initiated. At the same time, +although there already had been some financial assistance, scholarships +were presented on a wide scale. In the 1957-58 academic year 46 percent +of all students in institutions of higher education received stipends +from the government. Although there were few scholarships given to +gymnasium students, with the exception of Turkish students who were +considered the least educated group, students in professional schools +and technical colleges were the recipients of a large number of +governmental stipends. + +The reforms of 1959 were of more lasting significance than were the +1957-58 reforms. Unlike the latter reforms, which represented a slight +deviation from the Soviet educational model, the 1959 reforms returned +the Bulgarian system once more to the original Soviet pattern. In 1958 +Nikita Khrushchev wrote a treatise called "Strengthening the Ties +Between School and Life" in which he demanded a close integration of the +educational system and the economy. Shortly thereafter, Zhivkov declared +that the 1957-58 school reforms in his own country were inadequate and +asked for a basic reorganization of the entire school system. In July +1959 a basic law, reorganizing the entire school system, was passed. + +This law was entitled "Law on Establishing a Closer Link Between +Education and Practical Life and on Furthering the Development of Public +Education in the People's Republic of Bulgaria." Its stated objectives +were: "To prepare youth for life by combining education and instruction +with practical and production work" and "to imbue the young people with +a love of work and a spirit of patriotism and international solidarity." +The law proposed the introduction of polytechnic studies on an +unprecedented scale in order to provide skilled workers for agriculture +and industry. Although the main objective was to meet the demands of the +economy, it was hoped that the new emphasis on technical subjects would +break down the exclusiveness of the educated classes, while socializing +the younger generation in communist ideological terms. + +In practical terms the 1959 reforms introduced a unified twelve-year +so-called secondary school--despite the fact that it included the +elementary grades as well--called the medium polytechnical school, which +totally replaced the existing five-year basic school and the four-year +medium school or gymnasium. The medium polytechnical school was divided +into an eight-year elementary course and a four-year upper course. After +completing the basic school the student was faced with four +alternatives. He could enter: the upper course, which provided general +education plus specialization in an area of production; a medium +professional school or technicum, which provided a specialized +education; a professional technical college, which prepared him for +production in the economy; or the so-called miscellaneous training, +which included courses organized by plants, factories, and cooperatives. + +At the same time the new law provided for the improvement of teacher +training. All teachers who taught in the fifth level or above were +required to have a university education or its equivalent. Teachers who +taught in kindergartens or the first to fourth levels were required to +take a three-year course after the obligatory twelve-year course of +schooling. + +The reforms were later criticized, however, on much more far-reaching +grounds. Some felt that technical specialization was stressed to such an +extreme that the liberal arts were altogether ignored. Some complained +that, although students were overburdened with superfluous details of +overspecialized subjects, teachers were still basically unprepared to +teach these subjects. Others felt that there was a lack of correlation +between the work that the student had to perform and his or her area of +expertise. Still others realized that there was a basic clash between +the managers who supervised the worker-students and the students +themselves. + +Despite much criticism about the reforms, in terms of bare statistics +they were successful in greatly increasing the emphasis on +technical-vocational training. Although the number of primary and +secondary students remained approximately at the same level and the +number of primary and secondary schools declined drastically, there was +a tremendous increase in technical-vocational schools, students, and +teachers. + +In 1967 there was another wave of educational reform in Bulgaria, as +well as in all of Eastern Europe, that once again changed the direction +of education. Although most Eastern European countries began to +deemphasize polytechnic instruction, Bulgaria's course was more cautious +and ambivalent. On the one hand, Bulgarian educators stated that the +time allotted for practical training would be increased, while on the +other hand, efforts were made to reintroduce the humanities into the +curriculum. In the last three grades of the upper course, the curriculum +was divided into two branches: natural science and mathematics, and the +humanities. The number of general education subjects was gradually +increased, and there was renewed emphasis on foreign languages and the +social sciences. + +By 1969, however, authorities once again perceived certain problems in +the educational system and proposed counteracting reforms. One problem +was the relative cost of higher education, which was expanding, as +compared to the cost of primary education, which was both cheaper and +contracting. A second problem was the question of the availability of +trained persons for the national economy because of the long periods of +schooling then required. It was argued that by the time a young man had +completed his education and his military training, he was twenty-five or +twenty-six years old. A third problem was the intense competition for +places in higher education and other postsecondary institutions. In 1969 +approximately 70,000 to 75,000 students leaving secondary schools +competed with each other for 20,000 places at the university level. A +fourth problem was whether the polytechnic school should place primary +emphasis on trade specialization or on academic subjects. + +In the same year serious thought was given to the solution of these +problems, and tentative measures were proposed. The major thrust of +these proposals was to enable students to meet the needs of the economy +by shortening the period of overall education. It was proposed that a +unified polytechnic school, which would fuse general and professional +elements of education, would replace the current, professionally +oriented polytechnic school. At the same time children would enter +school at the age of six, instead of the customary seven. The secondary +polytechnic school would be a ten-year instead of a twelve-year course, +allowing students to graduate at the age of sixteen. Most courses in +higher education would be reduced from five to four years, enabling +students to complete all levels of education by the age of twenty rather +than twenty-five. + +The reforms would perhaps have a greater impact on the secondary system +than the other levels, as they envisioned a completely unified secondary +school system in which professional and general education would be +fused. Specialization in liberal arts, mathematics and economics, +chemistry and biology, social sciences, and foreign languages would be +offered. + +In 1972 these reforms were officially proposed and passed by the Council +of Ministers. It was anticipated that they would be carried out over the +next ten to fifteen years. Although the concept of fusing general and +professional education in the new unified secondary polytechnic school +was not universally popular, the reform embodying this concept was +passed primarily because of the influence of one of its strongest +proponents, Zhivkov. + +Other reforms proposed in 1972 dealt with the specific levels of the +educational system and with monetary necessities to fulfill these +expectations. As it was expected that by 1975 approximately 76 percent +of children from three to seven years of age would be in kindergartens, +the Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) emphasized the development of a huge +network of kindergartens. By 1975, 85 percent of the students attending +primary school were expected to go on to the secondary level, and plans +were made to increase the construction of boarding and semiboarding +schools to accommodate these students. Secondary education was to be +made compulsory in order, in Zhivkov's words, "to give every young man +and girl the opportunity not only of acquiring scientific knowledge of +nature and society and the necessary general culture and polytechnical +education, but also of acquiring certain production and technical habits +and skills, of preparing themselves for socially useful work." + +The main emphasis in the 1972 reforms, however, was on higher education. +It was anticipated that there would be some 120,000 students in higher +education by 1975. Of this number it was expected that 65,000--or +approximately half--would be specialists. Of the 65,000 specialists, +half would be engaged in science and technology. Therefore, in 1972 +plans were being formulated for the construction of new buildings at +many of the major institutions of higher education. + +In order to fulfill these structural changes, it was decided that both +increased expenditures and additional places for students were needed. +During the Fifth Five-Year Plan (1966-70), about 300 million leva (for +value of the lev--see Glossary) had been expended on education. In the +Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) 500 million leva were to be allocated. In +addition, 30,000 more places were to be provided at the preschool level, +28,000 more accommodations at hostels, and 4,500 classrooms at all +levels. + + +LITERACY + +Figures vary to some degree, but at the time of liberation in 1878 +between 85 and 90 percent of the Bulgarian population was illiterate. By +the early twentieth century, however, Bulgaria had achieved the highest +literacy rate in the Balkans. Although some scholars stated that only +some 31 percent of the population over school age was literate, by 1920 +nearly 50 percent of the population over school age was literate. By +1934 only 31.6 percent of the population over school age was still +illiterate, and by 1940 this figure was reduced to between 20 and 25 +percent. + +After the Communists took power in the country, literacy increased at a +rapid pace. In 1956 only 17.6 percent of the population over twenty-five +was illiterate, and by 1965 only 8.6 percent was illiterate. In 1973, +although total literacy for people under fifty years of age was claimed +by the government, the rate of literacy of this group was probably +somewhere between 90 and 100 percent. + +Of the illiterate population in 1965, approximately three-fourths were +women and only one-fourth were men, reflecting the recency of the +emancipation of women in Bulgaria. Of ethnic groups, the Gypsies have +both the lowest levels of literacy and of education, whereas the Turks +have a significantly higher literacy rate. Jews, Czechs, Greeks, and +Russians all have a relatively high literacy level. In 1965 there were +three times as many illiterates in rural areas as in urban. Also, +illiteracy in Bulgaria was much more common among the older generation +than among the young. In 1965, of the population over 60 years of age, +approximately one-third was illiterate, whereas only a very small +percentage of the working-age group was illiterate. The government +seemed relatively unconcerned about the problem of illiteracy among the +older people, as an official stated: "The high illiteracy rate among the +older population does not present a problem since this is the population +above the working age and this group is not crucial to our economic +life." + + +THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM + +Administration and Finance + +The 1947 constitution established both the Ministry of Education and the +Committee for Science, Art, and Culture, which held ministry status. In +1954 the Law on Public Education increased the authority of the Ministry +of Education; all general and vocational schools fell under its +jurisdiction at that time. In February 1954 the Ministry of Culture was +established. It replaced the Committee for Science, Art, and Culture and +oversaw, in broad terms, the curricula at all levels of education, +including correspondence courses. + +In 1973 the executive branch dealing with the legal aspects of education +was the Council of Ministers, and the Ministry of National Education +dealt with all administrative matters. The minister of national +education is a member of the Presidium of the National Assembly as well +as of the BKP Central Committee. Similarly, the assistant ministers of +education hold high offices in the party structure. In this way the +party not only supports educational legislation but also originates it. + +The Ministry of National Education has four principal tasks to perform. +Its primary duty is to direct and control the educational system in +accordance with the policies of the party and the government. It both +formulates and approves basic documents of the educational system, such +as the curricula, the school regulations, and methods. It arranges for +the publication of all school textbooks and supervises the work of the +people's councils at the local level. + +The minister of national education is assisted by three vice ministers +who are appointed by the National Assembly and who head three broad +departments: the Department of General Education, the Department of +Vocational Training, and the Department of Higher Education. Also within +the Ministry of National Education are the following sub-sections: +Marxism-Leninism, physical culture, economic planning, finance, +employment, teaching materials, and cultural relations. + +At the regional level the district people's councils have responsibility +for organization and instruction in all educational institutions with +the exception of schools of art, intermediate schools, and institutions +of higher education. Each council is under the authority of its +executive committee as well as the Ministry of National Education. The +Education Section of the council performs the routine tasks affecting +the educational system. The Ministry of National Education supervises +these education sections and assists them when necessary. They are also +assisted by various advisory committees. + +Education in Bulgaria is generally financed by the state budget. Schools +that are deemed to have national importance are financed by the national +budget, whereas schools that have only local significance are financed +by the people's councils at the local level. Since 1964 the expenses of +many vocational training schools have been financed by various related +ministries, factories, and enterprises. These organizations have played +an increasing role in the financing of the schools since that date. + +The only available figures dealing with the financing of education are +those on higher education. As Bulgaria is considerably behind most +European countries in terms of the financing of education, there is very +little public discussion of the issue. Sofia, the capital city, has one +of the most severe financial problems. In 1966 only 3.2 percent of the +total city budget was spent on matters relating to education. Generally, +financial figures for education are categorized with those for science +and culture so that it is nearly impossible to separate those figures +that deal specifically with education. In recent years educational +reformers have requested greater sums for education than were allocated +in the past. + +Bulgaria's budget for education fluctuated between 133 million leva in +1960 and 491 million leva in 1971. The proportion of the total budget +allocated for education, however, actually decreased over the last eight +years of the period. In 1960 education represented 5.9 percent of the +total budget; in 1964, 9 percent; in 1967, 8.4 percent; and in 1971, +only 8.3 percent. The percentage of the Bulgarian gross national product +(GNP) earmarked for education in 1972 was inferior to that of some other +European and Asian countries. The German Democratic Republic (East +Germany) spent 5.9 percent on education; the Soviet Union, 5.8 percent; +Japan, 5.3 percent; Poland, 4.8 percent; Great Britain, 4.3 percent; +France, 3.2 percent; and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), +3 percent. Bulgaria allocated only 0.5 percent of its total GNP to the +field of education. + + +Preschool Education + +Before the Communists took power in 1944 kindergartens were considered +to be an unimportant factor in education. In 1921 there were only +twenty-four kindergartens in the entire country. + +The Communists made a real effort to establish a far-reaching network of +kindergartens, which in the late 1940s included three types: the half +day, all day, and seasonal. No tuition was required for the half day +kindergarten, and tuition varied--depending on the income of the +family--for the other two types. + +Half day kindergartens accepted children after six years of age, +preparing them for admission to elementary schools. All day +kindergartens, which were located in large towns and industrial areas, +cared for children, aged three to seven, of working mothers. Seasonal +kindergartens were established in rural areas for the children of +mothers whose work was seasonal. These schools operated from two to ten +months per year and also accepted children from three to seven years of +age. + +In mid-1973 there were creches for children from infancy to three years +of age. Children from three to seven attended kindergarten. Although +attendance was voluntary, it was believed that over 60 percent of the +preschool-age children were enrolled in creches or kindergartens. +Approximately 50 percent of the children in elementary school have had +their preschool education in the half day kindergartens. There were five +types of kindergartens in Bulgaria: the half day, the all day, the +seasonal, the kindergarten sanatoriums and the auxiliary kindergarten. +Kindergarten sanatoriums provided educational facilities for children +with tuberculosis, and auxiliary kindergartens were for the mentally +deficient. + + +Elementary Education + +Before the Communists took power, there were primary schools for +children between seven and eleven and _progymnasia_ for children eleven +to fourteen years old. Although both levels of education were compulsory +according to the law, many children between the ages of seven and +fourteen did not attend school. The program of the _progymnasium_ was to +enable children--who might be excluded from either a gymnasium or +vocational school for economic or academic reasons--to obtain additional +education beyond the primary level. + +After 1944 the Communists undertook a major revision of elementary +education in accordance with their basic principles of education (see +Communist Educational Policies, this ch.). In 1950 a new unified school +system was established, patterned after the educational system of the +Soviet Union. This unified, eleven-year system comprised both primary +and postprimary education. In 1954 the Edict on Public Education stated +that the first eight years of this new general education were compulsory +for children from seven to fifteen years of age. Depending on the +particular needs of the individual community, children could attend +either four-year, seven-year, or eleven-year general education schools. +Generally, the four-year schools predominated in rural areas, and the +seven-year and eleven-year schools were more prevalent in larger +villages and towns. + +Elementary education is still compulsory for both boys and girls from +seven to fifteen years of age. Classes are held in the morning only and +run six days a week, Monday through Saturday. The schools are known as +basic or general schools and include not only elementary education but +also the first two phases of the eleven-year polytechnic school. The +elementary course comprises grades one through four, and the +postelementary courses include classes five through eight. The +elementary curriculum includes the study of Bulgarian, mathematics, +music, art, and physical education. The postelementary curriculum also +encompasses the study of foreign languages and science. On both levels +the study of Russian is compulsory. + +The purpose of this general elementary education, according to the +government, is to "provide pupils with general and polytechnic education +combined with fundamental moral, physical and aesthetic training, +instill in children a liking for work, accustom them to productive work +useful to society and prepare them for studies at a higher level." In +accordance with these principles "education in labor" was made an +integral part of the curriculum. The total curriculum of elementary +education consists of a tripartite division. The academic section is +subdivided into the sciences and the humanities. The education in the +labor section consists of work, beginning in the first year of +schooling, in shops, farms, and factories. The extracurricular section +is dominated by the work-study program of the youth organization known +as the Pioneers (see ch. 9). + + +Secondary Education + +Before 1944 secondary education in Bulgaria consisted of the gymnasium +and the vocational school. The gymnasium was divided into three types: +the classical, the semiclassical, and the scientific. All three included +the following subjects in their curriculum: Bulgarian language and +literature; either French, German, or English; philosophy; mathematics; +history; the history of Christianity; geography; sociology; civics; +physics; and chemistry. In the scientific and classical divisions, +natural history and drawing were also given, and Latin and Greek were +presented in the classical and semiclassical gymnasiums. There was also +a normal school, or pedagogical part of the gymnasium, which added +pedagogy and physical education to the basic curriculum. + +Soon after the communist takeover the combined elementary-secondary +period of schooling was reduced from twelve to eleven years. The +objectives of a secondary education were described in the following +terms: "the general promotion of the physical and intellectual +development of adolescents, the weaning of their minds from extreme +nationalist and reactionary ideas, the inculcation of the spirit of +progress, and preparation for creative participation in the economic and +cultural life of the country." The curriculum of the secondary schools +was changed in order to incorporate these goals. Latin and Greek were no +longer required, but Russian became compulsory. A new subject called +general history subsumed within it the old studies of religion, ethics, +political economy, and Bulgarian. Astronomy was added to the new +curriculum. + +Between 1949 and 1959 other changes were introduced in the secondary +school system. There were then two principal forms of secondary +education: the general school and the technical school. Grades eight to +eleven of the general school, which were considered part of secondary +education, included study of Bulgarian language and literature; Russian; +French, German, or English; mathematics; physics; astronomy; chemistry; +biology; history; constitutional history; geography; psychology and +logic; geometrical drawing; and physical education. + +Technicums and vocational-technical secondary schools, on the other +hand, offered courses ranging from two to five years that gave the +student a specialized education. Graduates of the eleven-year general +school attended these schools for two years; students who had completed +less than eleven years attended for three to five years. In 1952 labor +reserve schools were established. These factory schools offered one-year +or two-year training programs to young people from fourteen to seventeen +years of age who had already completed their elementary education. + +During the 1960s the new polytechnic secondary school was introduced in +order to incorporate the elements of a general and specialized education +into one system. Although this type of secondary education continued to +be the main form of secondary education, it was criticized on two +seemingly paradoxical counts. One group of critics claimed that the +polytechnic school gave the student neither a sound general education +nor a solid base in professional training. Another group claimed that +the polytechnic school was both too narrow and too technical, depriving +the student of a broad background in general areas. + +In mid 1973 there were three major types of secondary education in +Bulgaria: the secondary polytechnic or a semitechnical variation of the +gymnasium, the vocational-technical schools, and the technicums (see +fig. 5). Roughly 95 percent of students who had completed elementary +school continued in secondary education. + +[Illustration: _Figure 5. The Bulgarian School System, 1973_] + +Approximately one-third of students continuing in secondary education +attend the polytechnic school. The stated purpose of this kind of school +is "to provide pupils with wider scientific education and more intensive +polytechnical training, through practical production experience closely +linked with general education and technical subjects, and to prepare +them for active working and intellectual life or for their continued +studies at higher levels. This secondary course completes the pupils' +basic science studies and polytechnical preparation. The practical +experiences gained prepares them for specialization in a major branch of +production work." + +Polytechnic schools can be either part of the general schools--in which +case they consist of grades nine through eleven--or separate schools in +themselves. In the latter case the course is of either four or five +years' duration. These schools are also open to factory and +office-workers who are able to remain in their positions, on a reduced +basis, while continuing their education. + +Technicums are more popular than the polytechnic schools. Although +sources differ with respect to the exact percentage of elementary +students who continue their education in technicums--with some claiming +approximately 40 percent and others as high as 77 percent--probably +about 50 percent continue their schooling in this area. According to the +government the purpose of the technicums is to "train specialists at +intermediate levels for the various sectors of the national economy: +industry, agriculture, and building construction, transport services, +commerce and public health services." At the same time, however, the +technicums provide general education that corresponds to some extent +with the program of the polytechnic school. + +These schools, more than the polytechnic schools, are directly related +to trends in the economy. Technicums are designed to produce supervisors +and skilled workers who will satisfy the needs of the economy. The +course of study varies from three to four years. Although some general +subjects are taught, emphasis is on the acquisition of specialized +knowledge in such fields as agriculture and engineering. + +The least popular form of secondary education in Bulgaria is the +vocational-technical school, which is a form of trade school. Although +the number of students in vocational-technical schools has doubled since +1944, only approximately 20 percent of the graduates of elementary +education continue in this area. The government states that "Vocational +training schools are designed to train skilled workers for industry and +agriculture." The schools can either operate independently or be a part +of a technicum or agricultural or industrial enterprise. Although the +courses are generally open to elementary graduates, workers under thirty +who have not completed their primary education may also continue their +training in these schools. + +The program of the vocational-technical school varies from one to three +years. In the case of workers under thirty, the program runs from one +to four years. Graduates of the program receive the title of skilled +workmen; they are obligated to work in their field of specialization for +three years. The curriculum in the vocational-technical school includes: +Bulgarian, Russian, physics, mathematics, and physical education. These +subjects consume only half of the allotted time; the other half is spent +working in factories or on farms. + +In addition to these three basic forms of secondary education, there are +special types of secondary schools as well. Specialized secondary +schools exist for music, art, and ballet. Although most operate only on +the secondary level--requiring the completion of the elementary +school--some give the complete eleven-year program. The length of study +generally is four years. Music schools offer courses in instrumental +music, singing, musical theory, and general education. Students of dance +study at the National School of Choreography, which is divided into a +section offering classical ballet and another offering Bulgarian folk +dance. Art students study at a special gymnasium. + +Another form of secondary education is the foreign language secondary +school. In these schools all instruction is given in the foreign +language selected. Russian is the most popular language, followed by +French, German, and English. Although no figures are available for +schools of other languages, in 1973 there were six English-language +schools with fifteen native English instructors. Of the total number of +places available in these language schools, 50 percent are reserved for +girls and 50 percent for boys. Of the same total, 20 percent are +reserved for children of "the active fighters against fascism and +capitalism." + + +Higher Education + +In the period between the 1921 reforms and the years just before World +War II, there were nine institutions of higher education in Bulgaria. +The University of Sofia was both the largest and the oldest. The most +popular faculties in higher educational institutions at that time in +order of popularity were: education, law, economics, medicine, and +agriculture. The arts were the least popular faculty. In mid 1973 +statistics were unavailable for both engineering and physical education +(see table 9). + +When the Communists took power in 1944 they made sweeping changes in the +field of higher education. Universities--which had heretofore been +autonomous--were put under state control; members of the party sat on +faculty councils that selected and promoted professors. University +graduates were placed by the government and were subject to punishment +under the newly established penal code if they refused to accept +assignments. + +_Table 9. Number and Proportion of Students in Various Bulgarian +University Faculties, Selected Years, 1939-71_ + + -----------+---------------+---------------+---------------+--------------- + | 1939 | 1948 | 1960 | 1970 + |-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + | |Percent| |Percent| |Percent| |Percent + | | of | | of | | of | | of + |Number | Total |Number | Total |Number | Total |Number | Total + -----------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + Engineering| n.a. | ... | 182 | 5.4 | 1,480 | 25.5 | 5,042 | 40.6 + Agriculture| 127 | ... | 768 | 22.9 | 1,088 | 18.8 | 1,415 | 11.4 + Medicine | 139 | ... | 729 | 21.8 | 911 | 15.7 | 1,174 | 9.5 + Economics | 230 | ... | 716 | 21.3 | 889 | 15.4 | 1,895 | 15.2 + Arts | 55 | ... | 86 | 2.6 | 268 | 4.6 | 319 | 2.6 + Education | 365 | ... | 388 | 11.6 | 827 | 14.3 | 2,163 | 17.4 + Physical | | | | | | | | + education| n.a. | ... | 40 | 1.2 | 169 | 2.9 | 259 | 2.1 + Law | 307 | ... | 441 | 13.2 | 157 | 2.7 | 142 | 1.1 + | | |-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + TOTAL | | | 3,350 | 100.0 | 5,789 | 99.9*|12,409 | 99.9* + -----------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + n.a.--not available. + ... not applicable. + * Columns do not add to 100 because of rounding. + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1971_, Sofia, 1971, p. 247. + +The essential task of higher education was enunciated by Premier Vulko +Chervenkov in 1954: "Higher schools must train not only qualified +specialists but also able, and conscious participants in the political +direction and building of socialism in our country." In 1949 +correspondence courses were initiated for manual workers and civil +servants. Courses generally ranged from five to six years. Certain +workers were allowed to attend shorter courses given by the various +institutions while they continued to work. Although they were required +to pass examinations, they did not have to attend classes regularly. + +Between 1948 and 1952 the curriculum became more and more patterned +after the curriculum of the Soviet Union. In 1948 Marxist-Leninist +studies were introduced; in 1949 political economy and the history of +the Communist Party of the Soviet Union became obligatory for all +university students. By 1950 the party newspaper, _Rabotnichesko Delo_, +reported that 150 Soviet texts were being utilized in institutions of +higher education. By 1952 students were obliged to study both +dialectical and historical materialism, the rudiments of +Marxism-Leninism, and the history of the BKP. Study of these subjects +was generally mandatory for three years. + +In mid 1973 there were two major forms of higher educational +institutions: teacher training institutions and university level +institutions. In the latter category are universities, technical +institutes, agricultural institutes, medical schools, art academies, and +higher schools of economics. In 1972 there were twenty-two university +level institutions, sixteen of which were in Sofia. The remainder were +located in the provincial cities of Plovdiv, Varna, Svishtov, and Ruse. +The courses of study range from four to six years; five years is the +average period. In 1970 in proportion to the total population of the +country, Bulgaria was fourth in the world in terms of the number of +students--which constituted about 1 percent of the total +population--attending institutions of higher education, following the +United States, the Soviet Union, and Japan. + +Higher education in Bulgaria is conceived primarily in terms of the +national economy. The entire educational process at the higher level is +determined by the needs and prerequisites of the economy. The government +has stated: "The main tasks of the institutions of higher education are: +to train qualified specialists, imbued with Communist ideals, for all +fields of activity, who will be conversant with the latest developments +in science and technology, to train teachers and research specialists +for the institutions of higher education and scientific organizations, +to take systematic measures to improve the qualifications of specialists +in various branches of the national economy; [and] to propagate +scientific, technical and political knowledge among the workers." + +Students at the undergraduate level--with the exception of students of +worker and peasant origin--are expected to pass a written examination in +order to gain admission. Fifty percent of the total number of admissions +are reserved for people who have been employed for a two-year period. +Most graduates are obliged to work for three years after graduation in a +position assigned to them by the government. Unlike the prewar +faculties, technical and scientific faculties have had the highest +enrollments. Although education continues to draw large enrollments, in +1971 engineering had the largest number of students, followed by +education, economics, agriculture, and medicine. Law and physical +education had the lowest number of students at that time. As the State +Committee for Science, Technical Progress, and Higher Education +determines the specialization to be pursued, this list reflects more the +preferences of the government than those of the students. + +Because the government determines the fields of specialization to be +pursued by students of higher education, over a ten-year period--from +1960 to 1970--the pendulum has swung away from the arts and toward the +pure sciences. The fields most preferred by the students themselves, +however, and those that earn the highest wages, are still medicine, +architecture, journalism, and foreign languages. + +The State Committee for Education and Technical Progress stipulates the +number of admissions as well as the courses to be followed in graduate +work. All applicants for graduate study must have a minimum of one year +of working experience in their fields of specialization. In addition to +completion of four or five years of higher education, the applicant must +pass examinations in his field of specialization, in Russian, and in one +Western European language. The curriculum is determined by the various +research institutes of the Academy of Sciences, the Academy of +Agricultural Sciences, or other institutions of higher education. The +term of graduate study is approximately four to 4-1/2 years. + +Beyond the usual graduate study is the doctoral program. To obtain the +doctor of science degree, the student must prepare a dissertation that +according to governmental criteria, contains "a significant scientific +contribution, new educational methods and proposals, theoretical +conclusions and discoveries of great significance for the advancement of +science, technology, and the national economy." A candidate for this +degree must either hold a candidate degree, be thoroughly accredited in +his profession, or have proof of significant contributions to the +economy. + +In terms of the exchange of foreign students, there are only a +relatively small number of foreign students in Bulgaria, and only a tiny +percentage of the Bulgarian student population studies abroad. Although +theoretically opportunities exist for Bulgarian students to study in +other countries, in fact, opportunities are very limited. There are +strict regulations regarding foreign study. In 1971 the Ministry of +National Education stated that only students of parents permanently +employed abroad could study there; no students with independent sources +of income were allowed to study in foreign universities. In 1971 between +1.5 and 1.8 percent of the Bulgarian student population were foreign +students. In the academic year 1970/71 only 1,603 students studied +abroad. Of these, 1047 studied in the Soviet Union; 226 studied in East +Germany; 154 studied in Czechoslovakia; and twelve students pursued +their studies in other countries. + +At the same time foreign students are not numerous in Bulgaria, although +they come from a variety of countries. As of 1972 only 1,240 foreign +students had been graduated from Bulgarian universities. Among these +graduates were 174 from Albania, 129 from Syria, 126 from East Germany, +ninety-four from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North +Korea), fifty-seven from Kenya, and fifty from the Democratic Republic +of Vietnam (North Vietnam). In the academic year 1969/70 alone, 1,882 +foreign students attended Bulgarian institutions of higher education. +These students came from ninety-two countries; they include 430 students +from North Vietnam, 393 from Syria, 106 from the Sudan, forty-five from +Iraq, and twenty-two from Cuba. Although the focus in foreign student +exchange is definitely on the developing countries--for both economic +and political reasons--in 1971 foreign student exchanges with Western +countries were being increased. + +Although higher education is tuition free in Bulgaria, financial +assistance is still required by a large number of students. The +percentage of students on governmental scholarships varies from year to +year, generally ranging between 30 to 40 percent. In 1965 over 39 +percent of the student population received scholarships, whereas in 1970 +only 30 percent received them. There are two basic conditions for +scholarships as stipulated by the state: acceptable grade averages and a +family income--per family member--that does not exceed 70 leva per +month. + +There are still severe difficulties in the field of higher education in +Bulgaria. One problem is the acute shortage of professors in the areas +of engineering and technology in institutions of higher education. At +some times the shortage is so extreme that advertisements are placed in +the newspapers in order to recruit personnel. + +Another difficulty in higher education is overcrowding in the schools +and in the cities where the institutions are located. This dilemma is +particularly acute in Sofia, where most of the major universities and +institutes are located. In school year 1969/70 there were 82,573 +students enrolled in higher educational institutions; of this number, +59,130--roughly three-fourths--were in Sofia. As many of the students +come to Sofia from other areas of the country, the influx of students +has created a severe housing shortage. One solution, which has been +explored to some extent in recent years, has been for students to enroll +in institutions in major cities to study in their regional areas during +the year and come to Sofia only when examinations are given. +Approximately one-third of the total student population have studied on +this basis. + +A more serious problem is the issue of student preferences versus the +demands of the economy. Since the government requires trained scientific +and technological personnel, there are more admissions in these areas +than in the arts. Students, however, have indicated a greater interest +in the humanities, but admissions in these areas are few. In 1973 for +every place available in the humanities, there were six applicants. For +every place available in the sciences, there were only four applicants. +The inevitable result of such a policy is the creation of a group of +young people who are engaged either in a study not of their choice or +who have been dissuaded from the field of higher education altogether. + +The most serious problem is the fact that only a small proportion of +applicants are accepted in universities and institutes because there are +simply not enough facilities available to them. In an average year there +are generally 70,000 applicants and only 15,000 acceptances. Thus, +roughly 80 percent of all applicants are rejected by the institutions of +higher education in Bulgaria. Although students are allowed to reapply +at a future date, because they are not generally permitted to study +abroad, this overflow has resulted in the problem of the so-called idle +youth. At the beginning of 1972 authorities estimated that there were +approximately 50,000 of these people. Although the government has +attempted to deal with this problem by forcing the idlers to either work +or be trained for work--and they have been quite successful, as idlers +were estimated to be down from approximately 51,000 to 9,000 in less +than six months--they have failed to deal with the root cause of the +problem, that is, insufficient places in higher education. + + +TEACHER TRAINING + +Between 1921 and 1932 all primary and _progymnasium_ teachers had to +complete the normal school section of the gymnasium. In 1932, however, +all normal schools were abolished, and teachers were trained in two-year +pedagogical institutes that demanded completion of the gymnasium for +admission. The pedagogical institutes were subdivided into three +sections: the humanities, the sciences, and arts and crafts. Gymnasium +teachers, in turn, had to have a university degree. Vocational-school +teachers generally were vocational-school graduates themselves. + +In 1944 two new forms of teacher training, both based on the Soviet +model, were established. Teachers in the kindergartens and the four-year +elementary schools, who had already completed seven years of elementary +school, attended five-year teacher training schools. Teachers of grades +five through seven, who had completed their secondary education, trained +at two-year institutes. As before the communist takeover, teachers of +secondary education and university professors had to complete their +training at a university. Teachers of physical education, fine arts, and +music were trained at the appropriate section of an institution of +higher education. + +In 1953 the government established the Institute for the Improvement of +Teachers for the purpose of providing refresher courses for teachers. +This institute also provided teachers with the proper ideological +orientation. The government stated that the objectives of this institute +were to provide the "dogmatic ideological improvement of teachers ... +and ... the study and application of [the] Soviet teaching experience." +The institute offered such courses as pedagogy, psychology, Bulgarian +language and literature, Russian language and literature, Bulgarian +history, the Bulgarian constitution, mathematics and physics, natural +science and chemistry, and geography. + +In 1959, however, it was decided that all elementary-school +teachers--those who taught grades one through four--would be trained at +teacher training colleges, and all secondary-school teachers--who taught +grades five through eleven--would attend higher educational +institutions. + +In mid 1973 both kindergarten teachers and teachers of the first to +fifth grades were trained at intermediate teacher training institutes. +Teachers of grades five through eight also began their training at the +same institutes, where they trained for three years after the completion +of their secondary education. When they had completed this level of +their education, they continued at an institute of higher education. +Teachers of the fifth through eleventh grades had to have a diploma from +an institution of higher education. Vocational-school teachers and art +teachers were trained at appropriate faculties of higher educational +institutions. + +Teachers are paid at various levels depending on their academic +backgrounds and current circumstances. The three basic determinants of a +teacher's salary are his or her academic qualifications, the number of +classes covered per week, and the overall length of service. Every +teacher is entitled to a 4-percent increase in salary after every five +years of teaching. The total increase is limited to 16 percent. Teachers +who work excessively long hours are granted overtime pay. In the case of +teachers who are forced to teach in areas where living conditions are +considered difficult, extra salaries are given. Teachers who are engaged +in pilot programs receive a 5-percent supplement to their salaries in +order to repay them for the necessary research and training. Teachers +who teach in special schools, special kindergartens, and schools for +maladjusted children also receive supplemental salaries. Teachers +who--in addition to their regular duties--work in pupils' centers, +boarding schools, and evening study periods receive an additional 20 +percent of their original salary. + + +OTHER EDUCATION + +Before World War II there were very few facilities for education that +did not fall into the standard educational system. Schools for the +handicapped, for example, were almost nonexistent. Just before the war +there were only five schools of this kind and only 400 children were +enrolled. There were three schools for the deaf, one for the blind, and +one for the mentally retarded. + +By 1944 the number of schools for the handicapped had declined to four, +and only 200 children were enrolled. One of the first pieces of +educational legislation under the Communists provided specifically for +this type of school. Although the development of these schools in the +early years was quite slow, eventually, by the early 1960s, there were +seventy special schools, caring for approximately 8,000 children. These +special schools provided general schooling for the handicapped--although +the curriculum was, of necessity, modified to suit the needs of the +individual student. Emphasis was on vocational training. + +The primary focus was on adult education. The major objective was to +raise the level of literacy in the country. Between 1944 and 1950 there +were special courses that were aimed at both total illiterates and +semiliterates. When, by the early 1950s, this goal had been +accomplished, these courses were reduced in number and replaced by other +kinds of adult education. Part-time courses at the secondary level were +made available for workers. Evening classes--which taught new vocational +skills and improved already existing skills--became common. Higher +education through correspondence courses opened new avenues to people +who had previously had only a vocational education. + +In 1961 the first boarding schools were established. In 1971 new plans +were formulated to increase the number of such schools. It was +anticipated that 30 percent of all first to eighth graders would attend +such schools by 1975, that 50 to 60 percent would attend by 1980, and +that a full 80 percent would live in boarding schools by 1990. + +There is a wide diversity of schools that do not fall into the standard +educational system. In terms of special education there are elementary +schools for the blind, deaf, mentally retarded, and children who are +otherwise handicapped. All children in these categories begin their +schooling at the age of seven with the exception of the retarded, who +begin at eight. These children attend school for eight years and may +then continue in schools of general education, technicums, or other +schools. Retarded children, after completion of the eight years, go on +to special enterprises that are supervised by the Ministry of Public +Health. + +Children who are either recuperating from, or are prone to, illness +attend primary and secondary schools located in areas where the climate +is propitious for their recovery. Children in these schools are accepted +at any point between the first and eleventh grades. Although the +curriculum is somewhat modified, the basic content of the courses is +essentially the same as in the regular primary and secondary schools. +Most pupils attend these schools only temporarily, generally from four +or five months to a year. + +When the Communists came to power they stipulated that private schools +could continue only if they had express permission from the government +and were operated under governmental authority. In the early years of +communist rule, diplomatic missions continued to operate schools for +the children of foreign emissaries. In 1973, however, the only private +schools were the secondary school, known in Bulgaria as a seminary, and +the Ecclesiastical Academy of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. + +In addition to these special schools, there are technical and vocational +schools of various kinds that are not part of the regular school system. +Between secondary and higher technical schools fall the advanced +technicums, which function on a postsecondary level. Courses generally +run from two to three years, depending on the field of specialization. +There are advanced technicums for such specializations as mining, +medicine, veterinary medicine, and industrial chemistry. All schools +include courses in Marxism-Leninism, higher mathematics, and physical +education in addition to the courses of specialization. Also on the +technical-vocational level are six-month training courses that are +organized by factories, cooperatives, and other enterprises. These +courses are designed to improve the workers' skills or to retrain +workers for other areas of specialization. These courses include both +theoretical studies and practical work. + +Evening courses, correspondence courses, refresher courses, and special +research programs are also numerous in the country. Workers up to thirty +years of age who have not completed their elementary education are urged +to attend evening schools--known in Bulgaria as shift courses--or +correspondence courses. In both types of school the average length of +study is from one to three years, depending on the amount of elementary +education completed. Once these courses are completed, the worker may +continue in either a secondary polytechnic or a vocational school. +Eventually, he may go on to an institution of higher education. +Refresher courses, on the other hand, are at the higher education level +and are provided for industrial specialists in order to keep them +abreast of the latest developments in science and technology. Teachers +and researchers are encouraged to hold research fellowships that +function under the various institutions of higher education as well as +the Academy of Sciences. + +The final component of specialized education is conducted by the party. +Based on Marxism-Leninism, it is geared to indoctrinate party members +but is provided for nonparty members as well. The objectives of this +form of education were summed up by Georgi Dimitrov, premier of the +country from 1946 until 1949, who stated that these schools are to +prepare "individuals in the fundamental principles of Marxism-Leninism +... in order that they become independent practical organizers and +leaders, capable of leading the masses in the struggle against the class +enemy." The instructors of party education are trained at the Institute +for Political Instruction of the Central Committee of the BKP, which in +turn supervises the work of the Central Leninist Party School. In +addition to the general dissemination of party policy by these +instructors, there are both formal study circles and political schools +that present two-year courses in the history of both the Bulgarian and +the Soviet communist parties. + + + + +CHAPTER 7 + +ARTISTIC AND INTELLECTUAL EXPRESSION + + +Bulgaria has a proud cultural heritage that dates to early medieval +times. During the Golden Age (A.D. 893-927) of the first and second +Bulgarian kingdom, Bulgarian arts and letters dominated the Slavic +world. Exposed to the flourishing culture of neighboring Byzantium, +Bulgarians absorbed its influence, adapted it to their own Slavic +culture and language, and then spread it among the less advanced Slavic +peoples in the Balkans and to the north. + +After the Turkish conquest in 1396, cultural development was retarded +for several centuries until the drive for liberation in the nineteenth +century rekindled its creative spark. In contrast to the Golden Age, +however, when Bulgarian culture was widespread, modern artistic and +intellectual expression tended to be provincial in both its audience and +its content. After independence, although interest in cultural and +intellectual matters was high, support for it was restricted to a +minority in Sofia and in a few of the largest towns. The government made +some contribution to the country's artistic development through small +subsidies to institutions and government jobs for artists and +intellectuals, but the subsidies were not always on the basis of merit. + +Before World War II few people could made an adequate living through +creative work alone, with the possible exception of members of the +National Theater and Opera. The prestige of university professors, +members of the Academy of Sciences, and the leading singers, artists, +actors, and writers was high, but the financial rewards were hardly +commensurate with their standing. Despite their prestige, Bulgarian +writers and intellectuals have not enjoyed the same position of +leadership and influence that has been traditional in other countries of +Eastern Europe. + +The communist government had promoted pride in the cultural heritage by +restoring and preserving the country's medieval treasures and national +revival masterpieces and by promoting traditional folk arts both in +their own right and as inspiration to other forms of artistic +expression. Considerable funds and efforts have been devoted to the +promotion of new artistic and intellectual expression, which is seen as +an important medium for the political and social education of the +people. For this reason the leadership has tried to keep artistic and +intellectual expression under control and to use it for its own +purposes. + +Despite controls, artistic and intellectual life is active. Not all +creative effort becomes public, and that which does not meet the +prescribed criteria of style and content is known only by its creator +and a few select friends; nevertheless, it is produced. Much of what +passes the censor is of doubtful artistic quality, but works of +considerable merit have appeared in all forms of artistic expression. +Gifted artists and writers find ways to express their talent within the +confines of government regulations. + + +THE ARTS AND SCIENCES UNDER COMMUNISM + +Since 1944 artistic and intellectual expression have been subject to the +cultural policy of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary), +which has followed a relatively strict adherence to the concept of +Socialist Realism as developed in the Soviet Union. Under this concept +art, music, and literature are required to promote communist ideology +and present an idealized picture of communist society. In order to +impart the ideological message, artistic and intellectual expression +must be understood by the common man and, therefore, can only take the +form of straightforward representative statements. + +During the period of de-Stalinization in the mid-1950s, cultural +controls became less restrictive, and artistic and intellectual +expression burst into new creativity and life. Although this outburst +never reached the proportions it did in Poland and Hungary during the +same period, the regime considered it a threat and reimposed strict +controls in the late 1950s. At that time the government was preparing +for a great push in economic development and, to further this goal, +mobilized the cultural community into service as propagandists. + +Another thaw in cultural restriction occurred in the early 1960s when +several factions were struggling for control of the BKP. After Todor +Zhivkov assumed firm control of the party, writers and artists were +again required to serve the needs of the state until the fall of Nikita +Khrushchev in the Soviet Union, and an attempted coup in Bulgaria forced +Zhivkov to broaden his popular support by relaxing the BKP's control of +national life. + +This ebb and flow of restriction on artistic and intellectual expression +continues and serves as a barometer for the political and economic +climate in the country. At no time since the mid-1950s did cultural +policy reach the degree of repression of the Stalinist period. The +leadership in Bulgaria, as did those in other Eastern European +countries, learned that repression was counterproductive. Instead, it +adopted a subtler method of control through the publishers, art +galleries, theater companies, and other outlets for creative expression, +all of which are run by the state in conformity with the guidelines on +cultural policy. Because a creative artist must communicate his ideas to +an audience in order to achieve fulfillment, he tends to adapt his ideas +and principles to what is acceptable to the available outlets for his +work. Thus, self-censorship has replaced direct government control for +the most part. + +From a material standpoint, the life of a creative artist in +contemporary Bulgaria is far more secure than that of his counterpart in +a capitalist country. Creative expression is seen as a social function; +therefore, society owes the creative artist an assured livelihood. This +is provided either through regular salaries from publishing houses, +academies of music or art, or other agencies that employ artists or +through stipends paid to creative artists who do not have a regular +salary to depend on. Free or low-cost room and board are also available +to creative artists and their families at special artists' colonies or +retreats operated by professional unions in the creative arts and by +government agencies for the promotion of the arts and sciences. Under +this system, however, the artist is under constant pressure to produce +in order to justify his salary or stipend. + +In order to qualify for any of the material advantages, in fact, in +order to function as a professional artist or scholar, an individual +must be a member of the appropriate professional union. The unions are, +for the most part, an arm of the BKP and another instrument for +enforcing cultural policy (see ch. 9). Only the Writers' Union has +demonstrated a certain degree of independence based on the recognized +power of the written word. As recently as December 1972 the union again +resisted integration into the Committee on Art and Culture, a +supradepartmental government agency having a wide range of authority in +the cultural sphere. The Writers' Union is the only professional union +in the arts that has not been integrated into the committee. + +The principal aim of cultural policy since 1944 has been to popularize +the arts and sciences by making them accessible to all segments of the +population and to utilize those mediums for the promotion of communist +values. Popularization of the arts has been accomplished by greatly +expanding the facilities that present the arts to the public and by +supporting these facilities with state funds. Many new orchestras, +theater companies, publishers, and art galleries have come into +existence since World War II. Touring exhibits and road companies take +the arts into small towns and villages. Radio and television have been +extensively utilized to promote the arts and learning. Through state +support, the prices of books and admission tickets have been kept +extremely low in order to bring them within the reach of as many persons +as possible. The traditional library clubs have been reinforced by a +network of "houses of culture," which serve as cultural centers in +villages and in urban neighborhoods. + + +LITERATURE + +The origins of Bulgarian literature date back to A.D. 855 when the Greek +priests Cyril and Methodius designed an alphabet--Cyrillic--suitable for +the Slavic languages in order to facilitate the Christianization of the +Slavs (see ch. 2). At first the alphabet was used to translate the Bible +and other Christian religious texts, but in the Golden Age of the First +Bulgarian Kingdom several original religious and secular tests were +written by Bulgarians in their own language. In the late Middle Ages a +substantial literature in Bulgarian was created. Although the authors +were all churchmen, much of the literature was secular. A whole body of +apocryphal literature--so-called heretical tales and legends--came into +being at that time. + +During five centuries of Turkish rule, no literature was produced except +the orally transmitted folksongs and ballads. Not until the second half +of the eighteenth century, when Turkish rule began to degenerate, did +Bulgarian literature revive itself as part of the awakening national +consciousness of the people. The first book to appear was Father Paisi's +_Slav-Bulgarian History_, a highly nationalistic book published in 1762 +that played a major role in the struggle for liberation. During the +first half of the nineteenth century, several Bulgarian texts were +published in neighboring countries. These were extremely influential in +developing the modern Bulgarian language as their publication coincided +with the establishment of schools and the spread of education among the +Bulgarian people. A number of periodicals were also started by +Bulgarians abroad, but most of them were irregular and short lived. Of +considerable significance, however, was the collection and publication, +first in periodicals and later in book form, of the folksongs and +ballads that had kept alive the language and culture of the Bulgarians +during the five centuries of Turkish rule. Much of the interest in folk +literature came from outside the country from other Slavs in Serbia, +Croatia, Czechoslovakia, and Russia, who were going through their own +national awakening and had a kindred feeling for the Bulgarians. + +The early modern literature was nationalistic and didactic. Its authors +were educators involved in the spread of education and in the +modernization of the language and revolutionaries fighting for an +independent Bulgaria. Modernization and social reform were other strong +currents permeating the literature of that time and later. Such poets as +Petko Slaveikov, Lyuben Karavelov, and Khristo Botev were strongly +influenced by the Russian social reformers and revolutionaries of the +second half of the nineteenth century. Botev was the most outstanding +poet of this era. His short, intense, and fiery poems continue to arouse +patriotic feelings of Bulgarians everywhere. Botev's revolutionary +fervor and heroism have been identified by the present-day regime with +its own revolutionary movement, and he has been accorded great honor. + +In the postindependence period the dominant literary figure was Ivan +Vazov, whose influence on subsequent generations of writers has been +tremendous. Known as the national poet and father of modern Bulgarian +literature, Vazov was primarily a writer and not a crusader or +revolutionary as were his predecessors. He was steeped in the great +literature of Europe and Russia and used the Bulgarian setting and +traditions to write about universal ideas. Vazov's greatest novel, +_Under the Yoke_, describing Bulgarian life under the Turks, has been +widely translated. + +Vazov and his contemporaries Yordan Yovkov and Pencho Slaveikov (son of +Petko Slaveikov) sought to direct Bulgarian literature away from its +confines of national politics and reform into a more general artistic +and philosophical outlook. They were joined in this effort by the +somewhat younger Elin Pelin, whose stories have also been widely +translated. Although these writers continued to draw much of their +inspiration from native scenery, folk themes, and village life, they +were writers of universal quality and appeal. + +Later, rival literary groups, each with its journal, laid the basis for +marked development in poetry, the short story, and the novel between the +two world wars. No outstanding literary figure emerged, but writers +continued to experiment with a variety of themes and forms. + +Realism had always been a strong theme in Bulgarian literature, and in +the decade after 1944 the Communists sought to utilize this tradition in +imposing Soviet-style Socialist Realism as the desired form of +expression. Writers who conformed to the prescribed style were +generously rewarded with stipends and special privileges that encouraged +a volume of writing heretofore unknown. The novel became the main +literary form as it lends itself particularly well to the prerequisites +of the prescribed literary style. Nikola Vaptsarov and Khristo +Smyrnenski have been singled out by the government as outstanding +writers in the style of Socialist Realism. + +Most of the literature produced in the late 1940s and early 1950s has +been classed at best as mediocre, even by Bulgarians themselves. Several +works of that period, however, have been recognized as outstanding. The +most acclaimed of these has been Dimitur Dimov's _Tobacco_, dealing with +the revolutionary movement among tobacco workers before and during World +War II. The novel was strongly condemned when first published in 1951 +but, after the relaxation of cultural controls in the mid-1950s, it was +hailed as the best novel since Vazov's _Under the Yoke_. + +Dissatisfaction of the writers with the restrictions imposed on them and +discontent of the public with the monotony and lack of literary quality +of contemporary writing became evident in the mid-1950s. These feelings +broke into the open when a mild form of de-Stalinization was put into +effect in 1956 (see ch. 9). Although the so-called writers' revolt never +reached the proportions of those in Poland or Hungary, it did bring +about a short period of relative freedom in literary expression and a +number of outstanding literary works that aroused a great controversy. +Foremost among these was Emil Manov's _An Unauthentic Case_, which +describes interparty conflict. Todor Genov's play _Fear_ also received +high praise for its treatment of the corruption by power of a once +idealistic Communist. + +The leaders of the writers' revolt, with one exception, were all loyal +Communists who had become disillusioned with what they saw as the +hypocrisy and dishonesty of the leadership, which they felt was leading +the people into moral bankruptcy. Their main forum was a new periodical, +_Plamuk_, edited by Manov, foremost of the rebels. The main demand of +the rebels was that an artist should be free to choose his themes and +methods of presentation provided he remain loyal to communist ideology. + +When the exposure in literature of the spiritual decline of individual +Communists and of communist ideals became too embarrassing to the +leadership, tighter restrictions were reimposed in the late 1950s. The +literature of the early 1960s has been termed cathartic. By writing +about long-suppressed thoughts and emotions, writers attempted to purge +themselves of guilt for the sins of the system that they had supported. +The poetry, which was very popular with the young, had a ring of +disillusionment and pessimism. + +The government leadership did not approve of this literature any more +than it did of the literature exposing faults in the system. Rather than +repress the writers as it had done before, the regime used subtle +pressures to guide writers into acceptable subjects. What followed was a +wave of naturalistic poetry and novels dealing with purely human +problems. + + +THEATER + +A dramatic tradition was developed as part of the National Revival. +Plays intended to arouse the people's national consciousness were +written by Bulgarian authors and staged by students and teachers at +library clubs in several cities (see ch. 11). After independence in 1878 +the National Theater was formed in Sofia, but for several decades it +depended heavily on foreign plays and foreign theatrical talent. By the +start of World War II, however, government subsidies had helped to +develop it to a point where it compared favorably with national theaters +elsewhere in Europe. + +The present-day government has heavily supported the theater as a "mass +school for the all-round ideological, ethical and aesthetical education +of the people." An extensive repertoire of Bulgarian plays conforming to +the demands of Socialist Realism and to the prescribed content and +interpretation has been built up. It is performed by some forty-six +theatrical companies throughout the country. Classics by William +Shakespeare, Johann von Schiller, Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, and +others are also performed regularly, as are selected contemporary plays +by playwrights from all over the world. Unlike elsewhere in Eastern +Europe, there has been no experimental or avant-garde theater in +Bulgaria. + +The presentations of the Satirical Theater in Sofia are the most daring +and innovative theatrical presentations available to the public. +Although their humor is often biting, their theatrical style seems +rather ordinary and traditional to a Western theatergoer. The Satirical +Theater is, nevertheless, the most popular theater in the country; +tickets for its performances are sold out weeks in advance. In addition +to satirical reviews, the theater presents classical satires by Bertolt +Brecht, Nikolai Gogol, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and others. On the +assumption that "people who laugh think no evil," which is an old +Bulgarian proverb, the authorities have tolerated greater outspokenness +on the part of Satirical Theater productions than in the more serious +forms of artistic and creative expression. + + +FILMS + +As a medium of artistic and intellectual expression, Bulgarian films +have lagged behind those produced in other Eastern European countries. +They have received little recognition in the West, where they are +generally considered old-fashioned in story line interpretation as well +as in technical approach. Several attempts at imitation of the +surrealism of Alain Resnais and Louis Bunuel or of some of the other +contemporary Western cinematic directors, have proved failures in the +eyes of the critics at home and abroad. + +In common with other communist filmmakers, those in Bulgaria have +concentrated for years on the suffering of the people under Nazi +oppression during World War II. Most of these films about war and +resistance have a propaganda purpose that outweighs any efforts toward +artistic or technical excellence. Since the late 1960s most feature +films have focused on contemporary life and its problems. It is these +films that have shown some experimentation in contemporary cinematic +techniques on the part of Bulgarian directors. + +Animated cartoon shorts have been better received by Western critics and +audiences than have feature films. Those designed and directed by Ivan +Andonov, who is also one of Bulgaria's leading actors, have been +acclaimed as outstanding. + + +MUSIC + +Bulgaria is best known in the world of music for several renowned opera +singers it has produced in the twentieth century. The bassos Boris +Khristov and Nikolai Ghiaurov, in particular, rank among the great +singers of all time. A number of other singers are known on opera stages +in Europe and the Soviet Union. The country's five opera companies +provide a good training ground for young singers. The opera repertoire +relies heavily on the classics and on contemporary compositions of +non-Bulgarian origin; there are few Bulgarian operas. Nevertheless, +opera is an extremely popular form of musical entertainment, +particularly among the intelligentsia. + +The interest in and love of opera among Bulgarians probably has its +roots in Eastern Orthodox Church music, which abounds in both the vocal +and dramatic elements characteristic of opera. Bulgarian clerics made +considerable contribution to the development of this music during the +Middle Ages through the introduction of certain rhythmic and structural +qualities that give orthodox ecclesiastical music its characteristic +form. + +The most typical form of musical expression through the ages has been +folk music. Through folksongs the Bulgarian language and cultural +heritage were kept alive during the centuries of Turkish rule. Turkish +influence is evident, however, in the musical quality of Bulgarian +folksongs, which are noticeably Middle Eastern in feeling. Although +there are many gay dances and happy songs in the folk repertoire, an +important segment of folk music has a sad, plaintive quality and sings +of the hardships and grief of daily life. + +Bulgarian concert music is not well known outside the country. It is, +however, regularly performed by Bulgarian orchestras and has found its +way into the repertoire of orchestras in the Soviet Union and other +communist countries. Outstanding among contemporary composers is Pancho +Vladigerov, whose compositions were well received both before and after +the Communists came to power. + +In the early 1970s the Bulgarian press noted a growing interest in +popular music among the youth. Dance bands and popular ensembles +proliferated in the high schools and youth clubs. Although the press +praised this interest in music as constructive, it decried the kind of +music that found most popularity. Instead of heroic "mass songs" of +Bulgarian composers, the youth showed interest only in Western popular +music. + + +FOLK ARTS + +A rich legacy of folk arts was developed before and during the five +centuries of Turkish rule. On Sundays and festival days and at the end +of ordinary workdays, young and old in the villages would gather to +dance the intricate steps of the _horo_ (a circular group dance) and to +sing about young love, brave men, Turkish oppression, or mythical beasts +with strange features. Flutes, bagpipes, and simple stringed instruments +accompanied the songs and dances. + +History and tradition were passed on from generation to generation +through legends, ballads, proverbs, and cautionary tales. This folklore +has formed the basis of much of Bulgarian literature and art since +independence from the Turks. + +Other forms of folk arts were woodcarving, highly colored embroidery, +rug weaving, and icon painting. Although distinct in their regional +variations, the traditional costumes of Bulgarian peasants are simple +and drab when compared to those of other parts of Europe. Because any +wealth or material possessions were subject to Turkish confiscation, +Bulgarian peasants strove to present an image of poverty through simple +dress and housing. + +In common with other Eastern European governments, the Bulgarian +government has striven to support and promote the traditional folk arts +as part of the cultural heritage of the people. Artisan co-*operatives +produce carved woodenware, rugs, weavings, embroideries, and traditional +musical instruments for sale in government shops. Numerous folk dance +groups give performances at local tourist centers and abroad. The +various folk arts have been free from restriction even during periods of +strict cultural controls; therefore, they have afforded the best outlet +for individual creativity of the serious artists as well as the folk +artists. + + +PAINTING AND SCULPTURE + +The golden age of Bulgarian art was, without doubt, the Middle Ages. No +art since that time has matched the magnificence and quality of the +icons and frescoes that adorn the churches and monasteries constructed +during that period. Some of the best and most prized examples of +Byzantine painting are found in the Boyana Church near Sofia, in the +Zemen Monastery in the mountains along the Yugoslav border, and in +several other small village churches. A masterpiece of early Bulgarian +art is the icon of Saint Theodor of Plateina near Preslav; it was made +of colored faience in the tenth century. True to the Byzantine style, +medieval Bulgarian art used muted colors, mostly the earthy tones of +yellows and browns, to depict somber saints and other religious figures. + +Some of the Bulgarian painters developed a special style known as the +Turnovo School of art. In addition to decorating churches and +monasteries, Turnovo School artists also painted miniatures to +illustrate chronicles and religious texts. Several of these are +preserved in major European museums. + +Woodcarving, silversmithing, goldsmithing, and other crafts also reached +a high level of artistry in medieval Bulgaria. Human and animal figures +were common motifs in carved wooden doors and other architectural +features. + +Medieval creativity came to an abrupt halt with the Turkish invasion, +which not only prevented new artistic expression but also destroyed and +damaged much of the existing art. Not until the National Revival of the +nineteenth century did Bulgarian artists again begin to express their +creativity in painting and sculpture. + +Modern Bulgarian art had its beginning in the national awakening and +the struggle for independence of the late eighteenth and the nineteenth +centuries. As in literature, National Revival art found its themes in +the beauty of the countryside, the charm of old customs, traditional +folktales, and the heroic deeds of brave men. Stylistic inspiration came +from peasant art and ancient Bulgarian religious art. Most significant +among revival artists were Nikola Pavlovich and Vladislav Dospevaki, the +former for his introduction of Western-style realism and the latter for +his modernization of church art. As a whole, however, National Revival +art is more significant for its historic role than for its artistic +merit. + +In the early years of independence, the simplicity of National Revival +art gave way to an academic style and to impressionism. Best known in +that period was Ivan Murkvichka, a Bohemian by birth, whose most +appreciated paintings dealt with peasant life. He founded the Academy of +Fine Arts in Sofia and organized the first Bulgarian art exhibit. + +After World War I Vladimir Dimitrov, known as The Master, sought to free +Bulgarian painting from the influence of ethnography and literature, +although he too drew upon village motifs. Mainly a painter of people--in +individual portraits or in group compositions--he concentrated on themes +of family life and peasant work. Since World War II Dimitrov has been +hailed as a great revolutionary humanist whose stylized epic and lyrical +works depict the greatness of the people and of their suffering. + +In addition to Dimitrov, the interwar period saw the formation of a +group of young painters, led by Ivan Milev, who broke away from routine +academic composition and advocated the combination of national with +modernistic elements. At this time also, Alexander Bozhinov developed +cartoon caricature as an art form to be used as a political weapon. + +Contemporary art has been guided by the strictures of Socialist Realism +as interpreted at different times. Because national or peasant art is +always acceptable under these restrictions, artists have used it as an +avenue for greater freedom of expression. The influence of peasant +icons, for instance, can be seen in the work of many contemporary +artists. Peasant motifs, such as the fruits of the earth, are also +evident in much of the work. The art most acceptable to the leadership, +however, has been the kind of realism that Westerners associate with +communist art. Typical of this style is Ilia Petrov's _Partisan Song_, a +monumental canvas depicting a group of partisans triumphantly singing +after a victory over fascists. Petrov has consistently received official +praise for his work, which is seen as "national in form and socialist in +content." + +Under the influence of Zhivkov's more liberal cultural policy in the +1960s, artists began to show greater variation and creativity in style +while retaining the acceptable subject matter for their work. Many +experimented with abstracts and other avant-garde forms, but these +works were never selected for public showing or purchase by the museums +and other state agencies, which are the only significant patrons. The +artist, therefore, is usually forced to divide his efforts between those +works that will earn a living and those that will give vent to his +creative urge. + +Although nonrepresentational art is not publicly exhibited, a +considerable degree of abstraction became acceptable in the late 1960s. +According to observers who have had contact with Bulgarian artists, the +public had grown bored with the prescribed style and content of artistic +production, and the government could no longer effectively enforce the +restrictions. Added to the difficulties of enforcement was the +increasing exposure of Bulgarians through tourism to the great variety +of contemporary art produced in Western Europe and in some of the other +communist countries. The most abstract and avant-garde painter in +Bulgaria is Genko Genkov, some of whose paintings hang in the National +Gallery in Sofia. + +Graphic artists have been allowed the greatest freedom for abstraction. +By its very nature, graphic art tends to be abstract and stylized. +Graphic artists such as Maria Nedkova have succeeded in producing works +that are highly regarded both by the government and by the avant-garde +intelligentsia. Many graphic artists go back to Bulgarian medieval art +for inspiration in theme and style. Pencho Koulekov, for instance, who +is highly regarded in Bulgaria, uses the primitive two-dimensional +perspective, the simplification of forms, the highlighting of the +essential, and the omission of all detail that was characteristic of +early miniaturists and icon painters. + +Until the time of independence, sculpture was represented almost +exclusively by decorative wood carvings. With the introduction of +Western influences, several artists turned to the use of stone. Few +Bulgarian sculptors achieved international fame, however, although the +work of some professors of fine arts in Sofia were becoming known +outside the country. Among them was the noted woodcut artist, Vasil +Zakhariev, and a former director of the Academy of Fine Arts, Ivan +Lasarov. + +The three-dimensional nature of sculpture and the classic Greek +tradition of literal representation have made it difficult for +contemporary sculptors to break away from the realistic representational +requirements of the regime. Only sculptures designed for children's +playgrounds and parks are allowed a degree of abstraction characteristic +of art created by children themselves. Observers have commented that +works considered highly modern in Bulgaria are completely traditional +and representational to the Western eye. + + +ARCHITECTURE + +The architectural tradition of Bulgaria is formed on ancient Thracian, +Greek, and Roman architecture of which examples survive in several +parts of the country. Three periods stand out in the development of +distinct architectural styles over the ages. The first period was the +Middle Ages, when Bulgarian and other architects constructed some of the +great examples of early Byzantine architecture in territories that +constituted the First Bulgarian Kingdom (see ch. 2). Many of these +monuments are no longer within the boundaries of Bulgaria--notably the +churches and monastery in the Lake Ohrid region of Yugoslavia--and +others were destroyed during the centuries of Turkish rule. Among those +that have survived within the confines of the country are some of the +best examples of artistic expression and technology of the Byzantine +period. These are a source of great pride for Bulgarians, who consider +them part of their contribution to world culture. + +The next period of outstanding architectural development was the +National Revival period of the late eighteenth century and the +nineteenth century. Flourishing commerce gave new life to such towns as +Plovdiv and Turnovo and created new urban centers in which affluent +merchants and artisans built homes and public buildings in a richly +ornamented style that came to be known as the National Revival style. +These two-story structures made extensive use of stone and wood, the +latter usually elaborately carved. The interiors were light and +spacious. In addition to carved doors, ceilings, and built-in +sideboards, the interiors were often decorated with wall paintings. +Typical of National Revival architecture is the Rila Monastery; its +interior walls are covered with frescoes, and its interior and exterior +abound in carved wooden structural members and decorative details. The +monastery, like other National Revival structures, reflects the +Byzantine influence in the many large arched windows, arched ceilings, +and arcades. + +The third period of distinguished architectural development is the +contemporary one. Industrial growth since World War II and a rapidly +growing tourist industry since the mid-1950s have called for large-scale +construction of needed facilities. New resort towns arose on the Black +Sea; industrial new towns grew in other locations; and hotels, apartment +complexes, and public buildings were needed throughout the country. +Although much of the architecture imitates the colossal style of +Stalinist work, some of it is of high artistic quality and imagination. +The Balkantourist Hotel in Turnovo and several hotels in Black Sea +resorts are often singled out as outstanding examples of modern +architecture; they combine traditional features with modern materials +and techniques and blend them into a design that fits into the natural +surroundings. + +Several young architects have achieved international reputations by +winning major design competitions in different parts of the world. +Winning designs have included plans for the development of the city +center of Closure, in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), +and the city center of Tunis, and the redesigning of the Civic Center +Plaza in San Francisco. Since the 1960s the most talented young +architects have been spending some time in Western Europe to expand +their knowledge and experience. + + +SCHOLARSHIP AND SCIENCE + +Isolated for five centuries from the main currents of intellectual and +scientific developments abroad and denied the education required to +undertake any scholarly or scientific activity of their own, the +Bulgarian people do not have a long tradition of scholarship and +science. Some intellectual activity did take place in the isolated +mountain monasteries, and it eventually inspired the National Revival. +Because of this isolation, however, the focus of the intellectual +activity was parochial. + +The Academy of Sciences was founded in 1869 as part of the National +Revival movement and has served, together with the University of Sofia, +as the rallying point of intellectuals and scholars. After World War II +the Academy of Sciences was expanded by the incorporation of several +independent research institutions. Its membership was also vastly +increased with the admission of individuals whose loyalty to the new +government would assure the proper slant to their scholarly work. The +Academy of Agricultural Sciences was founded in 1961 to provide the +scientific know-how that would expand the output of collectivized +agriculture. The two academies coordinate and supervise all research and +scholarly activity undertaken in the country. + +Emphasis in all scholarly and scientific activity has been on matters +directly applicable to industrial and agricultural development. Work in +the social sciences has been directed at the government's efforts to +transform Bulgaria into a socialist state. The work of scientists and +scholars must conform to the various theories and formulas developed by +Soviet scholars and must not dispute or contradict the basic precepts of +Marxism-Leninism as interpreted by the Bulgarian leadership. In the +early 1970s scholarly activity in Bulgaria had not yet attained the +freedom of thought and expression that has been evident in Poland and +Hungary. + + + + +SECTION II. POLITICAL + +CHAPTER 8 + +GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM + + +The People's Republic of Bulgaria is a socialist state with a form of +government not too different from the Soviet model on which it was +patterned. Following the classical Marxist-Leninist ideology, it +subscribes to rule by the working class--that is, dictatorship of the +proletariat--a doctrine asserting that all power emanates from the +people and is exercised by them through the electoral process. Corollary +to this right of the people to elect national representatives is the +power to recall them through the same instrument of the ballot. In +practice, however, the dictatorship of the proletariat has been a +dictatorship of the communist party. + +The government has its theoretical base in the constitution adopted in +1971, which superseded the earlier version of 1947. The 1971 +Constitution provides for a representative unicameral legislature known +as the National Assembly, an executive committee within the legislature +called the State Council, and a cabinet of advisers known as the Council +of Ministers. For regional and local government the constitution +establishes a hierarchical structure of people's councils. Parallel to +the entire governmental structure there exist corresponding levels of +the Bulgarian Communist Party (Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya--BKP, +see Glossary) and, in practice, the party leadership at each level +exercises executive and legislative control. + +The 1971 Constitution, unlike the 1947 document, explicitly sanctions +the leadership of the BKP. Its preamble unequivocally proclaims the +leading role of the BKP in the government machinery as the directing +force in promoting socialist goals and in actively participating in the +fraternity of friendly socialist countries. Particularly noteworthy is +the statement of recognition of Bulgaria's alignment with the Soviet +Union. + +The 1971 Constitution also recognizes the representation of +multi-interest groups within the united Fatherland Front (Otechestven +Front), a coalition of left-of-center political groups, which had its +origins during World War II. The front has become a large umbrella for +mass organizations and is headed by the National Council of the +Fatherland Front, which functions under party auspices. As constituted +in 1973, the front remained a control mechanism or, more appropriately, +a transmission belt for the BKP. + +The drafters of the 1971 Constitution of Bulgaria subscribed +to Lenin's principle of unity of power, which advocated combined +legislative-executive authority in one state organ of power. In the +1970s the State Council had assumed legislative initiative as well as +executive responsibility, whereas the National Assembly, which was +constitutionally endowed with the legislative authority, followed the +lead of the State Council. + +Government is structured on two levels: national and local. The highest +legislative body, according to the constitution, is the National +Assembly, which meets only three times a year in very short sessions. +Executive direction at the national level comes from the State Council, +which theoretically is elected by and responsible to the National +Assembly. In effect, however, the council has become a superior body. +Because the National Assembly meets infrequently, the State Council +assumes legislative initiative in addition to its executive +responsibility. The third major organ at the national level, referred to +in the constitution as the government, is the Council of Ministers, +which is theoretically appointed by and responsible to the National +Assembly but is actually responsible to the State Council. National +policy decisions reach the grass roots level through the pyramidal +system of people's councils. + +The judiciary, although independent in theory, is an integral part of +the government structure that operates as an adjunct of the +executive-legislative organs. By design the judicial system legitimizes +communist control and gives legal expression to party policy. The system +is structured so that the courts of law and the prosecution agency +function together, and the latter enjoys police power. + + +CONSTITUTIONAL EVOLUTION + +The beginnings of constitutional government in Bulgaria date back to +1879 after Russia had liberated the country from 485 years of Turkish +rule. From 1879 to 1947 the country was governed by a constitutional +monarchy based on the Turnovo Constitution, which established a +parliamentary system of government having a king at its head. Among +comparable constitutions in Europe at the time, the Turnovo document was +considered liberal and democratic in form, organization, and operation. +It was considered to be one of the most liberal in the world at that +time. Whereas most European countries limited suffrage in various ways, +all Bulgarian citizens over the age of twenty-one enjoyed the franchise. + +Through a sixty-five-year span, however, the Turnovo Constitution was +revised twice, suspended twice, and violated many times. Basic to these +conflicts was the limit on the power of the king and the extent of +popular participation in government. The absence of consultative bodies +in a unicameral legislature served to widen the rift between the +executive and legislative branches. + +Even after the communist takeover in 1944, the Turnovo Constitution +continued to be the charter of government until a new constitution was +adopted in December 1947. In party historiography the 1947 Constitution +is described as the work of Georgi Dimitrov, hence it became known as +the Dimitrov Constitution and remained in force until 1971. + + +The Constitution of 1947 + +In the mid-1940s, with the ascendancy of the BKP in the Fatherland Front +coalition government, there arose a need to draw up a new charter. The +changes in government structure and operation had rendered the Turnovo +Constitution obsolete, and the BKP was anxious to discard those elements +that party ideologists considered bourgeois. + +Structurally the Constitution of 1947 consisted of eleven chapters and +101 articles without a preamble. It proclaimed Bulgaria a people's +republic with a representative form of government to be implemented by +universal suffrage of citizens eighteen years of age and over. + +The constitution established the National Assembly as the supreme organ +of the state power and the Council of Ministers as the supreme executive +and administrative organ. During the twenty-four-year span of the 1947 +Constitution, the Presidium of the National Assembly actually wielded +more power than its parent organization or the Council of Ministers, +even though such power was not ascribed to it in the Constitution. The +power of the presidium derived from the BKP positions concurrently held +by its members. + +Legislative power was vested in a unicameral legislature, the National +Assembly, which was elected for a term of four years. Assembly +representatives were elected by the people on the basis of one +representative for every 30,000 people; amended in 1961 to 25,000. +Representatives served terms of four years but could be recalled at any +time before the expiration of their terms. The constitution required the +assembly to meet twice a year and on other occasions as required by its +presidium, which met in continuous session. + +The many functions of the National Assembly included electing the +presidium, Supreme Court judges, and the chief prosecutor; appointing +the Council of Ministers; amending the constitution; granting amnesties; +deciding the holding of referenda; voting on the general economic plan; +settling questions of war and peace; and other legislative matters of +nationwide application. + +Within the assembly the presidium--consisting of a president, two vice +presidents, a secretary, and fifteen members--was empowered with +legislative-executive authority, and it exercised judicial power in the +interpretation of laws that were binding on everyone. More importantly, +the presidium assumed the powers and functions of the National Assembly +when the latter was not in session. In effect, the small presidium +exercised the legislative function most of the time. + +Executive and administrative direction was vested in the Council of +Ministers, a cabinet elected by the National Assembly. The council +consisted of a chairman, several deputy chairmen, the heads of various +commissions having ministerial rank, and the ministers. The council was +assigned the tasks of directing and administering the various ministries +that were concerned with the economy as well as with affairs of state; +the State Planning Committee; the State Control Committee; and the +Committee on Art and Culture; as well as the Committee on Science, +Technical Progress and Higher Education. In practice, the council +implemented policy decisions of the party leaders who were its +high-ranking officers. + +Following the Soviet model, the first secretary of the party was also +the chairman of the Council of Ministers and, as such, was the country's +premier. It became evident through the years that the Council of +Ministers and the Presidium of the National Assembly were the ultimate +sources of governmental authority because legislation they proposed was +usually implemented by decree and approved, after the fact, by the +National Assembly. + +The 1947 Constitution treated the economic and social structure of the +country extensively. It subscribed to collective ownership of the means +of production; defined rules of national economic planning and social +welfare; empowered the government to nationalize trade, industry, and +transportation; expropriated land where necessary; and restricted +ownership of private property--all in the interest of the state. The +constitution also gave the state the prerogative to establish monopolies +over production and trade. + +Below the apex of the governmental pyramid lay the wide base of local +governments. These consisted of district and communal people's councils +exercising authority through their executive committees, which sat in +continuous session. The executive committees of the people's councils +cooperated closely with local party groups, and personnel were often +concurrently members of executive committees and local party committees. +Although the organization of local government was revamped in 1949, in +1951, and in 1959, by the mid-1960s it was replaced by twenty-seven +districts plus Sofia, which became a territorial administrative unit. +The decentralizing of governmental authority to the local organs of +state power was designed to bring about greater efficiency and better +supervision in matters of political, economic, and cultural interests. + + +The Constitution of 1971 + +The Constitution of 1971 was the result of the work of the Tenth +Bulgarian Communist Party Congress, which was held April 20-25, 1971, in +Sofia. This congress also produced a new program for the BKP, made +changes in statutes, elected the Central Committee of the Bulgarian +Communist Party, and adopted "Directives on the Socio-Economic +Development of the People's Republic of Bulgaria during the Sixth +Five-Year Plan (1971-75)." + +The draft of the new constitution was presented for nationwide +discussion on March 30, 1971, just three weeks before the opening of the +tenth BKP congress. The congress approved the draft in its entirety on +the opening day of session. The constitution was approved through a +popular referendum on May 16 and was proclaimed law two days later by +the National Assembly. General elections under the new law took place on +June 27, 1971. + +The structure and functioning of the different organs of state power as +outlined in the Dimitrov Constitution remained essentially the same +except that the State Council became a more powerful governmental body +than the Presidium of the National Assembly that it replaced and, in +effect, overshadowed the Council of Ministers in authority. The new +document continues to define Bulgaria as a people's republic but also +refers to its socialist character and to its membership in the +international community of socialist states. Two new features are the +declaration of principles in the preamble and the sanction given to the +leadership of the BKP, aided by the Bulgarian Agrarian Union (also +called the Agrarian Party) within a united Fatherland Front (see ch. 9). + +The Constitution of 1971 reflects the new changes in the sociopolitical +and socioeconomic development of the country as viewed by the communist +leadership. The first chapter consists of twelve articles that briefly +define the political philosophy upon which the constitution is based and +the direction in which the party expects the country to move under the +new charter. Simply stated, the philosophy avows that Bulgaria is "a +socialist state of the working people of town and country, headed by the +working class," and "the guiding force in society and the state is the +Bulgarian Communist Party." The direction of movement expected by the +country's leadership is evidenced by the assertion that "the socialist +state shall promote the evolution of the socialist society into a +communist society." This chapter also affirms the Marxist-Leninist +principles that underlie the functioning of the state and the society. + +The new document also addresses itself to significant changes in the +interrelationships between the National Assembly, State Council +(formerly the presidium), and the Council of Ministers. For instance, +the constitution expanded the right of legislative initiative to include +not only the National Assembly and the Council of Ministers but also the +State Council, the permanent commissions of the National Assembly, the +Supreme Court, the chief prosecutor, and the district people's councils. +The rationale was that the National Assembly is not a continuously +sitting body so that its functions must, of necessity, be assigned to +state bodies of a permanent nature. + +Twenty articles explain the economic system and development of the +republic based on the socialist ownership of the means of production. +The constitution recognizes four kinds of ownership: state, cooperative, +public organizations, and individual or personal. + +The Law on Citizen's Property passed during the session of the National +Assembly in March 1973, however, nearly abolished the private ownership +of the means of production which, according to communist theory, is the +basis for the exploitation of man by man. The new measure gave legal +expression to what had been planned since the constitution was +promulgated in 1971 and reflects the complete predominance of collective +ownership in furtherance of the spirit of the tenth BKP congress. +Private ownership is confined to "items for personal use." + +Basic rights and liberties of citizens get constitutional guarantees, +but in almost every stipulation that hinges on personal, civil, and +political rights, in practice, the interest and welfare of the state +take precedence. Basic rights and obligations embrace a wide scope of +personal, civil, and political freedoms. Among these guarantees are the +right to Bulgarian citizenship; civil rights of spouses, parents, and +children; rights to work, rest, and receive health care and free +education; freedoms of speech, press, association, and demonstration; +rights to secrecy of correspondence and communication except in cases of +national emergency; and freedom of worship. All citizens are declared to +be equal before the law regardless of national origin, creed, social +status, education, or sex. Article 36 extends to women equal rights with +men. Mothers are guaranteed all-expense-paid hospitalization and +maternity care, paid maternity leave of absence, and provision for +children's care in nurseries and other establishments provided by the +government. The protective arm of the state also extends to its citizens +overseas. + +Rights have commensurate obligations defined by the constitution to +ensure the survival and strengthening of the socialist foundation. +Foremost among these are the obligation to work according to one's +abilities, the defense of the state, compulsory military service, and +tax obligations for state support. Treason and other high crimes against +the state, such as inciting war and disseminating propaganda, are +treated with severity. + + +STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE GOVERNMENT + +The Central Government + +The constitution exhibits an image of legislative supremacy asserting +that power belongs to the people and is exercised through such elected +representative bodies as the National Assembly and the people's +councils. The practice, however, shows executive political hegemony +exercised by the party leadership occupying positions of governmental +responsibility, such as the head of the Council of Ministers and head of +the State Council. The power exercised by a government organ is +directly linked to the party positions held by its head and by its +members. For example, Todor Zhivkov as president of the State Council (a +position that automatically makes him president of the republic) is at +the same time first secretary of the party and a member of its +Politburo. Stanko Todorov, who is chairman of the Council of Ministers +and thereby premier of the republic, is also a member of the Politburo. +Several other members of the State Council and the Council of Ministers +are concurrently members of the Politburo, the Secretariat, or the +Central Committee. This interlocking of positions, which occurs not only +at the national level but at all levels, ensures party control of the +entire governmental system (see fig. 6). + + +State Council + +The source of executive direction and control in the government is the +State Council, a twenty-four-man executive committee within the National +Assembly elected for an indefinite term until a new National Assembly +elects a new council. It functions as a collegial executive and +legislative body, and its president assumes the title of president of +the People's Republic of Bulgaria. + +The State Council of the National Assembly replaced the former +presidium, to which the 1947 Constitution had given honorific titles but +largely ceremonial functions. Conceived during a plenum of the party +Central Committee in 1968 but not established until after the +promulgation of the new constitution in 1971, the State Council was +designed to be a powerful force, both executive and legislative, in the +overall governmental structure. The best evidence to the power inherent +in the structure of the new State Council was the fact that party leader +Zhivkov chose to relinquish the premiership, which he had held for +several years, in favor of the newly created position of president of +the State Council. Zhivkov is one of a very few leaders of communist +countries who continues to retain the top position in both the party and +the government. + +The State Council exercises a wide spectrum of authority that would +theoretically be the responsibility of the National Assembly. In effect +the State Council becomes the alter ego of, or a surrogate for, the +National Assembly and arrogates to itself the constitutional +prerogatives of the people and the elected legislature. Most members of +the State Council are concurrently high-ranking members of the BKP. + +Among the many duties and responsibilities of the council, the most +important can be divided into two definite groups: those functions that +are specifically defined and thereby permanent and those functions that +the council assumes when the legislative body is not in session. During +wartime, when it might not be possible for the assembly to meet, the +constitution provides for the complete assumption of legislative and +executive authority by the State Council. + +The State Council's specific and permanent functions include, among +others, calling the National Assembly into session, exercising the +right of legislative initiative, determining bills that should be +submitted to the people for nationwide discussion, interpreting the laws +and decrees binding on everyone, creating and eliminating departments +below ministerial level, appointing and recalling diplomatic +representatives, granting Bulgarian citizenship, ratifying international +treaties concluded by the government, and implementing the general +direction of the defense of the country. + +[Illustration: _Figure 6. Bulgaria, Structure of Government, 1973_] + +When the National Assembly is not in session, the State Council is +empowered to promulgate decrees and other acts of legal validity dealing +with problems arising from laws and decrees of the legislative body. +Furthermore, these acts and decrees have the force of law and need no +legislative confirmation at the next assembly session. + +Additionally, the council exercises executive control over the Council +of Ministers, its members, the local people's councils, and the Office +of the Chief Prosecutor; it can repeal decisions of the ministries and +other central departments, which in effect reduces the Council of +Ministers to a grade below the State Council. In the event of war the +State Council, in the absence of the National Assembly, is empowered to +sign peace treaties, to amend the constitution, to grant amnesty, and to +change the territorial boundaries of the country. In sum, the functions +of the State Council can be categorized into executive, legislative, +judicial, and police. In carrying out these multifarious +responsibilities, six councils and two committees assist the State +Council, (see fig. 7). + + +Council of Ministers + +The Council of Ministers is described in the constitution as "a supreme +executive and administrative body of state power." In practice the +council is more of an advisory body to the State Council than it is a +supreme body even though it oversees the day-to-day functioning of the +government. In 1973 the council consisted of a chairman (the premier), +two first deputy chairmen, five deputy chairmen, twenty ministers, and +several chairmen of committees subordinate to the council. Additionally, +there are other members in the council; they are ministers without +portfolio (two) and the deputy chairman of the State Control Committee. +Within the council there is an inner executive committee known as the +Bureau of the Council of Ministers; its membership includes the +chairman, his seven deputies, the minister of finance, and the chairman +of the State Planning Committee. + +Election and organization of the Council of Ministers is done by the +National Assembly, which determines the number, kind, and names of the +ministries and of other departments with ministerial rank. For this +reason the number of ministries and central agencies may vary from time +to time. The Constitution of 1971 introduced two new features that did +not exist in the 1947 Constitution. One obliges the Council of Ministers +to give an accounting of its work to the State Council and another +limits the rights of the Council of Ministers over the executive +committees of the people's councils. + +Some of the functions of the Council of Ministers overlap those of the +State Council. Categorically, these functions may be grouped together as +executive, legislative, economic (budget preparation), police, and +military. + +The Council of Ministers also has jurisdiction to form--for the purpose +of administration--committees, councils, general boards, and offices. +Also within their competence, ministers and heads of departments with +ministerial rank have the right to issue orders and rescind unlawful or +irregular acts and actions of the special bodies of the people's +councils. They also have the right to suspend acts of the executive +committee of the people's councils. + +[Illustration: _Figure 7. Bulgaria, Organization of the Council of +Ministers, 1973_] + +The constitution empowers the Council of Ministers to draft and +implement national economic plans for submission to the National +Assembly. The council has police power in the maintenance of public +order and security and has general command of the armed forces. Along +with the State Council it implements the direction and control of the +activities of the people's councils. + + +The National Assembly + +The National Assembly, a unicameral legislature, is the only legislative +body of the central government, but legislative initiative has been +extended to several other governmental organs. In practice the State +Council appears to be the most powerful organ of government as well as +the principal initiator of legislative matters. The assembly, which +meets only three times each year in short sessions, would appear to have +more form than substance in the actual governmental affairs of the +country. It would seem to be impossible for anyone to become a member of +the assembly or of the State Council without prior approval of the BKP +(see ch. 9). + +The assembly's 400 members represent voting districts of equal numbers +of inhabitants per delegate. The term of office is five years. This was +another innovation in that the BKP hierarchy decided that party +congresses would be held every five years instead of four and, +therefore, elections to the National Assembly should be changed in the +same manner. In the exercise of its functions, the National Assembly can +dissolve itself, and in emergency situations it may extend its term. + +The manner in which the National Assembly operates, that is, the +infrequency and brevity of sessions, makes it imperative for permanent +commissions, in addition to the State Council, to carry on the +multifarious functions of the assembly. In 1971 there were twelve +permanent commissions, half of which had overlapping functions with +various ministries. The constitution does not specify how many permanent +or interim commissions the assembly should appoint but leaves such +matters of organization to the assembly itself. + + +Local Government + +Territorially, Bulgaria is divided into twenty-eight districts +(_okruzi_; sing., _okrug_), about 200 municipalities, and about 5,500 +villages. The municipalities, if size warrants, are divided into urban +constituencies (_rayoni_; sing., _rayon_), whereas villages are usually +grouped together to form rural constituencies known as _obshtini_ +(sing., _obshtina_). Since 1959 the number of districts has remained +constant at twenty-eight, which includes one for the city of Sofia. The +number of urban and rural constituencies, on the other hand, changes +frequently as the population increases and as people move from the +countryside to the cities or move from cities to suburban areas. +Districts and urban and rural constituencies are governed on the local +level by people's councils, and in the 1971 elections there were almost +1,200 such councils with a total of more than 53,000 elected officials. + +Each people's council has an elected executive committee, which is +constantly in session and which acts for the council during the long +periods when the full body is not meeting. On the local level the +executive committee is to the people's council what the State Council is +to the National Assembly on the national level. An executive committee +usually consists of a chairman, a first deputy chairman, several deputy +chairmen (depending on size), and a secretary. The interlocking of party +and governmental positions that is the hallmark of the central +government is repeated at the district and rural and urban constituency +levels, and often the members of a people's council executive committee +are also the most prominent members of the local party organization. An +executive committee usually serves for the entire term of its people's +council. + +In the implementation of national policy, people's councils are under +the supervision and control of higher councils all the way up to the +central government. The hierarchical and pyramidal structure of the +people's councils, wherein the lowest bodies are subject to the +direction of the next higher and of the highest bodies, is an example of +the application of Lenin's principle of democratic centralism. +Coincident with this structure of government is the parallel structure +of the BKP, whose members are in control or are influential at every +level. + +People's councils are empowered to adapt decisions and orders of higher +authorities to their own individual needs. Local councils prepare plans +and budgets in consonance with the national plans and, after decisions +have been made at the national level, the local councils conform to the +national policy. People's councils are involved in the day-to-day +affairs of their constituencies in government services and +administration, the maintenance of public order, the protection of state +and communal property, and the protection of the rights of its citizens. +In these areas the local police, known as the People's Militia, are the +instruments of the local council, but their responsibility is also to +the next higher level and on up to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (see +ch. 15). + + +JUDICIAL PROCEDURE + +The highest judicial organ is the Supreme Court, the members of which +are elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms. Below it are +twelve regional and ninety-three district courts, and the military +courts. The Supreme Court is a court of original jurisdiction as well as +of appellate jurisdiction. It is organized into criminal, civil, and +military divisions. In the administration of justice, courts and +prosecution are referred to as "weapons of the dictatorship of the +proletariat." Judges and assessors take part in the dispensation of +justice. These positions are elective. + +The Office of the Chief Prosecutor is established to see that the laws +are obeyed by the ministries and other national departments, bodies of +local state power, economic and public organizations, and officials as +well as citizens. The chief prosecutor is elected to a five-year term. +He is subject to recall, however, before the expiration of his term and +is responsible only to the National Assembly. Again, as is true with the +Supreme Court, between sessions the chief prosecutor reports to the +State Council. + +The chief prosecutor exercises wide powers in the performance of his +functions. Because he is elected by the National Assembly, he is certain +to be a loyal party member; he appoints prosecutors (district and +communal) for lower levels and can recall them before the expiration of +their terms. Together with the minister of justice, he controls the +judicial system for the communist party. + +In interpreting the communist theory of "unity of power," the +constitution places the judiciary below the executive and legislative +branches of state power. It also lumps together the judicial bodies and +prosecutors in overlapping and parallel functions. The fact that judges +and lay assessors are elected indicates that the party echelons can +control the workings of the judicial machinery. + + +THE ELECTORAL PROCEDURE + +The basic election law of Bulgaria is embodied in a document adopted on +February 17, 1953, and published as the Law of Election for the National +Assembly of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. It has been amended many +times since then. + +Article 6 of the 1971 Constitution extends the right to vote to every +Bulgarian citizen who has reached the age of eighteen, regardless of +"sex, nationality, race, creed, education, occupation, official or +social status, and property status." The only exceptions are those +persons under "complete tutelage." An earlier law had denied the right +to vote only to those who had been sentenced by a court. + +Members of both national and local representative bodies--the National +Assembly and the people's councils--are elected by direct and secret +ballot on the basis of universal, equal, and direct suffrage. +Theoretically, they are responsible to their electorate and render an +accounting of their activities. In this frame of reference they can be +subject to recall even before the expiration of their term. In practice +they are removed at the discretion of the BKP. + +The State Council schedules dates for elections to the National Assembly +and people's councils. In no case is the date fixed later than two +months after the expiration of the current mandate. The council is also +empowered to schedule dates for holding referenda on decisions of the +National Assembly. All election dates are set on weekends or nonworking +days to ensure continuous work production. + +Under the election law and in accordance with the constitution, +elections are called by the State Council and conducted by the Central +Election Commission, a body created by the National Assembly and +directed by the State Council. The Central Election Commission comprises +representatives of various organizations, such as trade unions, +cooperatives, youth organizations, special professional and interest +groups, and other public organizations and societies, which must be duly +registered according to acceptable procedures established by the +National Assembly. The election commission is headed by an executive +committee consisting of a chairman, a deputy chairman, a secretary, and +twenty members, all of whom must be approved by the State Council. + +Corollary to the right to elect is the right to be elected to public +office. Candidates are nominated according to electoral areas. +Theoretically, the right to nominate candidates is secured through +meetings of public organizations and such societies as trade unions, +youth organizations, cultural societies, and cooperatives. In practice, +however, candidates are nominated by the BKP leadership of these public +organizations, and their names are submitted for discussion during +meetings. This procedure ensures the candidates' election and at the +same time meets the obligation in the electoral law that nominations be +discussed at public meetings. + +Lists of candidates for public office are compiled in each village, +town, and district and are submitted to the BKP-controlled National +Council of the Fatherland Front where a final list of candidates is +drawn. Only candidates nominated by the BKP, the Bulgarian Agrarian +Union, and other mass social organizations approved by the Fatherland +Front are allowed to go on the ballot. Quite expectedly, the single +slate of candidates presented by the Fatherland Front usually gets +elected unanimously. + +In the parliamentary election held on June 27, 1971, voters elected +assembly deputies, people's councillors, judges, and lay assessors. Out +of 6,168,931 registered voters, 6,159,942 cast ballots, representing +99.85 percent of the electorate. A total of 6,154,082 voters, or 99.9 +percent, voted for all Fatherland Front candidates as contrasted to +1,487 who voted against. About 4,373 election ballots were declared void +because of irregularities. + +The speed with which election results are tallied and announced was +exemplified by the election of 1971. Two days after the election the +Central Election Commission--headed by its chairman, Angel +Velev--examined the protocols of the 400 urban constituency election +commissions and announced the results. As expected, all 400 candidates +nominated by the Fatherland Front were elected. Announcements of local +election results in towns and villages are made by the respective +executive committees of the people's councils. + +The BKP's method of organizing the government after an election was +illustrated by the plenum of the Bulgarian Communist Party's Central +Committee held on July 6, 1971. It discussed and approved proposals for +candidates for chairman and deputy chairman of the National Assembly, +membership of the State Council, Council of Ministers, heads of the +different commissions, chairman of the Supreme Court, and chief +prosecutor. Nominees were submitted for discussion and confirmation +during the first session of the sixth National Assembly held on July 7, +1971. + +An amendment to the 1971 Constitution on the nomination of candidates by +the leadership of public organizations obtained official sanction not +only for the purpose of expediency but more importantly to guarantee the +election of the nominees, as there had been cases of nonelection during +the previous elections for people's councils. The election law also +provides that candidates must garner 50 percent plus one vote in the +electoral districts before being declared elected. Statistics of +election results for people's councils in 1949 and 1966 showed that the +percentage of votes ranged from 96.48 percent of the voting population +in 1949 to 99.56 percent in 1966. The new amendment required that +two-thirds of the registered voters cast their ballots in favor of the +candidates before declaring that an election had taken place. + + + + +CHAPTER 9 + +POLITICAL DYNAMICS + + +In mid-1973 political affairs and the administration of the country +remained completely in the hands of the ruling circle of the Bulgarian +Communist Party (Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya--BKP, see Glossary), +headed by First Secretary Todor Zhivkov. Political power was exercised +by him and by the few select officials in the Central Committee of the +Bulgarian Communist Party, particularly those who were members of the +Politburo and the Secretariat. The extent of such power was best +described by Vulko Chervenkov, onetime premier and Politburo member, who +declared that "no institution, organization, or person can be above the +Politburo and the Central Committee." This statement, made in the early +1950s, continues to be the cardinal rule of communist power in Bulgaria. + +Retention of power by the party was ensured through its absolute control +of governmental machinery and of all organized activities. Virtually +every important government post was held by a high-ranking party member. +First Secretary Zhivkov, for example, was also president of the State +Council, the leading government body, which made him the top man in both +party and government. In addition to the interlocking of government and +party posts at all levels, it was also customary for the top officers of +mass organizations to be members of the party hierarchy. The continued +existence of a second political party, the Bulgarian Agrarian Union +(Bulgarski Zemedelski Suyuz--BZS), did not encroach on the +monopolization of political power by the BKP because the prerogatives of +the union had been curtailed to the point where it had become an +auxiliary of the BKP rather than a competitor. Any opposition to the +ruling elite had come from within the party rather than from outside +organizations. As recently as 1965 an abortive attempt to overthrow +Zhivkov was made, but this was the result of intraparty factionalism +rather than antiparty opposition. Zhivkov managed to avert the attempted +coup d'etat and afterward strengthened his power base within the party. + +At the helm of the party for nineteen years, Zhivkov, despite occasional +intraparty struggle and friction, remained the undisputed leader and, as +such, he maintained very close relations with the Communist Party of the +Soviet Union and with the Soviet government. On the one hand the close +Bulgarian-Soviet relationship has been interpreted by Marxist +theoreticians as the application of "proletarian internationalism"--a +theory that contends that proletarian unity is "historically the higher +right than that of national self-determination." On the other hand, many +observers of Bulgarian-Soviet relations maintain that the nature of the +unequal alliance stems not only from historical and cultural +affiliations as well as political and ideological identification but, +more important, from Zhivkov's need for strong Soviet support. + +At the Tenth Party Congress in 1971 Zhivkov reiterated the necessity for +close ties with the Soviet Union and introduced a five-year economic +plan that continued the long emphasis on heavy industry. The congress +reelected the Politburo, despite the advanced ages of some of the +members and their demonstrated concern for maintaining the status quo at +a time when the changes necessary to transform Bulgaria into a modern +industrial country have placed new demands on old methods and +institutions. Success or failure of the Communists' ongoing efforts to +industrialize, modernize, and communize the country depends on the +adaptability of the leadership and the political institutions to meet +the challenges of the 1970s. + + +MAJOR POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS, 1965-71 + +After discovery of the plot to overthrow him in April 1965, Zhivkov took +steps to secure his position and to prevent future conspiracies. Because +the threat to his regime had come mainly from the army, Zhivkov and his +minister of defense often spoke to assemblies of military officers to +explain party policies and to assuage dissident feelings within military +ranks. In addition, state security functions were realigned in an +attempt to tighten the system in order that such conspiracies would not +be able to germinate in the future. The Ministry of the Interior lost +its responsibility for security to the newly created Committee of State +Security, which was under the direct supervision of Zhivkov in his +position as premier. Later, in 1968, the Committee of State Security and +the Ministry of the Interior were again merged under the latter's title. + +After the abortive plot against him, Zhivkov offered some reforms to +placate disgruntled elements and to avoid a repetition of the incident. +Although the principal plotters were imprisoned, Zhivkov's reaction to +the conspiracy was one of general appeasement. This policy of +appeasement was shown by the fact that no general purges took place and +that people who could have been suspected of dissident activity were +allowed to remain in positions of authority in the party and in the +government rather than being summarily swept aside. The programs of +liberal reform that had been implemented before, but interrupted by, the +1965 plot were resumed, and Bulgaria seemed to be reaching for a +national destiny rather than accepting the role of a Soviet puppet. The +reforms affected all fields--political, economic, and cultural--and for +a time it seemed that the abortive coup d'etat had given new impetus to +Bulgarian national interests. + +The promise of reform appeared to be the focal point around which the +Ninth Party Congress was convened in 1966, and at the congress party +leaders underscored the need for the widest participation in the +democratic process. Reforms, however, fell victim to the conservatism of +older party leaders, and Zhivkov did not have the personal strength or +magnetism to push forward his program. The ninth congress ended with the +reelection of the essentially reactionary Politburo and a reaffirmation +of the status quo. The bright hopes for economic, political, and social +progress that had been evident in late 1965 and early 1966 collapsed in +a return of rigid ideological dogma and a firm reliance on Soviet rather +than Bulgarian initiatives. + +The failure of the ninth congress to rejuvenate the party hierarchy and +to chart a reform course for the future had repercussions throughout +Bulgarian society. Initiatives in foreign affairs that had been taken in +1965 and 1966 foundered in the retrenchment into party orthodoxy. +Negotiations that had begun with Western European countries as well as +with Balkan neighbors bore no fruit as the Zhivkov government failed to +follow up earlier moves toward better relations. Even more detrimental +to Balkan relations was Bulgarian participation in the Soviet-led +invasion of Czechoslovakia, which Yugoslavia and Romania strongly +opposed. In the cultural area the party tightened its controls over +creative artists and reorganized the Committee on Art and Culture to +better serve the needs of the government. The First Congress of Culture, +held in 1967, emphasized the constructive role of culture in society and +called for an intensification of anti-Western propaganda in order to +counter the dangerous influence of so-called bourgeois culture. + +There was also great concern among party leaders about the so-called +nihilistic attitude of the country's young people. In December 1967 +Zhivkov published his "Youth Theses" in an attempt to counter what the +party considered to be dangerous apathy on the part of Bulgarian youth. +Zhivkov's theses initiated some institutional reforms that dealt heavily +with patriotic education in an attempt to instill some national pride in +the young people, but about a year later patriotic education was +deemphasized. Evidently the program had aroused strong feelings of +nationalism that interfered with the pro-Soviet attitudes that have been +characteristic of Zhivkov's government. After publication of the "Youth +Theses," all youth activities came under the aegis of the Dimitrov +Communist Youth Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz), +referred to as Komsomol, which is the junior auxiliary of the BKP. The +moves to politicize young people failed to arouse any widespread +interest, and in the early 1970s Bulgarian youth remained essentially +apolitical and apathetic. + +In the economic sector the BKP blueprint for reform commonly referred to +as the New Economic Model offered innovations in decentralized +decisionmaking that delegated more responsibilities to public and state +organizations on the lower level as well as to individual enterprises. +The attention given to economic reform at the time--late 1965--was +motivated not only by Zhivkov's need to shore up his own political +position after the attempted coup but probably more so by the examples +of new economic programs that were sweeping the Eastern European +communist countries and the Soviet Union. More important than the +liberal reforms for decentralized management of the economy was the +decision to allow planning from the bottom to the top. From the time of +the enactment in 1965 up to about 1968 there were definite signs of +change. The July plenum of the BKP Central Committee in 1968, however, +formalized a number of changes that called for considerable reduction in +the autonomy of the existing public and state organizations, thus +setting aside the entire economic reform program. After the July plenum +and another in November 1968, a reorganization of state enterprises took +place in line with the new centralization policy. + +During the remainder of the 1960s and into the early 1970s, Zhivkov's +position remained stable, and there were no overt threats to his regime +such as the 1965 plot to overthrow him. In 1969 and again in 1970 +agreements were signed in Moscow that tied the Bulgarian economy even +closer to that of the Soviet Union. Bulgaria's position, or more +precisely the BKP's position, on relations with the Soviet Union was +summed up in a statement made by Zhivkov just before the Tenth Party +Congress in 1971: "The fraternal friendship and cooperation of the +Bulgarian Communist Party with the Communist Party of the Soviet Union +and the ever broader and deeper alignment of Bulgaria with the Soviet +Union will remain the immovable cornerstone of the entire work and the +domestic and foreign policy of our party." + +At the Tenth Party Congress, which was attended by General Secretary +Leonid Brezhnev of the Soviet Union, there were no startling changes +either in party policy or in high-ranking personnel assignments. The +same Politburo, with an average age of sixty-three, was returned to +office, and the party program promised no alteration in the heavily +centralized, pro-Soviet policies that had marked most of Zhivkov's +tenure. A new constitution was proposed by the party and later adopted +by the government and, although some institutional changes were +made--for example, creation of the State Council as a collective +executive branch of government--the absolute supremacy of the BKP over +every aspect of Bulgarian life was in no way diminished. On the +contrary, the power of the top leadership was probably enhanced along +with its ability to perpetuate itself in office. + + +THE BULGARIAN COMMUNIST PARTY + +Organization + +Party statutes define the organization, membership, and program of the +BKP. A statute promulgated during the Sixth Party Congress in 1954 +proclaimed the party to be an "inseparable part of the world communist +front" and acknowledged the Communist Party of the Soviet Union as the +leading political force within the communist bloc countries. Later party +statutes refined the basic document but did not change the premise that +the BKP looks to the Soviet party for leadership. + +Central to the observance of basic communist policy is adherence to the +principles of democratic centralism. Patterned after the Soviet model, +these principles call for a pyramidal form of command responsibility in +which lower party organs are subordinated to the next higher body. This +also means that decisions of higher bodies bind those below, +individually and collectively. Party policy and practice encourage open +discussion of issues during meetings of local party units as well as +during conferences and congresses at higher levels; however, party +discipline requires unitary action after a decision has been reached by +the hierarchy. + +The party hierarchy is composed of the Politburo, the Secretariat and, +to some extent, the Central Committee, the membership of which interlock +as one man may occupy two or more positions at any given time. +Theoretically occupying the apex of power is the congress of the party +that is held every five years, following the example of Soviet party +congresses. The congress is made up of delegates from various party +units on the basis of proportional representation of party members. The +main statutory functions of the congress include revising or amending +party statutes, deciding party policy, electing the Central Committee, +and receiving reports concerning past progress and future plans. It is +customary for major governmental programs or reforms to be presented to +a party congress before promulgation. The Tenth Party Congress, for +example, listened to readings of the draft of a new constitution and the +Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) and approved both unanimously. Actually, +the purpose of a congress is to demonstrate unanimity and accord. The +size of the congress (1,553 delegates in 1971) and the fact that it +meets only at five-year intervals preclude carrying out its statutory +role as a deliberative and policymaking body. Public politicking or +wrangling by delegates to a party congress would be unprecedented. + +Because the party congress meets so infrequently, it delegates its +functions to the Central Committee that it elects. Election of Central +Committee members is also a pro forma action wherein the congress +unanimously approves the list of names provided by the party leadership. +The Central Committee is a large working party organ, which in 1973 +included 147 members and 110 candidate (nonvoting) members. The +committee is charged with the administration of party work between +sessions of the congress and the implementation of party policies +presented by the leadership. For the performance of its duties, the +Central Committee has fourteen permanently operating departments and six +schools and institutes, the latter ostensibly to promote political +educational goals. As set forth in party statutes, plenary sessions of +the committee are to be held at least twice a year, and special sessions +may be called from time to time. + +Within the Central Committee sits the nine-man permanent Secretariat +headed by the first secretary who, by party structure, is the most +powerful man in the country. The Secretariat is elected by the Central +Committee during the party congress, but the election, once again, is +merely formal approval of the members already selected by the top party +leadership. Since 1954 the position of first secretary has been +continuously held by Zhivkov, who also heads the State Council and is +therefore the head-of-state. In addition to the first secretary, six +other secretaries and two members complete the composition of the +Secretariat. The main function of the Secretariat is to supervise the +implementation of party policy. + +Sharing the center stage of political power with the Secretariat is the +Politburo, elected by the Central Committee in the same manner as the +Secretariat. In effect the Politburo is a self-perpetuating body, and +any change in membership is dictated by the members themselves. Composed +of eleven members and six candidate members, all Politburo members +belong to the Central Committee. They provide collective political +leadership in both party and government. + +The Politburo is the policymaking and decisionmaking branch of the +party. In theory the eleven members of the Politburo are equal, but in +practice the party first secretary occupies the topmost position of +power in the party and is therefore first among equals in the Politburo. +Such is the concentration of political authority in the top bodies that +multiplicity of membership by party officials in any or all of the +central party organs is more the rule than the exception. + + +Membership + +After the successful coup d'etat in September 1944, communist party +membership grew with unprecedented speed. From prisons and internment +camps and from self-exile abroad, party leaders began to converge in +Sofia to restructure the party and to form a new government. Party +members assisted by sympathizers helped fill the necessary manpower +requirements as functionaries and working groups in the new coalition +government. A period of intensive recruitment and propaganda followed +that swelled the number of members from 15,000 to 250,000 in just four +months. By the time the Fifth Party Congress convened in December 1948, +party membership reached 500,000. This was in part due to the merger of +the Social Democrats with the BKP in August 1948. In large part, +however, Bulgaria's egalitarian peasant society--coupled with +indiscriminate recruitment using hardly any criteria for +qualification--produced a predominantly peasant membership. Workers +accounted for slightly over one-fourth of the total membership as +compared to one-half made up of peasants. + +Ironically, the intense campaign for new members was accompanied by +wide-scale purges within the party during a power struggle between the +Stalin faction and the home faction of the BKP. Led by Chervenkov, the +Moscow-oriented leaders succeeded in getting rid of their political +opponents and soon after established a Stalinist kind of government in +the country. Observers noted that this was aimed not only at weeding out +undesirable party elements but, more important, at increasing the number +of workers and consequently achieving a numerical balance with the +peasant members. + +Once in full control of the party and government, the BKP hierarchy +turned its attention to more systematic methods of recruitment. By the +time the Eighth Party Congress convened in November 1962, the BKP had +528,674 members plus 22,413 candidates. It was also at about this time +that the Zhivkov government relaxed the open police terror and pardoned +6,000 political prisoners, most of them Communists. + +The Ninth Party Congress, held in November 1966, provided new +regulations concerning party composition and acceptance of new members. +Qualifications of candidates had to be checked thoroughly, and only +those qualified could be accepted. Education as the main criterion of +selection was emphasized among target groups of workers, peasants, +specialists, women, and young people. As a result of this improved +recruitment procedure, the new members after the congress were 44.3 +percent blue-collar workers and 32 percent women. Of this group, it was +estimated that 60.4 percent had at least a secondary education. + +It was reported by the Secretariat that district (_okrug_) party +committees after the Ninth Party Congress showed improvement in +"content, style and methods of their work," and that they understood +better the political approach in guiding local economic tasks as well as +leading primary party organs in the political and organization work of +their constituencies. Furthermore, over 77 percent of full-time +secretaries of local party committees and about 90 percent of chairmen +of cooperative farms had higher or secondary education. Formal training +as well as in-service education was given serious attention. Educational +training for party members includes two-year university courses, short +courses, seminars, informal meetings, and conferences of local party +committees. + +Statistics reported in 1971 showed that 25.2 percent of about 700,000 +members of the BKP were women. Increasingly more important positions +were assigned to women in the party hierarchy. In the same period (1971) +there was a woman member of the Politburo, several women members of the +Central Committee, and two women ministers. Not only were women active +in party activities, but they could also be found in boards of +management of government enterprises. + + +Party Congresses + +Party statutes formerly stipulated that congresses would be held every +four years, but a decision was made to extend the interval to five years +after the Communist Party of the Soviet Union had made the same change. +Decisions of the congresses appear as party statutes that usually +reflect the desires of the leadership and the circumstances that +necessitated the additions, deletions, or amendments to already existing +statutes. The most important innovations embodied in BKP statutes +emerged from congresses beginning with the Sixth Party Congress, held in +1954, and continuing through the Tenth Party Congress, held in 1971. + +The Sixth Party Congress abolished the position of general secretary and +in its place created the post of first secretary, again following the +lead of the Soviet party, which had done the same thing after Stalin's +death a year earlier. Party leader Chervenkov, who was premier and a +Politburo member, kept those posts and allowed the election of Zhivkov +as first secretary. Zhivkov was then an unknown functionary who had +risen from the ranks of the Sofia party structure. Aside from the usual +exhortation for party unity and the changes in six Politburo positions +as well as an increase in Central Committee membership, the Sixth Party +Congress was uneventful. Zhivkov's rise to power did not take place +immediately, and a period of intraparty struggle ensued as he gradually +consolidated his authority as first secretary. + +The Seventh Party Congress, held in June 1958, proved even more +uneventful. It passed the Third Five-Year Plan for the development of +the economy, the fulfillment of which was drastically reduced to three +years even before the ink was dry on the document. With Central +Committee approval, new plans for economic targets were prepared; +meanwhile, Zhivkov prepared an elaborate propaganda campaign to push +this program through. Zhivkov's Theses, as the collection of +instructions have come to be known, advocated increased cultivation and +production in agriculture and industry to obtain yields that were double +those of previous plans. An unprecedented flurry of activity followed on +the heels of extensive media coverage. Aided by the press, the Agitation +and Propaganda Department under the Central Committee's direct +supervision launched a vast campaign that surpassed even those efforts +in neighboring countries. + +This period is characteristically known as Bulgaria's Great Leap +Forward, patterned after the Chinese experience, and historians put +forth political and economic motives for such an economic experiment. +Politically, after Nikita Khrushchev started his de-Stalinization policy +in the Soviet Union, the Bulgarian repercussion was evident in +Chervenkov's disenchantment with the Soviet trauma and his looking +favorably instead toward the Chinese example. The Great Leap Forward was +neither a spectacular success nor a dismal failure and achieved no more +than the expected progress in three year's time. The ensuing period +marked a return to earlier patterns and heralded the end of Chervenkov's +political career and the concurrent elevation of Zhivkov. The election +of Zhivkov's friends--Stanko Todorov and Mitko Grigorov--to full +membership in the Politburo gave him added support. Khrushchev's visit +as the head of a large Soviet government delegation did not hurt Zhivkov +but rather gave convincing proof of Khrushchev's support of the +Bulgarian first secretary. Anton Yugov was premier at this time, but it +was not long before he too was purged, the final blow coming only hours +before the start of the Eighth Party Congress. + +The Eighth Party Congress in 1962 marked the end of the open opposition +to Zhivkov's leadership. With Chervenkov and Yugov out, Zhivkov was in +full control. A month earlier, in October 1962, a special plenum of the +Central Committee announced Zhivkov's assumption of government power as +premier while retaining the first secretaryship of the party. In the +economic sector, the Twenty-Year Plan of Economic Development--patterned +on that of the Soviet Union--had been passed. It featured more realistic +goals in contradistinction to its predecessor. As usual, heavy +industrial priorities ranked high in the development plan. + +In November 1966 the Ninth Party Congress was held in Sofia. During the +deliberations changes were made within the Politburo whereby Zhivkov's +former protege, Grigorov, was dropped from membership without an +explanation and Todor Pavlov, a theoretician of Marxism, and Tsola +Dragoycheva, head of the National Council of the Fatherland Front, were +added as full members. Boyan Bulgaranov and Ivan Mihailov, both older +party members, were retained--a move that indicated the influence of +older functionaries over young potential leaders. Economically, the +congress supported principles of new management, tying political +progress with economic advancement. + +Collectively the aforementioned congresses accomplished little. On the +contrary the 1971 congress introduced considerable changes in the +sociopolitical and socioeconomic patterns of growth--among them the +drafting and adoption of a new constitution (see ch. 8). + + +Tenth Party Congress + +Whatever political changes are visible in Bulgaria are the result of the +Tenth Party Congress held in Sofia from April 20 to April 24, 1971. It +was attended by 1,553 delegates representing roughly 700,000 party +members, a ratio of about one delegate for every 450 members. +Additionally, foreign representatives from eighty-nine countries were on +hand. Leading the Soviet delegation were Brezhnev, general secretary of +the Soviet party, and four other high-ranking officials. + +As is customary, Zhivkov opened the congress with his usual +state-of-the-nation address, extolling Bulgarian-Soviet ties and +stressing friendship between the two countries. Included in the agenda +were the adoption of a new five-year economic plan; discussion and +adoption of the new party program; discussion and approval of the new +constitution; the election of party members to the Central Committee, +Politburo, and Secretariat; and a change in party statutes calling for a +congress every five years instead of four. + +The central theme of the party congress revolved around the concern or +"care for man." To this end resolutions were passed during the +deliberations purportedly giving "everything for the sake of man; +everything for the good of man." A separate report on the subject also +emphasized the need for improving the economic plight of the people. By +the time the resolutions and directives were being implemented, however, +noticeable variations in interpretation and emphasis had taken place. +For example, the draft directives for the Sixth Five-Year Plan showed +projection of industrial production that went up by 60 percent, whereas +production of consumer goods was projected to increase by only 50 +percent. + +Special attention was given to the areas of education and culture by the +Tenth Party Congress. Zhivkov underscored the need to close the +educational gap between workers and peasants, who often had no more than +an elementary education, and the intelligentsia and white-collar +professionals, who had attained the secondary level and more often had +gone on to higher education. + +Far more significant changes in party statutes took place in the area of +governmental operations. With the adoption of a new constitution, +modified structural arrangements were worked out, the most important of +which was the creation of the powerful State Council of the National +Assembly; the council's functions are not entirely dissimilar to, but +greater than, the presidium that it replaced (see ch. 8). + +The composition of the new Politburo and Secretariat remained +essentially the same. The congress seemed anxious to demonstrate unity +by stressing continuity of tenure for its senior members. All of the +eleven Politburo full members elected in 1966 were reelected in 1971; +four were over age seventy, and the youngest was fifty years old. All +Politburo members except one had been with the party since before +September 9, 1944. Some Western observers wondered whether the retention +of the entire old guard signified stability or exemplified stagnation. +At a time when observers were expecting an infusion of new blood into +the hierarchy, the leaders chose the status quo. Zhivkov, in his closing +speech, seemingly aware that the political conservatism of the old +ruling elite left something to be desired, maintained that "the +communist is ... an official up to a certain age; but he never ceases to +educate, to inspire, to unite, and to organize the masses." In effect he +apologized for retaining the same old membership in the hierarchy. + + +THE BULGARIAN AGRARIAN UNION + +The egalitarian character of Bulgaria's society derives from its +basically agricultural economy. Its peasant organization--the Bulgarian +Agrarian Union (Bulgarski Zemedelski Suyuz--BZS) was formed as early as +1899, making it one of the oldest agrarian organizations in Europe. +Founded to promote the well-being and educational advancement of its +members, it developed into a political party and a powerful machine that +in the 1920s became the governing party under Alexander Stambolisky. +After Stambolisky's government was overthrown in 1923, it did not rise +to power again. The party split in 1931, and in 1942 the radical half of +the party, known as the Pladne (the name of their newspaper) faction, +joined the BKP in the Fatherland Front coalition. + +The BZS in the early 1970s was a secondary political party subservient +to, and controlled by, the BKP. Its membership was reported to be +120,000, of which 80,000 were cooperative farmers and approximately +15,000 were active militants in government jobs. It has a more +simplified party hierarchy, being governed by an executive council +elected by delegates of its congress, which meets every four years. The +Executive Council--corresponding to the BKP Central Committee--is +composed of ninety-nine members and forty-seven alternate members. From +among them are elected members of the Standing Committee, comparable to +the Politburo of the BKP, which directs the entire activity of the BZS. +The Standing Committee derives its authority from the Executive Council +and reports to it. + +Assisting the Executive Council is the Auditing Commission, which +oversees the financial accounts of the BZS. Another leading central +organ of long historical tradition is the Supreme Council. It is not as +large as the congress, but it is important enough to make policy +decisions affecting the great mass of agrarian rank and file. It +consists of all members and alternates of the Executive Council, members +of various commissions, and all the chairmen of district committees. + +There are twenty-eight district committees; 1,027 village committees; +and 3,848 local branches of the BZS below the national level. +Jurisdictionally, they all follow an orderly system of organization +whereby lower organs fall under the supervision and control of higher +organs, and all fall under the final jurisdiction of the BKP agencies +above them. + +The preamble of the 1971 Constitution recognizes the existence of the +BZS as united in "purpose and action" with the BKP in the establishment +and development of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. In keeping with +this pledge, the BZS leadership and prominent members are elected to, +and in some cases appointed to, important bodies of state administration +through all levels of the government. There was an increase in the +number of BZS members elected to public office in the general elections +that followed the BKP congress in 1971. It appeared that the Communists +had decided during their congress to broaden the base of representation +by including more BZS members in the government as well as more members +from various mass organizations and the Turkish minority. Regardless of +affiliation, all candidates for office are carefully screened by the +BKP, and after election all officials are under the control of the BKP. + +Of the national officials in January 1973, Georgi Traykov, leader of the +BZS, was one of two first deputy chairmen of the Fatherland Front. +Earlier, he had been released as chairman of the National Assembly, +which approved his nomination to the State Council, a move that was +politically expedient in the view of Zhivkov to establish a "closer +relationship ... between the State Council and the National Council of +the Fatherland Front." + +During the Thirty-Second Congress of the BZS, held in Sofia in October +1971, the presence of high-ranking BKP Politburo members as well as +foreign delegates was very much evident. Boris Velchev, Politburo member +and secretary of the Central Committee, delivered a speech praising the +work of the BZS in its partnership with BKP in all aspects of Bulgaria's +socialist development. Domestically, BZS was lauded for its efforts in +the technological progress in agriculture resulting in the production of +large quantities of cheap produce. BZS members were also praised as good +machine operators in factories and as "innovators and frontrankers in +field brigades and livestock farms." + +Internationally, the BZS maintains contacts with dozens of agrarian and +related organizations in various countries. As diplomats, national +officials among the BZS leaders had demonstrated exceptional ability in +foreign relations, especially where the regular high-ranking BKP +representatives had been found less acceptable. + + +MASS ORGANIZATIONS + +Mass organizations are auxiliaries of the BKP through which the party +hierarchy exerts control over the bulk of the population. Established to +serve the immediate interests of a particular class of workers or +professionals, mass organizations work as transmission belts for the +administration of party policies and the achievement of party goals. +Most, if not all, of their chairmen are trusted and loyal BKP members. + +The right to form organizations for any purpose not contrary to public +law and national security is guaranteed in the constitution. These +organizations may be political, professional, cultural, artistic, +scientific, religious, or athletic. Furthermore, unions and other +associations may be formed within public organizations and cooperatives. +In all cases the guidelines set by the BKP for the development of a +socialist state impose limitations on the operations of mass +organizations. Recognition of the BKP as the leading political party and +the subservience of all other organizations is clearly understood. The +most important mass organizations are the Fatherland Front, the Central +Council of Trade Unions, and the Komsomol and its affiliate Pioneer +organization. + + +Fatherland Front + +The Fatherland Front grew out of the internal dissension between the +government and various political parties, in particular, the pro-Soviet +elements who objected to the alliance with Nazi Germany. In March 1942 +the government launched repressive measures in an attempt to immobilize +communist activities. Working with a group of exiled Bulgarian leaders +in Moscow, Georgi Dimitrov, former secretary-general of the Communist +International (Comintern), urged action against the country's rulers, +"who have sold themselves to Hitler." As conceived by Dimitrov, the +program of the Fatherland Front aimed not only to bring down the +"Hitlerite" regime and consequently establish a "true Bulgarian national +regime" but also to declare Bulgaria neutral and dissolve its alliance +with Germany. + +Established in 1942, the Fatherland Front operated underground under +communist leadership but also included other political parties. +Cooperation among these political parties, however, did not take place +without problems, mainly because each one espoused its own particular +interests and viewed the BKP with suspicion. Leaders of each party +worked as members of the National Committee (later known as the National +Council) of the Fatherland Front. It was from within the Fatherland +Front movement that the coup d'etat of September 1944 took place, the +result of which was a coalition government. + +When the Communists took full control of the government and dissolved +the coalition, they retained the Fatherland Front as an umbrella +organization. The BKP, of course, is the leading force within the front, +which also includes the Bulgarian Agrarian Union and several other +organizations. In effect the Fatherland Front is an instrument of the +party through which most of the country's organized activities are +controlled and supervised. Some of the tasks relegated to the front +include the nomination and discussion of candidates for election to +central and local bodies of state authority; the right to supervise the +activities of enterprises, institutions, and organizations operating +public utilities and services; and the right to supervise activities of +workers and professionals to ensure conformance to party line and +policy. + +In 1973 the Fatherland Front continued to be a large mass organization +working fully for and with the BKP. Available statistics showed a +membership of 3.86 million in July 1970, of which 3.1 million were +nonparty members. It included both individual members and collective +groups--mainly trade unions and youth organizations. + + +Central Council of Trade Unions + +Trade unions are workers' and professionals' organizations--the +function, role, and responsibility of which echo the economic directives +and decrees of the BKP. With the abolition of capitalist ownership +declared by the Fifth Party Congress in December 1948, the structure and +activities of trade unions changed to conform to the party's management +of the economy as the vanguard of the state in its socialist +development. Since then the Bulgarian trade unions have been reliable +mainstays and faithful transmission belts of BKP policies among the +working masses. Thirteen individual trade unions unite to form the +Central Council of Trade Unions, which accepts the leading role of the +BKP in all Bulgarian affairs. In 1973 total membership in the central +council was about 2.6 million. + +Following the principle of democratic centralism, all trade union +officials are elected from bottom to top but, following the pattern set +by the BKP, all candidates for union offices are carefully screened and +selected by officials at higher levels. Each trade union local is the +basic organization unit at a factory or business enterprise, and there +is an ascending hierarchical structure based on territorial +organization. At the district level there is a district trade union that +reports to the central organization. Theoretically, the trade unions are +independent and nonparty, but they are organized hierarchically, and +their activities are closely monitored and controlled by the BKP. In +effect, the trade unions look after the interests of the state rather +than the interests of the workers. To ensure party control there is an +interlocking of positions in the highest realms of the unions, the +government, and the party. For example, the chairman of the Central +Council of Trade Unions in 1973 was also a member of the State Council +of the National Assembly as well as being a candidate member of the +Politburo. At lower levels many district and local trade union +executives are also members of the district and communal people's +councils. Under this arrangement the unions take a direct part in the +management of state affairs--such as labor and labor legislation, +recreational activities, workers' sports, and so forth. + + +Dimitrov Communist Youth Union + +Young prospective members of the BKP come from the Dimitrov Communist +Youth Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz), also referred +to as the Komsomol. Established as the youth's counterpart of the BKP, +it is organized much as the parent structure, having a secretariat of +nine members headed by a first secretary and a bureau of seventeen +members and five candidate members that is comparable to the party +Politburo. The Komsomol is under the leadership of party committees and +is supported by the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of +National Education, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Bulgarian Red +Cross, and the Civil Defense Staff in interlocking roles of authority +and supervision. Founded as a sociopolitical organization to train the +youth in the ideological principles and goals of the BKP, the Komsomol +also serves as a source of manpower reserve in government and as an +instrument for the application of party policies and directives. In the +early 1970s membership was about 1 million (see ch. 2; ch. 15). + +Despite all the attention given to youth affairs, alienation of young +people manifests itself in many different ways. There were no tangible +signs of protest such as outward demonstrations, mass rallies, or +disruptions during congresses, plenums, annual meetings, or regional +conferences to show this alienation. But the negative attitude and +sagging interest in political indoctrination and economic activities +increasingly worries party leaders. The ideological and political gap +between generations prompted the administration to prepare and publish +Zhivkov's "Youth Theses" in December 1967. This work is basically an +inspirational treatise to counter what Zhivkov averred was national +nihilism among the youth, characterized by apathy, absence of +discipline, improper family upbringing, misdirected school discipline, +and ill-prepared Komsomol programs, among other things. The theses also +deplored the "degenerate influences" of capitalist society that were +evident in conspicuous material consumption in food and beverages, +dress, music and dance, and social mobility brought about by bourgeois +affluence. + +In an effort to bring the youth back into line, the theses emphasized +patriotic political education within a Marxist-Leninist frame of +reference, defined the duties and privileges of the young people, and +finally directed the reorganization of the Komsomol under closer party +supervision. The initial reaction to the theses was one of increasing +passivity. + +In another effort to court the Komsomol-age group, political speeches +openly lauding the youth union as the instrument for the realization of +the technological and scientific as well as the military technical +training of young people and their patriotic education have been +resorted to. Further, in extolling the work and importance of the youth +union to the all-round development of Bulgarian socialist society, +Zhivkov also enjoined the youth to implement the Sixth Five-Year Plan of +the BKP. + +The organization for Bulgarian children still too young for the Komsomol +is the Pioneers, also known as Young Septembrists to commemorate two +September events in Bulgarian political history--the abortive communist +coup d'etat in 1923 and the successful overthrow of the monarchy in +1944. The Pioneer organization is composed of children of elementary +school age. It is structured like the Komsomol and operates as its +junior division. A special division within the Komsomol National Central +Committee oversees the affairs and work of the Pioneers. Lower +committees at the district and municipality levels are directed by the +soviets for working with students, which are charged with youth work in +their respective territorial jurisdictions. Each district has a Pioneer +battalion that is divided into companies corresponding to school classes +and further subdivided into classroom rows, the lowest unit of Pioneer +organization. The chain of command flows from the central committee and +reaches down to the youngest member of the organization living in the +remotest part of the country. The content of academic curriculum and +party training is generally in accord with the ability levels of the +children. + + +Committee of Bulgarian Women + +There is no mass organization, as such, for Bulgarian women. The +Committee of Bulgarian Women, with a membership of 171 in 1973, is a +group dedicated to looking after the affairs of women in the country, +whether they be workers or housewives. The Constitution of 1971 +guarantees to Bulgarian women the enjoyment of equal rights with men. In +the complex structure of the BKP-controlled government, recognition of +women as a significant working force in the socialist movement is given +great attention. An earlier provision contained in the 1947 +Constitution, known as the Dimitrov Constitution, similarly guarantees +the "right to work, equal pay for equal work," and the attendant +benefits, such as paid leave, social security, retirement pension, and +education. + +Bulgarian women have become active participants in the political process +under communist rule. As noted earlier, 25.2 percent of BKP members in +1971 were women, and there was one woman in the Politburo. There were +7,000 women members of the BZS and almost half of the Komsomol members +were women (500,000); the same is true for the Fatherland Front, and +women made up 41.2 percent of the trade unions. In the unions of +writers, composers, artists, and actors women are also active. Most +teachers are women. They represented 67.7 percent of the Teachers Union. + +The women's movement was active on a nationwide scale. On the initiative +of the Committee of Bulgarian Women, a plan for the development of +science and technical progress including the study of the social role of +women was presented to the presidium of the Bulgarian Academy of +Sciences. Another suggestion by the same women's group called for the +study of conditions defining women's role as "mothers, production +workers and public activists." + +In the report to the plenary session of the party Central Committee in +July 1968, Zhivkov outlined the functions of the Committee of Bulgarian +Women. These included the coordination of state and administrative +organs in research institutes that studied the role of women in society. +Henceforth, according to Zhivkov, the Central Committee of the BKP would +receive reports on such research and would be directly concerned with +matters concerning Bulgarian women. + + +Ideological Training + +How mass organizations relate to BKP party directives, orders, and +decrees is best illustrated in the area of political education and +indoctrination. The National Conference on Party Propaganda was held in +April 1970 and sponsored by the Agitation and Propaganda Department of +the Central Committee and by the district party committees. During the +conference one of the district secretaries detailed some aspects of a +three-stage system that is being applied. + +The three-stage structure corresponds to the educational level as well +as to the political training and age of students. Schools in the higher +level of various district party committees and branches of the mass +organizations train administrative personnel, intellectuals, and party +activists. Training on this level includes theoretical seminars and +study groups. For intermediate personnel, including employees with a +secondary education, there are schools and institutes giving lectures +and talks on Leninism. A more elementary form of mass propaganda is +given to people with less training in theoretical political ideology; +people of advanced age fall also into this category. Political education +for this group consists of lectures in beginners' schools. Compulsory +subjects in primary party organizations are also discussed during +education sessions at party meetings. Except for Sofia, which has a high +rate of literacy, most districts employ this three-stage system of +political education. It is estimated that 60 percent of Communists in +Sofia have at least a high school education; many have college degrees +in contrast to some outlying districts where a large percentage of the +Communists have only an elementary education. + +The three-stage system is also used for training newly inducted +Communists as well as youth groups. It was reported during the +conference that approximately 900 of the best party propagandists have +been sent to Komsomol organizations to train youth in the party school +system. Within the Komsomol there is evident need for considerable +changes in the training of youth in the system of political education, +designed to bring the youth closer to the practice of the principles of +Marxism-Leninism. + + + + +CHAPTER 10 + +FOREIGN RELATIONS + + +Throughout the communist era in Bulgaria, that is, since World War II, +the foreign policy of the country has mirrored that of the Soviet Union. +In addition to the close relationship resulting from bilateral +agreements between the two countries, Bulgaria was also a charter member +of both the Soviet-dominated Council for Mutual Economic Assistance +(COMECON--see Glossary) and the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact) +military alliance. Bulgaria's loyalty to the Soviet Union throughout the +period is always a starting point in political writings on Eastern +European affairs. + +The successive leaders of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see +Glossary) have consistently maintained that their country's fortunes +would rise with those of the Soviet Union. To the Bulgarian Communists, +such loyalty was not only natural from an ideological point of view but +was also the pragmatic course, given the factors of world power politics +in the postwar era. Todor Zhivkov, the BKP leader since 1954, and still +in office in 1973, continued to adhere to a policy of close alignment +with the Soviet Union and used the relationship as the foundation of his +regime. The nature of the relationship has developed along two parallel +lines: the BKP has maintained close ties with the Communist Party of the +Soviet Union at the same time that government-to-government affairs have +become increasingly intertwined. + +As is true with other countries in which the communist party has become +the dominant political force, in Bulgaria the formulation of foreign +policy takes place at the highest party level--the Politburo. After the +party has announced the basic policy, the administration of foreign +affairs is handled by government ministries. The government has +repeatedly dedicated itself to the goals of the world communist movement +and, particularly, to the goal of solidarity among socialist states, +always acknowledging Soviet leadership. In the Sino-Soviet rift that +developed during the 1960s, Bulgaria continually expressed its +allegiance to Moscow and decried the divisiveness that resulted from +polycentric attitudes and actions. + +In mid-1973 Bulgaria maintained diplomatic relations with eighty-two +governments, thirty-six of which had embassies in Sofia. The remaining +governments carried on diplomatic relations through their +representatives in nearby capitals. Bulgaria maintained fifty-four +embassies in foreign countries and, as a member of the United Nations +(UN), maintained an ambassador and a staff in New York. Bulgaria also +participated in the activities of many of the UN special agencies. + + +DETERMINANTS OF FOREIGN POLICY + +Historical Factors + +Bulgaria emerged from World War II under the control of a coalition +government dominated by the BKP, which by 1947 had arrogated unto itself +complete power in the country. In the immediate postwar years policy and +direction concerning how the BKP should run the country was dictated +from Moscow, as was the case throughout most of the countries of Eastern +Europe. Between 1944 and 1948 eight countries had been taken over by +communist parties and had aligned themselves with the Soviet Union, +which exerted varying degrees of influence in the internal and +international affairs of all of them. Over the next twenty years +Yugoslavia and Albania broke out of the Soviet orbit completely; the +German Democratic Republic (East Germany), Poland, Hungary, and +Czechoslovakia experienced uprisings or civil disorders--in most cases +suppressed by Soviet force--and Romania asserted its right to national +self-determination on numerous occasions. Bulgaria alone remained +unwavering in its absolute allegiance to the Soviet Union. + +Bulgaria chose not to follow the examples of other Eastern European +countries in seeking some degree of autonomy during the 1950s and 1960s +for many reasons. Not least among these were the historic traditions of +friendship between Bulgarians and Russians dating back to the +Russo-Turkish war that freed Bulgaria from Turkish rule in 1878. +Bulgarians are also close to the Russians in language, religion, and +cultural traditions. Additionally, having assumed power, the Bulgarian +Communists quite naturally looked toward Moscow--then the center of +world communism--for guidance and support. Many of the early postwar +leaders had spent several years as residents of the Soviet Union, where +they had been closely associated with the country's party. + +Another reason for the close ties to the Soviet Union was pure +pragmatism on the part of the Bulgarian communist leaders. They were, in +effect, a minority leadership group faced with the task of imposing an +alien ideology on a reluctant majority at the same time that they were +trying to reorient the country's economy from an agricultural base to an +industrial base. The Bulgarian leaders needed the support of the Soviet +Union. + +Beset by intraparty strife and lack of success in running the country +after the death of Georgi Dimitrov--the leading Bulgarian communist hero +and strong man of the early postwar years--the party leadership again +clung to Soviet support and totalitarian rigidity to perpetuate itself +in power. Even after the death of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin and the +later de-Stalinization program under Nikita Khrushchev, Bulgaria's +leaders retained Stalinism as a modus operandi until the early 1960s. + +After Zhivkov became first secretary of the party in 1954, there was a +long power struggle, for a third time, and it was not until the early +1960s that Zhivkov managed to eliminate his major antagonists from the +party hierarchy and stabilize his regime. During all of those years and +on through the 1960s and into the 1970s, Zhivkov continued the policy of +absolute loyalty to the Soviet Union and to its leadership. +Consequently, Bulgarian foreign policy has been a mirror image of Soviet +policy. + + +Principles of Foreign Policy + +Bulgaria's constitution, in describing how the state serves the people +in foreign affairs, mentions "developing and cementing friendship, +cooperation, and mutual assistance with the Union of Soviet Socialist +Republics and the other socialist countries" and "pursuing a policy of +peace and understanding with all countries and peoples." Official +spokesmen proclaim that the country's international relations are +founded on the necessity for protecting national sovereignty and on the +creation of an overall attitude that would further the cause of all +nations in their development as modern states. + +A quotation from the party program developed for the Tenth Party +Congress in 1971 indicates that, as far as Bulgaria's leaders are +concerned, the Soviet Union leads and Bulgaria follows. "For the +Bulgarian Communist Party and the Bulgarian people, Bulgarian-Soviet +friendship is like the sun and the air for every living creature, it is +a friendship of centuries and for centuries, one of the main driving +forces of our development, a condition and guarantee for the future +progress of our socialist fatherland and its tomorrow." + + +CONDUCT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS + +The Constitution of 1971 assigns the conduct of foreign relations to the +National Assembly, the State Council, and the Council of Ministers. +Formulation of foreign policy, however, remains a prerogative of the +BKP. The constitution states that the National Assembly implements +foreign policy but, because the assembly meets only three times each +year in short sessions, the implementation function is passed on to the +State Council during the long interim periods between assembly meetings. +Primary responsibilities of the State Council in foreign affairs (as +opposed to those limited to the periods between National Assembly +meetings) include representation of the country in its international +relations; the appointment, recall, or release from duty of diplomats +and consular officials; the ratification or denunciation of +international agreements; and the establishment of diplomatic and +consular ranks. + +Although the ministries of foreign affairs and foreign trade are the +governmental operating agencies in the field of international +relations, in theory and in fact the State Council is the supervisory +body. The State Council exercises control over the activities of the +Council of Ministers and the ministries as stipulated in the +constitution. In essence, the State Council is the most powerful +government organ, not only in foreign affairs but in all governmental +activities. The interlocking of positions between the highest levels of +the party and the highest levels of the government assures that the BKP +program will be implemented. + +According to the constitution, the Council of Ministers "organizes the +implementation of the home and foreign policy of the state." The council +is also charged with the concluding of international agreements and the +approval or denunciation of international agreements that are not +subject to ratification. In performing its constitutional duties in +foreign affairs, the Council of Ministers acts through the Ministry of +Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Trade. + +The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the administrative arm of the +government in the execution of foreign policy directives, decrees, and +decisions of the BKP and in representing the country abroad in +embassies, legations, and consular offices. The ministry, in the +prosecution of its duties and functions, employs a minister, two first +deputy ministers, four deputy ministers, and a secretary general, who +are assisted by the heads of eight geographic departments. In 1973 these +departments were designated to handle affairs with the Soviet Union, +other socialist states, the Balkans, Western Europe, Asia, the Arab-bloc +countries, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Americas. + +The functional departments include: administrative, consular, political, +research and planning, cultural, documentation and archives, economic, +finance and accounting, international organization, inspectors, +personnel, press and cultural affairs, protocol, and legal. A committee +for church affairs and a diplomatic service bureau, although not +classified as regular departments, function as such. Also included is +the position of disarmament negotiator. + +The Ministry of Foreign Trade functions under the direction and +supervision of a minister, a first deputy minister, and six deputy +ministers, who are almost always high-ranking members of the BKP. The +ministry itself is organized into thirteen geographic offices and seven +departments. The different geographic offices handle trade agreements +with the Soviet Union, other socialist countries, developed capitalist +countries, Asia and Latin America, and the Arab and African countries. +Other offices include foreign exchange planning and accounting, +coordination, leadership and control of foreign trade organizations, +currency and finance, economic planning, market conditions, planning, +and personnel. There are departments for statistics, secretariat and +protocol, legal and departmental arbitration, accounting and auditing, +administration, labor and wages, and control inspectorate. +Additionally, there are offices and sections not falling under any +specific category but existing independently. They are: an office for a +trade fair director general, trade representatives, a foreign trade +research institute, and a state inspection on the quality of goods for +export. + + +INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS + +Relations with Communist Countries + +Bulgaria's foreign policy and foreign trade are circumscribed to a great +extent within the alliances formed by the Soviet Union and the communist +countries of Eastern Europe. In the early 1970s this tightly knit, +although polycentric, group continued to expect and did receive +Bulgaria's participation in preserving the status quo in Eastern Europe. +As is the case with other Eastern European countries, Bulgaria wants +Western technology and also would like to attract more Western tourists +to increase its hard currency intake. Bulgaria's motive for attracting +the West is economic rather than ideological. It is accepted within the +socialist alliances that the principle of proletarian internationalism +does not preclude diversity of trading partners of the individual member +countries. + + +Soviet Union + +Bulgarian relations with the Soviet Union have been described as +subservient, and Zhivkov once acknowledged that he was "known for being +bound to the Soviet Union in life and death." In 1948 Bulgaria entered +into the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Aid with the +Soviet Union, which was renewed for another twenty years on May 12, +1967, and over the years the close alignment between the two countries +has taken on greater importance. Ideologically, it is well known that +Bulgaria is a loyal partner within the Soviet-dominated socialist group. +Its leaders have been schooled in Marxism-Leninism and usually look to +the Soviet Union for leadership. + +Economically, Bulgaria still looks to the Soviet Union for foreign aid +and preferential trade treatment. The rapid pace with which Bulgaria has +moved toward industrialization is primarily owing to Soviet assistance. +Raw materials critical to Bulgaria's economy are supplied by the Soviet +Union and, with Soviet aid, the country has been able to construct many +large industrial enterprises. Estimates in 1967 put the number of Soviet +specialists in Bulgaria at 5,000, and the number has probably increased. +The renewal of a five-year agreement for 1971 through 1975 would serve +to increase further the Soviet share of trade in Bulgaria. + + +Relations with Other Communist States + +Bulgaria's relations with Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, +and Romania are largely governed by a series of bilateral and +multilateral treaties of friendship and cultural cooperation and by +military and economic alliances. The alliances are the Warsaw Pact and +COMECON. Relations with the other two communist states of Eastern +Europe, Albania and Yugoslavia, have usually followed Soviet initiatives +toward those countries. + +Quite naturally, Bulgaria's major concerns in foreign affairs have dealt +with relations among the states of the Balkan Peninsula and particularly +with adjacent states. Romania, its northern neighbor, is a member of +COMECON and the Warsaw Pact but has often appeared to be a reluctant +member and since the early 1960s has stressed nationalism rather than +Marxist internationalism, causing Bulgaria, with its strong Soviet +orientation, to tread lightly in bilateral relations for fear of +offending the Soviets. Nevertheless, the Bulgarians and Romanians have +drawn closer together, probably because both countries see benefits that +might accrue from Balkan cooperation and believe that such cooperation +should in no way disturb the Soviet Union. In the early 1970s relations +appeared to be particularly good: there were frequent meetings between +leaders and government ministers, and a plan to cooperate in the +building of a huge hydroelectric project on the Danube River between the +two countries was announced. + +Relations with Yugoslavia have more often than not been troubled to the +point of enmity. The problems existing between these two countries have +deep historical roots that hinge primarily on the Bulgarian contention +that Macedonia (since 1946 a federated republic of Yugoslavia) should be +Bulgarian rather than Yugoslavian. After World War II, when both +countries became communist, the Macedonian question was purposely +deemphasized but, when the Soviet-Yugoslav split occurred in 1948, +ideological differences paved the way for a renewal of the polemics on +the Bulgarian irredentist claims. In the early 1970s the polemics were +reduced to a minor level, and constructive talks leading to a +rapprochement began to occur. The changed atmosphere was attributed to +the state of relations between the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia but, for +whatever reason, the climate of relations between Bulgaria and its +western neighbor was considerably improved, and Bulgarian irredentism +was submerged. + + +Relations with Noncommunist States + +The European Conference for Security and Cooperation held in Helsinki in +the spring of 1973 discussed the possibility of a freer exchange of +people and ideas as well as a freer flow of information between Western +European and Eastern European societies. The intensity of ideological +polemics had diminished with increasing contacts between East and West, +and the gap between the two social systems seemed narrower, especially +in regard to economic planning and development. Bulgaria, however, +publicly expressed doubts about importing anti-communist theories that +might accompany the freer exchanges of people, ideas, and information. + +In a plenum of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party +in July 1973, the party leaders touched on issues of international +relations. The leaders pledged to continue a new policy of building +goodwill and enhancing relations with noncommunist European states as +well as with other developed capitalist states in all aspects of +political, economic, cultural, and other relations. Bulgaria also sought +to continue cultivating and developing friendly relations with +nonaligned friendly countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. +Consistent with this policy, it pledged to render assistance to these +countries, especially where there were national liberation movements +involved in active resistance to the established regimes. + + +Greece and Turkey + +Greece is geographically contiguous to Bulgaria, and relations between +the two countries have been alternately hot and cold depending on the +political climate of the times. In 1964 both countries signed an accord +relative to war reparations, which opened up some channels of +communication, cultural exchanges, and relaxed travel restrictions. The +move toward better relations was interrupted by the 1967 coup d'etat in +Greece, but improvement began again in the early 1970s when officials of +the two governments exchanged visits. By 1972 a newly created +Bulgarian-Greek economic cooperation commission had met in Sofia. + +Difficulties between Bulgaria and Turkey have deep roots in history and +also involve the 750,000 ethnic Turks still residing in Bulgaria (see +ch. 2; ch. 4). An atmosphere of cordiality, however, had been developing +slowly as the officials of both countries cautiously negotiated to +reduce tensions between the two countries. Exchanges of high-level +visits and the signing of various economic agreements had stabilized +Bulgarian-Turkish relations by the early 1970s. The hijacking of two +Turkish planes to Sofia in 1972 disturbed the detente temporarily, but +the Bulgarian foreign minister went quickly to Turkey to make amends. In +1973 the two countries again enjoyed improved relations. + + +The United States + +The tensions that marked Bulgarian-United States foreign relations in +the 1950s eased somewhat in the 1960s. The legations of both countries +were raised to embassy status in November 1966. This action was believed +to be an offshoot of United States efforts, particularly that of +President Lyndon B. Johnson, to "build bridges" to Eastern Europe. This +resumption of diplomatic goodwill was not pursued vigorously and, at the +time, reception to the idea in Bulgaria was generally cool. A noted +communist theoretician regarded the United States overtures as a +divisive force in the fraternal world of the communist movement, +designed ultimately to bring in a capitalist system inimical to the +ideological interest of any socialist country. + +In 1973 the relations between the two countries were, however, cordial. +Observers noted an increase in trade, although it was still +quantitatively small and accounted for only between US$6 million and +US$7 million annually. Bulgaria hoped to increase this volume to US$30 +million, especially by exporting high-quality tobacco to the United +States market. + +Bulgaria has been seeking a consular agreement that would grant it +most-favored-nation tariff treatment in order to keep Bulgarian exports +on a competitive level with others in the United States market. Toward +this end, a Bulgarian trade delegation visited the United States in +mid-July 1973 to exchange views on expanded trade and economic relations +between the two countries. While in Washington the delegation met with +top officials from the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, +the Department of the Treasury, and the Export-Import Bank and with some +members of Congress. + + +West Germany + +The two world wars saw Bulgaria fighting on Germany's side. Thereafter +Bulgarian policy differed from the Soviet line only once in a case that +involved relations between Bulgaria and the Federal Republic of Germany +(West Germany). When Chancellor Ludwig Erhard sounded out several +Eastern European governments with peace notes in 1966, Bulgaria along +with Romania did not publish official replies. Later that year West +German officials met with the Bulgarian foreign minister, and it +appeared that normalization of relations was in the offing. The +negotiations did not come to fruition, however, and Bulgaria fell back +in line with the Soviet Union, which at the time was hostile to West +Germany. The mere fact that Bulgaria participated in such independent +talks appeared remarkable to some observers. + +During 1972 relations between Bulgaria and West Germany improved. Some +of the reasons attributed to this changing tack included the +ratification of treaties negotiated between West Germany, Poland, and +the Soviet Union; the opening of diplomatic channels between Poland and +West Germany; and the meetings of ambassadors of European countries in +Helsinki. Most important, however, was the signing of a basic treaty +that established and regulated relations between West and East Germany, +a condition set by Bulgaria before diplomatic relations could be resumed +with West Germany. The open advocacy of the Soviet Union for improved +relations with West Germany also encouraged Bulgaria to expedite the +resumption of diplomatic communications. + + +Other Western Countries + +The mid-1960s saw party chief Zhivkov "building bridges" himself with +other Western countries. In light of Bulgaria's interest in expansion of +trade, relations with France were improved with reciprocal visits in +1966 between Zhivkov and Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville. +Also in the same year, partly as a result of these negotiations, the +French car manufacturer, Renault, established an assembly plant in +Bulgaria. Simultaneous with this move was the establishment of a +diplomatic mission in Canada. Agreements were negotiated with Belgium +and Italy on cultural, technical, and economic matters. Australia also +had a share of Bulgaria's trade attention; both countries signed a +long-term trade agreement in 1972, and an agreement was reached to +establish diplomatic relations at the embassy level. + + +Relations with Other States + +Bulgarian interest in trade with the developing countries has increased +considerably. In 1971 and 1972 the volume of trade with third world +countries exceeded 316 million leva (for value of the lev--see Glossary) +as opposed to 113.3 million leva in 1965. The Arab countries rank first +in the amount of business conducted with Bulgaria. A considerable number +of Bulgarian experts are also engaged in the construction of industrial +enterprises in various developing countries. + + +MEMBERSHIP IN REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS + +Regional Cooperation + +Military cooperation on a regional basis was secured for Bulgaria and +its allies (the Soviet Union, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, +and Czechoslovakia) in a multilateral alliance known as the Warsaw Pact. +Albania, an original member, withdrew in 1968 (see ch. 16). Signed on +May 14, 1955, in Warsaw, Poland, the pact was and remains Eastern +Europe's answer to the challenges and security arrangements of the North +Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In one sense it seemed to provide +legal grounds for the Soviet Union to keep its troops in east-central +Europe as well as to secure the balance of military power in Europe, +especially after West Germany joined NATO. In another sense it confirmed +the Soviet Union's political and military hegemony in all of Eastern +Europe. + +The organization has two main bodies--the Political Consultative +Committee, which recommends general questions of foreign policy for +member countries, and the High Command of United Armed Forces, which +prepares military plans in time of war and decides troop deployments. +Both bodies are located in Moscow, and all its senior ranking officials +are Russians. + +Bulgaria has bilateral treaties of mutual aid with each other member of +the Warsaw Pact. A multilateral agreement binds all the members to one +another in general and to the Soviet Union in particular. Within +Bulgaria Soviet officers serve as advisers at the division level and +formerly served down to the regiment level. Others serve as instructors. + +Bulgaria was a charter member of COMECON in 1949. An economic alliance +among Eastern European countries, COMECON is the counterpart to Western +Europe's European Economic Community (commonly called the Common +Market). Other members are the Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, +Poland, Romania, and East Germany. Mongolia and Cuba, non-European +countries, joined in June 1962 and July 1972, respectively. Albania +joined in 1949 but withdrew in 1961. + +Founded as an outlet for agricultural and industrial products and as a +capital-and-labor market, COMECON, like the Warsaw Pact, binds its +members to each other and all of them to the Soviet Union. Long-term +trade agreements of five years are usually renewable at the end of each +term. It is estimated that 60 to 65 percent of the total foreign trade +of each signatory is carried on with other member countries. One of the +obvious disadvantages of the organization, however, is the absence of a +common market. Trade and commerce between the member countries are +carried out on the basis of preference and within the framework of +bilateral agreements. + +Because the loose structure of COMECON does not make for effective +regional planning, member countries such as Bulgaria continue to renew +bilateral trade agreements within COMECON. The Soviet Union remains +Bulgaria's largest foreign market, accounting for more than 50 percent +of Bulgarian trade. Bulgaria also agreed to send Bulgarian workers to +the Soviet Union for heavy industrial projects. + +Participation of Bulgaria on a regional level has been confined to a few +projects. Among these are a COMECON electric power grid, which serves +the western Ukraine, especially the city of Kiev; a Romanian-Bulgarian +project to construct a power dam and navigation system for sixty miles +along the Danube River; a system of high-speed expressways to connect +the capital cities of member countries; a project to modernize steel +industries and to reduce production and delivery time; and membership in +the International Bank for Economic Cooperation, headed by a former +deputy chairman of the Soviet State Bank. + + +United Nations Membership and Participation + +Bulgaria became a member of the UN on December 14, 1955. Its delegates +are active in committee work of the UN organs and subsidiary bodies as +well as in deliberations on the floor of the General Assembly. One of +its most important committee assignments is to the so-called First +Committee, which was established as one of the original six committees +under the General Assembly's rules of procedure in 1946. It deals with +political and security matters and was headed by Milko Tarabanov, one of +five Bulgarian delegates to the UN in the session held from September +through December 1972. + +Available records of General Assembly activities in 1970 showed active +participation of Bulgaria's delegates in committee work touching on such +matters as the review of administrative tribunal judgments; the question +of defining aggression; the peaceful uses of outer space; the peaceful +uses of the seabed under international waters; and the implementation of +the declaration on the granting of independence to colonial countries +and peoples. Bulgaria was particularly interested in the Caribbean +territories. + +As a member of the Committee on Disarmament, Bulgaria, along with +twenty-four other participating states, met in Geneva in 1970. The +committee met to consider the question of cessation of the nuclear arms +race and associated matters, such as the prohibition of emplacing +nuclear arms or other destructive weapons on the seabed. A refinement of +the comprehensive test ban treaty of 1963 extended the prohibition on +arms control to underground testing. Bulgaria, along with other Eastern +European countries, also supported draft proposals of the committee not +to undertake the "development, production, and stockpiling of chemical +and bacteriological weapons" and the consequent "destruction of such +weapons" as well as the prohibition of "biological methods of warfare." +Bulgaria, as a member of the General Assembly's First Committee, also +cosponsored a resolution to secure guarantees that the seabed would be +used only for peaceful means. + +In regard to the question of nuclear and thermonuclear testing, Bulgaria +sought the early passage of an agreement to prohibit all nuclear weapons +testing while the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were going on +between the United States and the Soviet Union. Bulgaria also +participated actively in the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer +Space. As a member of a subcommittee's working group, proposals and +working papers were submitted on the question of liability for damage +caused by objects that were launched into outer space. For its part, +Bulgaria sought to clarify the "question of applicable law" and the +"settlement of disputes." + +The country was also represented in bodies dealing with economic +questions; questions of development; and social questions involving +housing, building, and planning as well as the promotion of children's +welfare. Additionally, the United Nations Conference on Trade and +Development had Bulgarian delegates in five of its working groups, +dealing with trade and development, commodities, domestic shipping, +international shipping legislation, and the transfer of technology. +Bulgaria is also a member of the Economic Commission for Europe. + + + + +CHAPTER 11 + +MASS COMMUNICATIONS + + +Since the Communists took over the government in 1944, the mass +communications systems have been perceived as instruments of propaganda +and vehicles for party control. Because of this perception of the +significance of the media, the new government immediately claimed all +mass media as state property. + +There is little if any tolerance of the free expression of ideas +throughout the entire mass communications system. Because Bulgaria is +more closely tied to the Soviet Union than most of the other Eastern +European countries, the dictates of Moscow are virtually followed to the +letter in the media. Themes that are initiated in Moscow are reiterated +almost verbatim in Sofia. The major theme of the mass media is respect +for and emulation of the Soviet Union, although recently some social +themes--such as the problems of youth and alcoholism--have been +incorporated as well. + +The only sources of information and entertainment permitted to the +people are the domestically controlled mass media. Most Bulgarians +distrust information available to them from these sources but, having no +alternative, continue to use them. + +Historically, of all the mass communications systems, the press has +always reached the largest number of people and has traditionally been +viewed by the government as the most effective means of informing the +general public. Although the circulation of the press dropped +drastically in the mid-1940s, it has since the 1960s once again become +the chief instrument of the mass communications system. Radio has +greatly expanded in variety and scope since the 1940s. Television, +although slow to develop and still limited in its audience relative to +other European countries, has been growing rapidly since the early 1960s +and was beginning to experiment with color in the early 1970s. + +There has been little change in the Bulgarian publishing industry since +1944. Owing to the government's fear of contamination by the West or +other capitalist societies, there is very little importation of foreign +books into the country. Although books have increased greatly in terms +of sheer numbers of editions, the quantity of book titles has remained +very much the same since World War II. + +Libraries range from those under the control of state ministries and +committees to local reading rooms and enterprise libraries. The latter +are generally more widely used by the people. + +Since the end of World War II the film industry has grown to a great +extent. Like other instruments of the media, films are chosen for their +propagandistic value; however, since the advent of television, fewer +people have attended films. + + +BACKGROUND + +The press--composed of newspapers and periodicals--was the most +developed of the Bulgarian media in the first half of the twentieth +century. Radio, which was introduced in the 1920s, was under the aegis +of what was then the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone. The +production, importation, and sale of radios were unrestricted. The least +developed communications system of the day was the film industry, which +was privately owned and operated. Television was not initiated in the +country until the mid-1950s. + +In the years immediately after the takeover, a strong pro-Soviet policy +was established for the media, which was still in effect in 1973. While +the new government restricted individual freedom and initiative within +the media, it demanded total support by the media of all policies of the +Soviet Union. Despite the fact that Bulgaria has never deviated from the +policy of complete commitment to the Soviet Union, after the invasion of +Czechoslovakia various media conferences were held in which calls for +stricter adherence to the Soviet line were sounded. + + +OBJECTIVES OF MASS COMMUNICATIONS + +The government has certain distinct perceptions as to how the media must +serve the state. Propaganda permeates every aspect of life from formal +education to membership in unions and clubs to the publication of books +and pamphlets. The Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary) is the +main political force. It both creates the appropriate condition for the +expression of public opinion and forms public opinion itself. + +At a recent conference on the mass communications system, a leading +member of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party +delineated the principal tasks of the media. The major task of the media +was "to work for the broadest possible propagation of the congress +decisions and for the mobilization of the people's physical and mental +powers to make their decisions materialize...." The second vital task of +the media was to "help form a socialist outlook on life among the +peoples and educate the new man--active fighter for the developed +socialist society, ideologically convinced, morally durable, physically +tempered, with profound awareness of duty and responsibility." The third +task was to promote the economic awareness of the people and to train +managers, specialists, workers, and farmers for the greater economic +good of the country. The fourth main task was to continue in the active +struggle against "bourgeois ideology ... and the ideological subversion +of imperialism." + +A basic tenet of the Bulgarian system, however, is the belief that mass +communications must be actively supplemented by human contact on the +individual level. Iliya Georgiev, secretary of the Varna Okrug Bulgarian +Communist Party Committee, in an article on the political knowledge of +working people in 1972, stated categorically that the interest +stimulated in the people by the mass communications system must be +maintained and extended by informal means of communications, such as +district (_okrug_) seminars, meetings in enterprises and farms, +activities in the trade unions, and the Dimitrov Communist Youth Union +(Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz--commonly referred to as +the Komsomol). + +The government has spent considerable time in assessing the extent to +which these media objectives have been achieved. In the years +immediately following the takeover, the government was consistently +distressed by continued Bulgarian feelings of friendship with the West +and the continual influence of the West upon the country. Although the +propaganda efforts of the communist government were tireless, radio +broadcasts and printed materials from the West continued to pour into +Bulgaria. + +As the government's control over both the formal communications media +and the informal means of communications widened, the external threat +was perceived to be less, and governmental attention turned to the +assessment of the relative popularity of the various branches of the +media. In a recent study 3,294 people were questioned as to their +favorite source of domestic and international information. The vast +majority--64.8 percent--of those polled stated that their preferred +source was daily newspapers; 24.6 percent preferred television; and only +2.7 percent preferred radio. Although the newspapers were the favorite +source of information, they were frequently criticized by the people, +who expressed a basic lack of confidence in the press. In a second study +dealing with people's attitudes toward the press alone, 48.1 percent of +the 900 people polled said they disliked the press, and 52.1 percent +complained of the primitive quality of Bulgarian newspapers. + +Young people, especially students, appeared to be even less stimulated +by the mass media than their elders. A study performed in the 1969/70 +academic year indicated that students were indifferent to both domestic +political events and international developments. The pollsters concluded +that generally Bulgarian students take little advantage of the mass +media as a source of information. Unlike the broad public, whose primary +source of information was the press, students tended to see television +as their preferred source and the press and radio as secondary sources. + + +FREEDOM OF INFORMATION + +The 1947 Constitution, known as the Dimitrov Constitution, established +the stated rights of citizens as well as the nationalization of all +private property, including the mass communications network. Regarding +the so-called freedom of citizens, Article 88 of the 1947 Constitution +claimed: "The citizens of the People's Republic are guaranteed freedom +of the press, of speech, of assembly, of meetings and demonstrations." +At the same time, Article 10 and Article 17 prohibited the unrestricted +freedom of private property and provided for its nationalization under +the authority of the National Assembly. More specifically, Article 80 of +the constitution dealt directly with the system of mass communications: +"The state cares for the development of science and art by establishing +... publishing houses, libraries, theatres, museums, public reading +clubs, ... film studios, [and] cinemas...." + +In 1956 the premier of the communist regime, Vulko Chervenkov, +emphasized the ultimate control of the party over all institutions of +the country. He stated: "No institution, organization, or person can be +above the Politburo and the Central Committee ... those guilty of +deviation from the Bolshevik rule must be held responsible and +punished." Under his successor, Todor Zhivkov, a slight liberalization +regarding freedom of the media ensued (see ch. 9). For a brief period +writers and scholars were given greater latitude of expression. When +some writers dared to openly criticize the government, however, Zhivkov +was unable to tolerate this criticism and reimposed restrictions on the +media. The ultimate authority of the party was again made manifest. In +an article in 1969, Georgi Bokov, chief editor of _Rabotnichesko Delo_ +and chairman of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists, flatly rejected the +notions of freedom and independence for the mass communications system. +The stated goals of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists in the late 1960s +were "to promote the development of mass information and propaganda +media as first-rate ideological weapons in the struggle for the victory +of socialism and Communism ... the Union must constantly work to turn +the press, radio, and television into effective ideological instruments +for the Party." + +In 1971, a new constitution was promulgated, but the basic clauses of +the 1947 document, regarding so-called individual freedoms and state +ownership, remained essentially intact. It was restated in Article 54 +that "citizens enjoy freedom of speech, press, meetings, associations +and demonstrations." Article 46 again provided for state development of, +and control over, the mass communications system. + +The results of the policy regarding the media are witnessed by numerous +examples of party control and the repression of dissidents. All +newspapers must provide space for the official news of the government, +and all Central Committee directives must be printed without alteration. +No dispatches sent out by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (Bulgarska +Telegrafna Agentsiya--BTA)--the official news agency of the +country--are allowed to be revised. No criticism of government policies +is tolerated. Dissident individuals and groups are singled out for +criticism by the Politburo. In 1972 a Politburo member, Todor Pavlov, +accused certain writers of rejecting Socialist Realism in favor of more +bourgeois literature and art. Other writers were criticized for their +so-called subjectivistic interpretation of Bulgarian literature and were +branded as pseudoscientists. + + +ADMINISTRATION OF THE MASS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM + +Administrative Units + +As the system has evolved, the broad outlines of propaganda have been +dictated from the Politburo, the party's chief policymaking unit. From +there policy is transmitted to the Agitation and Propaganda Department +(Agitprop), which is a major operational unit of the Central Committee. +Agitprop, in turn, is responsible for the transmission of guidelines +down to the lowest levels of party organization. Simultaneously, the +same dictates are transmitted throughout all cultural institutions by +the Ministry of Information and Communications. Under this ministry's +jurisdiction are the arts, the film industry, radiobroadcasting, +television, book and pamphlet publishing, printing, all cultural or +educational institutions, and all so-called independent artists. Still a +third channel for the transmission of the original propaganda are the +mass organizations that function in the propaganda field under direction +of either Agitprop or the Ministry of Information and Communications +(see ch. 9). + +The administrative center for all media is Sofia, the capital. Eight +daily newspapers are published in Sofia and distributed throughout the +country; there are also seventeen major publishing houses in Sofia. The +National Film Board, which oversees all aspects of film production, is +in Sofia, as is Radio Sofia, which is the radio station for the entire +country. The Cyril and Methodius Library--also known as the Bulgarian +National Library--is within the confines of the city, as are the Union +of Bulgarian Writers; the Union of Bulgarian Artists; and the Union of +Composers, Musicologists, and Performing Musicians (see ch. 7). + +The exportation of propaganda is under the auspices of the Sofia Press +Agency. This agency was founded in 1967 with the express purpose of +disseminating Bulgarian propaganda to other countries. Its three major +tasks are to publicize Bulgaria's achievements and successes actively to +the world; to attempt to counter anti-Bulgarian propaganda; and to +provide the various communist parties of the world with rationale in +their struggles against capitalism. + +In 1972 the Sofia Press Agency was in the process of negotiating +agreements with the BTA and the Committee for Television and Radio. +Agreements had already been established with book publishers, +photographic artists, and the film industry. In early 1972 over 500 +people--the majority of whom were editors and translators--were working +for the Sofia Press Agency, and contracts had been signed with +approximately 120 foreign countries. Nine magazines, translated into +eleven languages, had been published each year in 2.5 million copies. A +dual language newspaper has been published each year in 500,000 copies, +and 400 books had appeared in approximately 4 million copies. Some +15,000 articles had been written, 30,000 photographs taken, and dozens +of television motion pictures and documentaries had been filmed. + + +News Agency + +The BTA was founded originally in 1898 in Sofia. It is the official news +agency of the country and the sole source of both foreign and domestic +news. It receives most of its foreign items from the Soviet Union news +agency but also maintains exchange agreements with Reuters, Associated +Press, and the Associated Foreign Press as well as a host of lesser +known foreign news agencies, although it tends to be more discriminating +in terms of the items selected from these sources. + +In the 1960s the BTA had twenty-three correspondents posted throughout +the nation, as well as foreign correspondents in Moscow, Peking, East +Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Tirana, Belgrade, Ankara, Paris, Bonn, New +York, Vienna, Cairo, and New Delhi. Correspondents are sent on special +assignments to investigate news that is considered to be of interest to +Bulgaria. Domestic news is reproduced in Russian, English, French, +German, and Spanish, and international news is reproduced in Russian, +English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian. In an average day the BTA +receives approximately 800 foreign newspapers, magazines, and bulletins +and itself produces over 125,000 words. + + +THEMES OF THE MEDIA + +The predominant theme of the media remains the expression of friendship +with the Soviet Union. In 1971 a leading member of the party's Central +Committee informed members of the media that one of their primary +functions was to champion the feelings of "fraternal love, trust, and +gratitude" of the Bulgarian people for the "heroic Soviet people," at +the same time demonstrating "clearly and convincingly the unbreakable +ties linking our present and future with the present and future of the +Soviet Union." + +A second common theme of the current media deals with the continuing +struggle between so-called bourgeois capitalism and socialism. The +people are, on the one hand, warned of the invidiousness of capitalistic +methods--"The veiled methods of ideological struggle applied on an even +broader scale by contemporary imperialism requires greater vigilance +from us...." On the other hand they are assured that socialism will +ultimately prevail--"their [socialist] ideas make their way with +insuperable force into the minds and hearts of working people all over +the world, gain more and more new adherents, and become a powerful +factor of social progress." + +Another dichotomy that the media pose as a continuing theme is that of +religion versus socialism. Bulgarian writers triumphantly proclaim that +"religion as a component of the sociological structure of society for +thousands of years gradually withers away at an even faster pace +throughout the transition from capitalism to communism." Since one of +the major aims of the government is to eliminate religious sentiment +among the people, the public is from time to time assured +that--according to the latest survey--only 35.5 percent of the +population is considered religious or that the "Bulgarian people is one +of the least religious in the world." + +Another divisive force that is frequently posed by the media is national +patriotism versus proletarian internationalism. Although +internationalism is viewed as predominant, citizens are warned against +feelings of bourgeois nationalism, since the "unity between +internationalism and patriotism is of a relative character, and there is +always the real possibility of dissension between them; they may even be +placed into a position of mutual opposition." Somehow the conflict, +according to the journal _Filosofska Misal_, is perceived as being +resolved through a higher form of patriotism that is inextricably linked +with love of the Soviet Union. Socialist patriotism is seen as a +"qualitatively new, higher form of patriotism" as expressed in "love and +gratitude toward the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet +Union organically linked with love for Bulgaria." + +In accordance with the media's constant expression of admiration for, +and solidarity with, the Soviet Union, any issue that raises the +question of conflicting loyalties between the People's Republic of China +(PRC) and the Soviet Union is summarily dismissed with the reiteration +of support for the Soviet Union. One journal warned the people of the +dangers from the left in the form of the people of the PRC as well as +from the right in the form of capitalist societies: "Contrary to all +healthy logic, for years on end, the Chinese leadership has been waging +hostile propaganda campaigns against the Soviet Union ... which are in +no way inferior to the most malicious fabrications of bourgeois +anti-Sovietism." + +When the troops of the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in August +1968, Bulgaria once again rose to the Soviet Union's defense in complete +justification of the invasion. The BTA cited a long list of workers, +peasants, and intellectuals who were allegedly in favor of the action. +Major newspapers such as _Rabotnichesko Delo_ interpreted the event as +symbolic of proletarian internationalism, and _Zemedelsko Zname_ stated +that "it is our supreme duty to resist the common enemy and not to allow +anyone ever to tear away even one link from the chain of the socialist +community." The Czechoslovak uprising itself, as reported by the +Bulgarian press some months later, was interpreted as nationalistic and +counterrevolutionary. + +Bulgaria's relationship with the West, as expressed by the media, has +evolved over time from overt hostility to some degree of tolerance. In +1968 the Bulgarian media openly denounced the concept of peaceful +coexistence with the West. By the early 1970s, however, although +citizens were still urged by the media to struggle against bourgeois +capitalism as epitomized by the West, a slight thaw in the cool +relations that had prevailed since the mid-1940s was detected. On the +one hand, all instruments of the media were urged to direct the people +away from foreign influences and to struggle against "bourgeois +ideology, anticommunism, and the ideological subversion of imperialism." +On the other hand, however, Western correspondents in 1973 declared that +Bulgaria was entering a period of greater flexibility with the West. + +The last polemical theme of the Bulgarian mass media is known as the +Bulgarian miracle. Although success for the alleged achievement of +Bulgaria's national goals is attributed to correct socialism, the +application of Leninist principles, and the unity of party and people, +the media take every opportunity to stress the achievements of the +Bulgarian state since the advent of communism. One journal stated that +"our country strengthened and matured as a state with a modern socialist +industry, intensive mechanized agriculture, and flourishing national +culture, a state enjoying an indisputable international prestige, +respected as an economic partner and as a factor for the safeguard of +peace." + +On the nonpolemical side, the Bulgarian media discuss both Bulgaria's +immediate social problems and issues that affect the world. The issue of +alcoholism is discussed relatively openly and is viewed as an issue of +national concern. Alcoholism is perceived to be related to both the +rising number of divorces and the frequency of crimes (see ch. 5; ch. +15). + +Bulgarians also have become involved in the international issue of +pollution of the environment, and the press has given the topic a fair +amount of coverage. The issue has been dealt with on a completely +nonpolemical basis; in fact the brotherhood of all forms of societies is +stressed as the means of combating the problem. + + +THE PRESS + +Newspapers + +In 1944, three months after the new government took control, all +newspaper plants were made the property of the state. In the ensuing +year, the government took over the distribution of newsprint, and many +noncommunist editors and Communists were either jailed or executed. By +1945 only eight daily and weekly newspapers were permitted to publish. +Five of them were published under the aegis of a governmental or party +agency. _Rabotnichesko Delo_--which was patterned on the Soviet +_Pravda_--became the organ of the Central Committee, and _Otechestven +Front_--patterned on the Soviet _Isvestia_--became the official organ of +the government. _Izgrev_ was an organ of the Fatherland Front _Zvenos_; +_Narod_ was an instrument of the Fatherland Front (Otechestven Front) +Socialists; and _Narodna Voiska_ was an army organ. _Politika_ was not +directly affiliated with the party but was decidedly pro-Communist (see +ch. 9). + +The other two newspapers, both expressing a degree of opposition, were +tolerated only through 1946. These were _Narodno Zemedelsko Zname_, an +organ of the Bulgarian Agrarian Union (Bulgarski Zemedelski Suyuz--BZS) +and _Svoboden Narod_, an organ of the Social Democratic Party. In early +1947, however, they were closed down. + +The Fifth Party Congress in 1948, endeavoring to more fully exploit the +potential of the press for propaganda purposes, called upon it to serve +as the "first assistant of the Bulgarian Communist Party, of the +Fatherland Front, and of the government." The primary function of the +printed news media, as stated by that congress, was to mobilize the +working people in terms of their identification with the so-called great +socialist buildup. In the same year the Central Home of Bulgarian +Journalists was established in order to train writers in the correct +propaganda line established by the party. This institution was replaced +in 1955 by the Union of Bulgarian Journalists. + +After World War II the national newspapers were generally four pages +long and consisted of news concerning Bulgaria, the Soviet Union, and +other socialist countries; progress reports regarding national economic +plans; foreign news presented with a decided anti-Western bias; and +information regarding cultural events and sports. Cartoons, which +appeared occasionally in the daily and weekly newspapers, were generally +propagandistic and dealt with so-called foreign agents, the bourgeoise, +and other so-called enemies of the people. There was little humor in the +newspapers, as their overall purpose was to portray and defend the +communist system. + +The national newspapers were modeled after those of the Soviet Union, in +both style and content. During the 1940s they established ties with the +Soviet news agency, the Chinese Communist news agency, and the news +agencies in other communist countries. All international events--those +dealing with the communist-bloc countries and those dealing with the +West--were integrated through these sources. + +While Stalin lived, all of his dictates were followed to the letter, +including the duplication of the Soviet example in the strong verbal +campaign against Yugoslavia. When Nikita Khrushchev succeeded him and +subsequently made some semblance of peace with Yugoslavia, the Bulgarian +press followed suit. Similarly, when the Soviets quickly quelled the +Polish and Hungarian revolts, the Bulgarian press endorsed the Soviet +versions of these events. Strict control over the press was retained in +the early 1970s, and most news still emanated from the Soviet news +agency. Censorship was seldom required, however, since all editors were +by this time acutely aware of their responsibilities to the party. + +In contrast to the natural press, the provincial press concentrated on +local matters. It included, in addition to a few regularly published +newspapers, a variety of new types of publications, such as +multicirculators--which were wall posters--and the so-called bumblebees, +which were letters of accusation pointing out alleged failures of +particular individuals to maintain acceptable social standards or to +attain programmed economic goals. In broad terms, all these publications +were designed to indoctrinate specific groups of people, generally in +their places of work. The multicirculators called on workers to support +the economic goals of the government and promised them rewards if they +fulfilled the required objectives (see table 10). + +_Table 10. Bulgaria, Newspaper Circulation by Frequency of Issue, 1971_ + + ---------------------------+--------+---------------- + Frequency | | Annual + of | | Circulation + Issue | Number | (in thousands) + ---------------------------+--------+---------------- + Daily | 13 | 611,900 + Two to four times per week | 31 | 108,181 + Weekly | 58 | 100,880 + Less than once per week | 604 | 16,533 + | --- | ------- + TOTAL | 706 | 837,494 + ---------------------------+--------+---------------- + +In the early 1970s the style of Bulgarian newspapers remained +essentially the same as in the mid-1940s. National daily newspapers +ordinarily had four pages, but sometimes had from six to eight pages +when there was vital news to cover. Headlines were often printed in red, +but stories and articles were in black print. Since the late 1960s or +early 1970s advertising increased, and newspapers began to resemble +their Western counterparts to a greater extent. + +In 1972 thirteen daily newspapers were published, eight of which were +printed in Sofia. _Rabotnichesko Delo_ was a descendant of the first +workers' newspaper, which was begun in 1897. It led both in importance +and circulation, was the primary organ of the BKP, and set the tone for +all other newspapers in the country. In 1950 it had a daily circulation +of 364,500 copies, and by 1960 its circulation had risen to 567,360. In +1972 this newspaper had a total circulation of approximately 650,000 +copies. The second most important daily newspaper published in Sofia +was the _Otechestven Front_, the organ of the government. This +publication was initiated as an underground newspaper in 1942. As of +1972 it claimed a daily circulation of 247,000. + +The other Sofia dailies and their circulations were: _Zemedelsko Zname_, +168,000; _Narodna Mladez_, the newspaper for youth, 225,000; _Trud_, the +organ of the trade unions, 200,000; _Narodna Armiya_, an organ of the +Ministry of National Defense, 50,000; _Vecherni Novini_, founded in +1951, an evening newspaper, 40,000; and _Kooperativno Selo_, the organ +of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, 230,000. The major +provincial dailies were _Otechestven Glas_ (in Plovdiv), _Narodno Delo_ +(in Varna), _Chernomorski Front_ (in Burgas), _Dunavska Pravda_ (in +Ruse), and _Pirinsklo Delo_ (in Blagoevgrad) (see table 11). + +_Table 11. Bulgaria, Circulation of Newspapers and Periodicals, Selected +Years, 1939-71_ + + -----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------- + | 1939 | 1948 | 1960 | 1971 + -----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------- + _Newspapers_: | | | | + Annual circulation* | 130,297 | 345,905 | 602,813 | 837,494 + Annual circulation | | | | + per capita | 20.7 | 48.5 | 76.6 | 98.1 + _Periodicals_: | | | | + Number | 393 | 246 | 151 | 963 + Annual circulation* | 11,208 | 10,421 | 20,923 | 48,605 + Average annual | | | | + issues per capita | 1.8 | 1.5 | 2.7 | 5.7 + -----------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+----------- + * In thousands. + + +Periodicals + +By 1971 there were 963 periodicals with an annual circulation of 48.6 +million, roughly tripling the pre-World War II figures. Periodicals were +an extremely popular form of reading material. + +Among the leading periodicals of Bulgaria are: _Novo Vreme_, a monthly +journal of the Central Committee; _Ikonomicheska Misal_, the organ of +the Institute of Economics of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; _Puls_, +a publication of the Central Committee of the Komsomol; _Slavyani_, the +monthly journal of the Slav Committee in Bulgaria; _Bulgarski Voin_, the +monthly journal of the chief political department of the Bulgarian +People's Army (Bulgarska Narodna Armiya); _Resorts_, a bimonthly journal +printed in Russian, French, English, and German; and _Lov i Ribolov_. + + +RADIO + +In 1939 there were three radio stations and over 60,000 subscribers (see +table 12). Approximately one out of every 100 Bulgarian citizens owned a +radio set. + +_Table 12. Bulgaria, Number of Radio Stations and Subscribers, Selected +Years, 1939-71_ + + ----------------------------+--------+---------+-----------+----------- + | 1939 | 1948 | 1960 | 1971 + ----------------------------+--------+---------+-----------+----------- + Radio stations: | | | | + Mediumwave | n.a. | n.a. | 5 | 12 + Shortwave | n.a. | n.a. | 2 | 4 + Ultra-shortwave | n.a. | n.a. | 0 | 11 + Number of radio stations | 3 | 5 | 7 | 27 + Number of relay stations | n.a. | 41 | 1,347 | 1,835 + Number of radio subscribers | 62,677 | 210,366 | 1,430,653 | 2,304,567 + Number of radio receivers | 62,677 | 201,866 | 868,950 | 1,546,163 + Subscribers* | 10 | 30 | 182 | 269 + ----------------------------+--------+---------+-----------+----------- + n.a.--not available. + * Per 1,000 population. + +As of March 26, 1948, the state controlled not only the management of +radio stations and the content of radio programs but also the +manufacture, distribution, and sale of radio equipment. The ownership +and operation of radios were subject to the chief directorate of radio +information according to the Law on Radio. Article 15 of this law stated +that private homes could only receive programs of Bulgarian radio +stations. Article 17 of the same law stated that all people wishing to +purchase radios had to receive prior authorization and pay a radio tax. + +The ideological purposes of radio broadcasts are presented by the +government in quasi-cold war terms. One radio commentator, Lyuben Popov, +has described the radio as a weapon for waging war on the air. He +explained that "the struggle on the air is becoming sharper and sharper +and more and more uncompromising.... Our propaganda work is part of the +ideological struggle for victory of communist ideas." Radio is perceived +as serving two principal ends. On the domestic level it serves to +provide information as well as propaganda to the public; on the +international level it functions in a purely ideological capacity. + +There are twelve mediumwave radio transmitters: two are located in +Pleven; two in Kurdzhali; two in Sofia; and one each in Plovdiv, +Blagoevgrad, Varna, Shumen, Stara Zagora, and Stolnik. There are eleven +ultra-shortwave stations: three are located in Sofia, two in Botev, two +in Slunchev Bryag, two in Kyustendil, one in Snezhinka, and one in +Plovdiv. There are four shortwave radio stations in Bulgaria. Of the +total number of twenty-seven radio stations in the country, six +broadcast in both amplitude modulation (AM) and frequency modulation +(FM); twenty broadcast in AM only; and one located at Botev Peak +broadcasts only in FM. + +Bulgarian radio stations are on the air approximately 500 hours per +week. Foreign broadcasts are transmitted approximately twenty-six hours +a day Monday through Saturday and twenty-nine hours on Sunday. These +programs are broadcast in Bulgarian, Turkish, Greek, Serbo-Croat, +French, Italian, German, English, Spanish, and Arabic and are +transmitted to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, and South +America. The number of domestic listeners has approximately doubled over +the 1960-71 period. In mid-1973 over a quarter of the population owned +radio sets. + +The leading radio programs are transmitted by Radio Sofia. Radio +Plovdiv, Radio Varna, and Radio Stara Zagora also transmit popular +programs. Radio Rodina is the main station transmitting to Bulgarians +residing abroad. Generally, radio programs consist of news bulletins +dealing with both local and international events; programs for rural +listeners and industrial workers, which deal with industrial, +agricultural, and cultural matters; programs for children, which +complement the formal educational curriculum; literary and cultural +programs; and scientific programs. + +In January 1971 Radio Sofia took steps to refurbish its old programming. +Some critics felt that the old programming was lacking in variety, +causing listeners to turn to foreign broadcasts for more enjoyable +entertainment. Others within the medium wanted to have more freedom and +creativity in programming. As a result, in mid-1973 the three main +programs of Radio Sofia had a singular and distinctive character. +"Horizont" provided both general information and popular music. "Christo +Botev" had a more cultural and propagandistic nature, presenting +ideological, literary, and educational programs. "Orfei" was the program +for classical music, which was occasionally supplemented by theatrical +and literary features. The results of these changes have been mixed. +Although some critics felt that the new programs were more lively than +their predecessors, others continued to criticize them for a "dearth of +original thought, a laconic style, and a pompous tone." + +Other recent developments in radio have been the establishment of radio +relay ties with nearby countries. These relay ties are expected to +increase Bulgaria's communications with the West while providing her new +partners with access to the East. In July 1972 the construction of radio +lines between Bulgaria and Turkey was completed. In December 1972 plans +for a radio relay line between Sofia and Athens were announced; the line +was to be completed by 1974. This particular line was expected to +provide Greece with access to Eastern Europe and Bulgaria with access to +the Middle East and North Africa. + + +TELEVISION + +Television, like radio, became a state monopoly under the control of the +Ministry of Culture on March 26, 1948, but the first strictly +experimental broadcasts were not undertaken until 1954. It was 1959 +before the first regular programming--consisting of two programs per +week--was being broadcast. By 1962 programs had been increased to only +four per week. + +The number of television subscribers rose from a mere 2,573 in 1960 to +185,246 in 1965 and to 1.2 million in 1971. These figures meant the +number of sets per 1,000 people were; less than one, in 1960; about +twenty-three, in 1965; and 138, in 1971. During the same period an +increasing number of transmitting stations was making reception possible +in nearly all parts of the country. By 1972 there were twenty-seven +transmitters; the major ones were located at Sofia, Slunchev Bryag, +Botev, Varna, and Kyustendil. In spite of the expansion of the network +and the increasing numbers of sets available, in comparison to other +European countries there were still relatively few television +subscribers per 1,000 of the population. + +Three-quarters of the television sets are located in the cities. +Although there is only one major television program, Program I, plans +are underway for the transmission of a second program, Program II. This, +when added to the coverage of Program I, is expected to reach 95 percent +of the population by 1975. + +Television is transmitted on a daily basis. The weekly programs run +between 68 and 72 hours. Television time has been apportioned more or +less according to popular taste. Of the total hours, 22 percent of +television time was devoted to documentaries, 15 percent to music, 12 +percent to news, 11 percent to programs for children, 10 percent to +language and literature programs, and 8 percent to sports. There were +also special broadcasts to villages and question-and-answer programs in +industrial enterprises and cooperative farms. Unlike the rest of Eastern +Europe, Bulgaria imported very few television films from the United +States. + +One of the most recent innovations in television programming was the +transmission of a special program for tourists in 1973. Bulgarian Radio +and Television decided to cooperate with the Committee for Tourism to +promote a 1-1/2-hour program for foreign tourists on the Black Sea +coast. The program, as envisioned in 1973, would consist of local news, +presented on three different channels in Russian, English, and German +respectively; local events; international news; tourist information; and +advertisements. + +Future plans for Bulgarian television were outlined in the Sixth Five +Year Plan (1971-75). Although color television programs in the 1970s +were transmitted to Bulgaria from Moscow, Bulgaria's own color +television was to be transmitted in late 1973. Along these lines, +Bulgaria planned to collaborate with Intervision--the Eastern European +television network--in the promotion of color television. In 1972 plans +were also being formulated for the construction of between 250 and 300 +relay stations and additional television transmitters. + + +PUBLISHING + +In 1939 there were 2,169 books and pamphlets published in 6.5 million +copies, and in 1948 there were 2,322 books and pamphlets published in +19.9 million copies. By 1960 the number of book and pamphlet titles had +risen to 3,369 in 30.2 million copies, and by 1971 the number of book +and pamphlet titles reached 4,188 in 46.8 million copies. + +More recent studies of book and pamphlet publication conducted in 1969 +and 1970 indicated that the overwhelming majority of books and pamphlets +were written by Bulgarians. Of the 3,799 books published in 1970, there +were 3,368 by Bulgarian authors. The foreign works during this year were +predominantly in Russian, 131; French, sixty-five; English, sixty-five; +and German, fifty-four. There were few books translated from Spanish and +a sprinkling of translations from other lesser known languages. Of the +translated works most were literary, followed by works dealing with the +social sciences, the applied sciences, the arts, geography and history, +the so-called hard sciences, philosophy, philology, and religion. + +A 1971 study illustrates the fact that--in terms of titles alone--books +are more popular than pamphlets by a ratio of approximately three to one +(see table 13). The greatest number of book titles in 1971 were in the +areas of artistic and folkloric literature, technology and industry, and +scientific and educational texts. The smallest number of book titles +were in the areas of general handbooks, community affairs, and atheism +and religion. The greatest number of pamphlet titles, on the other hand, +were in juvenile literature, communist party literature, and science and +education. The fewest pamphlet titles dealt with atheism and religion, +Marxism-Leninism, languages, and labor and trade unions. + +Because the Bulgarian publishing industry has emphasized the quantity of +books available in terms of copies rather than variety or number of +titles, there has been some serious criticism of policy, particularly +from the newspapers. In fact, among the Balkan countries, Bulgaria ranks +below Yugoslavia, Romania, and Turkey in the number of titles published +annually. One newspaper claimed that of the total number of books +published in 1972, only approximately one-third were so-called real +books, meaning that they were not simply textbooks or brochures. This +newspaper claimed that foreign literature was not well known in Bulgaria +and pointed out that the literature of Asia, Africa, and South America +had increased by only 470 titles since 1939. + +The state not only is in charge of the publishing houses themselves but +also supervises the distribution of books throughout the country. +Editorial councils are the final authorities in determining the output +of individual publishing houses. The one exception to the general +administration of publishing houses is the publication of textbooks. In +this case the Committee on Art and Culture is responsible for the +printing of textbooks, and the Ministry of National Education is, in +turn, responsible for their distribution. + +_Table 13. Bulgaria, Book and Pamphlet Publication, 1971_ + + -------------------------------------+--------------+--------+---------- + | Total Number | Book | Pamphlet + Subject of Publication | of Titles | Titles | Titles + -------------------------------------+--------------+--------+---------- + Marxism-Leninism | 26 | 23 | 3 + Communist party | 270 | 158 | 112 + Socialist and communist construction | 181 | 97 | 84 + Foreign policy and economics | 94 | 74 | 20 + Philosophy | 70 | 52 | 18 + History | 147 | 121 | 26 + Economics | 29 | 21 | 8 + Production | 90 | 82 | 8 + Finance | 15 | 11 | 4 + Labor and trade unions | 55 | 39 | 16 + Legal and constitutional system | 73 | 53 | 20 + Military policy | 38 | 28 | 10 + Natural science and mathematics | 261 | 225 | 36 + Technology and industry | 490 | 415 | 75 + Agriculture and cooperatives | 284 | 214 | 70 + Trade and nutrition | 51 | 37 | 14 + Transportation and communications | 75 | 64 | 11 + Community affairs | 4 | 4 | ... + Health | 215 | 157 | 58 + Physical education and sports | 72 | 53 | 19 + Scientific and educational texts | 397 | 301 | 96 + Literary criticism | 133 | 55 | 78 + Art | 152 | 118 | 34 + Languages | 70 | 66 | 4 + Artistic and folkloric literature | 609 | 534 | 75 + Juvenile literature | 277 | 146 | 131 + Atheism and religion | 8 | 7 | 1 + General handbooks | 2 | 2 | ... + | ----- | ----- | ----- + TOTAL | 4,188 | 3,157 | 1,031 + -------------------------------------+--------------+--------+-------- + +The party is the final arbiter regarding the acceptability of work for +publication. All party control, however, is theoretically unofficial; +censorship exists only in the sense that all power of decision regarding +publication is in the hands of party members. The official process for +publication is that the writer submits his work to the publishing house. +The publishing house then sends it, with a brief description of its +ideological content, to the Committee on Art and Culture. If the book is +approved at this stage, it is returned to the publishing house, where it +is again checked for its ideological content. + +The major criterion for acceptance is the ideological soundness of the +work in question. According to a refugee playwright from Bulgaria, "The +journalist must praise the party, and government, and criticize the +West. The poet, the playwright, the novelist must uphold the communist +ideal." Since the works of leading Communists are almost always accepted +for publication, one writer has stated; "In Bulgaria dead communist +heroes are the safest bet." + +The government is actively engaged in attempting to promote Bulgarian +books abroad. In the late 1960s and early 1970s books by native +authors--although in relatively small numbers--were published in such +diverse countries as Great Britain, Japan, France, Turkey, Italy, Iran, +Austria, Argentina, and Finland. According to the latest available +source on the promotion of Bulgarian books abroad, plans also have been +formulated for the publication of books in the United States, Belgium, +Brazil, and Syria. + +One of the most serious problems in the publishing industry, other than +the broad issue of freedom of expression of the writers, is that of a +shortage of textbooks. In 1970 the Committee for State Control +discovered that courses in 1,013 subjects at the university level had no +textbooks whatsoever. In the University of Sofia alone, where +approximately 317 subjects were taught, textbooks existed for only 216 +of these subjects; roughly half of the books for the 216 subjects that +used textbooks were out of print. + + +LIBRARIES + +When the Communists took power in 1944, they began to allocate +relatively large sums of money to develop new libraries in both large +cities and small villages. By 1971 the country had over 10,000 +libraries, whose collections numbered nearly 50 million volumes (see +table 14). + +The Committee on Art and Culture maintained a number of libraries, +including the country's largest, the Bulgarian National Library. Founded +in 1878 in Sofia, it contained 814,000 works in 1971, including about +13,000 old and rare volumes, approximately 17,000 graphic works, and +some 20,000 photographs and portraits. The library published both a +yearbook and a monthly periodical. + +The committee maintained two other libraries. One was the Ivan Vazov +State Library, situated in Plovdiv, whose collection included a wide +variety of periodicals, old and rare books, and archives. The other +library under the committee was the Elin Pelin Bulgarian Bibliographical +Institute, which maintained a record of all printed works in the country +and published a monthly bulletin listing all of its publications, an +annual yearbook, and a monthly list of all articles published in reviews +and journals. + +In addition there were research-related libraries maintained by the +Academy of Sciences; public school libraries; university libraries; +libraries organized in state plants, factories, and cooperative farms; +regional libraries; and local libraries. + +The major regional libraries were located in Burgas, Ruse, Stara Zagora, +Shumen, Varna, Velsko, and Turnovo. The best known local library was the +City Library of Sofia, which contained about 452,862 volumes. + +_Table 14. Libraries in Bulgaria, 1971_ + + ---------------------+--------------------------------------------- + | Number + Kind of Library |-----------+--------+----------+------------- + | Libraries | Books* | Readers* | Books Lent* + ---------------------+-----------+--------+----------+------------- + National | 1 | 814 | 25 | 189 + Local | 27 | 5,287 | 259 | 4,807 + Reading rooms | 4,108 | 20,387 | 1,359 | 20,744 + Enterprises and | | | | + government offices | 2,110 | 6,532 | 537 | 4,984 + Public schools | 3,860 | 9,336 | 772 | 6,653 + Universities | 23 | 2,077 | 84 | 1,320 + Specialized: | | | | + Science | 115 | 1,409 | 29 | 507 + Government | 35 | 594 | 16 | 282 + Party and public | | | | + organizations | 93 | 804 | 39 | 280 + Technical | 212 | 864 | 54 | 398 + Medical | 60 | 405 | 36 | 361 + Theaters | | | | + (archives) | 133 | 443 | 6 | 34 + Educational | 14 | 152 | 8 | 57 + | ------ | ------ | ----- | ------ + Total specialized | 662 | 4,671 | 188 | 1,919 + | ------ | ------ | ----- | ------ + TOTAL | 10,791 | 49,104 | 3,224 | 40,616 + ---------------------+-----------+--------+----------+------------- + * In thousands. + +The so-called public reading room was another form of library. Founded +by educated Bulgarians during the Turkish occupation as centers of +culture and education, the reading rooms have become quite widespread, +particularly in the villages, and supply books to farmworkers and other +members of the rural population. In the early 1970s there were 4,108 +reading rooms with over 20 million volumes. + + +FILMS + +By 1947, after the new constitution had been enacted, the film industry +became a state monopoly. The next year the new Law on Motion Pictures +was passed, which essentially expanded on the theme of state control. It +officially abolished free enterprise in the film industry and prohibited +individual activities in the importation and exportation of films and +the private operation of movie theaters. The film industry fell under +the official control of the Bulgarian Cinematography Association, which +was under the Department of Motion Pictures of the Committee for +Science, Art, and Culture. By 1950 the entire film industry was under +the complete control of the Council of Ministers. The Department of +Motion Pictures became officially attached to the council. + +One of the early laws regarding films stated that "the motion picture +must become a real fighting assistant of the party and the government +and be an ardent agitator and propagator of the government policy." The +focus of the industry was to be placed on the building of socialism +while increasing the country's bonds with the Soviet Union. Early +legislation stated that "Soviet films gave immense educational influence +and mobilized action and conscious participation in the building of +socialism for still greater friendship with the Soviet Union." This +emphasis on the relationship with the Soviet Union was not only +ideological. Soviet films also represented approximately 87 percent of +the films shown in Bulgaria from 1945 to 1956, and the Bulgarian film +industry was in large part assisted by its film counterpart in the +Soviet Union. + +The film industry expanded quickly under the new government. There were +187 films produced in 1960 (see table 15). By 1965 there were +approximately 2,000 motion picture houses, roughly 83 percent of which +were in the villages. + +_Table 15. Bulgaria, Films Produced and Translated, Selected Years, +1939-71_ + + -------------------------+--------+--------+--------+-------- + | 1939 | 1948 | 1960 | 1971 + -------------------------+--------+--------+--------+-------- + Full length | 3 | ... | 11 | 18 + Art | (3) | ... | (10) | (16) + Documentary | ... | ... | (1) | (2) + Television | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 + Short and medium length | ... | 19 | 110 | 252 + Documentary | ... | (15) | (36) | (60) + Popular science | ... | (4) | (32) | (61) + Technical education | ... | ... | (16) | (21) + Animated | ... | ... | (8) | (16) + Propaganda | ... | ... | (18) | (94) + Previews | ... | 53 | 66 | 58 + | --- | --- | --- | --- + TOTAL | 3 | 72 | 187 | 347 + -------------------------+--------+--------+--------+------- + +In mid-1973 information on the film industry indicated that the +production, distribution, importation, exportation, and exhibition of +films were still controlled by the Bulgarian Cinematography Association. +This agency was subdivided into three sections: the chief studio at the +Bulyana film center where feature films and cartoons were produced; a +second studio that produced documentary shorts and popular science films +for schools; and a third studio that specialized in newsreels. + +Relative to other European countries there was little importation or +exportation of films. In mid-1973 data suggested that between 100 and +150 feature films were imported per year. These films generally came +from the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries, although a +few were imported from Italy, France, and Great Britain. The first +Bulgarian film to be exported was _The Chain_, which was shown in +Czechoslovakia in 1964. The same year another Bulgarian film, _The +Intransigents_, was shown in Ireland, and still another, _The Peach +Thief_, was shown in Great Britain. The precise number of Bulgarian +films exported was unknown, although one writer claimed that in 1973 +Bulgarian films were viewed in about seventy countries. + +In mid-1973 the subject matter of Bulgarian films was characteristically +contemporary, and there was little focus on historical events. Although +a few historical films had been produced, they were in the minority. A +few films had dealt with the subject of Bulgarian resistance to the +Nazis, but they too were relatively scarce. More films were devoted to +the so-called people's heroic struggles. Most films in Bulgaria, +however, dealt with contemporary life in the country and current events. +The overwhelming majority of these films treated the conflicts and +issues of Bulgarian youth. + + + + +SECTION III. ECONOMIC + +CHAPTER 12 + +CHARACTER AND STRUCTURE OF THE ECONOMY + + +Under comprehensive control of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see +Glossary), the economy was severely strained in mid-1973 as the result +of the dual task imposed upon it by the BKP leadership to increase +productivity rapidly and substantially and to provide a growing volume +of consumer goods and services under a newly announced program for +raising the population's low standard of living. A first step in +improving the living standard took the form of an upward adjustment in +the lowest wage brackets and a broadening of social security provisions. +Further improvements, however, were made conditional upon attainment of +the productivity and production goals. + +The development of the economy and of the consumer program faced severe +limitations because of the inadequacy of domestic resources, including +basic raw materials, fuels and power, skilled workers, and trained +professional personnel. Economic development was heavily dependent on +financial and technical aid from the Soviet Union, and dependence upon +that country was to be increased in the 1971-75 period. Efforts to +overcome persistent and growth-retarding difficulties in the economy led +to frequent organizational and procedural changes in the economic +mechanism, the structure of which in mid-1973 was still in flux as a +result of decisions taken by the BKP in 1965 and in 1968. + +The main trend in reshaping the organization and management of the +economy was one of concentration and centralization--a trend that led to +the creation of huge trusts in industry and distribution and of vast +agroindustrial complexes in agriculture. In the process, divisions and +lines of authority were blurred, and violations of government directives +were frequent because of their complexity and the constraints they +placed on the day-to-day operation of economic enterprises. + +In the search for a more efficient organization and management pattern, +heavy reliance was placed on the introduction of complex automation into +all economic processes with the aid of a nationwide computer network--a +system of automation that would extend from the highest levels of +national economic planning down to the individual factory shop and cow +barn. No ideas have been advanced, however, on how complex automation +would solve the basic problem of the economy--the widely acknowledged +and pervasive lack of incentives to work. The methods used to grapple +with this problem were limited to a tinkering with the wage and bonus +system, administrative sanctions, political indoctrination, and +exhortations. + + +ORGANIZATION + +State ownership of the means of production predominates in the economy. +Collective ownership has prevailed in agriculture, but it may be +gradually eliminated in the course of the agricultural reorganization +initiated in 1970 (see ch. 13). Private ownership of productive +resources is limited to subsidiary farm or garden enterprises of +collective farmers, industrial and state farmworkers, and artisans; a +small number of individual farms on marginal lands; and noncollectivized +artisan shops. In 1971 private ownership encompassed about 10 percent of +the agricultural land but only 2.5 percent of the fixed assets used in +production. Private ownership of personal property and homes is allowed. + +The proportions of national income (net material product) generated in +each of the ownership sectors in 1971 were: state, 70 percent; +collective, 21 percent; and private, 9 percent. The importance of +private enterprise in the production of food, however, is much greater +than its contribution to the national income may suggest. The private +sector has provided more than one-fifth of the crop output and one-third +of the livestock production (see ch. 13). + +Whereas the leadership has promoted livestock production on private farm +plots, since 1968 it has placed increasingly severe restrictions on the +activities of private artisans, who had originally been encouraged to +expand their operations through liberal regulations issued in 1965. +Aside from providing essential services, private artisans played an +important role in supplying a variety of consumer goods for the +population. The restrictions on artisans' activities have been based on +the BKP tenet that private ownership of means of production and the use +of personal property to acquire unearned income are incompatible with +the socialist order and the country's new constitution. + +Economic activities are centrally planned and directed along lines +prescribed by the BKP. The functions of planning and control are +exercised by the Council of Ministers with the aid of specialized +economic ministries, such as the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of +Chemical Industry and Power Generation, and the Ministry of Foreign +Trade, and of various governmental committees and commissions (see ch. +8). The state banking system and, more particularly, bank credit have +also served as tools for the control of enterprises and trusts. + +The economic management structure has been subject to frequent changes. +In the spring of 1972 there were fourteen economic ministries, including +five ministries exclusively concerned with branches of industry and +construction. The Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Industry, as its +name implies, has functioned in two major economic sectors and has also +had substantial responsibilities in the field of distribution. Among the +committees and commissions the most important have been the State +Planning Committee, the Committee on Prices, and the Commission for +Economic and Scientific-Technical Cooperation. In December 1972 the +Commission on the Living Standard was created to coordinate and control +the fulfillment of the national living standard program decided upon by +the plenum of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party. +Attached to the Council of Ministers and chaired by a deputy minister, +the commission is composed of ministers and deputy ministers, +representatives of public organizations, scientists, and other members. + +Since the beginning of 1971 economic management has been more highly +centralized than before. A plan for partial decentralization of economic +decision making adopted in 1965 was abandoned by 1968. The economy is +organized into trusts (officially known as state economic associations) +that unite enterprises within branches of economic sectors along +functional lines, such as metallurgy, textiles, food processing, +railroads, freight forwarding, tourism, wholesale distribution, +publishing, and filmmaking. In agriculture, trusts are known as +agroindustrial complexes; each complex unites several previously +independent farms (see ch. 13). Trusts are subordinated to economic +ministries and are ultimately responsible to the Council of Ministers. +The extent of the ministries' authority over trusts is not clear. In +some important respects trusts receive instructions directly from the +Council of Ministers. + +Agroindustrial trusts number 170. In the nonagricultural sector about +sixty-two trusts were originally created, with an average of thirty +branches but as many as 106 in one instance. The process of +concentration and centralization continued on a small scale at least +until the spring of 1973, in part through the consolidation of separate +trusts. Before the reorganization, trust branches had been legally and +financially independent enterprises, and trusts served only as +administrative links between enterprises and ministries. Whereas +individual enterprises were previously regarded as the basic economic +units in the country, it is the trusts that have been officially +considered as such under the new system of management. + +Trusts have assumed various functions previously performed by the +enterprises themselves. They formulate economic and technological +development policies for the trust as a whole and for each branch; +establish relations with suppliers, distributors, and financial +institutions; and centralize research and development. Trusts have also +been charged with responsibility for providing operational guidance to +their branches and for organizing the export of products that they +manufacture. Branches remain responsible for the effective organization +of operations, efficient uses of resources, and the conscientious +fulfillment of tasks assigned to them by the annual plan. + +Regulations governing the authority of trusts over their branches were +intended to permit the establishment of flexible internal management +organizations adapted to the particular needs of each trust. The trusts' +policies were expected to be based on the rule that whatever the trust +could do better than the branches should be centralized in it and, +conversely, whatever the branches could do better than the trust should +be left in their field of competence. Each trust was supposed to arrive +at an optimal combination of management centralization and +decentralization. + +The transition to the new management system involved difficulties +because of delays in issuing pertinent regulations, misinterpretation of +the regulations by trust managers, and the reluctance of enterprise +managers to acquiesce in the loss of their independence. Most of the +organizational and personnel problems were reported to have been +resolved by the end of 1971, and in March 1973 party chief Todor Zhivkov +reported that further consolidation of the new management structure had +been achieved. In the long run, greater efficiency of economic +management is to be attained through pervasive automation of all +management functions with the aid of a synchronized national network of +electronic computers. + +Under the new system of trusts, profits of individual branches are +pooled and redistributed by the parent organization. Highly productive +branches may thus find themselves in the position of having to share +their profits with unproductive branches. This feature, some observers +believe, may reduce incentives to raise the level of efficiency, +increase output, and improve the quality of products. + + +STRUCTURE AND GROWTH + +National income (net national product, which excludes most services not +directly related to production) was officially reported to have been +10.41 billion leva (for value of the lev--see Glossary) in 1971, +compared to 10.53 billion leva in 1970. Nevertheless, the official index +of national income growth showed an increase of 7 percent from 1970 to +1971. This example illustrates the difficulty of using official +statistics to describe the structure and growth of the economy or +structural changes over a period of time. + +According to the 1971 statistical yearbook for Bulgaria, the respective +shares of industry and agriculture in national income in 1970 were 49 +and 22 percent. The yearbook issued in 1972, however, cited 1970 figures +of 55 and 17 percent instead. According to the earlier source, the +proportion of national income contributed by industry increased by 6.5 +percent in the 1960-70 period, whereas the subsequent source shows a +growth of 17 percent for the same period. Similarly, the contribution of +agriculture to national income was reported to have declined by 36.4 and +by 33.3 percent. An upward trend in the contribution of trade to +national income was shown in the earlier source, but a declining trend +appeared in the latter. + +The differences in statistical presentation resulted primarily from a +major revision of wholesale prices, introduced by the government in +January 1971. Price revisions made in earlier years, changes in the +composition of individual statistical categories and other +methodological modifications also contributed to the inconsistency of +statistical time series in value terms. Because of differences in +concept and coverage, Bulgarian national account data are not comparable +with those of the United Nations or the United States systems of +national accounts. + +In the 1960-71 period national income at prices of 1957 was reported to +have increased 2.25 times, which is equivalent to an average annual 7.7 +percent rate of growth. The growth of national income was more rapid in +the years 1966 through 1971 than it had been in the 1960-65 period. The +official national income index implies an average annual increase of 8.5 +percent in the latter period, compared to 6.7 percent in the earlier +years. Reliable data on the growth of Bulgarian national income in +Western terms are not available. Relatively high rates of economic +growth are generally associated with early stages of industrial +development. + +In 1971 industry still lagged behind agriculture in terms of employment, +although the proportion of the labor force employed in industry had been +steadily rising, while employment in agriculture had been declining. In +the 1960-71 period employment in industry rose from 21.9 to 31.2 percent +of the labor force, and employment in agriculture declined from 54.7 to +33.4 percent of the total. During the same period employment in the +services sector increased from 9.2 to 13.4 percent of the labor force, +and gains in employment were made in all other economic sectors except +forestry, including construction, transportation and communications, and +trade. + + +LABOR + +Growth and productivity of the economy have been adversely affected by +shortages of skilled labor and of adequately trained and experienced +technical and executive personnel. In the words of the minister of labor +and social welfare, the level of worker's current training is +inconsistent with the country's industrial base; it lags behind the +requirements of the scientific and technical revolution. The lack of +required skills has contributed to frequent machinery breakdowns and to +the output of low-quality products. As a means of upgrading the skills +of workers and executives, a broad program for training and retraining +was launched in October 1972 with the cooperation of the Ministry of +National Education. About half the number of persons undergoing training +were below the age of thirty. + +Other persistent shortcomings in the field of labor that have plagued +the economy and have been the target of frequent criticism and +administrative action by the leadership are inefficient organization of +labor and poor labor discipline. Inefficient labor organization has been +mainly an outgrowth of inferior management skills. Poor labor discipline +has been a consequence of inadequate work incentives. In 1972 the +minister of labor and social welfare estimated that more than 20 percent +of the working time was lost through idling and other violations of +labor discipline. + +Adequate information on the structure of wages was not available in +mid-1973. The main faults of the wage system that prevailed in early +1973 after repeated revisions, however, were outlined by the BKP leader, +Zhivkov, and these faults were also discussed by labor ministry +officials from the point of view of their effect on labor productivity. +The basic wage constitutes the main incentive for work; bonuses, +premiums, and honors play a minor role. Because of the large investment +needs for industrial development and the corollary need to restrict +consumption, wages have been kept low, and the rise in wages has been +slower than the growth of productivity. + +Basic wage pay has been based on the place of employment and not on the +work performed. Wage scales for identical work have differed +substantially between branches of the economy and industry. In industry, +wage scales have been lower in branches manufacturing consumer goods +than in branches producing capital goods; they have been lowest in +textile mills. Wages have been determined by job classifications within +economic and industrial branches, the workers' level of education, and +length of service. Normal increases in pay for workers remaining in the +same positions have therefore been infrequent. + +Slow promotion and the disparity in wage scales contributed to excessive +labor turnover because, under the prevailing conditions of scarcity, +trained workers were able to improve their incomes through a change of +jobs. It also led to irregularities in job reclassification by employers +seeking to retain their workers through increases in pay. Wages have +been raised from time to time by the government through general upward +revisions of pay scales. This method, however, has no incentive value +because it is not directly linked to an improvement in the workers' +performance. + +With a view to enhancing the stimulative effect of wages on +productivity, Zhivkov proposed a basic reform of the wage system that +would be carried out gradually in the 1973-80 period. In presenting his +proposal to the BKP Central Committee plenum, Zhivkov dwelt on some of +the major principles to be embodied in the new wage system. The minimum +wage must be higher, and the rise in wages must be more rapid than +before. Increases in basic wages must be closely linked to individual +performance and to overall labor productivity in general, pay would be +based on performance rather than on formal qualification or length of +service. To this end the sectoral approach to wage determination is to +be abandoned in favor of a functional approach that would establish a +uniform economy-wide wage scale for jobs in relation to their complexity +and hardship and to the specific conditions of work. Rigid pay scales +are to be replaced by flexible schedules providing a range of pay for +each job depending upon the ability and performance of the worker. + +The reform would also gradually eliminate the egalitarian aspect of the +current wage system by providing appropriate differentials for workers +with higher qualifications. Under the current system, for example, the +salary of economists has been below that of engineers, and the salary of +engineers has been equivalent to the wages of skilled workers. This +problem has been repeatedly considered in the past, but its solution was +delayed for lack of funds. + +Zhivkov also cited shortcomings of the prevailing piecework system and +suggested some long-range remedies for the ills. About 60 percent of all +workers have been employed on the piecework system. Production norms +under the system have been low because of technological advances and the +infrequency of adjustment of norms. Under these conditions workers have +been able to exceed the basic norms to such an extent that payment for +work above the norm has become a large, and in some cases the +predominant, portion of the workers' earnings. Striving to increase +their wages, workers under the piecework system have often resorted to +shortcuts that have lowered the quality of output. + +Zhivkov's proposal for improvement included the introduction of more +realistic and more flexible quantitative and qualitative production +norms and a gradual transition to hourly rates of pay with bonus +payments for superior work whenever the quantity and quality of output +is not directly dependent on individual workers. Under these conditions +bonus payments would be linked to the performance of the entire working +personnel, and the importance of the bonus in wage payments would be +enhanced. + +The wage reform has been discussed in the context of a broad program, +announced by the BKP Central Committee plenum in December 1972, for a +general rise in incomes and an improvement in the population's level of +living. In the process the difference between urban and lagging rural +incomes is to be eliminated. Implementation of the program has been made +contingent upon the attainment of greater productivity and output +through workers' efforts to surpass production and efficiency targets +set by the government. These more difficult targets must be embodied in +what have been officially labeled workers' counterplans. The BKP and +the government have launched a new form of so-called socialist +competition among workers and economic units, the aim of which is to +exceed in performance the requirements of the counterplans. + +Implementation of the standard of living program began with the +introduction of wage increases, effective March 1, 1973, for workers +employed under difficult or hazardous conditions, schoolteachers and +university faculties, physicians and medical personnel, and employees of +artistic and cultural institutions. Effective June 1 the minimum wage +for all types of work was raised from 65 to 80 leva per month, and a +level of 88 leva per month was decreed for all workers earning between +80 and 87 leva. The resultant distortion of the wage structure is to be +eliminated over a period of several years. + +Another important measure affecting labor was announced in March 1973--a +gradual transition from a six-day, forty-six-hour workweek to a five-day +week of forty-two and a half hours. Under the BKP directive the +transition must be accomplished without loss in production; the loss in +worktime must be compensated by a corresponding rise in productivity. +The shorter workweek had been in effect on an experimental basis for +about 17 percent of the industrial workers since 1968. In 1973 and 1974 +it was to be introduced in enterprises of the material production +sector, excluding agriculture, provided that the required rise in +productivity has been assured. In 1975 the reduced workweek will be +introduced in transport, for management of state economic enterprises, +and for persons employed in the field of services other than health +services and educational institutions. Preparations for experiments with +a shortened workweek in these two areas and in agriculture are to be +undertaken in 1974 and 1975. The decree on working hours gave formal +approval to an established practice that requires workers to make up by +work on Saturdays or Sundays for worktime lost whenever official +holidays fall on weekdays. + + +INVESTMENT + +The proportion of national income devoted annually to capital formation +(net investment) rose steadily from 22.6 percent in 1961 to 35.4 percent +in 1966 and 1967 and declined thereafter progressively to 26.8 percent +in 1971. In absolute terms annual capital formation increased from 1.06 +billion leva in 1961 to 3.06 billion leva in 1970, then declined to 2.74 +billion leva in 1971. More than half the net addition to capital (from +46 to 67 percent annually) consisted of fixed assets; the balance +represented equipment and inventories. + +Gross investment at current prices increased from 1.4 billion leva in +1961 to 3.6 billion leva in 1971; investment was officially estimated at +3.9 billion leva in 1972 and was scheduled to reach 4.3 billion leva in +1973. The bulk of investment has been channeled into the material +production sector (including trade). The annual investment share of +this sector increased from about 74 percent in 1960 to 79 percent in +1969 and declined to 76 percent in 1971. The proportion of investment +devoted to housing and services declined correspondingly in the 1960-69 +period from 26 to 21 percent and rose in the subsequent two years to 24 +percent. The shift in the investment trend foreshadowed the formal +directive issued by the Tenth Party Congress in April 1971 for the +development of a program to raise the population's standard of living. + +Industry has been the main beneficiary of investment funds; its share +rose to almost 50 percent in 1969 but declined slightly thereafter. +Agriculture received only about 15 percent of investment in the years +1969 through 1971, compared to 28 percent in 1960 and 19 percent in +1965. Residential investment declined from 14 percent in 1960 to an +average of not quite 10 percent in the 1969-71 period. + +Building construction and installation work absorbed the largest, though +declining, share of investment--60 percent in 1960 and 46.4 percent in +1971. The share of investment spent on machinery and equipment rose by +50 percent in the 1960-69 period from 26 to 39 percent, but declined to +34 percent in 1970 and 37 percent in 1971. Imported machinery, mostly +from the Soviet Union, constituted a major though declining proportion +of investment in machinery--from two-thirds to one-half of the total in +the 1965-71 period. Other investment expenses, including geological +surveys, absorbed from 12 to 17 percent of annual investment. + +New investment has been increasingly concentrated in state enterprises. +In the 1960-71 period the proportion of investment absorbed by state +enterprises increased from 68 to 83 percent, while the share of +investment devoted to collective farms declined from 18 to 8.5 percent. +Annual investment in artisans' collectives rose from 1.2 percent of +total investment in 1960 to 2.7 percent in 1968 and declined to 1.1 +percent in 1971. This trend paralleled the government's policy of +initial encouragement and subsequent restriction of private artisan +activities; it suggests that the government's restrictive policy may not +have been limited to private artisans alone (see Organization, this +ch.). + +Private investment in residential construction declined from 12.7 +percent of annual investment in 1960 to 6.5 percent in 1970 but rose to +7.2 percent in 1971. In absolute terms private investment increased from +about 174 million leva to 262 million leva. By 1973, however, new +restrictions were being introduced on housing construction by private +individuals. As much as 90 percent of the residential construction in +1960 and 70 percent in 1971 was privately financed. In the 1968-70 +period about half the private investment in housing was supported by +bank loans or by loans from special funds of employing organizations. + +The rise in the volume of capital per worker in the 1960-70 period as a +result of the investment activity did not produce a corresponding +increase in labor productivity; that is, the efficiency of investment +declined. Whereas the amount of fixed capital per worker in the sphere +of material production increased at an average annual rate of 10.4 +percent, and the volume of machinery and inventories rose by 12.5 +percent per year, output per worker increased at an annual rate of only +7.7 percent. In an effort to increase the efficiency of investment, the +Tenth Party Congress, convened in the spring of 1971, directed that 35 +percent of new investment in the sphere of material production during +the 1971-75 period should be used for the reconstruction and +modernization of existing facilities. In 1972, however, the proportion +of investment used for this purpose was only 18 percent. + +In the context of the eventually abandoned program for economic +decentralization, provision was made for reducing the role of the +central government budget in financing investments and for increasing +participation by investors with their own funds and bank credits. In the +sphere of material production, excluding trade, budgetary allocations in +1965 accounted for 55 percent of investment, and bank credits made up 7 +percent; in 1969 investment funds from these sources constituted 21 and +32 percent, respectively. The contribution from the budget, however, +rose again after 1969 to 28 percent in 1971, whereas bank credits +declined to less than 20 percent of the investment funds. The share of +investors' own resources, including funds of local governments, +increased from 36 percent in 1965 to 52 percent in 1971. Budgetary +investment funds are being increasingly concentrated on projects in the +fields of services and raw materials production. + +A satisfactory explanation of the shifts in the pattern of investment +financing is not feasible in the absence of adequate information on the +changing methods of financing economic enterprises and organizations. +The announced government policy is to shift financing progressively from +the budget to the economic trusts. The shifts did not alter the +fundamental fact that all investment funds, excluding the small private +investment, remained public property subject to governmental controls +and that the difference was merely one of bookkeeping. The change in the +channeling of public investment funds was introduced in the hope of +increasing the effectiveness of their use. + +The realization of major investment projects, particularly in industry, +has been made possible by very substantial technical and material +assistance from the Soviet Union. Nevertheless, serious shortcomings +have been officially reported in the implementation of investment +programs, both in industrial and in residential construction. The main +problem has been posed by the initiation of building programs that +exceed the capacity of the construction industry and the consequent +scattering of limited resources. The situation has been aggravated by +frequently poor project planning, inferior design, delays in the +delivery of machinery and materials, poor organization of work, and +slack discipline. + +As a result of the difficulties in construction, the completion and +commissioning of new industrial plants has often been delayed, and +housing construction has fallen chronically short of the volume +planned--by as much as 25 percent in 1972. The consequent failure of the +anticipated output from new plants to materialize created shortages in +various areas, thereby affecting production and market supplies +adversely and necessitating revisions of the economic plans. In an +effort to minimize these difficulties, the government adopted various +administrative measures in 1971 and 1972, including the formulation of a +list of nationally important construction projects, direct supervision +of which was assumed by the Council of Ministers. The number of projects +included in the list for 1972 was variously reported as thirty-five and +thirty-nine out of a total of more than 3,000 projects. The listed +projects consisted mainly of plants for the production of industrial +materials. + + +BUDGET + +The budget constitutes the basic financial plan of the country's +leadership. It is the monetary expression of the annual socioeconomic +plan and provides for the financial flows implicit in that plan. The +budget is comprehensive; it takes into account all aspects of the +economic, social, and cultural activities of the country. In line with +the government's policy of gradually placing economic trusts and their +branches on a self-financing basis, a progressively larger share of the +funds budgeted for the economy is being retained by the trusts rather +than channeled to the budget. The sums thus retained by economic +organization rose from about 3 billion leva in 1971 to a planned level +of more than 5 billion leva in 1973. Ultimate control over the use of +these funds, nevertheless, remains with the government, and their +disposition is subject to the provisions of the budget. + +The national budget is formulated by the Ministry of Finance along lines +dictated by the BKP leadership and must be approved by the National +Assembly. As a rule only very minor modifications are made in the +process of legislative review. Budgets for local governments are +prepared as a part of the national budget; in 1972 and 1973 their total +amount was equivalent to about 17 percent of the overall national +budget. The Ministry of Finance is also responsible for ensuring the +scrupulous implementation of the budget. It is assisted in this task by +a nationwide network of state and local inspectors and by agents of the +banks. Actual budgetary results are directly affected by deviations from +the annual economic plan and therefore seldom, if ever, correspond to +the original estimates, which have the force of law. + +Systematic publication of budgetary data was discontinued in the +mid-1960s. Since then only scattered figures have become available +through press reports on the presentation of the budget to the National +Assembly and occasional articles by the minister of finance or other +ministry officials. + +The annual budgets have grown steadily larger. The approved budget for +1973 called for revenues of 7,057 million leva and expenditures of 7,035 +million leva. In 1970 actual revenues totaled 5,723 million leva, the +expenditures amounted to 5,650 million leva. Usually about 90 percent of +budgetary revenue has been derived from operations of the economy, and +the remainder has been raised through a variety of levies on the +population. The largest single item of revenue--more than 30 percent of +the total--has been collected in the form of a turnover tax on sales +that has been passed on to the ultimate consumer. The second most +important revenue source has consisted of levies on enterprises in the +form of a profits tax, a tax on fixed capital (interest charge) and +miscellaneous other deductions from income. Social security taxes based +on payrolls have been the third major source. Levied at a rate of 12.5 +percent through 1972, the social security tax was raised by 20 percent +in 1973 in order to meet rising costs. In 1972 about four-fifths of the +turnover tax and two-thirds of the revenue from taxes on profits and +capital was to be derived from industry. + +In December 1972 the BKP Central Committee plenum embarked upon a +gradual modification of the income tax system that would eventually lead +to a total abolition of income taxes for wage earners and collective +farmers by 1980. Initially, the existing system is to be improved by +introducing unified taxation for all blue- and white-collar workers and +collective farmers and by establishing a tax exemption equal to the +official minimum rate of pay. Gradual elimination of all income taxes +for these population groups in the 1976-80 period is to be synchronized +with the contemplated reform of wage scales. At the same time a system +of progressive taxation is to be introduced on incomes derived from +activities in the private sector that are not in conformity with the +amount of labor invested. + +The most complete recent information on budgetary expenditures is +available from the approved budget for 1972. Out of a total outlay of +6,514 million leva, 3,224 million leva was earmarked for the national +economy, and 2,065 million leva was set aside for social and cultural +needs. The remaining undisclosed balance of 1,225 million leva, or 19 +percent of the total outlays, must have included expenditures for +defense, internal security, and government administration. The social +and cultural expenditures included; social security payments, 1,054 +million leva; education, 532 million leva; public health, 303 million +leva; culture and arts, 83 million leva; and science, 93 million leva, +in addition to 235 million leva to be provided by research organizations +and economic trusts. + +Information on the budget for 1973 was more sketchy. No information had +been disclosed on the magnitude of the expenditure on the national +economy; the usually undisclosed residual was therefore also not +ascertainable. The increase in overall revenues and expenditures over +those in 1972 was about 8 percent. Outlays for social and cultural +affairs, however, were planned to increase by 11.8 percent, including +increases of 18.8 and 15.7 percent, respectively, for public health and +education. These figures reflected the government's announced program +for increasing the well-being of the population. + +The BKP and government leadership look upon the budget as a major tool +for executing BKP economic policies. As expressed by the minister of +finance in 1973, the budget contains a whole arsenal of financial and +economic levers--levers that must be used ever more skillfully to raise +the efficiency of economic performance, to improve the structure of +production and consumption, and to bring about a well-balanced economy. +The budget is also considered a tool for exercising effective control +over the entire sphere of production and services, not only to ensure +smooth current operations but also to inhibit any undesirable departures +from official policy. + +The disciplinary powers of the budget have yet to be more fully +developed to cope successfully with the officially reported shortcomings +in the economy. One step in this direction calls for the further +intensification of what has been officially called financial and bank +control through the lev, that is, the discretionary use of financial +sanctions, including the denial of budgetary allocations or bank +credits, to enforce strict compliance with specific plan directives. +Another advocated measure is to intensify the public campaign against +waste and the irresponsible attitude toward public funds and for tighter +financial discipline. An implacable campaign is also to be waged against +wrongs done to the citizens in the use of public funds, illegal +formation and misappropriation of funds by economic organizations, +irregularities in the supply of materials, failure to produce consumer +goods despite the availability of needed resources, accumulation of +excessive inventories, and pilferage. + +Many apparent violations of economic and budgetary discipline arise +because of the frequently inadequate knowledge or understanding by +personnel at all levels of the economy of the constantly changing laws +and regulations concerning the operation and interrelation of the +diverse economic units, particularly in the area of finance. The changes +in laws and regulations are the result of an unceasing search for a +system that would provide effective incentives toward conscientious and +efficient work to all gainfully employed persons. + + +BANKING AND CURRENCY + +Banking + +Since early 1971 the country's banking system has consisted of the +Bulgarian National Bank and two semi-independent banks attached to it: +the Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank and the State Savings Bank. This +banking system emerged after three reorganizations in the 1967-70 period +and conforms to the general pattern of institutional and management +concentration in the economy. In addition to serving as the central bank +of issue, the Bulgarian National Bank, an independent agency under the +Council of Ministers, is directly responsible for financing all sectors +and phases of the economy other than foreign trade and consumer credit, +in which fields it supervises the activities of the Bulgarian Foreign +Trade Bank and the State Savings Bank. The bank is also responsible for +exercising close control over the economic units that it finances, with +a view to ensuring the fulfillment of all national economic plans and +the scrupulous adherence to existing laws and regulations. + +A minimum of current information was available in mid-1973 on the +structure of the banks, the relationships between them, and their +financial operations. Official statistics are limited to annual data on +bank credits for investment and on the volume of outstanding short- and +long-term loan balances for the banking system as a whole. Data on +outstanding loans are broken down by type of borrower and, in the case +of short-term loans, also by purpose. With minor exceptions, no +information was available on the volume of loans extended, on loan +maturities, or on interest rates after 1970. Statistics had also been +published on the volume of personal savings in the accounts of the +saving bank at the end of each year. + +The total amount of loans outstanding at the end of the year increased +from 3.6 billion leva in 1965 to 9.2 billion leva in 1971. The +proportion of long-term loan balances rose from 24 percent of the total +amount in 1965 to 40 percent in 1970 but declined to less than 36 +percent in 1971. The increase in lending activity to 1970 was a direct +consequence of the partial shift from predominantly budgetary financing +of economic activities to a substantial measure of self-financing by +enterprises and trusts. The subsequent decline was related to the +tightening of investment credit in an effort to reduce waste in the +construction program (see Investment, this ch.). Long-term loans have +been granted predominantly, if not exclusively, for fixed investment +purposes. + +Of the 3.27 billion leva in long-term loans outstanding at the end of +1971, 2.61 billion leva was due from state and collective enterprises, +and 660 million leva was owed by private individuals who had borrowed to +finance home construction. Only 12.5 percent of the loan balances was +due from collective farms--an amount equivalent to barely 62 percent of +the sums owed by private individuals. Collective enterprises in industry +and services had outstanding loans of only 13 million leva. In relation +to the value of each sector's fixed assets in 1971, the proportion of +outstanding long-term loans was: state enterprises, 11.3 percent; +collective farms, 16.1 percent; and collective artisans, 2.9 percent. + +Nine-tenths of the short-term loan balances at the end of 1971 were owed +by state enterprises, and one-tenth was due from collective enterprises. +Wholesale and retail trade accounted for 36 percent of the outstanding +loans; industry and construction were each liable for 28 percent. +Short-term loan balances of agriculture amounted to less than 8 percent +of the total sum, and balances of the services sector constituted less +than 0.2 percent. The largest part of short-term loans was granted for +working capital purposes, including the procurement of farm products. A +balance of almost 1 billion leva, however, was outstanding on loans for +the completion of building construction, including a small amount for +housing. + +A very small, though increasing, volume of consumer loans for the +purchase of durable goods and clothing has been granted by the State +Savings Bank. The volume of such loans--36.5 million leva in 1966, 48.2 +million leva in 1967, and 45.4 million leva in 1968--was equivalent to +slightly more than 1 percent of retail sales in the commercial trade +network. The outstanding balances of consumer loans at the end of the +year rose from 49.1 million leva in 1968 to 102.1 million leva in 1971. +Consumer loans may not exceed the sum of 500 leva and may be used only +for the purchase of designated goods. In 1969 the authorized list +included twenty-three categories. A sample survey in 1969 indicated that +about two-thirds of the loan volume was used to acquire television sets, +furniture, and motorcycles; another 20 percent was spent on radios, +sewing machines, and scooters. + +Apart from consumer loans, the State Savings Bank grants small loans to +licensed private craftsmen for working capital and to collective and +state farmworkers and other qualified applicants for the purchase of +productive livestock, seeds, fertilizers, small tools, and other farm +perquisites. The bank also makes loans for adapting premises to the +needs of tourism; for current building repairs; and for meeting personal +emergencies, including loans to newlyweds for the acquisition of +furnishings. Depending upon the purpose of the loans, loan ceilings +range from 150 to 800 leva, and maturities extend from ten months to +eight years. + +The volume of consumer loans was reported to have reached 116 million +leva in 1972. Under the economic plan for 1973, the State Savings Bank +was scheduled to make loans to individuals for the purchase of consumer +goods and other needs in the amount of 203 million leva and for home +construction in the amount of 180 million leva. The bank was also +expected to lend 141 million leva to people's councils. + +Loan funds of the State Savings Bank have been derived from personal +savings deposits and, presumably, from interest payments. The bank also +conducts state lotteries for the benefit of the state budget. There is +no evidence as to whether the bank retains a portion of the lottery +proceeds for its own operations. Savings deposits increased almost +fivefold in the 1960-71 period to a level of about 3.6 billion leva--a +sum equivalent to 64 percent of total retail sales or 150 percent of +food sales through commercial and institutional channels in 1970. +According to preliminary data, savings deposits rose by 630 million leva +in 1972, and they were scheduled to increase further by 870 million leva +under the economic plan for 1973. The bulk of savings deposits has been +channeled into the budget. + +The repayment record on loans by the State Savings Bank was excellent, +at least through 1969. The proportion of delinquent loans was reduced +from 3.1 percent in 1966 to 0.01 percent in 1969. This result was +achieved by a regulation that provided for penalties to be imposed on +paymasters throughout the economy who failed to withhold or to report to +the bank monthly loan payments. According to a bank official, there had +been no need to impose any penalties because the regulation itself +proved to be an adequate deterrent. + +The loan repayment record of enterprises, trusts, and other economic +organizations has not been nearly so good and led to a tightening of +credit provisions in 1971. The proportion of overdue short-term loans in +the production sector increased from 10.7 percent in 1966 to 11.8 +percent in 1971. Similar information on long-term loans has not been +published. + +The penalty interest rate on delinquent loans is 10 percent (it was 8 +percent through 1970), compared to a normal range of 1 to 5 percent on +loans for working capital. Whenever a bank loan or supplier credit is +delinquent for more than three months and the delinquent amount exceeds +20 percent of the borrower's working capital, the borrower becomes +subject to a special credit and repayment regime, the specific +conditions of which are not known. The ultimate sanction is the refusal +of credit and, at times, even the replacement of the trust or enterprise +director. The special credit regime is also applied whenever a trust or +its branch (enterprise) stockpiles unneeded inventories; procures +materials for production without guaranteed outlets for the output; +undertakes a construction program without adequate financial provisions; +increases its obligations; or suffers a worsening of its financial +condition for any other reason. + +Interest costs in excess of those planned lower the economic +organization's income and, under the prevailing incentives system, also +reduce the funds available for the payment of wages, salaries, and +bonuses. Loan delinquency and the associated penalty interest rate, +therefore, often bring about the reduction or elimination of bonus +payments and, in extreme cases, the withholding of a portion of regular +pay. Application of the more severe sanctions entails a serious +deterioration of the economic organization's finances that adversely +affects its production program. Through close contact with borrowers and +detailed supervision of their operations the bank endeavors to forestall +delinquencies and the attendant losses to the economy. In December 1972 +the Council of Ministers adopted a decision to enhance the role of the +banking system in administering the economy by intensifying its +participation in the formulation of economic plans and by expanding its +authority in monitoring plan fulfillment. + + +Currency + +The currency unit of the country is the lev, divided into 100 stotinki +(see Glossary). It is a nonconvertible currency with a variety of +exchange rates, usable only in domestic transactions. Since January 1, +1962, the lev has been officially defined to contain 759.548 milligrams +of fine gold--equivalent to 1.17 leva per US$1 at that time. This +exchange rate was valid only for commercial transactions. In the wake of +the United States dollar devaluation on December 18, 1971, the official +commercial exchange rate was set at 1.08 leva per US$1 (greenback--see +Glossary). A further revision of the exchange rate was put into effect +on February 13, 1973, which established a parity of 0.97 leva per US$1. +The subsequent decline in the value of the dollar in foreign markets did +not call forth another official exchange revaluation to mid-1973. + +The official tourist exchange rate for so-called capitalist currencies +underwent similar revisions and was set at 1.65 leva per US$1 on +February 14, 1973. The noncommercial rate for ruble area countries, +based on a parity of 0.78 leva per 1 ruble, was equivalent to 0.64 leva +per US$1 until that date; thereafter, at the new ruble-United States +dollar parity, it was equivalent to about 0.59 leva per US$1. + +In addition to the official exchange rates, there are three varieties of +clearing account rates. The multilateral transferable ruble is used to +clear accounts with other European members of the Council for Mutual +Economic Assistance (COMECON--see Glossary). Socialist bilateral units +arise from bilateral trade agreements with other communist countries. +Neither of these two exchange varieties has private markets abroad. +Bilateral clearing units arise from bilateral trade and payments +agreements with about thirty noncommunist trading partners. These +clearing units are traded sporadically abroad at varying rates of +discount. + +The lev has been traded on the black market in exchange for so-called +capitalist banknotes or gold coins. The black market rate of the lev +fluctuated between 4.60 leva per US$1 in January 1963 and 2.58 leva per +US$1 in June 1972. + +Except for small remittances or travel allocations to other communist +countries, the lev is nontransferable for residents; resident status +applies to all physical and juridical persons who have resided in the +country for more than six months, regardless of their citizenship. +Ownership of or trade in gold, foreign currencies, or so-called +capitalist securities is prohibited, as is the import and export of +Bulgarian banknotes. There are no investments by noncommunist country +nationals in Bulgaria. + +Exchange transactions are administered by the Bulgarian National Bank +jointly with the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, and +the Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank. Bulgaria is neither a member of the +International Bank for Reconstruction and Development nor of the +International Monetary Fund. Statistics on currency in circulation, the +public debt, foreign exchange reserves, gold stocks, and the balance of +payments have not been published. + + +FOREIGN TRADE + +Foreign trade is a state monopoly. Trade policy is formulated by the BKP +and government leadership; it is translated into a complex set of laws +and regulations designed to encourage the expansion and qualitative +improvement of production for export, to promote import substitution, +and to bring about greater efficiency in production and foreign trade +operations. Control over foreign trade is shared by the Ministry of +Foreign Trade, the Ministry of Finance, and the Bulgarian National Bank +through the Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank. + +Along with other elements of the economic structure, the foreign trade +apparatus and the laws and regulations governing foreign trade have been +frequently modified. As a result, there are two basic types of foreign +trade organization: those attached to and serving individual economic +trusts with a large export volume and organizations serving several +trusts whose export activity did not justify a separate export +department. Two foreign trade organizations that imported most +industrial materials were attached to economic trusts responsible for +the domestic distribution of supplies. Foreign trade organizations +affiliated with trusts retain their legal identity and are not +considered to be branches of the trusts they serve. Relations between +foreign trade organizations and the trusts whose products they handle +are governed by contracts, the framework of which is provided by +official regulations. As a rule, foreign trade organizations carry on +their activities for the account of the trust. There are a few +organizations, however, that trade for their own account, and there are +also a few economic trusts that have the right to engage in foreign +trade activity directly. + +Export plans are approved by the Council of Ministers for each economic +trust in physical and value terms and by major trading areas, that is, +member countries of COMECON, other communist countries, Western +industrialized nations, and developing countries. Trusts pass their +trade plans to foreign trade organizations. The plan of a single trust +may be apportioned among several foreign trade organizations, and many +foreign trade organizations receive plan assignments from several trusts +so that their own foreign trade plan is a composite. + +Under the regulations of 1971, as amplified in 1972, and unlike earlier +conditions, the financial results of export operations are directly +reflected in the producer's profit position. This circumstance is +counted upon by the leadership to motivate trusts toward attaining +optimum efficiency in export production and toward adjusting output to +foreign market requirements. Financial incentives to surpass official +foreign trade targets are provided by allocating the producers and +foreign trade organizations a portion of the receipts from excess +exports and a portion of savings made on imports through import +substitution. Excess exports may not be made by diverting output +scheduled for the domestic market, and savings on imports may not be +made at the cost of quantitative or qualitative deterioration of the +domestic supply. + +Producers for export are obligated both to produce the items called for +by the export plan in accordance with specifications and to meet +contractual delivery dates; with few exceptions, they have no direct +contact with foreign buyers. It is the responsibility of the foreign +trade organizations to seek out the most profitable markets and to +handle all physical and financial details of the trade transactions. It +is also their duty to keep producers currently informed about changing +conditions in world markets and to make them aware of needed adjustments +in production. + +Standard subsidies per 100 leva, differing by trading area, are granted +on all exports. These subsidies, in effect, modify the official exchange +rate so that trade is actually conducted on a multiple exchange rate +basis. Subsidies from the state budget are also provided for exports, +the returns from which do not cover costs. Special bonuses are offered +to economic trusts and their branches that fulfill or surpass their +export assignments to noncommunist markets. Proceeds from exports are +credited to the economic trusts and not to the foreign trade +organizations. + +Relations between economic trusts and foreign trade organizations are +determined in broad outline by government regulations. Specific details, +however, including precise financial arrangements that are the core of +the relationship, must be worked out by the parties to the contract. +This situation provides opportunities for friction that may be harmful +to the export program. Trusts and export associations were therefore +enjoined to undertake negotiations in a cooperative spirit and to avoid +taking advantage of their monopoly position as producers or exporters. +Disputes that threaten to involve financial losses are to be settled by +the Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Ministry of Finance. + +Total trade turnover increased more than 3.5 times in the 1960-71 period +to a level of 5 billion leva, including 2.55 billion leva in exports and +2.45 billion leva in imports. The growth of trade was erratic, +particularly in the case of imports. Over the entire 1960-68 period, +however, the average annual growth of exports and imports was almost +identical--13.9 and 13.8 percent, respectively. In the subsequent three +years exports rose almost twice as rapidly as imports, though at a +lower rate than in earlier years. The change in the relative rates of +growth during the 1969-71 period--10.5 percent for exports and 5.6 +percent for imports--helped reverse the consistently negative trade +balance of the earlier period and produced trade surpluses in three +consecutive years. + +The great bulk of the trade has been carried on with communist +countries, primarily the Soviet Union. The share of these countries in +total trade, however, declined from 85 percent in 1961 to 78 percent in +1970; it had fallen to 73 percent in 1966. Communist countries outside +COMECON, primarily Cuba and the Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North +Vietnam), accounted for only 3 to 4 percent of the trade annually. The +Soviet Union alone provided more than half the imports and absorbed an +equal amount of exports. The German Democratic Republic (East Germany) +and Czechoslovakia were the main COMECON trading partners after the +Soviet Union, but the volume of trade with these countries was very much +lower. The share of East Germany in the total trade had been 10.5 +percent in 1960 but ranged between 8 and 8.6 percent in the 1965-70 +period. The proportion of trade with Czechoslovakia declined from 9.7 +percent in 1960 to only 4.8 percent in 1970. + +The orientation of trade toward the Soviet Union has been based largely +on political factors but has also been dictated by the shortage of +export goods salable in Western markets and the inadequacy of foreign +exchange reserves (see ch. 10). Trade with COMECON members is conducted +on the basis of bilateral clearing accounts that do not involve the use +of foreign exchange. Furthermore, the Soviet Union has supplied Bulgaria +with a large volume of industrial plants and equipment in exchange for +the products of these plants. In the 1971-75 period trade with the +Soviet Union is scheduled to increase by 60 percent over the volume in +the preceding five-year period, and the share of the Soviet Union in the +total trade volume is planned to reach 68 percent. + +Trade with noncommunist countries rose from about 15 percent of the +total volume in 1961 to 27 percent in 1966 but declined thereafter to 22 +percent in 1970. From three-fourths to four-fifths of this trade was +accounted for by Western industrialized nations, primarily the Federal +Republic of Germany (West Germany), Italy, France and Great Britain. The +balance of the noncommunist trade was with developing countries, mainly +India, the United Arab Republic (UAR), and Iraq. Trade with the United +States has been negligible. + +There has been a gradual shift in exports from agricultural to +industrial commodities and from raw materials to manufactured and +semiprocessed products. Yet in 1970 exports of agricultural origin still +constituted 55 percent of the export volume, including 8 percent of raw +farm products. The share of industrial exports rose from 25 percent in +1960 to 45 percent in 1970, of which 13 and 27 percent, respectively, +consisted of machinery and equipment. In 1972 the proportion of +machinery and equipment in exports was reported to have risen to 34 +percent. + +Machinery and equipment have been exported almost exclusively to +communist and developing countries. In 1968, the last year for which +information was available, machinery and equipment constituted only 1.8 +percent of exports to Western industrialized nations. + +Imports in the 1960-70 period consisted predominantly of machinery and +equipment, fuels, raw and processed industrial materials, and raw farm +commodities. Imports of foods and industrial consumer goods were limited +to about 10 percent per year. Machinery and equipment constituted from +40 to 44 percent of imports; fuels and industrial materials accounted +for about one-third; and agricultural raw materials made up the balance. + +In the 1960-70 period the country's overall trade balance was negative +each year with the exception of 1969 and 1970. The trade deficit for the +entire period amounted to 580 million leva, including 530 million leva +in the trade with noncommunist countries and 50 million leva in the +trade with communist partners. A breakdown of the trade balance by all +four trading areas was available only for the 1965-70 period. For that +period the overall trade deficit amounted to 278 million leva. Whereas +trade with communist and developing countries had positive balances of +148 million leva and 154 million leva, trade with developed Western +countries accumulated a deficit of 580 million leva. Almost all of this +deficit was incurred in the years 1965 through 1967, when government +controls over foreign trade were temporarily relaxed in an aborted +economic reform. Under the system of bilateral agreements governing +Bulgaria's trade, the surplus in the trade with communist and developing +countries cannot be used to offset the deficit with Western trading +partners. + +Data bearing on the balance of payments have never been published. The +Soviet Union has granted substantial loans to Bulgaria since 1946, some +of which were used to finance imports from that country. Bulgaria, in +turn, has made some loans to developing countries to help finance its +exports. A portion of the deficit with Western trading partners may be +offset by income from the rising Western European tourist trade, +particularly with West Germany. A reputable Western source reported +Bulgaria's indebtedness to Western nations to have been US$88 million in +1971, but the basis of this estimate and the degree of its reliability +are not known. + + + + +CHAPTER 13 + +AGRICULTURE + + +In the spring of 1973 the country's political and governmental +leadership expressed serious concern about the uneven growth of +agriculture over a period of several years. Although wheat production +had progressed satisfactorily and reached a record level in 1972, and +good results had also been obtained in the cultivation of tobacco and +tomatoes--both of which are important export crops--the expansionary +trend in fruit growing was reversed in 1968, and cattle raising had +stagnated for at least a decade. + +The situation was particularly disappointing to the leadership because +in 1970 it had embarked on a comprehensive long-range program for +raising agricultural productivity and output through the introduction of +industrial production methods on the farms. To that end the country's +farms were consolidated into 170 agroindustrial complexes intended to +bring the advantages of scientific organization, concentration and +specialization of production, mechanization, and automation to all +phases of agricultural work. Planning for these complexes has been +concentrated at the highest government level, and any modification of +the obligatory plans requires the approval of the Council of Ministers. + +In this process the traditional distinction between state and collective +property has been blurred and is slated for gradual elimination; the +same is true for the differences in status of industrial and farm +workers. The new approach to farm organization was taken despite severe +shortages of adequately trained management and technical personnel and +in the face of the demonstrated superior productivity of tiny farm plots +cultivated for their own benefit by individual farm and industrial +workers. + +It is difficult to arrive at a comprehensive and balanced assessment of +agricultural development and of the situation in the 1972/73 +agricultural year because of the continuing changes in the agricultural +regime and the lack of essential data. All published information, +including critical comments, emanates from controlled official sources. +The press output tends to concentrate on problem areas, treating other +aspects in uninformative generalities. Officials and press have been +especially silent on the question of the farmers' reactions to the new +agricultural order, beyond claiming the farmers' whole-hearted support +for every new agricultural edict. + + +CLIMATE AND SOILS + +Natural conditions are generally favorable for agriculture. Fertile +soils and a varied climate make possible the cultivation of a wide +variety of field crops, fruits, and vegetables, including warm-weather +crops, such as cotton, tobacco, rice, sesame, and grapes. Frequent +summer droughts, however, lead to wide fluctuations in crop yields and +necessitate extensive irrigation. + +The Stara Planina (literally, Old Mountain), or Balkan Mountains, divide +the country into several climatic and agricultural regions. The broad +Danubian tableland that lies north of these mountains has a continental +climate, except for a narrow strip along the Black Sea coast. Cold +winter winds sweep across the plateau from the Eurasian land mass, +causing prolonged periods of frost, which tend to damage orchards and +vineyards. There are 180 to 215 frost-free days in the year, and summers +are hot. A continental climate also prevails in the Sofia Basin and in +the region surrounding the headwaters of the Struma River. + +In the Thracian Plain, south of the Stara Planina, the continental +climate is modified somewhat by the influence of the Mediterranean Sea. +Compared to the Danubian plateau, winters are less severe, and summers +are longer and warmer. The number of frost-free days per year ranges +from 198 to 206. A near-Mediterranean climate prevails in the valleys of +the lower Struma, Mesta, and Maritsa rivers; in the Arda basin; and on +the southern slopes of the Rodopi (or Rhodope Mountains) (see ch. 3). +The mountains protect the inland valleys and basins from strong winds; +summers there are hot, and winters are mild. Yet winters are not mild +enough for the cultivation of Mediterranean crops, such as olives and +citrus fruits. + +The Black Sea coast is warmer than the interior of the country in winter +but cooler in summer; from 241 to 260 days in the year are frost free. +Frequent gale storms and hot winds resembling the African sirocco, +however, have an adverse influence on crops. + +Although annual rainfall is reported to average about forty inches on +the higher mountain slopes and to reach seventy-five inches in the Rila +mountain range, precipitation in most farming areas averages only twenty +to twenty-five inches per year. Rainfall measures even less than twenty +inches in the Plovdiv area and in the coastal districts of the Dobrudzha +region in the northeast. Most of the rainfall occurs in the summer +months, but the amount and timing of precipitation are often unfavorable +for optimum crop growth. Drought conditions reached crisis proportions +in 1958 and 1963 and were serious also in 1968. In 1972 most crops were +adversely affected by a spring drought and excessive rains in the early +fall; the grape crop was an almost total loss. + +Soils of superior and intermediate quality make up almost three-fourths +of the country's surface. The Danubian plateau contains several grades +of chernozem (black earth), which gradually give way to gray forest +soils in the foothills of the Stara Planina. A degraded chernozem called +_smolnitsa_, or pitch soil, predominates in the Thracian Plain, the +Tundzha and Burgas lowlands, and the Sofia Basin. This central region is +encircled at higher elevations by a belt of chestnut and brown forest +soils. Similar chestnut soils are also found in the Strandzha upland, in +the basins of the eastern Rodopi region, and in the Struma and Maritsa +valleys. Brown forest soils and mountain meadow soils occur in the Stara +Planina and in the Rila, Pirin, and western Rodopi. Alluvial soils, +often of good quality, are found alongside the rivers, particularly the +Danube and Maritsa, and also in several basins. + + +LAND USE + +In 1970 agricultural land comprised almost 15 million acres, or 53 +percent of the country's land area. Sixty-nine percent of the +agricultural land was suitable for field crops; 4 percent consisted of +meadows; and about 6 percent was devoted to vineyards, orchards, and +other perennial crops. Natural pastures constituted more than 20 percent +of the agricultural land. Bulgarian economists have repeatedly pointed +out that the per capita acreage of farmland in the country, excluding +pastures, is among the lowest in the world. + +According to official statistics the area of agricultural land increased +by 840,000 acres in the 1960s as a result of the expansion of grazing +areas by 1.1 million acres and the simultaneous loss of 270,000 acres of +cultivated land. The loss of cultivated acreage was caused by the +diversion of land to industrial and other uses and by severe soil +erosion. The acreage devoted to vineyards and orchards nevertheless +increased by 100,000 acres, or 12 percent. + + +Land Protection + +More than half the cultivated acreage is subject to erosion. +Increasingly large areas degraded by erosion have remained uncultivated +each year, but they continue to be included in the annual statistics on +farmland acreage. The unused area of plowland expanded from 720,000 +acres in 1960 to 1.26 million acres in 1970. Another 1.5 million to 2 +million acres have been reported to suffer from erosion to a degree that +will make it necessary to abandon them unless corrective measures are +quickly taken. Only 70 percent of the acreage under fruit trees and +vineyards bore fruit in 1970. + +The government has long been aware of the need to arrest the loss of +cultivated farmland. An intensive program of reforestation has been +carried on over many years, but the rate of replanting has not been high +enough to halt the ravages of erosion. Proposals advanced by +agricultural experts to clear abandoned mountain farmland of noxious +weeds and to develop these areas into improved pastures--measures that +would also help control erosion--have not been acted upon. + +In 1967 the continued loss of valuable farmland led to the promulgation +of a special law for the preservation of land; details of this law are +not available. In 1972 the Council of Ministers issued an order, +effective January 1, 1973, that provided, in part, for payments to be +made into a special land improvement fund in the event of diversion of +farmland for construction purposes. Depending upon the quality of the +land, payments into the fund range from 162 leva (for the value of the +lev--see Glossary) to 48,560 leva per acre. Land used for afforestation, +cemeteries, and housing or public works under the jurisdiction of town +authorities is exempt from the payment requirement. The exemption also +applies to land used for open pit mining on condition that the land is +rehabilitated in accordance with plans and within time limits approved +by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Food Industry (hereafter referred +to as the Ministry of Agriculture). + +In 1970 the government created special district councils for the +preservation of cultivated land and, in May 1971, placed the councils +under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture. The decree of +1971 required the ministry and district governments to take decisive +measures for the increased protection of farmland. The decree also +directed the chief prosecutor's office to increase control over the +expropriation of farmland for construction and other nonagricultural +purposes and to impose severe penalties on violators of the land +protection law. + +The land protection measures were not sufficiently effective. The +acreage abandoned in the 1966-70 period was three times larger than the +area abandoned in the preceding five years. In January 1973 an inspector +of the Committee for State Control stated publicly that the farmland +problem had become increasingly more serious and that the committee was +obliged to intervene in order to identify shortcomings in the land +preservation work and to assist in eliminating the deficiencies. At the +same time the Council of Ministers reprimanded a deputy minister of +agriculture and the heads of two district governments for grave +shortcomings in the preservation and use of farmland. + +In an effort to gain control over the deteriorating farmland situation, +a new land protection law that replaced the law of 1967 was passed in +March 1973. The new law explicitly provided that only land unsuitable +for agricultural purposes or farmland of low productivity could be put +to nonagricultural use. Under the law expansion of towns and villages +was to be allowed only after a specified density of construction had +been reached. Construction of country homes and resort facilities was +restricted to land unsuitable for agriculture. Provision was made for +regulations that would offer material and moral incentives to use +unproductive land for construction purposes, and more severe penalties +were prescribed for violations that result in the waste of arable land. + + +Irrigation + +Somewhat better results have been achieved in the expansion of +irrigation. In the 1965-70 period the irrigable area increased at an +annual average of 44,000 acres from 2.25 million to 2.47 million acres, +or 21 percent of the cultivated land. Under the Sixth Five-Year Plan +(1971-75) 494,000 acres are to be added to the irrigable area, raising +the total irrigable acreage to 26 percent of the cultivated land. During +the first two years of the plan period 124,000 acres were equipped for +irrigation, and 80,000 acres were to be made irrigable in 1973. In order +to complete the five-year irrigation program on schedule, therefore, it +would be necessary to bring under irrigation 270,000 acres in the last +two years of the plan period--a task not likely to be accomplished in +the light of past experience and of available resources. + +Only about 70 percent of the irrigable acreage was actually irrigated in +the 1965-70 period. Although the irrigated area of 1.7 million acres in +1970 represented an increase of 21 percent of the acreage irrigated in +1965, it was 17 percent smaller than the acreage irrigated in 1968. + +Primitive gravity irrigation is practiced on about nine-tenths of the +irrigated area. Water is distributed over the fields from unlined +earthen canals by means of furrows dug with a hoe. The work entails hard +manual labor, and a single worker can handle only about 1.25 to 2.5 +acres per day. The timing of the water application and the quantity of +water used are not properly adjusted to the needs of the various crops, +so that the increase in yields is only half as great as that obtained +under optimum conditions, and about half the water is wasted. The +network of irrigation ditches also impedes mechanical cultivation of the +fields. Improper irrigation and drainage techniques have raised the +groundwater level excessively in several districts and have caused +various degrees of soil salinization in areas totaling more than 39,000 +acres. + +The five-year plan program for new irrigated areas calls for the +construction of stationary sprinkler systems over 25,000 acres; 469,000 +acres are to be provided with portable sprinkler systems. Reconstruction +and modernization of existing basic facilities are to be limited to the +lining of canals. The ultimate longer term goal is to establish fully +automated stationary sprinkler systems in most irrigated districts. The +main problems in carrying out the irrigation program, in the view of an +irrigation authority official, are posed by the paucity of investment +funds allotted for this purpose and the contradictory nature of some of +the program's aims. Additional difficulties are presented by the +shortage of irrigation pipes and materials for their fabrication, +inadequate experience in the manufacture of advanced irrigation +equipment, and the lack of facilities for experimentation and testing. + + +Cropping Pattern + +The area of field crops amounted to almost 9 million acres in 1970; it +had declined by 887,000 acres after 1960. The proportions of this +acreage devoted to the major types of crops were: grains, 62.5 percent; +industrial crops, 14.6 percent; feed crops, 18.7 percent; and +vegetables, potatoes, and melons, 4.2 percent. In accord with the +government's policy of intensifying agricultural production, the acreage +of bread grains had steadily declined, so that in 1970 it constituted +somewhat less than half the total grain acreage. The area of feed grains +remained fairly stable; a decline in corn acreage was virtually balanced +by an increase in the acreage of barley. A slight reduction also took +place in the acreage of pulses, but the area under rice expanded by 70 +percent. + +Whereas the total area of industrial crops changed very little in the +1960-70 period, a significant shift took place in the relative size of +the individual crop areas. While the acreages of oilseeds and tobacco +expanded significantly, the acreages of fibers, particularly cotton, and +of essential oils and medicinal plants declined sharply. + +The area devoted to vegetables expanded by 20 percent. The tomato +acreage expanded at about twice that rate and accounted for one-fourth +of the vegetable acreage in 1970; tomatoes constitute an important +export crop. The potato acreage, on the other hand, declined by roughly +20 percent during the period. + +The area of fodder crops suffered a substantial decline, particularly in +the case of annual grasses and silage crops. The loss was only partially +offset by the expansion of the perennial grass acreage. + +Rapid expansion also took place in the areas of apple orchards and +vineyards. The acreage of bearing apple trees increased by about 70 +percent in the 1970-70 period. During the same period the acreage of +producing vineyards grew by 24 percent, while the acreage of table +grapes increased by 2.3 times. Fruits and grapes are also important +export commodities. Expansion of the total acreage under fruit trees and +berries, however, was much slower--17 percent in the 1960-68 period--and +a decline in the acreage set in after 1968. In the spring of 1973 Todor +Zhivkov, the communist party leader, called for decisive action to halt +the unfavorable trend. He reported that plans for orchard and berry +plantings were not fulfilled in 1972; that from 27,000 to 40,000 acres +of orchards had been uprooted over a period of a few years; and that the +vineyard acreage had declined by 25,000 acres compared with the acreage +in 1968. Reasons for these developments had not been made public. + +The little information available on the subject suggests that price +considerations have been the major reason for the crop acreage changes. +The price system and official regulations governing farm production have +not always operated in the manner planned by the government. Farms, for +instance, have steadfastly refused to enlarge the acreage of irrigated +corn to the extent demanded by the government, preferring to use +irrigation for more profitable crops. In 1971 the farms failed to plant +the prescribed acreage of feed crops or to expand the production of +vegetables. Public statements by the government on the reasons for these +problems have been most guarded. After a thorough review of the +situation in the spring of 1972, the Committee for State Control issued +a release that concluded by stating that the reasons for the problems +were analyzed in detail and that, after discussion, specific proposals +were made to the appropriate ministries. + + +ORGANIZATION + +The organizational structure of agriculture in all its aspects is in a +state of transition, which will not be completed for several years. The +reorganization was decided upon by the Central Committee of the BKP +(Bulgarian Communist Party--see Glossary) in April 1970 on the +initiative of Zhivkov. The latest of several laws and decrees published +in this context appeared in June 1972 with an effective date of January +1, 1973. The new organizational policy represents a tightening of +central controls over agriculture. + + +Agroindustrial Complexes + +The basic unit in the new organizational system, which is relied upon to +realize the leadership's agricultural policies, is the agroindustrial +complex. The agroindustrial complex is an organization comprising +several previously independent, contiguous collective and (or) state +farms having similar climatic and soil conditions. The complex may also +include other organizations that are engaged in the production, +processing, and distribution of farm products or in other activities +related predominantly to agriculture. + +In the fall of 1972 there were 170 agroindustrial complexes formed +through the consolidation of 845 collective farms and 170 state farms; +including the private plots of collective and state farmers, they +contained 92.5 percent of the cultivated land and accounted for 95.4 +percent of the farm output. Except for a few experimental units created +in 1969, most agroindustrial complexes were established toward the end +of 1970 and in early 1971. Only a small number of private farms located +in difficult mountain areas remained outside the new system. + +The average agroindustrial complex is composed of five or six farms +having a cultivated area variously reported as 59,000 to 68,000 acres +and a permanent work force of about 6,500 people. Although the large +size of the complexes has been questioned by several economists on +grounds of efficiency, Zhivkov was reported to have suggested the +possibility of eventually merging the existing complexes into only +twenty-eight districtwide units. + + +Types and Aims + +The announced purpose of the reorganization is to increase productivity +through concentration and specialization of agriculture on an industrial +basis in accord with the requirements of the current scientific and +technical revolution and with the achieved level of maturity of the +country's economy. The reorganization is intended to increase output, +improve quality, reduce costs, and increase the exportable surplus. It +is also expected to bring about social improvement in the countryside by +raising the farmworkers' incomes and helping to reduce the differences +between town and country. Government officials intend to complete the +transition to the new organizational structure by 1980. + +The original aim of the new farm policy in the late 1960s was to create +large-scale regional organizations to handle all aspects of the +production, processing, and distribution of foods and the supply of +machinery, fertilizers, and other farm needs through vertical +integration of the consolidated farm organizations with industrial and +distribution enterprises. This aspect of farm policy is to be realized +gradually over a period of years. In the meantime vertical integration +will be based predominantly on contractual relations. + +A first step in vertical integration of agriculture and the food +industry was taken in December 1972 with the establishment of an +agroindustrial trust called Bulgarian Sugar. Seven agroindustrial +complexes were to be created around an equal number of sugar mills +grouped in the newly formed trust. The complexes were to average 100,000 +acres in size, one-fourth of which would be used each year for the +production of sugar beets. The first such complex was established in +Ruse in January 1973. The crop rotation is to include wheat, corn, and +fodder crops which, together with by-products from the sugar production, +are to provide the feed base for livestock keeping. All farmlands in the +new organization are to become state property, and farmworkers are to +acquire the status of industrial workers subject to the provisions of +the Labor Code. + +Two basic types of agroindustrial complexes are provided for by the +regulations. The first type is a membership organization in which the +constituent farms retain their juridical identity and a certain measure +of economic independence. The second type is a centralized organization +in which the constituent farms are merged and lose their separate +identities. A further distinction is made depending upon the nature of +the constituent farms and other economic organizations. Agroindustrial +complexes composed only of collective farms and other collective +organizations are called cooperative complexes. Those constituted by +state farms and other state economic organizations are known as state +complexes. If both state and collective farms or other organizations +are members, the complex is referred to as state-cooperative. The +distinctions have both legal and economic implications. + +In early 1971 the form of the 139 agroindustrial complexes established +up to that time was: collective, seventy-seven; state, seven; and +state-cooperative, fifty-five. Six complexes were created as centralized +organizations in which the constituent farms lost their legal +independence. The largest of these complexes covered an area of 145,000 +acres. + + +Legal and Economic Aspects + +The legal and economic aspects of the farm consolidation are extremely +involved, and most of the problems raised by consolidation have not been +worked out even theoretically. Activities of cooperative and +state-cooperative complexes are governed by the Provisional Regulation +issued in October 1970 and by earlier regulations concerning collective +organizations in matters not covered by the Provisional Regulation. +State agroindustrial complexes are subject to the same regulations that +apply to all state economic associations (trusts). The Ministry of +Agriculture was directed to prepare a draft statute for agroindustrial +complexes by the end of 1972, which was to be submitted at an indefinite +future date to the first agroindustrial complex conference for +discussion and adoption. + +Official statements and documents have emphasized the voluntary and +democratic nature of agroindustrial complexes. Zhivkov's report to the +Central Committee plenum stated that farms would be free to opt whether +or not to join a complex and which complex to join if they decided to do +so. They were also to have freedom of decision concerning the +establishment of joint enterprises. The plenum's decision used a broader +formulation by referring only to voluntarism in the formation of +agroindustrial complexes on the basis of mutual advantage. The +Provisional Regulation contains a clause that permits farms and other +organizations to withdraw from the agroindustrial complex at their own +request. + +Other provisions governing the establishment of agroindustrial +complexes, however, conflicted with the principle of voluntarism. The +composition, size, and production specialization of each complex was to +have a scientific foundation, and arbitrary decisions--as they were +called--as to which farms to include in a particular complex were not to +be tolerated. The requirement of territorial unity also nullified the +right of independent choice for most farms. Except for those located on +the borders of adjoining complexes, farms had perforce to join the +complex formed in their area. The speed with which the agroindustrial +complexes were formed throughout the entire country, with considerable +loss of independence for the farms, also suggests that the voluntary +nature of the complexes is a fiction. Available sources have contained +no reference to any change in the affiliation of farms from one complex +to another, let alone to the withdrawal of any farm from a complex. The +decree on the organization and management of agriculture that went into +effect on January 1, 1973, contained no provision for a farm's +withdrawal from an agroindustrial complex. + +The major tasks assigned to the agroindustrial complexes include: the +creation of large specialized units for the various types of +agricultural production; the introduction of mechanized industrial +methods of production; the efficient application of human and material +resources; and the equitable distribution of income to workers and +managers in a manner that will provide an incentive for conscientious +work. Only preliminary official directives have been issued to guide the +agroindustrial complexes in these matters. Economists, agricultural +scientists, and officials have labored to develop a scientific basis for +the effective solution of the problems of transition. + +One of the basic issues raised by the creation of agroindustrial +complexes concerns the ownership of land in the new organizations, +particularly in complexes that unite collective and state farms. +Legally, collective farm members retained ownership of the land they +contributed to the collective, although they have been unable to +exercise any ownership rights. Until 1961 collective farm members +received a rental payment for the land in the annual distribution of the +farm's income. There is an apparent official reluctance for political +reasons abruptly to convert collective property to state ownership. +Public statements have indicated that the difference between collective +and state property may be eliminated by transforming both into national +property. Under the prevailing economic system the distinction between +state and national property is purely verbal. + + +Private Farm Plots + +In the current reorganization of agriculture there is no intention to +eliminate the time-honored institution of private subsidiary farm plots +held by collective farm members, state farm and industrial workers, +artisans, and other individuals. In the 1965-70 period private plots +constituted only 10 percent of the farmland, yet in 1968 they accounted +for 22 percent of the crop output and 33 percent of the livestock +output. In 1970 the proportions of livestock products contributed by the +private plots were: milk, 23 percent; meat and wool, 31 percent; eggs, +50 percent; honey, 70 percent; and silk, 89 percent. + +Despite the support of private farm plots by the leadership, many local +officials consider them to be incompatible with the socialist system and +place various obstacles, often illegal, in the way of their operation. +In the directives for the Sixth Five-Year Plan the party reaffirmed the +importance of private farm plots as a reserve for the increase of farm +output and particularly of livestock production. In a subsequently +published decree, which lifted restrictions on livestock rearing on +private plots, the party and government again stressed that private +plots will be an important source of products for their owners and for +sale to the state. + +The growing importance of private plots for collective farmers was +disclosed by income data published in the spring of 1973. In the 1960-70 +period the average annual income of permanently employed collective +farmers from private plots increased from 251 leva to 620 leva, while +the average remuneration for work performed on the collective property +rose from 458 leva to 847 leva. Whereas the growth of income from +collective farm work amounted to 85 percent, income from private plots +advanced by 147 percent. + + +PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT + +Agricultural planning has been highly centralized by the decree +effective January 1, 1973. The system of planning has been made to +conform to the system used for other sectors of the economy, with some +allowances for the specific conditions of agricultural organization and +production. Planning is to encompass long-range (ten to fifteen-years), +five-year, and annual plans that must be coordinated with a general plan +for regional development. + +Planning in agriculture is to be based on the balancing of inputs and +outputs and the use of government-determined long-range norms, limits, +and indexes. Wide use is to be made of econometric models in the search +for optimal solutions. The norms, limits, and indexes are to be +elaborated in direct relation to the natural and economic conditions of +individual agroindustrial complexes, crop varieties, kinds and breeds of +livestock, farm technology, and the availability of physical resources +and manpower. The norms, limits, and indexes are to be of such a nature +as to contribute to a continuous upgrading of agricultural efficiency, +that is, they will become increasingly more demanding as time +progresses. They are binding for planners and managers at all levels +from the central government authorities down to the farm. + +In essence the agricultural plan consists of state-imposed production +targets and estimates of resources to be allocated for their attainment, +together with detailed directives for the use of the resources and for +the introduction of technological improvements. Responsibility for +fulfilling the planned tasks rests upon the management of the +agroindustrial complexes. The planned targets and conditions for their +attainment are formulated for each individual complex by the State +Planning Committee together with the Ministry of Agriculture and the +local district people's council; all plans are approved by the Council +of Ministers. + +Ten groups of norms, limits, and indexes enter into the formulation of +plan targets. They specify progressive technical measures to be +introduced; the physical volume of each crop and livestock product to be +sold to the state; the volume of capital investment and its specific +uses; consumption norms for all materials, parts, and products in +accordance with a list approved by the Council of Ministers; allowable +expenditures for each 100 leva of farm products and for labor +remuneration per 100 leva of total income; norms for the formation of +various operating and reserve funds and for material incentives; and +limits for the development of social amenities within the agroindustrial +complex. + +The five-year plan tasks are broken down by years and may be changed +only in exceptional cases. The required changes may be made by the +Ministry of Agriculture, with the approval of the State Planning +Committee, upon request made by the executive committee of the district +people's council. Whenever a specific change is introduced, all +necessary corrections must be made to maintain the overall balance of +the plan. + +The agroindustrial complexes must distribute the planned tasks handed to +them from above among their constituent units in accordance with +standards and conditions spelled out by the Ministry of Agriculture. The +district people's councils are required to take an active part in the +process of coordinating the plan and in measures for its attainment +among the units of the agroindustrial complex. On the basis of the state +plan each agroindustrial complex and its constituent parts must prepare +what has been called a counterplan, that is, a plan that sets higher +goals than those officially established. + +The large size and diversified operations of the agroindustrial +complexes place a heavy demand upon the expertise of management. Most of +the available specialists do not have the requisite training to solve +the numerous problems posed by planning and operational direction under +the new conditions. Adaptation of agricultural school curricula to the +new requirements and speedy retraining of specialists are therefore +considered to be most urgent. + +Some optimistic agricultural officials place high hopes in the +introduction of computer-based automatic control systems. An electronic +computer center was established at the Ministry of Agriculture in 1969, +staffed by a group of 104 enthusiastic young specialists. They undertook +the task of developing a single automated control system for agriculture +and food production in the entire country by 1975, to be based on a +number of integrated local and regional computer centers. By the end of +1970 the computer center had worked out annual plans for several farms +and a plan for hothouse production in the country. It was in the process +of finding a solution to a basic problem of the feed industry--a +solution that would also drastically reduce the industry's +transportation costs. + +Considerable attention has also been given to the problem of +communication in connection with the internal direction of the +agroindustrial complexes' varied activities. Here, too, the idea has +been advanced for automated control centers from which instructions +would be issued to all operating divisions and workers in the field +through radiotelephones or similar equipment. In this context a +university instructor analyzing the management problems of +agroindustrial complexes remarked that it was premature to speak of +modern administrative and management methods as long as it was easier +and faster to go by car from the farm center to any of the neighboring +villages than to reach them by telephone. + + +LABOR AND WAGES + +Official data on manpower and employment in agriculture are incomplete +and incommensurate. The number of people gainfully employed in +agriculture in 1970 was reported to have been 35.2 percent of the total +in the economy, compared to 54.7 percent in 1960 and 44.9 percent in +1965. Full-time employment on farms of the agroindustrial complexes in +1970 was reported as 1,117,000 people--a reduction of 278,000 from the +1,395,000 employed in 1965. Yet the number of female collective +farmworkers alone in 1969 was reported to have been 1,682,000, more than +1 million of whom participated full or part time in the collective work +of the farms. No explanation concerning the discrepancies in these +reported figures was available. The Sixth Five-Year Plan is variously +reported to call for the transfer of an additional 220,000 or 350,000 +people from the farms to nonagricultural employment. + +The out-migration, mostly of young people, from agriculture brought +about a deterioration in the age structure of the remaining farm +population. The proportion of the sixteen- to twenty-five-year-old age +group on farms was only 9.2 percent in 1969, compared to 22.3 percent in +industry. Conversely, the proportion of persons fifty-five years and +older was 29.1 percent in agriculture, compared to 8.6 percent in +industry. The program for the modernization and intensification of +agricultural production and, more particularly, the planned high level +of mechanization demand the employment of large numbers of highly +skilled young people. A series of economic, social, and cultural +measures is therefore urgently needed to halt the drain of young +manpower from the farms. + +By 1971 the agricultural school system had not adapted its training +programs to the actual needs of the emerging agroindustrial complexes. +At the same time a serious problem in the employment of available +technicians was presented by the scornful attitude of many farm managers +toward specialists with secondary education. In 1971 farms employed more +than 4,000 people without the requisite training in various professional +positions. Although some of them may have compensated by experience for +the lack of training, the situation was considered deplorable by a +number of agricultural economists. + +Under previously prevailing conditions, payments to farmworkers differed +widely, depending upon the income levels of the individual farms. Under +the new law wages for all farmworkers are to be gradually standardized +on the principle of equal wages for equal work. Work input is to be +measured on the basis of uniform labor norms differentiated according to +natural conditions. In determining the wage level, consideration will +also be given to increases in productivity, cost reduction, and the +accumulation of investment funds by the farms. Distribution of the +farm's income is to be carried out on the basis of a resolution by the +Council of Ministers, details of which were not available in early 1973. +Its main import is that the total remuneration of farmworkers, over and +above their wages, will remain dependent upon the overall results of the +individual farms. All farmworkers are entitled to a minimum wage of 80 +leva per month, and members of previously independent collective farms +retain their right to advance payments against their estimated final +income shares. + +Little substantive information is available on the current practice of +remunerating people working on farms. The decree that went into effect +on January 1, 1973, directed that the formation and distribution of +incomes of all agroindustrial complexes and their constituent farms be +based on a uniform system and on the principle that each farm must be +fully self-supporting. Each farm must establish a wage fund calculated +as a percentage of its total income. In the event that this fund is +inadequate to cover legitimate wage requirements, the farms may draw +upon two other obligatory funds or resort to bank credits. + + +INVESTMENT AND MECHANIZATION + +Investment + +In the 1960-71 period annual investment in agriculture increased from +381 million to 548 million leva, but it declined as a proportion of +total investment from 28 to 15 percent. A substantial portion of the +agricultural investment was used to equip new state farms established on +previously collective farmlands. Investment funds were used for the +construction of farm buildings, machinery repair stations, and +irrigation facilities and for the acquisition of farm machinery. On the +basis of cultivated acreage, state farms received more investment than +collective farms, but the disproportion was gradually reduced and become +quite small by 1970. In that year state farms had about 15 percent more +fixed assets per acre of cultivated land than the collective farms. + +With the formation of agricultural complexes discrimination in +investment between the two types of farms is being eliminated along with +other distinctions. Investment plans are to be uniformly based on the +needs of the entire complex regardless of the former status of its +constituent farms. Needs will be evaluated mainly on the basis of +government programs for individual kinds of production, the availability +of manpower, and the natural conditions of the farms and complexes. + +Agricultural investment in the 1971-75 period was planned at about 2.7 +billion leva. This sum constitutes only 13.5 percent of the total +planned investment and implies the maintenance of annual agricultural +investment at the level of 1970. It also reflects the continued +underinvestment in agriculture in favor of industry, despite the +grandiose, plans for agricultural transformation, considering that +agriculture contributed 22 percent of the national income in 1970. In +that year a Soviet economist observed that the small proportion of +national resources allotted to agriculture in the past was responsible +for the slow growth of that important economic sector and that the +increase in the mechanization of farms was not sufficient to offset the +loss of manpower. The leadership's policy of placing agriculture on an +industrial footing and mechanizing production demands increased +investment in machinery and other physical facilities. The low +investment decreed for the 1971-75 period is not in keeping with that +policy. + +A national conference on construction in agriculture, convened in the +spring of 1972, was devoted to the study of shortcomings in capital +construction. The underlying causes of unsatisfactory performance were +analyzed, and persons responsible for the failures were identified. The +findings of the conference were not published, but an account of the +conference contained references to inadequate project planning, poor +design, acceptance of inferior equipment, delays in the completion of +construction, and cost overruns. A sympathetic foreign observer noted a +disproportionately large allocation of investment funds to building +construction compared with the funds allotted for farm machinery. + + +Mechanization + +At the beginning of 1971 Bulgarian agriculture possessed about 53,600 +tractors with a total of 1.4 million horsepower--the equivalent of about +sixteen horsepower per 100 acres of plowed land. The horsepower of the +tractor inventory increased by 2.3 times after 1960, but a portion of +that increase was offset by the loss of more than 358,000 horses and +buffalo. In 1970 Bulgaria had more tractor power per acre than any other +Eastern European communist country except Czechoslovakia and more horses +per acre than any of these countries with the exception of Hungary, +which had a slightly larger number. + +Grain combines on farms numbered 9,340, or 2.4 combines for each 1,000 +acres of grain crops. In this regard Bulgaria ranked above the Soviet +Union and at the average of the other Eastern European communist +countries. Nevertheless, according to the minister of agriculture, only +about 50 percent of the labor in wheat production was mechanized in +1972, even though wheat production was considered to be the most highly +mechanized branch of agriculture. In other production branches the level +of mechanization was extremely low. + +According to scattered Bulgarian press reports the supply of farm +machinery is inadequate for the needs, unbalanced as to composition, +and inferior in design and physical condition. Many of the available +tractors and combines are overage and obsolete. The situation is +aggravated by chronic shortages of spare parts for both domestic and +imported equipment. Production of parts is inhibited by its relatively +low profitability, despite incentives offered by the government. + +Under the Sixth Five-Year Plan farm machinery valued at 780 million leva +is to be delivered to agriculture from domestic sources and from the +Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON--see Glossary). This +machinery is to include more powerful tractors and grain combines, +milking machines, and sprinkler irrigation systems. Machinery is also to +be provided for the harvesting of corn, sugar beets, cotton, rice, +fruits, and vegetables and for the harvesting and processing of feed +crops. Adequate information on the progress of the mechanization program +during the first two years of the five-year period is not available, but +there is evidence that shortages of spare parts and trained operators +continued to immobilize substantial numbers of farm machines. + + +MARKETING + +The marketing of farm products has been geared to the fixed five-year +plan quotas for sales to the state. It is based on bilateral contracts +between trusts in the food-processing industry and agroindustrial +complexes or their constituent units. Contracts are concluded for a +five-year period and are broken down by years. They cover the entire +farm output specified in the counterplans at prices officially revised +on January 1, 1973. The price system includes bonuses for quality; these +bonuses are payable only after a specified portion of the contracted +quantity has been delivered and vary in relation to the total volume of +product delivered. The intent of the bonuses is to stimulate product +improvement without encouraging production beyond the planned limits. +Excess production would destroy the balance of the plan. + +Provisions of the marketing contracts were worked out by the Ministry of +Agriculture and the State Arbitration Commission with the agreement of +the government departments involved. Provisions concerning the +performance of contractual obligations were strengthened compared with +those previously in force. They established financial incentives and +sanctions not only for the contracting organizations but also for their +top managers as individuals, based upon the end results of their joint +work. + +Each food-processing trust engaged in the procurement of farm products +must establish a fund for the promotion of their production, for +improving farming methods, and for modernizing the farm's physical +facilities. The funds are to be used in the first place for stimulating +the output of products required on the domestic market and for export. +The allocation of promotional funds is to be in accord with a program +worked out jointly by the trust and the agroindustrial complex; the +program constitutes an integral part of the procurement contract. + +Farms, individual farmers, and private agricultural producers may sell +some of their products at retail directly to consumers in cooperative +markets at prices not exceeding those charged by state retail stores. In +some instances and for some products sale on a commission basis through +state and cooperative outlets is also allowed. The sale of meat, meat +products, and alcoholic beverages in cooperative markets is prohibited +as is also the sale of any product through middlemen. Cooperative +markets are subordinated to the trade organs of municipal authorities. +Violations of applicable regulations are subject to penalties the +severity of which depends upon the nature of the offenses. Information +on the total volume of direct sales by agricultural producers is not +available. The share of collective farms in cooperative market sales, +however, declined from 53 percent in 1959 to 16 percent in 1970. + + +PRODUCTION + +Growth and Structure + +As a result of continued emphasis on the country's industrialization, +the share of agriculture in national income (net material product) was +only 22 percent in 1970, compared to 31 percent ten years earlier. +According to official sources, however, output continued to rise. It +increased at an average annual rate of 4.8 percent in the 1960-67 +period, declined by 10 percent in 1968, and regained the 1967 level in +1970. An increase of 8 percent in the next two years raised the farm +output in 1972 to a level 50 percent above the output level in 1960. For +the entire period the average annual increase in farm output was 3.4 +percent. + +Livestock production was reported to have increased more rapidly than +crop production in the 1960-70 period; the respective average annual +rates of growth in output were 4.1 and 2.9 percent. Crop output in 1970 +was 33 percent larger than output in 1960, whereas livestock output was +50 percent higher. Available data are inadequate to reconcile the +reported growth in the value of livestock production with a seemingly +inconsistent rise in the physical output of livestock products and +changes in livestock herds. + +The structure of farm output in 1970 did not differ materially from the +structure in 1960. The share of crops in the total output declined from +67.3 to 64.7 percent, while the share of livestock production rose +correspondingly from 32.7 to 35.3 percent. The proportions of grains and +technical crops were identical in both years. The share of vegetables, +potatoes, and melons declined slightly, but the proportion of feed crops +dropped from 9.2 to 6.2 percent. The lag in the growth rate of feed +production has contributed to the difficulties in the livestock sector. + + +Crops + +With the exception of rye, potatoes, hemp, and cotton, output of all +major crops increased substantially in the 1960s (see table 16). The +production of rye declined sharply as a result of the diversion of rye +acreage to the production of more valuable crops. By 1970 rye output had +become insignificant--less than 1 percent of the volume of wheat +produced in that year. The decline in potato production was minor, but +the output of raw cotton declined by 15 percent. The largest increases +were attained in the production of alfalfa and table grapes--crops that +are important for livestock production and export, respectively. Barley +output, important for livestock and beer production, rose by 82 percent. +Wheat output surpassed 3 million tons in 1970; it reached 3.56 million +tons in 1972. + +_Table 16. Bulgaria, Production of Major Crops, Annual Average, Selected +Years, 1958-60 to 1966-70, and 1970_ (in thousands of tons) + + --------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------- + | Average | Average | Average | + Crops | 1958-60 | 1961-65 | 1966-70 | 1970 + --------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------- + Wheat | 2,376 | 2,208 | 2,919 | 3,032 + Rye | 97 | 58 | 35 | 28 + Barley | 542 | 694 | 986 | 1,167 + Corn (grain) | 1,298 | 1,601 | 2,147 | 2,375 + Sunflower seeds | 281 | 338 | 462 | 407 + Hemp (dry stem) | 62 | 49 | 62 | 55 + Cotton (raw) | 54 | 39 | 46 | 36 + Tobacco (oriental) | 77 | 101 | 109 | 112 + Sugar beets | 1,328 | 1,440 | 1,862 | 1,714 + Tomatoes | 525 | 738 | 716 | 685 + Potatoes | 383 | 400 | 380 | 374 + Alfalfa | 598 | 951 | 1,443 | 1,719 + Apples | 265 | 315 | 402 | 363 + Grapes | 721 | 1,006 | 1,133 | 884 + (Table grapes) | (135) | (267) | (313) | (263) + --------------------+-----------+-----------+-----------+---------- + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1971_, Sofia, 1971, pp. + 120-122. + +Virtually all wheat grown in the country is a hard red winter wheat of +good quality, somewhat softer than durum wheat. Cultivation of durum +wheat has been almost completely abandoned because of its low yield. The +possibility has been suggested, however, that production of durum may be +resumed eventually on the basis of newly developed, more productive +varieties. Durum wheat requirements for the manufacture of noodles, +semolina, and other products have been imported against payment in +foreign currencies. + +Increases in the output and yields of crops were reported to have been +achieved through the introduction of improved plant varieties and seeds, +better cultivation practices, expanded irrigation, greater use of +fertilizers, and more effective disease and pest control. The supply of +fertilizers to agriculture, in terms of plant nutrients, increased from +about 49,000 tons in 1956 to 842,000 tons in 1968 but thereafter +declined sharply to only 692,000 tons in 1969 and 635,000 tons in 1971. +In 1972 the fertilizer supply improved by a mere 10,000 tons. The bulk +of the decline was in phosphates and potash, imports of which were +drastically curtailed after 1968, presumably because of the shortage of +foreign exchange. + +The supply of pesticides also depends very largely upon imports. +Deliveries to agriculture rose from less than 10,000 tons in 1960 to +almost 12,900 tons in 1965, declined to 11,150 tons in 1969, and then +surpassed the 1965 supply by 300 tons in 1971. The need for a drastic +increase in the use of pesticides and fungicides is indicated by the +official estimate that annual losses from crop diseases, pests, and +weeds amount to from 150 to 200 million leva. + +Despite the progress made, agricultural technicians continue to call +attention to the persistence of faulty practices in all phases of crop +production--practices that tend to lower crop yields and retard +agricultural growth. Traditionally a single variety of wheat has been +grown throughout the entire country, despite variations in soil and +climatic conditions. Although yields generally rose with the successive +introduction of better varieties, they remained low and of inferior +quality in areas poorly adapted for the cultivation of a particular +variety. Specialists have stressed the need for diversification of +varieties, particularly under conditions of regionally defined +agroindustrial complexes. + +A task force for scientific and technical aid to agriculture, formed by +the government at the end of 1965, uncovered the appearance and rapid +dispersion of new grain diseases. Dry rot, which had assumed significant +proportions in 1961, caused the most severe losses of wheat in 1970 and +1971, when 1.2 million acres were affected by the disease, mainly in the +northern grain-growing part of the country. Wheat flower blight, long +known in Bulgaria, became particularly widespread in 1965 after the +introduction of a new wheat variety highly susceptible to that disease. +Losses from this source reached about 15 to 20 percent. + +Propagation of diseases has been aided by faulty cultivation practices. +Excessively heavy seeding has been used increasingly to compensate for +inadequate soil preparation. The resultant overly thick stands of grain +are prone to lodging, which facilitates the spread of disease through +greater contact of the wheatstalks. The tendency to lodging and, thus, +to the spreading of disease is also encouraged by the improper use of +fertilizers. To compensate for the shortage of phosphatic fertilizers an +erroneous practice has developed of increasing the application of +nitrogenous fertilizers, thereby upsetting the proper balance of plant +nutrients. The resultant excessive vegetative growth weakens the grain +stalks and induces lodging of the grain. Lodging also causes heavy +losses through the germination of kernels and through major difficulties +in harvesting. + +Damage to wheat and barley crops from improper use of phosphatic +fertilizers has also been reported. Substantial losses have been +incurred in the production of sunflower seeds through inexpert use of +fertilizers and insecticides, inadequate thinning and weeding, improper +crop rotation, and poor harvesting methods. The basic underlying cause +of these difficulties is the widespread lack of familiarity with modern +production methods and the inadequate supply of technically trained +personnel to guide farmers. + + +Livestock and Livestock Products + +Despite repeated government decrees concerning measures for raising +livestock production, including various incentives, no significant +success was attained in increasing livestock herds in the period 1961 to +January 1971 (see table 17). The numbers of cattle, hogs, and rabbits +actually declined; the flocks of sheep grew by less than 4 percent; and +only the numbers of goats and poultry increased substantially. An +increase in all categories of livestock other than sheep, however, took +place in 1971. In comparison with 1948 the total number of cattle in +1971 was lower by 28 percent, and the number of cows had declined by 16 +percent. The poor performance of the livestock sector, particularly with +regard to cattle, has been a source of great concern for the leadership +because of the leadership's promise of a better standard of living for +the population and the obligation to meet export commitments to COMECON +partners, particularly the Soviet Union. Exports of livestock are also +important as a source of convertible foreign exchange. + +_Table 17. Bulgaria, Livestock Numbers, Selected Years, 1948-72_* (in +thousands) + + ----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+--------- + Livestock | 1948 | 1961 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 + ----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+--------- + Cattle | 1,783 | 1,452 | 1,255 | 1,279 | 1,379 + (Cows) | (703) | (547) | (574) | (589) | (607) + Hogs | 1,078 | 2,553 | 1,967 | 2,369 | 2,806 + Sheep | 9,266 | 9,333 | 9,223 | 9,678 | 10,127 + Goats | 720 | 246 | 350 | 335 | 318 + Rabbits | 128 | 470 | 164 | 277 | 350 + Poultry | 11,380 | 23,366 | 29,590 | 33,706 | 34,102 + ----------+---------+---------+---------+---------+--------- + * Figure for 1948 as of December 25; for all other years, January 1. + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1971_, Sofia, 1971, p. 124; + and _Statistical Yearbook, 1972_, Sofia, 1972, p. 236. + +Although agriculture is almost entirely socialized, substantial numbers +of livestock are nevertheless privately owned by farm and urban workers, +artisans, and the few remaining individual farmers. In 1971 these groups +possessed virtually all the goats and rabbits, more than half the +poultry, and about two-fifths of the sheep. They also owned 27 percent +of the hogs and 22 percent of the cattle, including 30 percent of the +cows. On socialized farms all types of livestock were reduced in numbers +during the 1961-70 period except for cows and poultry. Among private +owners the decline in the numbers of cattle and hogs was more +pronounced, but substantial gains were made in the stock of sheep, +goats, and poultry. Government policies concerning prices, incentives, +and feed allocation were mainly responsible for the differences in +development within the socialized and private sectors. + +Expansion of livestock herds and production has been hampered by an +inadequate feed supply. The feed shortage in the 1966-70 period was +estimated by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences to have approximated 30 +percent. Domestically produced feed concentrates have been of poor +quality and nutritionally unbalanced. In 1972 more than 45 percent of +the mixed feeds and concentrates were substandard, and requirements for +these feeds were met by less than 55 percent. + +The production of feed crops increased in absolute terms during the +1960-70 period, but its rate of growth lagged by comparison with other +crops and with official plans. In 1971 and 1972 the alfalfa acreage was +supposed to be 990,000 acres, but only 840,000 acres were actually +cropped. In 1972 only 57 percent of the requirements for alfalfa and +meadow hay were met on farms of the agroindustrial complexes, and the +quality of the hay was extremely low. The inadequacy of the feed supply +in relation to the government's livestock program has been designated by +the leadership as one of the most crucial problems of agriculture. + +In the 1971-75 period improvement in the feed supply is to be achieved +mainly through an increase in feed crop yields, but a certain increase +in acreage has also been planned. Results in the first two years of the +five-year period have jeopardized the attainment of the goal for 1975. +Substantial investment funds are to be provided for the modernization of +dairy barns and for the construction of feed mills with assistance from +the Soviet Union. With a view to raising productivity and output, +livestock production is to be increasingly concentrated on large +specialized farms. This policy ignored the demonstrated superiority of +livestock production on small farm plots. + +Major problems in the expansion of cattle herds and livestock production +are also posed by poor management and inadequate veterinary services. +The reproduction rate of cattle is abnormally low because of the high +percentage of old, sterile cows in the herds. The incidence of diseases +of the reproductive system and of mastitis among cows is rapidly +increasing, and mortality among cattle is high. Young breeding stock is +reared in unsuitable surroundings, is ill fed, and consequently remains +underdeveloped. A large proportion of newly born calves succumb to +various diseases. There is a shortage of trained veterinarians, but +veterinarians stationed on farms and in district veterinary hospitals +are reported to feel no responsibility for the deplorable conditions. +The care of livestock also suffers from a lack of adequately trained +workers and a high labor turnover in the livestock sections of the +agroindustrial complexes. Managers and specialists at the higher levels +of the agroindustrial complexes fail to provide systematic supervision +and guidance and often exhibit a lack of interest in the livestock +enterprise. These conditions were reported to the General Assembly by a +deputy minister of agriculture. + +Despite the shortage of feed, increased yields per animal were attained +in the 1960-71 period. For agriculture as a whole the output of milk per +cow rose from 1,482 to 2,281 quarts, the number of eggs per hen +increased from ninety-one to 115, and the amount of wool per sheep rose +from 5.3 to 7.4 pounds. In 1972, however, yields per cow and per hen +declined. In the socialized sector the decline in milk yield had begun +in 1968 and reached serious proportions in 1972; the egg yield remained +stable through 1970 (data for later years were not available in 1973). +In the private sector the milk yield continued to rise at least until +1970; the egg yield remained stable through 1969 and rose in 1970. In +the spring of 1973 several agricultural officials, including a deputy +minister of agriculture, were reprimanded by the Council of Ministers +Bureau for permitting the decline in yields of milk and eggs. + +A study of milk production during the 1965-67 period found that farms +having milk yields of 2,110 to 2,640 quarts per cow sustained an annual +loss of 56 leva for each animal, whereas farms with yields of 3,170 to +4,287 quarts earned a net income of 111 leva per cow. The reported +national average milk yield per cow therefore indicates that most farms +produced milk at a loss. + +The officially reported meat output increased by 74 percent in the +1960-68 period but declined by 11 percent in the next two years. By far +the largest increase in production to 1968--2.9 times--was reported for +beef and veal, while production of poultry meat and of sheep, and goat +meat almost doubled (see table 18). The decline in output after 1968 +affected all types of meat except for poultry and rabbits. For the +entire period of 1960 through 1970, meat output rose by 55 percent, +including production increases of 150 percent for beef and veal, 160 +percent for poultry, and 82 percent for sheep and goat meat. Pork +production, however, had risen by only 10 percent, and the output of +rabbit meat declined by about one-third. The reported increase in meat +production cannot be correlated with available data on changes in the +size of livestock herds. An improvement in the supply of all types of +meat other than beef and veal took place in 1971. + +Production of milk and eggs also increased substantially during the +1960-71 period (see table 19). Nevertheless, domestic market supplies of +livestock products remained chronically and seriously short of demand, +in part because of the magnitude of exports. Exports of agricultural raw +materials and processed foods exceeded 1 billion leva in 1970; they had +increased 2.7 times during the decade and were equivalent to 44 percent +of agriculture's contribution to the national income. Exports of food +products alone had increased more than 3.5 times during the decade to a +total of 732 million leva. + +_Table 18. Bulgaria, Production of Meat, Selected Years, 1948-71_ (in +thousands of tons) + + --------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------ + Meat | 1948 | 1960 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 + --------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------ + Beef and veal | 41 | 37 | 105 | 94 | 90 | 85 + Pork | 74 | 134 | 194 | 167 | 148 | 169 + Sheep and goat meat | 45 | 45 | 88 | 87 | 82 | 88 + Poultry | 17 | 36 | 70 | 78 | 93 | 111 + Other | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 + | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- + TOTAL[*+] | 178 | 257 | 460 | 428 | 416 | 457 + Edible offals | 29 | 50 | 73 | 65 | 60 | 64 + | === | === | === | === | === | === + GRAND TOTAL[+] | 208 | 307 | 534 | 493 | 476 | 521 + --------------------+------+------+------+------+------+------ + * Less offals. + + Columns may not add because of rounding. + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1971_, Sofia, 1971, p. 127; + and _Statistical Yearbook, 1972_, Sofia, 1972, p. 232. + +_Table 19. Bulgaria, Production of Milk, Eggs, and Wool, Selected Years, +1960-71_ + + -----+---------------+----------------+---------------+--------------- + Year | Milk | Cow's Milk | Raw Wool | Eggs + |(thousand tons)|(thousand tons) |(thousand tons)|(million dozen) + -----+---------------+----------------+---------------+--------------- + 1960 | 1,120 | 744 | 21 | 102 + 1967 | 1,609 | 1,210 | 27 | 140 + 1969 | 1,580 | 1,205 | 28 | 127 + 1970 | 1,631 | 1,250 | 29 | 135 + 1971 | 1,620 | 1,290 | 30 | 146 + -----+---------------+----------------+---------------+--------------- + Source: Adapted from _Statistical Yearbook, 1971_, Sofia, 1971, p. 128; + and _Statistical Yearbook, 1972_, Sofia, 1972, p. 233. + + + + +CHAPTER 14 + +INDUSTRY + + +In mid-1973 industry continued to expand, though at a significantly +lower rate than in the mid-1960s. Industrial expansion was being +increasingly restrained by the inadequacy of domestic raw material and +skilled labor resources. Limits on an increase in imports of materials +and essential machinery were placed by the insufficiency of foreign +exchange reserve and by the need to reduce traditional exports of +consumer goods in short supply on the domestic market. The Soviet Union +continued to be the predominant supplier of raw materials, machinery, +and technical and technological assistance. + +To overcome the limitations on industrial expansion, the leadership of +the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary) and government sought +to raise industrial productivity through concentration and +specialization of production and through improvements in the management +of material and labor resources. Strong emphasis was placed on the +introduction of automation in both production and management processes. +Heavy stress was also laid on the need to raise the quality of +industrial products in order to increase their salability abroad and +their acceptance in the domestic market. + +The consolidation of industrial enterprises into a limited number of +trusts, introduced in 1971 as a measure for increased centralized +control in the search for greater efficiency, was being carried forward +by means of further regulatory and clarifying edicts. The leadership's +ultimate goal of an efficiently managed, technologically advanced, +low-cost industry remained the driving force behind all industrial +policy decisions. + + +ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE + +Virtually all industry is state owned. In 1970 state enterprises +possessed 98.6 percent of all industrial assets; they employed 88.8 +percent of the industrial work force and produced 89.7 percent of the +industrial output. Collective industrial enterprises owned the balance +of 1.4 percent of the assets, employed 11.2 percent of the workers, and +contributed 9.9 percent of the industrial output. Small private +enterprises, mostly artisan shops, accounted for only 0.4 percent of the +industrial output. + + +Organization + +Size and Location + +In 1970 the industrial establishment (excluding the private sector, +information on which is not available) consisted of 1,827 state +enterprises and 644 collective enterprises, employing about 1.02 million +and 129,000 people, respectively. More than one-half of the enterprises +in the state industry employed over 200 people, and almost one-fourth +employed more than 1,000 people. Enterprises with large numbers of +workers predominated in metallurgy; in the glass and china industry; in +clothing manufacture; and in the leather, shoe, and fur industry. +Beginning in 1971 previously independent enterprises were transformed +into branches of countrywide trusts organized along functional lines +(see ch. 12). + +The territorial distribution of industry during the 1950-70 period was +determined in large part by the priority development of heavy industry, +the location of which was dictated mainly by the sites of raw material +sources and the location of major consuming centers. In this process +several cities and districts, including Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas, +and Ruse, experienced a large population influx from rural areas and +attendant shortages of housing and public services. At the same time +many villages were deprived of their inhabitants, and homes and public +facilities were abandoned. + +In 1970 the Central Committee of the BKP laid down guidelines for a +program of regional economic development, with a view to attaining an +optimal distribution of productive resources (capital and labor). The +aim of the program was to arrest excessive urban growth and the +associated demands on the country's resources for new housing and other +amenities and, at the same time, to help develop backward rural areas. +Within these guidelines, decentralization of industry has been +undertaken, and plans are being worked out for the socioeconomic +development of individual districts under the Seventh Five-Year Plan +(1976-80) and until 1990. + +In this context the construction of new industrial plants in heavily +populated areas has been restricted. Further production increases in +these areas are to be attained through modernization of existing +facilities and the introduction of more advanced technology. Special +measures have also been adopted to promote economic growth in the +relatively underdeveloped districts. In part, this program is +implemented through the transfer of industrial activities, equipment, +and labor from the congested cities and districts to rural areas. +Transfers of this kind decreed by the Council of Ministers Bureau in +December 1971 and July 1972 involved 195 production units and 25,000 +workers and an annual output of 225 million leva (for value of the +lev--see Glossary). Under existing plans lasting until 1975, however, +industry and employment will continue to expand in some of the most +heavily congested cities. + + +Supply System + +The organization of a smoothly functioning materials and equipment +supply system for industry has been an elusive goal of the leadership +ever since the inception of the controlled economy. Various approaches +to the problem over a period of years have not succeeded in +accomplishing the basic task of ensuring a dependable supply of material +resources to industrial producers. As a result, the economy has been +officially reported to suffer enormous losses through production +shutdowns, substitutions of materials that lower quality and increase +costs, and hoarding of scarce materials. Heavy losses have also been +incurred through improper storage of materials, careless use that +entails excessive waste, and pilferage. + +Adequate information on the organization and functioning of the +industrial supply system has not been available. The latest +reorganization of the supply system was undertaken at the end of 1971 +with a view to providing a normal flow of supplies for the economic +trusts beginning in 1972. Until 1971 the supply organizations had dealt +almost entirely with individual enterprises. The reorganization was +accompanied by extensive consultations with producers of raw materials, +importing organizations, and industrial consumers. The consultations +were held in order to clarify the needs of consumers, ensure the +availability of the needed supplies, and agree upon specific measures +for timely deliveries of materials and supplies. + +Particular attention in the reorganization was paid to the problem of +reducing the inventories of materials in enterprises and concentrating +them in the supply organizations. Decisive measures were taken to halt +the former practice of making deliveries of materials large enough to +cover requirements for three months or longer. Under the new system, +supply organizations are required to make periodic deliveries to +consumers on guaranteed time schedules, at short intervals, and in +quantities that do not exceed one month's requirements. Adherence to the +regulation is to be used as a standard in evaluating the performance of +supply organizations. + +One of the basic elements in industrial consumer-supplier relations has +been the annual contract for estimated material and equipment +requirements needed to complete the annual production quota. For a +variety of reasons both suppliers and users have often failed to honor +these contracts, and the penalties provided for breach of contract have +not been sufficient to deter this practice. Breaches of supply contracts +have been an important cause of economic difficulties. Supply +difficulties have been particularly disruptive because of the +traditionally stringent nature of the production plans and the limited +availability of resources. + +In 1972 the Ministry of Supply and State Reserves planned to take +energetic measures to strengthen contract discipline and to use +contracts as legal and economic instruments for exerting pressure on +both parties to fulfill their obligations. The minister considered it +particularly important to put an end to the practice of contract +cancellation, either under provisions of official regulations or by +mutual agreement of the parties concerned--a practice that, according to +the minister, caused huge losses to the national economy. + + +Structure + +Manufacturing is the dominant sector of industry in terms of employment +and output. In 1971 manufacturing accounted for 93.9 percent of the +total industrial output and provided employment to 88.3 percent of the +industrial labor force. Mining and energy production contributed 3.6 and +2.5 percent, respectively, of the industrial output and employed 10.3 +and 1.4 percent, respectively, of the labor force. More than half the +industrial establishment was devoted to the production of capital goods. +In 1971 the capital goods sector employed 52.5 percent of the industrial +labor force and produced 56 percent of the output. The relative +importance of the capital goods sector had been rising over a period of +years, from 36.7 percent of the output in 1948 and 47.2 percent in 1960. +During the same period the contribution of the consumer goods sector to +total output had declined from 63.3 percent in 1948 to 52.8 percent in +1960 and 44 percent in 1971. As a consequence of the priority +development of heavy industry, the supply of consumer goods on the +domestic market has been inadequate to meet consumer needs (see ch. 5). + +In terms of their employment shares, the largest state industry branches +in 1971 were: machine building and metalworking, 25.5 percent; food +processing, 14.4 percent; and textiles, 11.3 percent. Next in +importance, but with much lower levels of employment, were: timber and +woodworking, 7.4 percent; chemicals and rubber, 6.1 percent; and fuels, +5.5 percent. Industrial branches that experienced the most rapid growth +in the 1960-71 period included ferrous metallurgy, chemicals and rubber, +machine building and metalworking, and fuels. Among the slowest growing +branches were timber and wood processing, textiles, nonferrous +metallurgy, and food processing. + + +FUELS AND POWER + +Domestic resources of mineral fuels are inadequate for the needs of +industry. Through the limitation that it places on electric power +development, the fuel shortage--in the absence of a large hydroelectric +power potential--may become a major factor inhibiting industrial growth. +In 1968 the proportion of petroleum and natural gas in the fuel balance +was somewhat more than 42 percent; it is planned to rise to about 60 +percent in 1975 and to at least 65 percent in 1980. Virtually all +petroleum and natural gas must be imported. + + +Coal and Lignite + +Reserves of anthracite and bituminous coal are insignificant; their +production amounts to less than 2 percent of the annual coal output. +Brown coal deposits that can be mined economically are nearing +exhaustion, and brown coal production declined by about one-third in the +1960-70 period. Low-calorie lignite remains the major fuel base for +thermoelectric power stations. Reserves of this inferior fuel are large. + +Coal deposits are scattered in about twenty small deposits. Because of +difficult geological conditions, however, only a few of the deposits are +exploited. Anthracite is mined in the Svoge basin, located in the Iskur +gorge area of the Stara Planina, north of Sofia. Bituminous coal is +mined in the same mountain range, in the area between Gabrovo and +Sliven. The deposit at Sliven was reported to contain a very small +quantity of coking-grade coal--a quantity far below the needs of the +iron and steel industry. In addition to large annual imports of coking +coal, Bulgaria has also imported from 250,000 to 465,000 tons of coke +per year. + +The main source of brown coal for many years has been the Pernik basin +in the upper Struma valley, about nineteen miles southwest of Sofia. In +the 1971-75 period brown coal mining is to be substantially expanded at +the Bobov Dol deposit in the Rila mountain range, south of the Pernik +basin. The Babino mine in the Bobov Dol coalfield is scheduled to become +the largest underground coal mine in the Balkans. Reserves in this +deposit, however, are equivalent to only about five to six years' +production at the 1970 rate of brown coal output. + +Lignite is mined mainly in the Maritsa basin, near Dimitrovgrad in the +Thracian Plain, and in the Sofia Basin. The Maritsa basin, particularly +the area known as Maritsa-Iztok (Maritsa-East), has become the basic +source of coal production, contributing about 50 percent of the +country's output. Aside from planned new mine construction, the +Maritsa-Iztok complex is to be rebuilt and modernized. Production +problems at this mine have not yet been solved satisfactorily. +Coal-bearing strata have not been fully identified; equipment is +utilized to only about 40 percent of capacity; and the organization of +labor is poor. Substantial improvement also remains to be attained in +processing the coal for market, in view of its high ash and moisture +content. Unsolved problems also remain in the manufacture of coal +briquettes. + +In the 1971-75 period substantial investment is to be devoted to the +expansion and modernization of coal mines. New mines with an annual +capacity of about 4 million tons are to be built. Three-fourths of the +investment funds are to be concentrated on three major production +centers. The relative investment shares of these centers were planned to +be: Maritsa-Iztok complex, 41 percent; Bobov Dol complex, 25 percent; +and the Georgi Dimitrov mine at Pernik, 10 percent. + +Production of marketable coal increased by 83 percent in the 1960-70 +period to a level of about 29 million tons. The rise in output, however, +was confined to lignite production, which grew more than fourfold during +the decade. Production of bituminous and brown coal declined by 42 and +32 percent, respectively. Output of anthracite in 1970 equaled the +output in 1960 but was 9 percent below the production level in 1966. +Production of both anthracite and bituminous coal amounted to less than +400,000 tons in 1970. Strip mining has steadily grown in importance and +accounted for 73 percent of the output in 1970. + +The Sixth Five-Year Plan (1971-75) calls for a rise in coal output to 33 +million tons--an increase of about 13 percent. In the view of the +minister of heavy industry, the planned increase is not large, but its +attainment is difficult considering the character and condition of the +mines. Experience has justified the minister's assessment. In the first +two years of the five-year period, coal output rose by less than 1 +percent. + + +Crude Oil and Natural Gas + +Deposits of crude oil are located at Tyulenovo in the Dobrudzha region +and at Dolni Dubnik, east of Pleven. Natural gas fields have been +discovered near Vratsa and in the area of Lovech, south of Pleven. +Reliable information on the magnitude of crude oil and natural gas +reserves is not available. Statistics on current imports and official +projections of import requirements, however, indicate that domestic +production of oil and natural gas will continue to cover only a small +fraction of needs. + +Production of crude oil rose from 200,000 tons in 1960 to 500,000 tons +in 1967 but declined thereafter to 305,000 tons in 1971. Natural gas +output, which had increased to 18.5 billion cubic feet in 1969, declined +to 16.7 billion cubic feet in 1970 and 11.6 billion cubic feet in 1971. +Imports of crude oil, mostly from the Soviet Union, increased almost +3-1/2 times between 1965 and 1971 to a level of 7.5 million tons. In +1972 the Soviet Union alone provided 95 percent of the country's +requirements for crude oil and petroleum products. Imports of natural +gas from the Soviet Union, through a pipeline still under construction, +are scheduled to begin in 1974 at a level of 35 billion cubic feet and +to continue at an annual rate of 106 billion cubic feet beginning in +1975. The planned 1975 import volume represents about three-fourths of +the estimated requirements in that year. + +Crude oil is processed in two refineries, located at Burgas and Pleven, +with daily throughput capacities of about 16,500 tons and 5,500 tons, +respectively. Except for the small domestic output, crude oil for the +Pleven refinery is moved by rail from Black Sea ports. A pipeline +network that will connect the refinery with the ports is under +construction and is scheduled to enter into full operation in 1975. By +that date the capacity of the Pleven refinery is planned to attain +16,500 tons per day. A pipeline under construction for the transport of +petroleum products from the Burgas refinery to consuming centers at +Stara Zagora and Plovdiv is to be completed sometime in 1973. + +The refinery output has not been sufficient to cover all the country's +requirements for petroleum products. Net imports of petroleum products +in 1970, including gasoline, fuel oils, and lubricating oils, amounted +to 2.5 million tons. Ninety percent of the imports originated in the +Soviet Union. + + +Electrical Energy + +Installed electric generating capacity and production of electrical +energy increased more than fourfold in the 1960-71 period but failed to +keep pace with the country's growing requirements. Installed capacity in +1971 was 4.48 million kilowatts, including 3.65 million kilowatts in +thermal and 0.83 million kilowatts in hydroelectric stations. During the +period the proportion of hydroelectric capacity declined from 50 to 18 +percent, and the production of electricity per kilowatt of hydroelectric +capacity dropped by more than one-third. The utilization of thermal +capacity declined by 13.5 percent. + +New power from generating plants scheduled to begin operation in the +1971-75 period totals about 3 million kilowatts. Major power stations to +be commissioned include: hydroelectric stations--with a capacity of 1 +million kilowatts--on the Sestrimo cascade, in the upper reaches of the +Maritsa River and at the Vucha cascade, southwest of Plovdiv; a thermal +power plant with a capacity of about 620,000 kilowatts at Bobov Dol, +fueled by local coal; and an atomic power station with a capacity of +880,000 kilowatts at Kozloduy on the Danube River, in the northwestern +corner of the country. According to government plans, total generating +capacity is scheduled to reach 7 million kilowatts in 1975 and 12 +million kilowatts in 1980. The more distant plans include the +construction, jointly with Romania, of a hydroelectric power complex on +the Danube, at Belene on the Bulgarian bank of the river and Ciora on +the Romanian side. The Soviet Union has provided large-scale technical +and material assistance in the development of the electric power system. + +Production of electrical energy amounted to 21 billion kilowatt-hours in +1971, of which 90 percent was generated by thermal stations. Energy +output in 1972 reached 22.3 billion kilowatt-hours. The Sixth Five-Year +Plan calls for an energy output of 30.5 billion kilowatt-hours in 1975, +which is equivalent to an average annual increase in output of 9.4 +percent during the five-year period. In the years 1971 and 1972 energy +output rose by an average of 6.9 percent per year, so that an average +annual rise of 11 percent will be needed in the remaining years to +attain the planned goal in 1975. Consumption of electrical energy in +1975 is planned to reach 33.5 billion kilowatt-hours. The planned +deficit of 3 billion kilowatt-hours is to be covered by imports from +Romania, Yugoslavia, and the Soviet Union. + +The electrical transmission network is well developed, and further major +improvements have been planned. The network is connected with the power +grids of Romania and Yugoslavia. A 400-kilovolt power line from the +Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in the Soviet Union was reported to +have been completed in mid-1972. There was no evidence nine months later +that power had actually been transmitted over that line. + +Eighteen percent of the total electrical energy supply in 1971 was used +by the power stations or lost in transmission. Of the remaining net +supply, almost 70 percent was consumed in industry and construction; +agriculture received only 4 percent; and transport and communications +accounted for little more than 3 percent. Households were allotted about +16 percent of the net electrical supply, and the balance of 7 percent +was consumed in trade, public institutions, and street lighting. The +major industrial users of energy were metallurgical enterprises and the +producers of chemicals and rubber; each of these industrial branches +consumed one-fifth of the energy supply to industry. + +Expansion of electric-generating capacity and energy output at rates +planned by the government has been hampered by a chronic lag in new +construction and by inadequate maintenance of existing facilities. The +lack of preventive maintenance and disregard of technical requirements +in the operation of equipment result in frequent breakdowns requiring +major repairs. Such repairs, particularly those involving boilers, +turbines, and transformers, pose difficult problems because of the +shortage of technically qualified repair personnel and ineffective +organization of repair work. Efficiency of operation is also adversely +affected by a high labor turnover and the difficulty of finding +qualified replacements. + +The lag in the completion of new power stations, equipment breakdowns, +and insufficient water reserves for hydroelectric stations have caused +frequent power shortages, particularly at peak load hours. Elaborate +official measures have been introduced to regulate the consumption of +electricity and to eliminate waste, including a bonus system for saving +electricity. These measures have not proved sufficiently effective, and +some enterprises have been reported to earn bonuses by the simple +expedient of overstating their requirements in the formulation of the +annual economic plans. The State Inspectorate for Industrial Power and +Power Control, it was stated by officials, was not in a position to +solve the problem of economizing electric power without the active +cooperation of every enterprise, plant, and trade union. Additional +unspecified measures affecting industry were reported to have been taken +in 1973 to reduce peak power loads, and the population was advised to +use electricity more sparingly between 6:00 P.M. and 9:00 P.M. + + +RAW MATERIALS + +In 1970 about 54 percent of the manufacturing industry's output was +based on industrial materials, and 46 percent was derived from +agricultural raw materials; the proportion of industrial materials in +manufacturing continued on its post-World War II upward trend in the +1960-70 period from a level of 24 percent in 1948 and 49 percent in +1960. This trend was sustained by the relatively rapid rise in the +production and imports of industrial materials compared to the slower +increase in agricultural output and imports. Because of the limitation +of domestic resources, further industrial expansion will necessitate +ever larger material imports. + + +Iron and Steel + +The main deposits of iron ore are located at Kremikovtsi, northeast of +Sofia, and at Krumovo in the lower Tundzha valley. Other small deposits +of little or no commercial value are scattered in the Strandzha +mountains, in the western Stara Planina, and at several locations in the +Rodopi (or Rhodope Mountains). The ore in the Kremikovtsi deposit is of +low grade; it has a mineral content of about 33 percent and requires +beneficiation. Reserves at Krumovo were reported to be of better grade +but much smaller. Available evidence suggests that mining at this +deposit was discontinued after the mid-1960s. Its site is far removed +from the country's two iron and steel mills. + +Reserves at Kremikovtsi were estimated a number of years ago to contain +from 200 million to 250 million tons of ore. An official +Russian-language survey of Bulgaria, published in 1969, cited a figure +of 317 million tons for total iron ore reserves but mentioned only the +Kremikovtsi deposit as one being mined. In a review of the country's +natural resources, published in a Bulgarian technical journal in +mid-1970, it was stated that known reserves of iron ore would last +another fifty years. At the average annual rate of iron ore output in +the years 1968 and 1969 the reported life span of the deposits indicates +a reserve of only 133 million tons as of 1970. Whatever the actual +reserves may be, domestic iron ore has had to be supplemented by imports +of about 1 million tons per year from the Soviet Union and Algeria to +meet the requirements of the metallurgical industry. + +Reserves of steel-alloying minerals are reported to be available, +particularly manganese, chromium, and molybdenum. The quality of the +manganese ores, however, is low, and reserves of chromium are +insufficient for the needs of the economy. Output data are available +only for manganese ore. Production of this mineral declined by about 60 +percent in the 1957-70 period, which suggests the depletion of known +reserves. The metal content of the manganese ore mined in 1970 amounted +to 10,300 tons. In that year the discovery of new manganese deposits in +the Obrocha area was reported, the eventual exploitation of which, it +was said, would not only provide for all domestic requirements but would +also make it possible to export manganese for an entire century. + +Although small amounts of ferroalloys are also obtained as by-products +of copper, lead, and zinc smelting, imports must be relied upon to cover +substantial deficits. Imports of manganese ores and concentrates in 1969 +and in 1970 were more than double the volume of domestic production, and +imports of chromium and chromite amounted to 3,400 tons in 1969. Nickel +and titanium were also imported. + +Steel is produced at the integrated Kremikovtsi metallurgical combine +and at the smaller integrated Lenin Steel Works in Pernik. With Soviet +assistance the Kremikovtsi combine is being expanded to a planned annual +capacity of 2 million tons of steel and 2.2 million tons of rolled +products by the end of 1975. A third coking plant was put into operation +in the spring of 1971, and the production of coke is scheduled to reach +1.4 million tons in 1975, compared to an output of 837,000 tons in 1970. +The steel mill at Pernik is to be modernized, also with Soviet +assistance. + +Production of pig iron and steel increased about sevenfold in the +1960-70 period, reaching levels of 1.25 million tons and 1.8 million +tons, respectively. The same was true of rolled steel products, the +volume of which rose to 1.42 million tons. Nevertheless, Bulgaria +remained a net importer of iron and steel throughout the entire period. +In 1970 the import surplus amounted to 272,000 tons of pig iron and +96,000 tons of steel. + + +Nonferrous Metals + +Reserves of nonferrous metals are reported to be more plentiful than +reserves of iron ore. Unofficial claims have been made that copper +reserves will meet requirements during the next fifty years despite the +planned rapid growth in output. Similarly, known reserves of lead and +zinc ores were said to be sufficient to supply the needs of available +smelters until 1990. A foreign observer, however, noted that plans for +large-scale expansion of nonferrous mining and smelting may be +frustrated by the deteriorating quality of the ores being mined and that +metal output may not rise much beyond the level attained in the late +1960s. In fact, mine output of lead and zinc in 1970 was not higher than +it had been in 1960, although the mine output of copper increased at an +annual rate of 7.1 percent from 1967 to 1971. In this context it is +noteworthy that data on nonferrous metals were omitted from the official +statistical yearbook published in 1972. + +In 1972 the minister of heavy industry pointed out that the relatively +small planned increase in the output of the nonferrous metals industry +in the 1971-75 period--22.8 percent--was dictated by inadequate +supplies of raw materials. He stated that prospecting for new deposits +would be intensified and stressed the urgent need to increase the degree +of metal recovery from ores and the need to utilize fully all ore +components. Nevertheless, the minister assured his audience that the +requirements of the economy for copper, lead, and zinc in the 1971-75 +period would be met from domestic production, except for 3 to 10 percent +of certain types of rolled metal. He called for the construction of +plants to extract the metal from the industry's tailings as a means for +partially eliminating the troublesome shortage. + +Copper is mined south of Burgas; in the Sredna Gora mountains near the +town of Panagyurishte; and in the western Stara Planina mountains, south +of Vratsa. A deposit is also being developed at Chelopets, near Sofia. +The ore is concentrated locally and is smelted and refined in plants at +Eliseyna, Pirdop, and the Medet complex near Panagyurishte. Production +of refined copper from ores and reused scrap increased from 14,000 tons +in 1960 to 24,000 tons in 1965 and 41,000 tons in 1971. More than half +the copper output is processed into copper profiles, sheet, and wire at +the Dimiter Ganev plant in Sofia--the only plant for manufacturing +rolled products. Bulgaria has both imported and exported copper and +copper products. + +Lead and zinc are obtained from mines near the towns of Madan and +Rudozem, in the eastern Rodopi, and in the western part of the Stara +Planina, at Eliseyna and Chiprovtsi. A new lead mine is under +development at Erma Reka, in the vicinity of Madan. The Rodopi mines +account for the major portion of the ore output. The ore is processed in +flotation plants near the sites of the mines and is refined at +Kurdzhali, Plovdiv, and Kurilo. + +Production of refined lead and zinc rose rapidly in the first half of +the 1960s but leveled off in the second. Substantial amounts of these +metals have been exported, mostly to Western Europe. Exports, however, +have been declining both in volume and as a proportion of output. The +decline has been more pronounced in the case of lead, and lead exports +dropped from 65 percent of output in 1960 to 22 percent in 1970. The +volume of lead exports fell from 53,500 tons to 22,100 tons in the +1965-70 period. Zinc exports declined from highs of 78 percent of output +in 1965 and 58,100 tons in 1966 to 64 percent of output and 48,100 tons +in volume in 1970. + +Bulgaria also possesses small reserves of gold, silver, and uranium. +Gold has been found near the town of Trun, not far from the border of +Yugoslavia. Silver and uranium deposits are located in the western Stara +Planina. The uranium ore is processed by the Rare Metals Combine near +Sofia. Gold and silver are also obtained as by-products in the smelting +of copper, lead, and zinc. Information on reserves and production of +these metals is not available. Aluminum and tin must be imported. + + +Other Raw Materials + +There are reported to be adequate resources of nonmetallic minerals for +the production of cement and other building materials, glass, and +ceramics. Asbestos, salt, sulfur, and cement are produced in quantities +large enough to allow some exports. The quality of asbestos, however, is +low, and better grades must be imported for some uses. Exports of cement +declined from 715,000 tons in 1965 to 153,000 tons in 1970. Timber and +wood pulp from domestic sources are in short supply. Under an agreement +with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria has supplied 8,000 workers to the timber +industry of the Komi Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic for the +development of Siberian timber resources, in return for which the Soviet +Union has undertaken to export to Bulgaria about 900,000 cubic yards of +timber in 1973 and up to 2 million cubic yards per year after 1975. +Similar arrangements exist with regard to paper pulp, iron and steel, +natural gas, and other raw materials. + +Domestic agriculture provides ample raw materials for the food +processing industry, but only a fraction of light industry's needs for +fibers and hides. In the 1968-70 period average annual imports of these +materials included cotton, 60,000 tons; wool, 2,900 tons; synthetic +fibers, 26,000 tons; and cattle hides, 7,700 tons. In addition to the +raw cotton, cotton textiles in the amount of 63,000 tons were imported +annually. + +Because of the general shortage of domestic raw materials and the need +to conserve scarce foreign exchange, strong emphasis has been placed on +recycling waste materials. A decree on this subject was issued in 1960, +and a special Secondary Raw Materials State Economic Trust was created +in 1965. Another comprehensive decree was issued in November 1971 +because, as stated in its preamble, the importance of collecting and +using waste materials had been underestimated, and the needs of the +economy were not being met. The new decree was intended to organize the +collection and processing of waste materials, including metals, paper, +rubber, textiles, and worn-out machinery and household equipment, on a +modern industrial basis under the direction of the waste materials +trust. Special provision was made in the decree concerning the handling +of unused machinery and surplus materials held by economic enterprises, +and sanctions were provided for failure to surrender or refusal to +purchase such surplus equipment and materials. + + +INVESTMENT + +Industry's share of total annual investment rose steadily from 34.2 +percent in 1960 to 47.3 percent in 1969 but declined in the next two +years to 43.9 percent. In absolute terms and in current prices, annual +investment in industry increased from 466.3 million leva in 1960 to 1.6 +billion leva in 1970 and declined to 1.58 billion leva in 1971. + +More than four-fifths of the industrial investment in the 1961-71 period +was devoted to the expansion of producer goods industries. The +proportion of investment funds allotted annually for this purpose was +slightly lower in the 1966-71 period than it had been in the preceding +five years; it ranged between 84.7 and 87.8 percent in the 1961-65 +period and between 81.2 and 85.5 percent thereafter, except for 1970, +when it declined to an atypical low of 78.5 percent. + +The bulk of industrial investment was channeled into heavy industry, +including fuel and energy production, ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy, +chemicals, and machine building and metalworking. In the 1960-65 period +fuel and energy production were the major recipients of investment +funds; in subsequent years machine building and chemicals became the +primary targets of investment activity. Ferrous metallurgy was among the +five largest investment recipients through 1967, but nonferrous +metallurgy dropped from this group after 1964. Beginning in 1967 +substantial investment funds were also devoted to food processing--the +major export industry and earner of foreign exchange. + +Investment allotments to consumer goods industries ranged between 12.2 +and 18.8 percent of industrial investment, except for an unusually high +allocation of 21.5 percent in 1970. In 1971, however, the investment +share of consumer industries dropped sharply to only 14.5 percent. The +predominance of investment in heavy industry reflected the leadership's +basic economic policy tenet that, with minor temporary exceptions, the +production of capital goods must develop more rapidly than the output of +consumer goods. + +Construction of industrial plants has frequently fallen behind schedule, +causing losses of planned production and disruption of the five-year +plans. The situation became critical in the fall of 1972 because of the +failure to commission on time new facilities that were counted upon to +produce in 1973, among other products, 0.5 million tons of rolled steel; +0.4 million tons of mineral fertilizers; 30,000 tons of synthetic +fibers; 20,000 tons of cellulose; 11,000 tons of polyethylene; 0.3 +million kilowatts of electric generating capacity; and a large volume of +machinery and equipment. + +The main reasons for the construction lag were delays in the supply of +materials and a shortage of construction workers. In an effort to +expedite the completion of the most essential projects that were under +the direct supervision of the Council of Ministers because of their +national importance, the council created a special operational bureau +for the coordination and control of the construction activities +associated with these projects. At the same time 6,000 workers were +transferred to the priority projects from less important construction +jobs. These measures did little to solve the basic problems and merely +shifted the incidence of construction delays from one category of +projects to another. + + +LABOR + +The labor force in state and collective industry numbered 1.17 million +workers in 1971, of whom 542,000--or 46 percent--were women. The labor +force had increased by 54 percent compared with its size in 1960, and +the number of women workers more than doubled. About 88 percent of the +workers were employed in manufacturing; the remaining 12 percent were +engaged in mining and energy production. Production of capital goods +provided employment for 52.5 percent of the workers, and consumer goods +industries absorbed the remainder. One-fourth of the labor force was +concentrated in machine building and metalworking, and another +one-fourth was occupied in food processing and textile production (see +Organization and Structure, this ch.). + +By far the largest proportion of women workers--26 percent of their +total number--were employed in the textiles and clothing branches of +industry, where they constituted 77 percent of total employment. Women +constituted the majority of workers in food processing--53 percent--and +accounted for 21 percent of the workers in machine building and +metalworking. Substantial numbers of women were also employed in +chemical and rubber plants, in logging and woodworking, and in the +production of leather shoes and furs. Four-fifths of all women working +in industry were in blue-collar jobs. + +According to official statistics, 95 percent of the workers in 1971 were +directly engaged in production; the rest were employed in various +auxiliary occupations, such as maintenance and warehousing. Yet in +outlining means for raising industrial labor productivity in the fall of +1972, the minister of labor and social welfare included as an objective +a reduction in the proportion of auxiliary personnel to about 30 or 35 +percent of the number of production workers in industry. About 17 +percent of the production workers were in white-collar jobs; information +on the total number of white-collar workers has not been published. + +The majority of industrial workers are paid on a piecework basis, but +the importance of piecework has been declining and has varied widely +among industrial branches. In 1971 almost 62 percent of the workers were +paid on this basis--a significantly smaller proportion than the 80 +percent of workers remunerated in this manner in 1957. The proportion of +workers employed on the piecework basis in 1971 was highest in the +manufacture of clothing--89.5 percent--and lowest in the production of +coal and petroleum--25.2 percent. In construction, 84.6 percent of the +workers were paid on the piecework basis. + +The average annual wage of all industrial workers in 1971 was 1,526 +leva, compared to an average of 962 leva in 1960. On the whole, wages of +production workers were somewhat higher than wages of auxiliary +personnel, and the pay of white-collar production workers was higher +than that of blue-collar workers. The average wage of workers in +capital goods industries was 21 percent higher than the wage of workers +in consumer goods industries. The wage was highest in mining and lowest +in manufacturing. Within the state industrial branches, average annual +wages ranged from 2,009 leva in the production of coal and petroleum to +1,196 leva in the manufacture of clothing. Wages in collective industry +were generally lower than in state industry; the difference between the +average annual wages in these sectors was 12 percent. + +Industrial productivity and growth have suffered from a shortage of +trained workers and technical personnel. The supply of skilled workers +in the fall of 1972 was reported to be only half the number needed to +fill available positions. Responsibility for this situation has been +placed, in part, on the lack of coordination between the industrial +ministries and the Ministry of National Education concerning technical +and vocational training programs. There has been a pronounced +disproportion in the numbers of trainees in the various technical +specialities, and technical training generally has not been up to the +level demanded by modern technology. Enterprises themselves have been +slow in undertaking to train their own workers. The scarcity of skilled +personnel has been accentuated by the export of trained workers to the +Soviet Union to help develop the exportation of mineral and timber +resources in return for raw material imports. + +Poor labor discipline and excessive labor turnover have aggravated the +shortage of skilled workers. The turnover has been particularly high +among younger workers. Dissatisfaction with the job, or with living and +transportation conditions, and the search for better pay have been cited +as the main reasons for the turnover. Progressively severe measures have +been introduced to enforce stricter labor discipline, but their +effectiveness has been weakened by lax application. One of these +measures concerning movement of labor gave workers the right to quit +their jobs freely but stipulated that any worker seeking reemployment +had to do so through district labor bureaus set up for that purpose. The +bureaus would direct the job applicants to industries and positions +where labor was most urgently needed. Because of the shortage of skilled +labor, however, enterprise managers continued to hire new labor without +regard to the requirements of the law. + +The shortage of adequately trained personnel adversely affects the +utilization of available capacity; it entails frequent breakdowns of +machinery and inhibits multishift operation of plants. More than 20 +percent of worktime is usually lost through idling, and equipment is +used at no more than 50 to 60 percent of capacity. New plants completed +in 1967 had not reached full production in 1972. Productivity has also +been kept low by the lack of mechanization of auxiliary activities, such +as loading and unloading, inter- and intrashop transport, and +warehousing. In 1972 the minister of labor and social welfare stated +that labor productivity in Bulgarian metallurgy was only half as high +as in some of the advanced industrial states. + +The presence of unemployment has never been officially admitted, but a +certain degree of unemployment and underemployment, nevertheless, exists +in several rural areas of the country. Recognition of this fact was +evident in the decision of the BKP Central Committee plenum, published +in March 1970, on the territorial redistribution of production forces +(relocation of industry) and in subsequent economic studies concerning +this subject. + + +PRODUCTION + +Gross industrial output amounted to about 13.9 billion leva in 1970 and +reached 15 billion leva in 1971. According to official data, industrial +output more than tripled in the 1960-71 period. The high average annual +growth rate of 11.1 percent was accounted for, in part, by the low +initial level of industrial development, as a result of which relatively +small absolute increases in output were equivalent to high percentage +rates of growth. The contribution of industry to national income (net +material product) rose from 46 percent in 1960 to 50 percent in 1969 but +declined to 49 percent in 1970. + +The most rapid growth occurred in basic industries that were given +priority in the allocation of investment and labor. Production of the +iron and steel industry rose almost ninefold, and the output of fuels, +chemicals, and rubber increased more than sixfold. The output of machine +building and metalworking industries increased 5-1/2 times, and the +production of electric power, building materials, and cellulose and +paper rose about fourfold. Preferential development of basic industries +continued through 1972. + +The lowest growth rates among basic industries were attained by the +timber and woodworking industry and nonferrous metallurgy. Some foreign +observers have wondered when the available nonferrous ore reserves have +not been exploited more intensively. As for timber production, its +volume has been restricted by the limitation of forest resources. +Production by consumer goods industries generally increased by from 2.1 +to 2.7 times, except for glass and porcelain wares, the output of which +rose almost fivefold. + +By far the most important industries in terms of output value in 1970 +were food processing, and machine building and metalworking; these +industries accounted for 25.4 and 20.2 percent of total output, +respectively. Next in importance, with 9.1 percent and 7.5 percent of +the total were the textile and the chemical and rubber industries. The +output of the clothing industry--4.9 percent of total output--surpassed +the production of fuels. The contributions of other industries to the +total industrial output ranged from 0.9 to 3.7 percent. The structure of +industrial output in value terms reflects, in part, the system of prices +used in valuing the output. + +Although the country's industrial development has had a history of only +two decades, industry produces a wide variety of industrial and consumer +products, including machine tools, ships, computers, automatic telephone +exchanges, and television sets (see table 20). Bulgaria was also +reported to possess the largest plant in Europe, and second largest in +the world, for the production of electric forklifts and similar +industrial vehicles. The quality of many products, however, though +improving, has not measured up to average world standards. In 1972 the +chairman of the Administration for Quality Standardization, and +Metrology stated that his organization was confronted with a difficult +long-term task of developing an effective quality control system and of +catching up and keeping pace with the constantly rising world quality +standards. In his view, attainment of these goals required a fundamental +improvement of domestic quality standards, effective organizational and +technical measures, well-conceived incentives, and an enormous amount of +indoctrination of the personnel involved in production. The chairman was +confident, nevertheless, that the country's industry would eventually +outstrip the qualitative standards of developed industrial nations in +the same way that it had succeeded in outstripping these nations' +industries with regard to quantitative growth. + +_Table 20. Output of Selected Industrial Products in Bulgaria, Selected +Years, 1960-71_ + + -------------------+----------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + Product | Unit | 1960 | 1965 | 1968 | 1970 | 1971 + -------------------+----------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + Electric energy |million | | | | | + | kilowatt hours| 4,657 |10,244 |15,451 |19,513 |21,016 + Coal (cleaned)[1] |thousand | | | | | + | metric tons |10,630 |10,116 | 9,930 | 7,280 | 6,450 + Lignite | do | 5,356 |14,926 |20,967 |21,971 |20,558 + Coke | do | 20 | 733 | 817 | 837 | 1,091 + Crude oil | do | 200 | 229 | 475 | 334 | 305 + Natural gas | million | | | | | + | cubic yards | ... | 94 | 662 | 619 | 428 + Iron ore[2] |thousand | | | | | + | metric tons | 188 | 585 | 870 | 792 | 993 + Manganese ore[2] | do | 7 | 13 | 12 | 10 | 12 + Pig iron | do | 136 | 547 | 1,064 | 1,195 | 1,329 + Crude steel | do | 253 | 588 | 1,461 | 1,800 | 1,947 + Rolled steel | do | 193 | 431 | 1,028 | 1,420 | 1,752 + Steel tubes | do | 11 | 10 | 19 | 114 | 136 + Copper ore[2] | do | 11 | 30 | 37 | 42 | n.a. + Lead-zinc ore[2] | do | 173 | 180 | 168 | 173 | n.a. + Electrolytic copper| do | 14 | 24 | 37 | 38 | n.a. + Lead | do | 40 | 93 | 93 | 97 | n.a. + Zinc | do | 17 | 66 | 75 | 76 | n.a. + Cement | do | 1,568 | 2,681 | 3,512 | 3,668 | 3,880 + Timber |thousand | | | | | + | cubic yards | 5,046 | 5,680 | 5,140 | 5,166 | 4,923 + Paper |thousand | | | | | + | metric tons | 54 | 85 | 187 | 200 | 215 + Nitrogen | | | | | | + fertilizers[3] | do | 84 | 246 | 276 | 287 | 306 + Urea[3] | do | 2 | 15 | 228 | 315 | 256 + Superphosphate[4] | do | 41 | 94 | 136 | 148 | 146 + Pesticides[5] | do | 2 | 6 | 12 | 15 | 16 + Automobile tires | do | 172 | 327 | 333 | 546 | 730 + Internal combustion|thousand | | | | | + engines | horsepower | 155 | 179 | 280 | 229 | 250 + Metalcutting |thousand units | | | | | + machine tools | | 3,145 | 8,063 |11,160 |13,945 |14,636 + Presses | do | 203 | 609 | 944 | 977 | 763 + Textile looms | do | 505 | 555 | 1,088 | 676 | 437 + Tractors | do | ... | 2,800 | 2,961 | 3,493 | 4,668 + Freight cars | do | 2,007 | 1,583 | 1,550 | 1,991 | 2,016 + Electric forklift | do | 3,104 |16,562 |22,673 |29,641 |30,202 + Telephones | do | 80 | 57 | 245 | 349 | 416 + Ships | do | 12 | 11 | 26 | 27 | n.a. + Radio sets | do | 157 | 130 | 139 | 145 | 148 + Television sets | do |[6]... | 74 | 158 | 193 | 158 + Refrigerators | | | | | | + (domestic) | do | 3 | 41 | 91 | 134 | 140 + Electric washing | | | | | | + machines | | | | | | + (domestic)| | do | 38 | 89 | 184 | 56 | 57 + Cotton textiles |million yards | 239 | 355 | 349 | 349 | 355 + Woolen textiles | do | 20 | 31 | 25 | 29 | 31 + Footwear[7] |million pairs | 7,534 |10,062 |15,671 |13,627 |16,095 + Leather shoes | do |(4,251)|(5,154)|(5,781)|(4,105)|(4,694) + Rubber footwear | do |11,239 |12,683 |13,485 |12,805 |13,683 + -------------------+----------------+-------+-------+-------+-------+------- + n.a.--not available. + 1: Anthracite, bituminous, and brown coal. + 2: Metal content. + 3: Nitrogen content. + 4: P_{2}O_{5} content + 5: Active ingredients. + 6: Fewer than 400 units. + 7: Excluding house slippers and rubber footwear. + + + + +SECTION IV. NATIONAL SECURITY + +CHAPTER 15 + +PUBLIC ORDER AND SECURITY + + +To maintain order and to retain control of the population, party and +governmental authorities rely on a number of police and security +organizations that are able to exert physical force and, also, upon a +group of large social organizations that are able to apply social +pressures. When individuals, in spite of the efforts of the law +enforcement agencies and the social organizations, engage in antisocial +or criminal behavior, the courts are charged with handing down +appropriate sentences, and the penal institutions are concerned with +rehabilitating the individuals for eventual return to society as +cooperative and productive members. + +People's Militia units throughout the country are the local police +forces that enforce the laws, combat crime, and monitor the population. +They are assisted in local law enforcement by part-time voluntary +paramilitary auxiliaries and, in serious situations, by a small, +centrally organized, full-time internal security force that can act as a +light infantry unit and move quickly to any part of the country. State +security police, evolved from the secret police of the 1940s and 1950s +but much reduced in size, deal with crimes that are national in scope or +that pose a threat to the society or its institutions. Authorities +credit the security police with having almost eliminated the possibility +of large-scale subversive activities. The militia, its volunteer +auxiliaries, and the security units are organized within the Ministry of +Internal Affairs. + +Border and construction troop organizations are administered separately. +The Border Troops, charged with defense of the country's boundaries and +with control of a border zone around the country's periphery, are a part +of the Bulgarian People's Army and are under the Ministry of National +Defense. The Construction Troops are labor forces, but the bulk of their +personnel comes from the annual military draft, and they are organized +into regular military units and are subject to military regulations and +discipline. + +The rights of the individual citizen are defended in the 1971 +Constitution and in the Criminal Code of 1968, which was not altered by +the constitution. The latter states that a crime can only be an act so +identified in the code and for which a punishment is prescribed. These +principles can and have been abused--the state is set above the +individual, and the judicial machinery is within an agency of the +executive branch of the government--but those who exercise the machinery +have become increasingly responsive to its guiding statutes. The limits +on punishments that are set down in the code allow somewhat greater +sentences to be handed down upon those committing crimes against the +state or state property than upon individuals or private property. + + +INTERNAL SECURITY + +State and Internal Security Forces + +During the time of readjustment after Joseph Stalin's death in 1953, +Bulgaria's police state period gradually came to a close. In the postwar +period until then, the country had had police machinery modeled on that +of Stalinist Soviet Union, with state security troops (secret police) +and garrisoned interior troops equipped like mobile army infantry units. +The state security troops, the garrisoned interior troops, and the +regular police forces are estimated to have totaled about 200,000 men. + +Although state and internal security organs have been shifted among +ministries and renamed, and there has been an occasional move to abolish +them, they continue to exist in Bulgaria. Although the organizational +form is probably much the same as before, that is, an internal security +force and a state security police, the security apparatus has only a +fraction of its former personnel and has been shorn of its more +arbitrary powers. According to some observers, Bulgaria has emerged from +a police state, wherein security forces held arbitrary powers of arrest +that instilled fear in the people, to a police bureaucracy in which the +militia meddles in peoples' lives to the point of public frustration. +People no longer have reason to fear the tyranny of a secret police, but +they have developed a strong resentment of the petty militia regulations +that affect their daily lives. + +State security functions--those that deal with espionage, treason, and +the group of so-called political crimes aimed at undermining or +upsetting the system--have been performed by a separate secret police +organization that was typical in communist systems, particularly during +the Stalinist period. An overriding preoccupation with state security +has not been as prevalent in Bulgaria as in many communist countries, +because the communist government had established itself firmly in +control of the country in a relatively short time. Nonetheless, a +sizable secret police force existed for many years and, after a reign of +terror lasting until 1948, the secret police contributed to a general +atmosphere of repression that lasted until the mid-1950s. After that +time most police functions were assumed by the People's Militia, and the +secret police faded into the background, greatly reduced in size and +importance but still functioning within one of the government +ministries. + +After the unsuccessful coup d'etat of April 1965, there was a resurgence +of secret police activity with the creation of the new Committee of +State Security. As the political situation stabilized in the late 1960s, +the Committee of State Security was reabsorbed into the Ministry of +Internal Affairs, where the remaining units of state security police +continue to operate. They are evidently considered necessary in order to +take care of relations with foreigners, to collect some military +intelligence at the governmental level, and to monitor any potential +espionage or criminal activities that might pose a threat to the state. +The day-to-day role of the small remnant of the internal security force +is unknown. This elite, militarized unit, however, is probably held as a +bulwark against any large-scale, organized dissension. + + +The People's Militia + +The People's Militia (local police) deals with crime and maintains +routine day-to-day contacts with the people. The militia operates under +the control of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and has intermediate +administrative offices at the level of the _okrug_ (district) and local +police stations at the _rayon_ (municipal) or _obshtina_ (urban borough +or village commune) level. Although the primary control descends from +the Ministry of Internal Affairs, all militia organizations have a +degree of responsibility to the people's councils at their levels. + +Local militia forces ordinarily work only in the areas under the +jurisdiction of their people's councils. In urgent circumstances they +may be called upon the Ministry of Internal Affairs to assist the +militia in neighboring areas, and they may even cross _okrug_ lines. To +operate outside their own areas on their own volition they must have the +permission of an agency in the ministry. + +The police are charged with maintaining order, enforcing the laws, +protecting personal and public property, and regulating traffic. They +assist governmental and party agencies in the execution of their various +resolutions, orders, and instructions. They monitor the rules of +residence and the collection of taxes. In the event of natural disasters +or major accidents they are equipped to rescue, to give first aid, and +to transport victims to medical facilities. They supervise observance of +quarantine measures imposed by health authorities. They monitor drinking +establishments to ascertain that alcoholic beverages are not served to +alcoholics, obviously drunken persons, juveniles, and drivers of motor +vehicles. They are instructed to combat rowdy and irresponsible +behavior--hooliganism, begging, and vagrancy--and other antisocial +manifestations. They see that unsupervised and stray children are +provided for. + +Many militia functions are peripheral to the primary police duties of +law enforcement and criminal investigation. Such functions include +social controls having diverse objectives ranging from gun control to +keeping undesirables off Sofia streets during visits of foreign +dignitaries. The police have unusual powers in dealing with beggars, +vagabonds, and others in the category that they classify as socially +dangerous. Some of the controls are directed at preventing crime; others +appear intended to reduce the possibility of incidents on occasions when +the presence of such persons could be embarrassing. The regulation +allows the police to prohibit individuals from visiting specified towns +or areas or even from leaving their residences for a twenty-four-hour +period. Some may be prohibited from meeting certain other specified +persons or from frequenting certain parts of towns. Such restrictions +can be for definite or for indefinite periods of time. Persons may be +denied the use of common carriers or the privilege of attending sports +events or of visiting certain public institutions. Some, prostitutes for +example, may be denied the right to become telephone subscribers. If +they think it advisable, the police may require some persons whom they +are monitoring to report to them on a daily or other regular basis. + +Individually held weapons, ammunition, and explosives are accounted for +and are registered with the militia. Certain forestry and farm +personnel, hunters, sportsmen, and youth organizations are authorized to +retain controlled weapons. Explosives are permitted when they are +required in, for example, construction projects. By law there is no +production of cold weapons--brass knuckles, daggers, scimitars, and the +like--in the country. + +The police collect or maintain a major share of local records for the +_obshtina_ people's councils. These records deal with vital statistics, +citizenship, identification, travel visas, registration of residences, +licenses and permits, and employment data. A person acquires Bulgarian +citizenship in the circumstances that are accepted in most other +countries--by ancestry, place of birth, or naturalization--but there may +be somewhat more than the usual number of situations in which he may +lose it. Persons are deprived of citizenship if they leave the country +unlawfully, leave lawfully but fail to return within a reasonable time +after their visas expire, go abroad to avoid military service, acquire +foreign citizenship in a manner not specified in Bulgarian law, or if +they conduct themselves abroad in ways that are contrary to Bulgaria's +interests or that are unworthy of a Bulgarian citizen. Persons not +ethnically Bulgarian are released from their citizenship upon +emigration, although they are not released unless all of their +obligations in the country are settled. + +Laws governing the stay of foreigners in the country also are +administered and enforced by the militia. According to the revised law +that took effect in 1972, the whereabouts of a foreigner is subject to +the same rules that apply to Bulgarian citizens. His hotel or other +local address, therefore, must be reported to the militia within +twenty-four hours of his arrival at each stop. Tourists are usually +unaware that such detailed records of their stays are being maintained, +because hotel personnel ordinarily take care of the reporting. If the +visitor stays at the home of a Bulgarian, that citizen must report his +presence on the same twenty-four-hour basis. + +A foreign visitor may travel freely otherwise, except that he may not go +to certain restricted areas or to the border zone at any place other +than at one of the designated crossing points. He must leave the country +when the time specified in his visa has expired unless he has a criminal +charge against him and is awaiting trial, has been sentenced and is +serving a term in prison or at a correctional labor camp, or has the +obligation to provide support for a person in the country. + + +Border Troops + +The Border Troops are part of the Bulgarian People's Army and are +organized within the Ministry of National Defense. Border units resemble +regular military forces more than they do the police. They are +considered militarized security units, and some 15,000 men serve in +them. + +Their mission is described as safeguarding the country's frontiers +against penetration or illegal crossing. Because they are a part of the +regular armed forces, it is presumed that in time of war they would work +in coordination with those forces. If the enemy were to penetrate into +Bulgaria, the Border Troops would be expected to control the area +immediately behind the ground forces. If Bulgarian armies were driving +the enemy beyond the borders, they would probably remain at the old +border or establish a new one if the leadership expected to retain any +newly occupied territory. + +The most strictly defended borders are those shared with Greece, Turkey, +and Yugoslavia, but the border with Romania is also defended. The Border +Troops operate a number of patrol boats, both on the Danube River, where +it forms the border with Romania, and along the Black Sea coast. The +troops also control the movement of people into and within a border +zone, which is a strip approximately eight miles wide in from the +border. Smuggling, however, even large-scale smuggling, is the concern +of the Ministry of Internal Affairs customs police and not of the Border +Troops. + + +Construction Troops + +A Bulgarian institution that is unique among the Eastern European +communist countries is the organization known as the Construction +Troops. Thousands of young men who are not called for service in the +regular armed forces are drafted into the Construction Troops, from +which the government derives productive labor at the same time that it +instills military discipline and political indoctrination into a large +segment of the young male population. Similar organizations have been +maintained since the establishment of the original Labor Service in the +early 1920s, which was a means of circumventing the World War I peace +terms that prohibited large conscript military forces. Obligatory +military service was restored during the 1930s and, as part of the +change, the Labor Service was militarized. It was made a part of the +army and remained so during World War II, when it became known as the +Labor Army. + +Two types of compulsory labor forces emerged after the communist seizure +of power in 1944. The Labor Army continued in existence and, following +the example of the Soviet Union under Stalin and of the other states in +the Soviet post-World War II orbit, Bulgaria also placed those of its +citizens considered politically dangerous in forced labor camps. These +were the prison colonies populated by victims of the secret police, +persons who might or might not have had proper trials but who were +considered to be enemies of the party or the government. Some camps were +temporarily located at sites where large numbers of manual laborers were +needed, but more often camps were at permanent locations. Buildings at +all camps were flimsy, and facilities were minimal. In the early period, +while the Communists were establishing their control over the country, +about 1 percent of the population was imprisoned at hard labor in such +camps at any given time. + +In the early 1970s the Construction Troops organization that had evolved +from the Labor Army was military in form and character. Its men were +provided from the annual draft and were subject to military regulations +and discipline. Its officers, who had regular military ranks, were +provided from the armed forces or had been prepared for that specific +assignment in the Construction Troops own school. The headquarters of +the organization, however, was a main administration responsible +directly to the Council of Ministers; it was not within either the +Ministry of National Defense or the Ministry of Internal Affairs. +Furthermore, the work of the organization was heavy construction and, at +least in peacetime, the greatest portion of it was unrelated to any +requirement of the armed forces. The Construction Troops worked on +various construction projects on a five-day-week basis but assumed a +military routine on Saturdays, which were devoted to platoon and company +drill and to political education classes. + +Until the mid-1960s the troops were used mainly in roadbuilding and land +reclamation. By the early 1970s more than one-half of their work was in +factory, housing, water supply, and other such construction. Its 1972 +projects included building a tire manufacturing plant and a resort hotel +complex and harnessing a river for hydroelectric power, recreation, and +supplies of irrigation water and city water. One of the organization's +spokesmen claimed that there was not a large-scale project underway +anywhere in the country where its troops were not at work. + +The men acquired in the annual draft serve two years, which satisfies +their military service obligation. Almost all of the conscripts in the +Construction Troops work as unskilled laborers. During or at the end of +their two-year tours, those who enjoy or show a special aptitude for +construction work may volunteer for extended duty tours and serve as +noncommissioned officers. Some of those who are accepted are sent to +technical schools for further education. + +Career officers who are educated in the Construction Troops service +academy are expected to serve for ten years after graduation. This +school, the full title of which is the General Blagony Ivanov People's +Military School for Officers in the Construction Troops, offers a +so-called semihigher course of instruction. Applicants to it must have +completed their secondary education, and its three-year course can be +used for undergraduate transfer credit toward a university-level degree +elsewhere. Many graduates continue their education at the Higher +Institute of Construction and Engineering in Sofia, from which they may +receive a further career specialization and bachelor's or advanced +degrees. + + +CIVIL DEFENSE + +Authorities responsible for the civil defense program justify their +efforts by arguing that modern warfare has virtually eliminated the +difference in importance between the armed forces at the front and their +support in the rear areas. They stress that it is essential to provide +for continued production and delivery of supplies, primarily foodstuffs, +that are needed for survival. Such arguments have been effective in +Bulgaria, and civil defense training is compulsory for all citizens from +twelve to sixty years of age. + +The civil defense organization is staffed at all administrative levels +in the country. It is within the Ministry of National Defense in the +national government and has committees under the people's councils in +each _okrug_ and _rayon_ or _obshtina_. Committees or working teams are +also set up in manufacturing plants, enterprises, schools, and +collectives. Indicative of the importance placed upon civil defense +activities, its national chief in the early 1970s was one of the deputy +ministers of national defense, a level shared with only the topmost +officers of the military establishment. + +Civil defense tasks are divided into three categories. The first +includes provision of shelters and defense for the population, providing +warning of attack, and training of the people for implementation of +dispersal and evacuation plans and for defense and salvage work. The +second includes implementation of measures intended to maintain +production and to keep transportation, communications media, and power +supplies in operation. The third includes industrial salvage, +restoration of production, fire fighting, decontamination, and provision +of medical assistance. + +Specific work assignments vary widely in differing locations and +enterprises. For example, industrial teams train to maintain or restore +production. Agricultural teams work to save crops, farm animals, or to +protect feed and watering spots. People's councils at all levels, party +and youth groups, and the mass organizations are instructed to assist in +specific ways and to volunteer in other ways as opportunities arise. + +Enthusiasm for civil defense activities varies widely. One town with a +population of just over 1,000, for example, built or modified areas to +shelter 6,000 people. In more typical situations tasks such as those of +civil defense that have little to contribute to the needs of the moment +receive much lower priority. + + +PUBLIC ORDER + +The Communist Party and Social Organizations + +The most important element in establishing control of the country at the +inception of the post-World War II communist government was the +Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary), with the iron discipline +it held over its carefully chosen members and its single-minded planning +and direction. After gaining control, the party attempted to retain its +exclusive character, insofar as possible recruiting as members only +those whose loyalty was unquestioned and who could organize and lead. + +To maintain control based on a broader segment of the population, the +party then encouraged the development of a number of social and +special-interest organizations, designed to appeal to the interests of +as many of the people as possible and to enlist them in activities that +shape public opinion, regulate the conduct of the people, and support +the party and its policies. These organizations ranged in size from the +extremely large Fatherland Front and the trade unions to the painters, +writers, and composers unions, whose memberships numbered between 100 +and 800 (see ch. 9). + +With the exceptions of the party, the Fatherland Front, and the small +artists unions, these groups are called mass organizations. The small +unions do not qualify because they are far from massive in size; the +party and the front have the requisite membership, but they are set +apart from the others. The Fatherland Front attempts to gather members +from all other socially or politically active organizations in the +country, combining as many as possible of them within it. Its membership +includes nearly one-half of the country's population. The party, +although ostensibly a member organization of the Fatherland Front, is +set above all other organizations. It controls and directs the others +and requires them to support it in general and specific ways (see ch. +9). + +The largest of the mass organizations are, in descending order, the +trade unions, the Bulgarian Red Cross, the Dimitrov Communist Youth +Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz--commonly referred to +as the Komsomol), the Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sports, +and the Bulgarian Union of Tourists. Their memberships range from about +1 million to approximately 2.5 million. The Bulgarian Agrarian Union, +the Bulgarian Hunting and Fishing Union, the Teachers Union, and the +Scientific and Technical Union are much smaller, having memberships +between 100,000 and 200,000. The Fatherland Front attracts nearly 4 +million people; the party has 700,000 members. + + +Youth Programs + +The first sizable leftist youth organization in the country, then called +the Union of Working Youth, was formed in 1926, and by 1940 it had a +membership of approximately 15,000. It and the party furnished most of +the partisan fighters that harassed the Germans and the pro-German +government of the country during World War II. Both the party and the +youth group grew stronger during the war, largely because the partisan +cause was more popular than that of the government. + +The youth organization became the Dimitrov Communist Youth Union after +the war. The new name did not come about from a major reorganization or +reorientation of the group; transition to its postwar status was smooth, +but it saw fit to honor Georgi Dimitrov, who had by then become the most +powerful and famous of the party's leaders. Even after its renaming in +Dimitrov's honor, the organization has usually been referred to, in +official government communications as well as in conversation, as the +Komsomol, which is the name of the Soviet Union's youth organization. + +The Komsomol became the organization through which the party reached the +nation's youth. Its responsibilities were expanded, and its membership +grew rapidly. In the ideal situation the entire youth segment of the +population of eligible age, both male and female, would be members of +the organization. In 1970 its 1.16 million members did include about 77 +percent of those between fourteen and twenty-four years of age. Some of +the organization's leaders, instructors, and exceptionally active +members stay in the group beyond the upper age limit of twenty-four, but +their number is too small to alter the membership statistics +significantly. Male members outnumbered female members by a large +margin; 88 percent of the eligible males were members, only 66 percent +of the females. The disparity in membership by sex reflects the fact +that more of the organization's activities--sports and premilitary +training, for example--appeal to or are oriented toward the future +needs of the males. Membership is either a prerequisite for admission to +higher educational institutions or makes admission much easier. + +Statistics notwithstanding, party and other national leaders complain +that Komsomol membership is lower than it should be, but they have +greater concern about the number who are members merely for expediency +and who are apathetic toward the organization's activities. A low point +in the Komsomol's appeal was reached during the 1960s and, sensing an +urgent need to reattract the cooperation of the nation's youth, its +programs were given a major reevaluation and overhaul beginning in about +1968. + +The youth problem in 1968 was probably less serious in Bulgaria than it +was in many Western countries and other communist countries, but it had +reached proportions that warranted action. Among symptoms cited by the +authorities was apathy toward education, work, and party ideology. Young +people in rural areas seemed anxious to move to the cities, where +idleness, crime, and so-called parasitic living were increasing. +Consumption of alcohol by young people was up markedly. + +Many young people were described as silent nihilists, persons who were +characterized by unresponsiveness and vast indifference. No expression +of group youth protest, for example, was recorded between the inception +of the communist government and the late 1960s. When individual +complaints were solicited, however, they appeared to come out freely. +Some said that they would have cooperated but spoke of the anemic and +empty lives of the youth organizations where the dull, boring meetings +consisted largely of upbraiding sermons full of pious admonitions and +reprimands. Others assumed an offensive posture, indulging in +self-praise, pointing out shortcomings in party work, complaining about +the lack of individual freedom and the lack of opportunity for showing +initiative, and criticizing the older generation. + +Consumption of alcoholic beverages is common enough in typical families +so that early exposure to it is considered natural, but its use by young +people became excessive enough to be considered a national problem in +the mid-1960s. According to a survey published in 1971, more than 50 +percent of the students in Sofia secondary schools consumed alcohol +regularly. Percentages were considerably higher in provincial secondary +schools. Few of the youthful users had consumed it over a long enough +period to have become addicted, but more than one-half of the inebriated +persons brought to sobering-up facilities in Sofia hospitals and clinics +were young people. + +Authorities blame advertising of alcoholic beverages, imitation of +Western fashions, disillusionment, and monotony in daily living for most +of the increase in youthful drinking. They also blame lax parental +control, but the surveys concluded that the influence of contemporary +social habits and the pressures of peer groups were forces more +powerful than those exerted by the family. + +Measures have been undertaken to reduce the so-called parasitic element +that according to party and governmental spokesmen, is composed of those +who neither study nor work. As early as 1968 the minister of national +education was given six months to organize a nationwide program to cope +with the problem, and the Center for Amateur Scientific and Technical +Activities among Youth and Children was created to coordinate planning. +The Committee for Youth and Sports, the State Committee on Scientific +and Technical Progress (renamed the State Committee for Science, +Technical Progress, and Higher Education), the Komsomol, and the trade +unions were charged with contributing ideas and assistance. As a result +of the center's activities, the next year each _okrug_ was directed to +organize schools with three-month-long vocational training courses and +to canvass its area for young people who required the instruction. +Enterprises in the _okrug_ were directed to cooperate by indicating the +skills they most needed, by furnishing facilities and, finally, by +hiring those who completed the training. + +As of 1972 the program had achieved spotty or inconclusive results. Most +spokesmen considered it as satisfactory as could have been expected. +They did not consider that it reflected badly on the effort when a few +groups reported that about 30 percent of the students who completed +their classes never reported to the jobs for which they had been +prepared and that others stayed at work for only a short time. Other +observers consider that the authorities are concerned over a problem +much of which does not exist or that is blown out of proportion to its +seriousness. For example, 85 percent of the offending group were girls +or young women. A few of them were undoubtedly ideological malcontents, +members of youth gangs, prostitutes, or criminals, but a large majority +considered themselves living inoffensively at home or, at the worst, +were working at small family enterprises. In rural areas they might have +been attending the family's private agricultural plot or the privately +owned livestock. + + +CRIME AND JUSTICE + +Crime + +The country's most widely quoted authorities on crime view it as a +social phenomenon, that is, actions by people within society against the +interests of the society as a whole or against the principles directing +it. Combating crime, therefore, becomes a matter both of law enforcement +and of social edification and persuasion. Although they adhere to the +argument that in a developing communist society most of the crime is +related to holdover attitudes from the old society and to unavoidable +contacts with such societies still existing, they do not expect to +eradicate crime according to any existing timetable. + +Petty crime is an irritant to the leadership, not so much for the damage +or lasting effects of the individual criminal acts, but because such +acts reflect an attitude on the part of the perpetrators indicating that +they hold the society, if not in ridicule or contempt, at least in less +than proper respect. Such attitudes prompted an official in the Ministry +of Internal Affairs to state, "Social democracy does not take a +conciliatory attitude toward petty criminals, or tolerate individuals +who disturb the public order or who are engaged in a parasitical life." +The actual amount of petty crime is less worrisome to the authorities +than the fact that it is increasing. Also disturbing are statistics +showing that most of those apprehended for it are in the +eighteen-to-thirty-year age-group. + +Authorities have found themselves facing a problem in relation to petty +crime that is in no way unique to Bulgaria. Misuse of government +property, including theft and pilfering, has become rampant and is +considered forgivable by those who are guilty because "everybody does +it." The courts have become reluctant to hand down harsh sentences upon +people who consider that they have done no wrong and, at least in the +opinion of some government spokesmen, lenient court sentences have +helped foster a view that theft of public property is wrong only because +it is so described in certain of the laws. + +The authorities also point out that statistics accumulated on such +thefts reported in 1970 are revealing in other respects. Almost 90 +percent of those recorded fell into the category of petty crime, but +about one-half of them were carried out by overcoming locks or other +barriers protecting the property. Over one-half of the persons +apprehended for such thefts were repeaters. Analysis of other records +also indicated that in all but a very few cases the most serious crimes +were committed by individuals who had begun their criminal careers by +stealing. + +At the same time the courts were handing down sentences of the minimum +punishment for theft or even less than the prescribed minimum. More +often than not, the culprits were given suspended sentences. Of those +convicted of serious theft, less than one-half were sentenced to a +period of deprivation of freedom considered appropriate--that is, the +six months or more prescribed in the criminal code. + +More serious are the crimes of violence, political crimes, and economic +crimes involving abuse of management positions or large amounts of +property. In the period since the mid-1950s crimes of violence have +increased; political and serious economic crimes have decreased. + +Citizens convicted of political crimes no longer constitute the bulk of +the prison population, as they did during the early post-World War II +period. Active or aggressively vocal opposition to the regime is usually +called ideological subversion, diversion, or revisionism, and it is +described as activity or expression of thoughts related to the old +society and not in accord with the policies of the new. It is still +listed among the more serious crimes. Officials of the Ministry of +Internal Affairs blame both external influences and dissident internal +factions for having caused the Hungarian revolution in 1956 and the +Czechoslovak troubles in 1968. They say, however, that such events are +unlikely in Bulgaria because the ministry's state security agencies are +busy combating foreign intelligence efforts and the native elements that +would bore from within. The success of their efforts is credited with +having reduced political trials to only a few each year. + +Economic crimes include those of dishonest or illegal operation of an +enterprise, the misuse of socialist property by its management or +workers, currency manipulations, and improper sale or transfer of +property. If inefficient management practices are serious enough to +result in less than optimum production, they are considered criminal, +but sufficient guilt has been difficult to prove, and those accused are +rarely, if ever, prosecuted. They are occasionally reprimanded, +transferred, or dismissed for bureaucratic practices. Management +personnel who are brought before the courts are usually tried for +corruption, using their positions for personal enrichment, or violation +of administrative or financial regulations. + +Workers can be prosecuted for theft, waste, willful damage, or illegal +use of materials. Poor labor discipline, shirking on the job, or +nonmalicious negligence may result in individuals or entire work shifts +being brought before party groups or trade union committees. Action in +such cases usually involves counseling, social pressure, or the like. + +Consumption of alcohol is not excessive when compared with that of other +European countries, but it has been increasing steadily and has been a +major contributor to crime and antisocial behavior. During the 1960s per +capita consumption of absolute alcohol increased by a factor of nearly +50 percent, from 4.01 quarts per person annually to 5.93 quarts. +Strenuous efforts on the part of the country's leadership to combat the +trend resulted in a decrease between 1968 and 1970, but the dip in +consumption was temporary. Per capita consumption in 1971 reached the +highest level yet recorded. + +Police are involved in aspects of the programs combating the rise in +consumption of alcohol and alcoholism because alcohol has figured +increasingly in crime. Nearly 90 percent of those charged with rowdiness +or disturbing the peace were under its influence, as were increasing +percentages of those apprehended on rape, assault, and murder charges. + +Many more men than women have alcohol problems, but the percentage of +women problem drinkers has risen more rapidly. Similarly, consumption by +youths is less than that of adults, but the numbers of youths becoming +habitual drinkers has been increasing. Many of the campaigns against +the use of alcohol are also directed against smoking and drugs, although +neither of these is considered a cause of serious concern. Smoking is +viewed as an evil that may be damaging to the user's health but that has +no serious social consequences. By 1973 drugs had not become a serious +problem. + +The police monitor a large number of alcoholics whose conditions are +chronic but who can work. These persons get a period--ordinarily from +six months to a year--of compulsory treatment. This may include work +therapy in groups that are supervised to the degree necessary to prevent +the members from acquiring alcoholic beverages. + +Increasing tourism has resulted in special problems in resort areas. +Spokesmen note that what they refer to as petit bourgeois attitudes +toward moneymaking have shown up, especially at the new Black Sea +coastal resorts. Local people inflate prices for tourists, accept and +encourage tips, and buy and sell merchandise illegally. On some +occasions the Bulgarians exploit their guests; at other times the +foreigners exploit the local population. Most seriously viewed of the +adverse tourist influences are the introduction of unacceptable ideology +and foreign encouragement of moral laxity which, according to the +authorities, pervades the area. Occasionally, however, there is an +example of an ideological diversity in a direction opposite that of lax +morality. One group of tourists was evicted from the country after +distributing what the police described as forty Bibles and 150 godly +booklets. Many tourists enter the country by automobile; traffic has +become congested, and violations of traffic laws are more numerous than +the police can cope with. + + +Criminal Code + +The criminal code's preamble states that its purpose is to protect the +society and the state, the person and the rights of its citizens, the +economy, and the state's property and laws and to educate the citizens +in the rules of life in the socialist society. It defines crimes as +socially dangerous acts that are identified and declared by law as +punishable. + +In addition to the qualification that a crime must be set down as such +and declared punishable, the individual is further protected by the +stipulation that he may be punished only when he has been found guilty +of one of the listed crimes by a proper court. The punishment may be +only what is set down in the code and declared consistent with the +crime, and it may be imposed only by the court trying the case. + +Adults, eighteen years of age or older, are criminally liable. Minors, +between the ages of fourteen and eighteen, are criminally liable if they +are judged capable of understanding the act and its significance and of +controlling their actions. Juveniles under fourteen years of age and +mentally deficient persons unable to understand the nature or +significance of a criminal act are not criminally liable. + +Courts may hand down punishments of eleven different varieties. In +addition to fines, confiscation of property, and confinement, they may +sentence a guilty person to corrective labor or compulsory residence +without confinement. They may deprive an individual of the right to +occupy certain governmental or public positions, of the right to +practice certain professions or activities, of the right to residence in +a specified place, or of the right to earn decorations and awards. If he +is on duty with the military, a court may remove his rank. It may also +administer a public reprimand, alone or in combination with another type +of punishment. The sentence, however, should be within the upper and +lower limits in the amounts of fines or the time period for which the +other sentences may apply. Such limits are set down in the code. + +The death penalty is never a mandatory sentence in peacetime. It is +optional for a considerable number of crimes, but it is handed down only +if the circumstances of a particular crime that is before the court are +exceptionally serious. When the maximum sentence is deprivation of +freedom and does not include a possible death sentence, the duration of +the sentence will be no longer than fifteen years. If the maximum +sentence can be death, twenty years deprivation of freedom may be +substituted for execution. + +The stipulated sentences for crimes against the state tend to be more +severe than sentences for crimes against individuals. Theft of public +property is punishable by confinement of up to eight years, of private +property by no more than three years. Robbery involving public property +may result in a sentence of from three to ten years; if it involves +private property, the range is from three to eight years. + +Although the individual's rights appear to have more than ample +safeguards, the situation may be less utopian than the wording of the +criminal code would suggest. For example, a 1973 amendment to the laws +pertaining to personal property states that "when a citizen is found to +possess more property than he could reasonably have acquired from his +regular income, he is considered to have acquired it illegally unless he +can prove to the contrary." + + +Courts + +All of the formal judicial machinery of the country is within the +governmental organization under the Ministry of Justice, but special +courts--such as those of the military establishment--may be administered +separately and independently in their lower echelons. Although the +ministry serves as a part of the executive branch of the government, as +the interpreter of laws it can check upon their compatibility with the +constitution and other legislation. It might also function as a check +upon the powers of the legislature and upon the other ministries in the +executive branch. So far as is known, however, during the framing of +legislation its professional expertise is used only to provide technical +advice on the phrasing or structure of the text, to make sure that it +says in legal terms what the framers intend (see ch. 8). + +The Ministry of Justice is responsive to the policies of the BKP, +although the minister appears to be chosen for his professional +qualifications. In the early 1970s the incumbent was one of the very few +important officials in the government who did not also have a +high-ranking party position, and only one of his immediate staff was a +member of the Central Committee of the BKP. None of the others is +believed to have had an equivalent party status. + +Each people's council has a legal department or a group that provides it +with legal counsel. The chiefs of such departments at _obshtina_ level +are appointed and relieved by the _okrug_ people's council. + +The size and legal qualifications of the legal staff vary with the +population of the _okrug_ or _obshtina_. The departments at _okrug_ +level and those of the larger _obshtini_ have staffs that are relied +upon for competence in a wide range of criminal and administrative +procedures; the legal problems that are encountered by a remote rural +_obshtina_ are usually minor. + +Legal departments are charged with monitoring the activities of the +people's councils and their committees to keep them consistent with the +law; with interpreting laws for the people's councils and for +inhabitants in the area of their jurisdiction; with strengthening the +contractual and financial disciplines of the people's councils and of +enterprises within their areas; and, as a by-product, with tightening +the safeguards on public property. Most of the daily work of the +departments consists of giving legal counsel to the people's councils +and of reviewing the councils' resolutions to ensure that they conform +to national laws and party policies. + + +Penal Institutions + +The Ministry of Justice is responsible for the overall administration, +activities, and security of prisons. Outside guards are provided by the +Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to the regulations, the primary +responsibilities of prison administrators are to rehabilitate and to +reeducate inmates. + +Reeducation includes political reorientation, general education, and +vocational training. All inmates are obligated to receive political +indoctrination, which is intended to reorient them toward becoming +cooperating members of the community. All of them are also required to +perform useful labor--for vocational training, prison income, and +benefit to the state. General education is compulsory for all prisoners +under forty years of age who have not completed eight years of primary +schooling. Vocational training, other than that derived from prison +labor, varies with facilities available. + +The physical facilities for confinement are classified as prisons, +labor-correctional institutions, and correctional homes. The +correctional homes are for minors. According to the seriousness of the +offense and other factors, a prisoner may be confined in light, general, +strict, or enforced strict disciplinary regimes, one of which is +specified in his court sentence. The light regime is prescribed for +first offenders who are serving time for minor crimes. The enforced +strict regime is applied to recidivists, as an alternative to the death +sentence, or to those considered dangerous or willfully and excessively +uncooperative. The stricter regimes have less comfortable cells and +furnishings, more rigid discipline, fewer individual privileges, and +tighter security. + +Prisoners are segregated by age, sex, and disciplinary regime. Women and +minors serve their sentences in separate prisons or correctional homes. +They are subject to much the same schedules as those in the prisons for +male adults, except that theirs have no enforced strict regime. +According to the law, those serving in different regimes are to be +confined separately, and repeaters are to be confined in separate +prisons from first offenders. Because there are a limited number of +prisons, it may be necessary to meet the law's requirement for +separation of prisoners by having different regimes in wards or +buildings of the same prison complex. + +The law on prison labor states that prisoners have the right to +employment and political education and, at the same time, that they have +the obligation to do the work and receive the political indoctrination. +Inmates are given work assignments within seven days of their arrival at +a prison. Their wages are based on the norms for the same kind of work +done in enterprises throughout the country, and the same work and safety +regulations apply. Inmates receive 20 percent or more of their wages. +None except minors, incapacitated persons, or individuals who would work +but who are for some reason unemployed may receive money from the +outside. + +Prisoners have the right to communicate with the prosecutors and courts +that investigated and tried their cases and to submit petitions to them +and to the Ministry of Justice. They may also see the chiefs of their +prisons, correctional homes, or labor-correctional institutions in +person. Other rights include time outdoors, exercise, visitors, +correspondence, food parcels, possession of personal effects, and +meetings and special correspondence with lawyers or other persons having +a status or authority relative to their sentencing or confinement. The +amount of time outdoors and correspondence and the numbers of visitors +and parcels allowed vary with the severity of the inmate's disciplinary +regime. + +Correspondence and parcels are opened and inspected by prison officials. +Visits are monitored; conversation must be in Bulgarian unless the +administration has or can find a person who can understand the language +to be spoken. Inmates are not allowed to gamble, consume alcohol, use +narcotics, or sell or exchange personal property with other inmates. +Minors may not smoke. Prisoners and their property may be searched. + +Prisoners are rewarded for good behavior and punished for bad. When his +pattern of conduct has become apparent over a period of time and it +appears appropriate, a prisoner may be moved into a lighter or more +severe disciplinary regime. If he has insufficient time remaining in his +sentence to be moved into a different regime, he may be given extra +privileges or be denied some of those to which he would ordinarily be +entitled. Commitment to solitary confinement is limited to two weeks at +any one time. + +A number of sentences do not involve confinement. For a group of +offenses related to poor working discipline, an individual can be given +a corrective labor sentence. This usually involves harder work, somewhat +longer hours, and strict supervision on the job. The law also provides +for sentences that restrict the movement of an individual. In the most +severe of these, he may be banished to and be required to remain in one +certain area. In other situations he may be prohibited from visiting +specified areas or, in the least severe case, he may visit but not take +up residence in some specified locality. + +Another such sentence involves "internment without deprivation of +liberty." This sentence restricts the individual to his place of +residence or to another specified place. The term is usually from one to +three years but, in the case of a repeated crime or in some other +special circumstance, it can be for as long as five years. The essence +of the penalty is that it consists of a restriction to the confines of +the area within which the offender lives and works. He may not hold a +job outside of the area, but he does not live in a special billet, nor +is he isolated from his neighbors and local society. The usual +objective, when this type of sentence is handed down, is to keep the +individual in his home environment, where he retains responsibility for +his share of the family support and is subject to its influences. + + + + +CHAPTER 16 + +ARMED FORCES + + +Bulgaria's regular military forces are organized within the Bulgarian +People's Army (Bulgarska Narodna Armiya) and are subordinate in the +governmental system to the Ministry of National Defense. Approximately +80 percent of the personnel are in the ground forces. Of the remaining +20 percent about three-quarters are in air and air defense units, and +about one-quarter are naval forces. + +Although Bulgaria is possibly the most staunch and sympathetic of the +Soviet Union's allies in Eastern Europe, the country has no common +border with the Soviet Union nor with any other of its Warsaw Treaty +Organization (Warsaw Pact) allies except Romania. Because Romania has +succeeded in establishing a precedent prohibiting movement of any +foreign forces across its borders--even those of its closest +allies--Bulgaria is to a large degree isolated from pact affairs. Unable +to participate in more than token fashion in pact training, short of +skilled men to care for complex equipment, and possibly restricted from +an ability to become engaged during the early days of a combat +situation, Bulgaria has undoubtedly lost some Soviet materiel support. + +Because of this the forces have only small armored units, although the +military establishment as a whole is large in relation to the population +of the country. The air forces have been supplied with a few modern +aircraft, but most of its airplanes are older than those of its pact +allies. Naval forces are small. Even though logistic support has been +meager, morale has been considered good, and the men and their leaders +have been considered ideologically reliable. + + +HISTORICAL BACKGROUND + +The communist leadership considers only a few incidents in the history +and tradition of the armed forces before World War II to be significant. +Even in respect to that war, the sole esteemed service is that of the +partisans in their resistance movement against their own government and +against German troops in the country. Driving out the Turks to gain +national independence in 1878 is remembered, as is the abortive uprising +of the leftists against the government in September 1923. Emphasis on +only these few historical events is encouraged, at least in part, +because in much of their other warfare Bulgaria's fighting men +frequently experienced frustration or defeat, sometimes violent and +humiliating. + +As no indigenous armed forces had been allowed during the five centuries +of Ottoman occupation, there were no national forces at the time that +independence was gained. The uprising by the local population two years +earlier, in 1876, had been heroic, and it contributed to the weakening +of the Turkish grip on the land, but it was a failure at the time. It is +still, however, remembered. On ceremonial military occasions a roll call +of the local men killed in the uprising is read aloud at memorial rites. + +Participation in four wars between 1912 and 1945 produced negative +results for the country. Bulgarian forces were engaged in a major share +of the fighting during the First Balkan War (1912) but, from its +standpoint, the country received an inadequate share of the spoils at +the peace table. A year later, when Turkey and its former allies joined +forces against Bulgaria in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria was defeated. + +Allied with Germany in both world wars, Bulgaria experienced defeat +twice more, although the situation was somewhat different in World War +II. The government and nationalists bent on acquiring territory they +considered theirs--primarily from Greece and Yugoslavia--succeeded in +joining in the war on Germany's side. The population was generally far +more sympathetic to the Soviet Union, however, and during the years of +German success in the early part of the war, Bulgarian forces did little +in support of their ally. In the latter days of the war, as the Germans +were being driven back, the Bulgarians joined the armies of the Soviet +Union. In fact, the 30,000 casualties they claim to have suffered in +campaigns against the Germans were far more than were suffered in their +support (see ch. 2). + +After World War II, when the Communists had gained control of the +country, training and unit organization were modeled on those of the +Soviet army; heavy materiel items were supplied by the Soviet Union; and +all other equipment was made to adapt to Soviet specifications. +Personnel considered unreliable by the new regime were weeded out as +fast as possible, and rigorous measures were taken to ensure that +political orientation considered correct in the new atmosphere would be +adhered to by those who replaced them. + +Equipment received first was surplus to the needs of the Soviet Union as +three-quarters or more of its massive wartime forces were demobilized. +Replacement materiel came more slowly, having to await the reequipping +of Soviet units, but by the late 1950s the most essential combat weapons +had been upgraded. + + +GOVERNMENTAL AND PARTY CONTROL OVER THE ARMED FORCES + +The armed forces are subordinate to the Ministry of National Defense, +which is one of the governmental ministries whose chief is a member of +the Council of Ministers. Administration and routine operational +controls are accomplished through government channels. The party, +however, has policy authority and ultimate operational control. Division +of authority is more apparent than real because nearly all high-ranking +governmental officials are also important party members. The minister of +national defense in 1973, Army General Dobri Dzhurov, was also a member +of the party's Central Committee. Almost without exception the higher +ranking military officers are party members, as are nearly 85 percent of +the officers of all ranks. The 15 percent who are not in the party are +junior officers who are still members of the Dimitrov Communist Youth +Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz), commonly referred +to as the Komsomol. Only a small percentage of Komsomol members become +party members, but all except a very few of the young officers are +selected for party membership when it becomes apparent that they +probably will be successful career officers. + +Political education is given priority equal to that of combat training +at all levels in the military organization. Party cells are formed in +all units where there are three or more party members; Komsomol cells +exist in virtually all units. In 1972, 65 percent of the armed forces +participated in scientific-technical competitions, symposia, +conferences, reviews, exhibitions, and other Komsomol activities. + +One-man command has superseded the dual control system of the 1950s. In +those days a political officer was placed alongside the commanding +officer of all units to ensure the reliability of the forces. The +political officer was in many ways equal in authority to, and +independent of, the commander. The unit commander has allegedly +reassumed a position where he is described as the central figure, +leader, planner, and organizer; he is responsible for the discipline and +combat effectiveness of his unit and for fulfilling its party tasks. The +unit commander's deputy is still a political officer in most units and, +although there is no question of his subordinate position, the political +officer is still responsible in part directly to the Main Political +Administration of the army. + + +ORGANIZATION AND MISSION + +The several military forces under the Ministry of National Defense are +referred to collectively as the Bulgarian People's Army. The army +includes the ground, naval, and air and air defense forces and also the +Border Troops (see ch. 15). Tradition prevails in common usage and even +in official pronouncements, so that when the term _army_ is used alone, +it invariably refers to the ground forces or the directorates and +service organizations that are common to all of the forces. Naval and +air forces are frequently referred to as though they were separate +service branches. + +Uniformed military personnel permeate the Ministry of National Defense. +All deputy ministers and, with the exception of the medical branch, all +major administrative chiefs are military officers. During the early +1970s the first deputy minister of national defense was also chairman of +the General Staff and chief of the ground forces. One of the deputies +was chief of the air and air defense forces, and all of the others were +generals. Following the pattern of other Warsaw Pact armed forces +organizations, the political, rear services (logistics), training, +armor, artillery, communications, engineering, and chemical sections are +directorates, administrations, or branches responsible to the minister +of national defense. This is the case in spite of the facts that such +branches as armor and artillery are concerned primarily with the ground +forces and that others--training, for example--must be tailored to +widely different kinds of operations of all the individual services. + +Bulgaria is the point of contact between the Warsaw Pact nations and +Greece and Turkey, which are the North Atlantic Treaty Organization +(NATO) countries on the southern flank of the Soviet alliance. Although +little is known of Warsaw Pact war plans, it is probable that Bulgarian +forces would be charged with containing an attack from the south. +Statements of military leaders indicate that considerable thought has +been given to the problems they would face in a nuclear war. They +apparently anticipate involvement in the initial engagements but, if +nuclear weapons are used, they would employ holding tactics, staying +alert to exploit any opportunities that might develop. Their +pronouncements repeatedly affirm a determination to perform their pact +mission to the best of their capabilities. + + +Ground Forces + +The ground forces have approximately 120,000 men. Their major units +consist of eight motorized rifle divisions and five tank brigades. There +are also various smaller special purpose units and support +organizations. The forces are distributed among three territorial +commands having headquarters at Sofia, Plovdiv, and Sliven. The division +is the basic organizational unit in Warsaw Pact combat forces and has +about 10,000 men. Five of Bulgaria's divisions are believed to be near +combat strength, but three probably have only skeletal strengths and +would be built up with the mobilization that would accompany a major +national emergency. + +Each of the other Warsaw Pact armies has a number of tank divisions. The +fact that Bulgaria has only tank brigades, which are probably one-half +or less the strength of divisions, reflects the austerity of its armed +forces. Motorized rifle divisions have one tank regiment, one artillery +regiment, and three motorized rifle regiments. The tank brigades, +because they are smaller, probably have fewer tanks than the motorized +rifle divisions. + +Most of the tanks used by the Bulgarian army are the early post-World +War II model T-54. There are some newer models in the inventory, and a +few of the older World War II T-34s are still being retained. Artillery +pieces include guns and gun-howitzers from 82 mm to 152 mm, antitank +weapons up to 100 mm, and small antiaircraft guns. Some units are +equipped with short-range missiles and unguided rockets. There are +enough personnel carriers or self-propelled weapons so that all men in a +unit can be transported simultaneously. + + +Air and Air Defense Forces + +The air and air defense forces have approximately 20,000 men, 250 combat +aircraft, an assortment of antiaircraft guns, a few surface-to-air +missiles, and a modest quantity of air defense radar and communications +equipment. Combat aircraft are organized in squadrons, usually with +twelve airplanes each. In 1973 there were six fighter-bomber, twelve +fighter-interceptor, and three reconnaissance squadrons. + +The fighter-bomber squadrons use the MiG-17, an aircraft that is +obsolescent but that performs well in a ground support role. About +one-half of the fighter-interceptors are also MiG-17s, but three of the +interceptor squadrons have the newer MiG-21. The only bomber aircraft in +the air forces is the near-obsolete Il-28. The Il-28 squadron has a +reconnaissance role. A few old cargo or passenger planes provide a +minimal transport capability, but there are about forty helicopters that +can perform shorter range personnel and transport functions. + +Air defense forces are positioned to provide protection for the +country's periphery as well as for a few cities and air installations. +Ground and naval forces have antiaircraft weapons to defend their own +units. Early warning radars are located mainly along southern and +western borders, and their communications lines are presumably linked +with the Warsaw Pact air defense warning network. + + +Naval Forces + +Naval forces, with only about 7,000 men, constitute less than 5 percent +of the armed forces' personnel strength. They man a variety of vessels, +however, including escort ships, patrol boats, torpedo boats, two +submarines, and miscellaneous supply and service vessels. They also +include a contingent of naval infantry, or marines. Some of the smaller +craft make up a Danube River flotilla. Other than the torpedo- and +missile-carrying patrol boats, the major offensive strength consists of +the submarines, which are Soviet-built W-class medium boats, and about +twenty landing craft. All of the larger vessels built since World War II +have been Soviet built or designed. + +Although the naval mission includes tasks confined to the portion of the +Black Sea near Bulgaria's coastline, a few fleet units have joined the +Soviet fleet for maneuvers in the Mediterranean Sea, and the naval cadet +training ship sails any of the high seas. For example, it visited Cuba +on its 1972 summer cruise. + + +FOREIGN MILITARY RELATIONS + +Bulgaria joined the Soviet Union, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, +Romania, and Albania in bilateral treaties of friendship, cooperation, +and mutual assistance during the early post-World War II period and +added another with the German Democratic Republic (East Germany) a few +years later. This group became the tighter and more formal Warsaw Pact +military alliance in 1955. Albania dissociated itself from the pact in +the early 1960s, and its treaties with Bulgaria and the other members +have not been renewed since then. Bulgaria's treaties with the remainder +of the original allies have been renewed regularly and are the cause for +official observances each year on their anniversary dates. + +Although Bulgaria may be the most loyal and reliable of the Soviet +Union's allies, military cooperation between the two countries is +limited by their geographical separation. Even if Romania were to permit +Bulgaria's forces to cross its territory in order to participate in +Warsaw Pact training, it is probable that Bulgaria's role in a future +European war would be limited to southeastern Europe, an area that would +be of less immediate concern at the outset of a war between the Warsaw +Pact members and NATO. In any event, air and sea transport is in limited +supply and is not used for the delivery of large numbers of Bulgarian +troops to exercises in an area where they probably would not be +employed. As a consequence, Bulgaria sends only token forces and +observers to the larger pact exercises. + +Bulgaria is not a warm proponent of ideological coexistence but is +strongly in favor of arms reductions and limitations on future weapons. +It was a member of a United Nations disarmament committee in the early +1970s, and much space in the printed media is devoted to support of +proposals for restricting deployment and use of nuclear weapons in +certain areas. + + +MANPOWER, TRAINING, AND SUPPORT + +Manpower + +Interpolations of the United Nations estimate of the country's 1973 +population indicate that there were about 2.3 million males in the +fifteen- to forty-nine-year age-group, which Bulgarian authorities +consider military age. There were also about 70,000 in the annual groups +that were reaching the draft age of nineteen each year. Those +conscripted serve two- or three-year duty tours. The basic ground force +tour is two years; that of special units and air and naval forces is +three years. + +Approximately 70 percent of the military age groups, or 1.6 million +males, are considered physically and otherwise fit for military duty. +Any number of them could be called up in the event of an emergency +requiring total mobilization, but it is likely that many of the group +would be occupying positions having higher priority than basic military +duty. A somewhat larger proportion, or about 75 percent, of the +nineteen-year-olds are in satisfactory physical condition. Most of them +are drafted; a turnover of one-third of the 150,000-man regular armed +forces each year would require nearly all of the group. Because there is +very little room for flexibility, a young man's education is interrupted +unless he was actually enrolled in a university or college before he +reached the age of eighteen. In this case he continues his education but +serves his military obligation upon completion of his education. +Occupational deferments were eliminated by law in 1970, and other +deferments are given infrequently and reluctantly. Young men unfit for +military duty or for work in the Construction Troops, but who are fit to +earn a living in some other work, pay a military tax (see ch. 15). + +Those who have had military service and who have not reached the age of +fifty are considered reserves. Officers remain in the reserve until the +age of sixty. Various factors--primarily occupational situations, +physical condition, and lack of reserve training--operate to erode this +force, and those considered useful, or trained, reserves constitute +one-half or less of the group. Most of the some 250,000 men released in +the latest five-year period, however, are available, physically fit, and +familiar with the weapons and equipment in use by the armed forces. + + +Training + +In common with its Warsaw Pact allies, Bulgaria uses equipment that is +produced or designed in the Soviet Union or that is compatible with +Soviet designs. The training program is patterned after that of the +Soviet army because the Soviet equipment dictates the training required +to maintain and operate it, and joint maneuvers participated in by any +or all of the pact forces make it necessary to employ standard +procedures and tactics. + +The program is carried on in an annual cycle. Immediately after +induction a conscript's time is spent in so-called individual or basic +training. Physical exercise is rigorous, and the soldier is initiated +into the care and use of individual weapons, military drill, and the +various aspects of military existence with which he had not been +familiar and to which he must learn to adjust. He also learns individual +actions that may become necessary in group or combat situations, ranging +from personal combat techniques to first aid treatment for battle wounds +or exposure to gas or nuclear radiation. + +As the cycle progresses, the individual usually becomes part of a crew +manning a larger weapon or a more complex piece of equipment. When the +crew knows its equipment, it then becomes involved in exercises of +increasing size, in which it learns to employ weapons and equipment in +coordination with other systems. The training cycle culminates in late +summer or autumn with the largest of the year's maneuvers. Although the +more important Warsaw Pact maneuvers have been held in the northern +group of Eastern European countries, smaller exercises are held in +Bulgaria and are occasionally participated in by visiting Soviet or +Romanian forces. + +Air defense crews with small-caliber antiaircraft guns and tracking +radar practice in conjunction with the early warning network and air +defense communications. After target identification they practice +holding their weapons on the aircraft by radar or visual sighting. +Target aircraft average about 450 miles per hour and fly just above the +treetops. + +Ground forces train with a wide variety of weapons and in many +situations, but they claim special capabilities and excellence in +mountain and winter exercises. These maneuvers are scheduled to exploit +the long winter nights and fog, snow, or blizzard conditions to teach +troops how to achieve surprise in encircling movements. Troops +exercising in the snow are provided a white outergarment for camouflage. + +Combined arms exercises are held when all support units are engaged in +supporting offensive operations led by tank and motorized rifle groups. +In such exercises the equipment is used as realistically as possible, +with blank ammunition and training grenades. Ultra-shortwave +communication equipment, whose normal fifty- to sixty-mile range would +suffice more than adequately in small maneuver areas, is relayed over +long distances to simulate a more typical combat situation. + +Political education is the responsibility of a main administration of +the Ministry of National Defense and has status on a par with the other +most important ministry functions. The administration states its mission +as "cultivating moral-political and combat virtues that train men and +units for skillful and selfless action under the conditions of modern +warfare." Its leaders stress the point that, although large forces and +massive firepower are employed in modern combat, the complexity and use +of weapons is such that individual initiative is increasingly important. +A small group left alone to employ a highly complex weapon must be able +to make decisions and must be motivated to do the best that is possible +under any kind of unpleasant circumstances. + +Political indoctrination is also aimed at combating potentially +subversive elements. Political instructors urge stronger "ideological +vigilance" and act to counter the influences of, for example, Western +radio stations. + +Schools and the Komsomol, with the various youth clubs and organizations +that it sponsors, are charged with preparing predraft-age youths for +military service. A preliminary training program was reorganized and +revitalized in 1968. National leaders had noted that the physical +condition of the average conscript was becoming less satisfactory each +year and that the idea of serving in the armed forces appeared to be +meeting with resistance from a small but increasing number of youths. +They also were aware that juvenile crime was increasing. Sensing that +poor physical fitness, a reluctance to perform military duty, and +increasing crime could be related and have common causes, they +attributed much of the problem to a change in youth attitudes. Political +indoctrination and ideological subjects, presented in an attempt to +encourage a more proper attitude are, therefore, given highest +priorities in the new program. + +The formal portion of the program initiated in 1968 consists of a +schedule of premilitary training, obligatory for all young men and women +between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. Facilities for it were made +available in schools for those who were students and at cooperative +farms, enterprises, or anywhere that groups of working youths were +employed. Young army officers on active duty and reserve officers in the +local area were made available for classroom and field instruction. + +The party's Politburo issued a statement in March 1971 to the effect +that the Komsomol had successfully organized the required program. It +cited statistics on recreational facilities, among which were camps that +were preparing to accept 125,000 boys and girls for that summer. Camp +programs feature political instruction, physical training, sports +activities, military field training, and a wide variety of specialized +subjects. Other Komsomol cells sponsor aero clubs for those interested +in air force service and rowing, sailing, and diving clubs for those +interested in the navy. Radio communication, vehicle driving, +marksmanship, and many other subjects are sponsored at year-round +classes in local areas. + +Other than preinduction orientation, conscripts get their basic +training, weapons and skills specialization, and combat training while +in the service. Noncommissioned officers may also come up from the ranks +and be prepared for better positions at in-service schools, but they may +also attend special schools and enter regular military units for the +first time with a noncommissioned officer grade. Noncommissioned officer +secondary schools were provided for in a 1971 law. The schools were to +be available to acceptable applicants who had completed the eighth grade +and were seventeen years of age or younger. The courses would last a +minimum of three years, during which students would be considered to be +on active military duty and after which graduates could continue in the +service as noncommissioned officers. If an individual did not go on with +a military career, he would be credited with a completed secondary +school education and also with the completion of his regular required +military service. Under any but exceptional circumstances, however, +graduates would be obligated to serve in the armed forces for at least +ten more years. + +Cadet programs in several university-level higher military schools +provide officers for the services. Applicants to these schools must have +completed secondary school, be active members of the Komsomol, and +indicate an intention that, upon graduation, they would accept +appointment to serve in one of the armed services. They must also be +single, in excellent physical condition, and under twenty-four years of +age. Many apply during their tours of conscript service but are accepted +only if they have the prerequisite educational qualifications. + +Line officers for infantry or armored units and logistics officers have +four-year courses. Engineer, signal, transportation, artillery, +electronics, and other technical specialties are five-year courses, as +are those that fit candidates for air and naval careers. The men are +commissioned in a common ceremony shortly after they have graduated. + + +Morale and Conditions of Service + +The basic ingredients of good morale are present in good measure in +Bulgaria's armed forces. The vast majority of the troops believe in +their overall mission, take their obligation for granted, enjoy a +respected status, and receive valuable training. The country's principal +ally, the Soviet Union, is a long-standing friend and is held in high +esteem. Greece and Turkey, the countries that the men are taught to +expect to fight, are traditional enemies; so also is Yugoslavia. + +In addition to being obligatory, military service is nearly universal, +and it is difficult to evade. Service life is extolled in the media, and +no widespread criticism, either of the forces as a whole or of +individuals as servicemen, is aired. Military experience provides +vocational training, much of which is beneficial to the individual and +to the national economy. + +Special social benefits are available to the forces' personnel. If their +service results in unusual hardships for their dependents, the families +are given extra consideration. Monthly benefit payments to wives or +parents experiencing financial problems exceed those to nonmilitary +families by 30 percent. Wives who remain behind get preferential +treatment for prenatal or child care or while job hunting. As the men +come to the end of their duty tours, they are assisted in their +transition to civilian life, in their search for educational +opportunities, or in job placement. If disabled in the service, a +veteran gets a pension that is more liberal than usual for the same +disability acquired elsewhere and continuing assistance that includes +free transportation on public transport as well as medical treatment and +care of such things as orthopedic apparatus. + + +Medicine + +The medical service provides treatment and preventive medicine for +military personnel and, in certain circumstances, for dependents and for +persons employed by the military. Its services are also available to the +public at large during individual emergencies, if they are the most +immediately available, and on a larger scale during epidemics or natural +disasters. Military personnel may also avail themselves of emergency +facilities in nonmilitary hospitals or clinics. + +Since about 1960 the medical service has been upgraded in several major +respects. That year saw the formation of a higher military medical +institute, located on the site of the army's general hospital, for +advanced, specialized training of physicians. In addition to providing +better training for military doctors, the objective was to establish a +research center for in-depth study of the special military aspects of +medical science. A more pragmatic objective was to initiate long-overdue +improvement in medical services for the armed forces. In its first ten +years the institute gave advanced instruction to 6,500 medical personnel +and an additional specialty to some 200 medical officers. + +After the formation of the higher medical institute, the medical +services were given considerably broader authority over sanitation and +hygienic conditions throughout the military establishment. They +determine standards to be maintained and make inspections of living +quarters, food services, water supplies, bathing and laundry facilities, +and training and recreational areas; they give instruction in personal +and group hygiene. They also participate in the planning and design of +new barracks and any other buildings where troops work or train. + +Appropriate to the enhanced status and authority of the medical service, +its section of the ministry was upgraded and has become one of the dozen +more important branches under the minister of national defense. Its +chief has been a doctor, the only major staff member who has been +neither a general officer of one of the armed services nor a +high-ranking party official. + + +Military Justice + +Military courts, or tribunals, are special courts but are part of the +national judicial system and subject to the same codes as are the +civilian courts. In the same kind of relationship, military crimes are a +special category of crime but are listed within the overall Bulgarian +criminal code. The separation of military justice from the rest of the +judicial machinery is almost complete, however, although jurisdiction in +a criminal situation could be in question and, in its early treatment, a +case could be transferred from the jurisdiction of a military to a civil +court or vice versa. Once tried before a military tribunal, the +proceedings and sentence of a trial might be reviewed by a higher +military court or might go to the Supreme Court, but it would be +extremely rare for a case to be reviewed by a civil court. Within the +Supreme Court a review would be accomplished only by a military panel of +that court. + +Military crimes are those committed on military installations or those +that relate to the performance of military duty, to military property or +personnel, to military honor, or to certain aspects of national +security. Servicemen of all ranks, military reserves during their +training or whenever they are under military control, personnel of the +police or any of the other militarized security units, or any other +persons involved in military crimes are liable to military justice. In +general, sentences for military crimes are more severe than for +equivalent crimes tried before civilian courts. For example, failing to +carry out the order of a superior is punishable by up to two years' +deprivation of freedom, and conviction for "clearly indicating +dissatisfaction with an instruction" can result in a year's confinement. +On the other hand, in many such crimes the perpetrator's fate is subject +to the discretion of his commander. If the commander determines that the +offense does not "substantially affect military discipline," he may +administer some lesser punishment without a trial, or he may refer the +case to a Komsomol or party cell in his unit and allow it to take +whatever action it sees fit. In times of war or under combat conditions +possible sentences are much more severe, and the death penalty may be +handed down for many more crimes. + + +Logistics + +Bulgaria's armed forces cost the country considerably less per man than +do those of its allies, and the amount spent on equipment and +maintenance is relatively austere. This is also indicated by the +composition of its forces, in which all armored units, for example, are +of less than division strength. + +Nearly all heavier and more complex items of military hardware are +produced in the Soviet Union, and Bulgaria receives only those items +that are being replaced in the Soviet forces' inventory or that have +been produced in quantities greater than needed in Soviet units. Older +equipment, however, is seldom retained after it has become obsolete. +Armies engaged in combined operations must have compatible equipment, +and maintaining supply channels required for indefinite maintenance of +old items can become more costly than replacing them. + +Each of the Warsaw Pact allies produces ammunition, small arms, some +vehicles, and spare parts for a portion of its materiel that was +originally produced elsewhere. Bulgaria, with its less developed +industrial base, produces a relatively small amount of military +equipment locally. In order to preserve items on hand, much of the +training schedule is devoted to proper storage and handling of +equipment. Because the standard of living in the country is low, most of +the troops are familiar with few luxuries and get along with fewer +nonessentials than do the forces of its more relatively affluent allies. + + +Ranks, Uniforms, and Decorations + +Ground and air forces use the same system of ranks although, at least +during peacetime, the four-star army general rank has no equivalent in +the air or naval forces. Below the army general there are three general +grade, three field grade, and four company grade officer ranks. In +descending order the general grades are colonel general, lieutenant +general, and major general; the field grades are colonel, lieutenant +colonel, and major; and the company grades are captain, senior +lieutenant, lieutenant, and junior lieutenant. Naval officer ranks +include three admiral, four captain, and three lieutenant grades. The +ground and air forces have six enlisted grades: four sergeant and two +private. The naval forces have equivalent petty officer and seaman +grades. + +According to military spokesmen there has been a continuing program to +improve uniforms since about 1958, when the forces began to replace +Soviet World War II styles with locally designed and manufactured +models. Most of the changes adopted since the original change-over have +consisted of improvements in the materials used and increasing the +number of clothing items issued to each man. Until the early 1960s, for +example, the same uniform was used by several classes of draftees. Each +draftee now receives a complete new issue and receives new trousers and +footwear each year. + +New styles, several including changes in materials and minor changes in +color, were shown and tested in 1970. Issue of the newer varieties to +the forces was begun in 1972. Most changes involved tailoring details +and the use of more wrinkle-resistant and lighter, tighter woven cloth. +The aim has been to improve the appearance of the men with as little as +possible sacrifice in long-wearing qualities. + +Officers continue to wear a service uniform consisting of a tailored +blouse with patch pockets and trousers that tuck into high boots. A Sam +Browne belt and sidearms are optional. The styles introduced in the +early 1970s have a vent in the blouse to make it fit in a better +tailored fashion, and they are a lighter green than their predecessors. +Ground forces have stripes and piping on caps and rank insignia that +vary in color to identify their branch of service (armored forces, +infantry, transport, engineer, and others). The enlisted men's uniform +is similar in design but has different quality material and less ornate +trim. Air forces have the same uniforms but may be identified by their +blue stripes and piping. Naval personnel wear the traditional navy blues +and whites. + +Rank insignia on the uniforms seen most frequently consists of stars or +stripes on shoulder boards. Officer ranks are identified by varying +numbers of stars. The boards themselves become progressively more ornate +with higher rank. Those of the company grades are relatively plain; +those of the generals are highly ornate. Enlisted grades are shown by +stripes. Privates have none, their shoulder boards are plain; and the +number and width of the stripes increase with promotion to higher +grades. + +Decorations and medals are awarded profusely, and most of them are +ornate and colorful. The highest ranking and most respected, however, is +a simple gold star, which identifies its recipient as a Hero of the +People's Republic of Bulgaria. The Order of Georgi Dimitrov and the +newer Stara Planina medal, which has been declared equal to the former +in seniority, are the next most important. These three most highly +cherished decorations are awarded in only one class each. The highest +of the orders that are presented in several classes are the Order of the +People's Republic of Bulgaria and the Madarski Konnik medal, which are +equal in seniority. They are awarded in three and two classes, +respectively. + + +THE MILITARY ESTABLISHMENT AND THE NATIONAL ECONOMY + +Bulgaria's gross national product (GNP) is only about one-third the +average of the other Warsaw Pact allies, and during the late 1960s and +early 1970s Bulgaria spent a smaller proportion of its GNP on defense +than did any of its allies. Although its 1973 estimated population was +less than one-half the average of its allies, it maintained about +five-sixths as many men in its regular forces. On the surface, +therefore, it would appear that the armed forces were a +less-than-average financial burden but a greater-than-average manpower +burden. + +The appearances may be misleading to some degree. The country has been +the slowest of the pact nations to industrialize, and its standard of +living has been the lowest. It is probably, therefore, less able to +afford its relatively moderate defense costs. Its labor force is large +enough for the level of the country's industrialization, but there is a +shortage of skilled workers. The training and experience that young men +receive in the armed forces broaden their familiarity with complex +mechanical and electronic equipment and provide many of them with skills +that are of value to the national economy. The regime also considers +that the disciplinary habits and the political orientation acquired in +military service are of positive social value, outweighing the time that +young men are withheld from the labor force. + +When extraordinary measures are required in an emergency situation--such +as during the 1972 drought--the armed forces are able to provide a mass +labor force and to contribute the use of a considerable amount of heavy +mechanical equipment. In 1972 force units were called upon to get +maximum efficiency from irrigation systems and to add to the sources of +irrigation water whenever possible. Military units also do field work on +public projects. They are encouraged to contribute the days before +public holidays, the holidays themselves, and other time that does not +interfere with training schedules. + + + + +BIBLIOGRAPHY + +Section I. Social + + _ABC World Airways Guide_, CDLV, May 1972, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, + England: ABC Travel Guides. + + Anderson, Raymond H. "Bulgarians Like Zip in Wash Cycle," _New York + Times_, May 21, 1973, 7. + + Apanasewicz, Nellie, and Rosen, Seymour M. _Studies in Comparative + Education._ (OE-14115.) Washington: U.S. Department of Health, + Education and Welfare, 1965. + + Baldwin, Godfrey (ed.). _International Population Reports._ (U.S. + Department of Commerce, Series P-91, No. 18.) Washington: GPO, 1969. + + "Big Prospects for Education," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XX, No. 8, + August 1971, 6. + + Blumenfeld, Yorick. _Seesaw: Cultural Life in Eastern Europe._ New + York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1968. + + Brown, James F. _Bulgaria Under Communist Rule._ New York: Praeger, + 1970. + + Bulgaria. State Information Office with the Council of Ministers. + _Statistical Pocket Book 1970._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970. + + "Bulgaria: History." Pages 385-400 in _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, IV. + Chicago: William Benton, 1969. + + "Bulgaria." Pages 41-50 in Moshe Sachs (ed.), _Worldmark Encyclopedia + of the Nations_, V: Europe. New York: Harper and Row, 1967. + + "Bulgaria." Pages 225-233 in _World Survey of Education_, V. Paris: + United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, + 1971. + + "The Buyers' Market," _East Europe_, XIV, No. 2, February 1965, 11-14. + + Carver, Elena Borikova. _Bulgarian Folk Tales._ New York: n. pub., + 1964. + + Cary, William. _Bulgaria Today._ New York: Exposition Press, 1965. + + Davis, Fitzroy. "Bulgarian Filmmakers: Looking for a Place in the + Cinematic Sun," _East Europe_, XX, No. 3, March 1971, 29-35. + + Dellin, L. A. D. (ed.) _Bulgaria: East-Central Europe Under the + Communists._ New York: Praeger, 1957. + + Egbert, Donald D. "Politics and the Arts in Communist Bulgaria," + _Slavic Review_, XXVI, No. 2, June 1967, 204, 216. + + The Europa Yearbook, 1972. London: Europa Publications, 1972. + + Evans, Stanley G. _A Short History of Bulgaria._ London: Lawrence and + Wishart, 1960. + + Georgeoff, John. "Elementary Education in Bulgaria," _School and + Society_, XCIV, February 5, 1966, 71-74. + + Georgeoff, Peter J. _The Social Education of Bulgaria Youth._ + Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1968. + + Georgiev, Emil, et al. _Bulgaria's Share in Human Culture._ Sofia: + Sofia Press, 1968. + + Grant, Nigel. "Education Reform in Bulgaria," _Comparative Education_, + VI, No. 3, November 1970, 179-191. + + ----. _Society, Schools and Progress in Eastern Europe._ Oxford: + Pergamon Press, 1969. + + "He Who Laughs," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XVI, No. 10, October 1967, + 25-26. + + Hoffman, George W. _The Balkans in Transition._ Princeton: Van + Nostrand, 1963. + + ----. "Transformation of Rural Settlement in Bulgaria," _Geographical + Review_, XL, No. 1, 1964, 45-65. + + Ivanov, Vicho. "Vladimir Dimitrov--The Master," _Bulgaria Today_ + [Sofia], XXI, No. 5, May 1972, 20-21. + + _Jane's World Railways_, 1968-69. (11th ed.) New York: McGraw-Hill, + 1969. + + Jelavich, Charles, and Jelavich, Barbara (eds.). _The Balkans in + Transition._ (Russian and East European Studies.) Berkeley, + University of California Press, 1963. + + Jordanov, Lyubomir, and Nikolov, Yuri. _The Bulgarian Black Sea Coast, + A Guide._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1971. + + Kaiser, Robert G., and Morgan, Dan. "Housing Blight Plagues Planners + in _East Europe_," _Washington Post_, December 19, 1972, A1, A20. + + Katsarova, Raina D. _Dances of Bulgaria._ New York: Crown, 1951. + + Kossev, D.; Hristov, H.; and Angelov, D. _A Short History of + Bulgaria._ Sofia: Foreign Languages Press, 1963. + + Lauwerys, Joseph A., and Scanlon, David G. "Education in Cities," _The + World Year Book of Education, 1970._ New York: Harcourt, Brace and + World, 1970. + + Manning, Clarence A., and Smal-Stocki, Roman. _The History of Modern + Bulgarian Literature._ New York: Bookman Associates, 1960. + + Mishev, Dimitur. _The Bulgarians in the Past._ New York: Arno Press, + 1971. + + Mladenov, Lyubomir. "International Recognition," _Bulgaria Today_ + [Sofia], XXI, No. 7, July 1972, 15. + + Monov, Georgi. "Semi-Boarding Schools," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XX, + No. 8, August 1971, 7-8. + + Morgan, Dan. "Bulgaria Moving Cautiously to Better U.S. Ties." + _Washington Post_, March 29, 1973, A15. + + Moser, Charles A. _A History of Bulgarian Literature 1865-1944._ New + York: Humanities Press, 1972. + + "National Revival Architecture," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XXI, No. + 7, July 1972, 16-17. + + "The New Architecture," _East Europe_, XIV, No. 4, April 1965, 7-15. + + Newman, Bernard. _Bulgaria Background._ London: Robert Hale, 1961. + + Olson, Kenneth E. _The History Makers._ Baton Rouge: Louisiana State + University Press, 1966. + + Oren, Nissan. _Bulgarian Communism._ New York: Columbia University + Press, 1971. + + ----. _Revolution Administered: Agrarianism and Communism in + Bulgaria._ Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973. + + Oshavkov, Zhivko. "Religious Belief in Bulgaria," _Bulgaria Today_ + [Sofia], XVI, No. 10, October 1967, 20-22. + + Parkin, Frank. _Class Inequality and Political Order._ New York: + Praeger, 1971. + + Perl, Lila. _Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria._ Camden: Thomas Nelson, + 1970. + + Petrov, Staian. _The Struggle of the Bulgarian Communist Party to + Organize the Social Basis of the Revolution._ Sofia: Sofia Press, + 1970. + + Pounds, Norman J. G. _Eastern Europe._ Chicago: Aldine, 1969. + + "The Professional Gap," _East Europe_, X, No. 10, October 1969, 40. + + Rizov, Alexander (ed.). _Bulgaria, A Survey._ Sofia: Foreign Languages + Press, 1965. + + Rose, Harold. _Your Guide to Bulgaria._ London: Alvin Redman, 1964. + + Rothschild, Joseph. _Communist Eastern Europe._ New York: Walker, + 1964. + + Rusinov, Spas. _Bulgaria: A Survey._ Sofia, Sofia Press, 1969. + + Sanders, Irwin T. _Balkan Village._ Lexington: University of Kentucky + Press, 1949. + + Schoepflin, George (ed.). _The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe._ New + York: Praeger, 1970. + + Severin, R. Keith. "Bulgaria's Agricultural Economy in Brief," U.S. + Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. _Foreign + Agriculture_, (ERS-Foreign 136.) September 1965, 1-11. + + Sharp, Samuel L., and Fedlam, Fruzsina H. _The Soviet Union and + Eastern Europe, 1972._ (The World Series.) Washington: Stryker-Post + Publications, 1972. + + Staar, Richard F. _The Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe_ (Rev. ed.) + Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1971. + + _The Statesman's Year Book, 1972-73._ (Ed., John Paxton.) London: + Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, 1972, 789-797. + + _Statistical Yearbook, 1971._ Sofia, National Information Office, + 1971. + + _Statistical Yearbook, 1972._ Sofia, National Information Office, + 1972. + + Stavrianos, Leften S. _Balkan Federation: A History of the Movement + Toward Balkan Unity in Modern Times._ (Smith College Studies in + History, XXVII, Nos. 1-4.) Northampton: Department of History, Smith + College, 1942. + + Stillman, Edmund (and the Editors of Life). _The Balkans_ (Life World + Library Series.) New York: _Time_, 1964. + + Stoyanov, Lludmil. "Poet, Humanist and Fighter," _Bulgaria Today_ + [Sofia], XXI, No. 7, July 1972, 22. + + Sylvester, Anthony. "The Bulgaria Paradox," _East Europe_, XVII, No. + 1, January 1968, 15-19. + + Todorov, Nikolai. "Pencho Koulekov, an Original Master of Graphic Art" + _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XXI, No. 5, May 1972, 32. + + _UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1971._ Paris: United Nations + Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1971, 59. + + U.S. Department of Army. _Communist Eastern Europe: Analytical Survey + of Literature._ (DA Pam 550-8) Washington: GPO, 1971. + + U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint + Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington). The following + items are from the JPRS series _Translations on Eastern Europe: + Economic and Industrial Affairs_. + + "Analysis of Changes in Average Family Budget Made," _Otechestven + Front_, Sofia, March 27, 1973. (JPRS 58,842, No. 874, 1973.) + + "Dynamics of Personal Income Described, 1965-70," _Ikonomicheski + Zhivot_, Sofia: December 16, 1970. (JPRS 52,476, No. 424, 1971.) + + "Household Income, Consumption Statistics Given," _Statistika_, + Sofia, No. 5, September-October 1970. (JPRS 52,106, No. 397, + 1971.) + + "Light Ministry Plans to Supply Lacking Goods Revealed," + _Otechestven Front_, Sofia, May 7, 1972. (JPRS 56,742, No. 727, + 1972.) + + U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint + Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington). The following + items are from the JPRS series _Translations on Eastern Europe: + Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs_. + + "Admission Rules to Foreign-Language High Schools," _Durzhaven + Vestnik_, Sofia, June 8, 1971. (JPRS 53,764, No. 396, 1971). + + "Aspects of Standard of Living Analyzed," _Statistika_, Sofia, No. + 3, 1969. (JPRS 48,717, No. 126, 1969). + + "Caloric Intake of Blue-Collar Workers and Cooperative Farm + Members," _Khranitelna Promishlenost_, Sofia, No. 2, 1968. (JPRS + 45,795, No. 8, 1968). + + "Causes for 1961-65 Infant Mortality Reviewed," _Statistika_, Sofia, + December 1969. (JPRS 49,929, No. 187, 1970). + + "Census Studies Bulgarian Educational Level," _Statistika_, Sofia, + November-December 1968. (JPRS 47,697, No. 81, 1969). + + "Class Influence on Consumption Analyzed," _Ikonomicheski Zhivot_, + Sofia, October 10, 1968. (JPRS 46,866, No. 42, 1968). + + "The Communists and the Family," _Partien Zhivot_, Sofia, XVI, + November 1971. (JPRS: 55,275, No. 485, 1972). + + "Decree on Post-Graduate Training for Specialists Issued," + _Durzhaven Vestnik_, Sofia, February 20, 1973. (JPRS 58,807, No. + 700, 1973). + + "Economics of Higher Education Reviewed," _Novo Vreme_, Sofia, + September 1970. (JPRS 50,328, No. 280, 1970). + + "Health Minister Describes Public Health Plans," _Zdraven Front_, + Sofia, June 19, 1971. (JPRS 54,178, No. 421, 1971). + + "Improvements in Standard of Living Traced," _Ikonomicheski Zhivot_, + Sofia, November 1970. (JPRS 52,321, No. 310, 1971). + + "Military Training for Secondary Students," _Narodna Mladezh_, + Sofia, March 20, 1972. (JPRS 55,828, No. 516, 1972). + + "Minister Cites Progress in Public Health Service," _Khigiena i + Zdraveopazvane_, Sofia, No. 1, January-February 1969. (JPRS + 48,333, No. 110, 1969.) + + "New Model for Secondary Polytechnical School," _Vecherni Novini_, + Sofia, January 25, 1972. (JPRS 55,447, No. 495, 1972). + + "Party Policy at Center of Educational Work," _Armeyski Komunist_, + Sofia, December 1972. (JPRS 58,368, No. 676, 1973). + + "Physicians' Attitude Toward Polyclinics Surveyed," _Suvremenna + Meditsina_, Sofia, No. 12, 1970. (JPRS 52,840, No. 337, 1971). + + "Religious Survey in Plovdiv Okrug Taken," _Filosofska Misul_, + Sofia, VI, June 1968. (JPRS 46,478, No. 30, 1968). + + "Schools Experiment with New Educational Program," _Zemedelsko + Zname_, Sofia, July 24, 1968. (JPRS 46,334, No. 25, 1968). + + "School Statistics," _Uchitelsko Delo_, Sofia, September 7, 1971. + (JPRS 54,419, No. 435, 1971). + + "Serious Shortage of Medical Personnel Reported," _Pogled_, Sofia, + July 19, 1971. (JPRS 54,004, No. 409, 1971). + + "Shortages of Schoolteachers in Some Areas Noted," _Trud_, Sofia, + August 21, 1971. (JPRS 54,094, No. 415, 1971). + + "Sociological Legal Analysis of Divorce," _Khigiena i + Zdraveopazvane_, Sofia, III, 1970. (JPRS 51,271, No. 250, 1970). + + "Specialization, Training of Polyclinic Physicians Discussed," + _Zdraven Front_, Sofia, June 12, 1971. (JPRS 53,958, No. 407, + 1971). + + "Statistics on Rising Living Standard Given," _Naruchnik na + Agitatore_, Sofia, No. 24, December 1972. (JPRS 58,480, No. 851, + 1973). + + "Status Prospects of Medical Science Discussed," _Zdraven Front_, + Sofia, April 24, 1971. (JPRS 53,482, No. 375, 1971). + + "Study of Services in Burgas Area Reviewed," _Narodni Suveti_, + Sofia, No. 1, 1970. (JPRS 50,150, No. 197, 1970). + + U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Intelligence and Research. + _Educational and Cultural Exchanges Between Communist and + Non-Communist Countries in 1970._ (Research Study RSES-34.) + Washington: 1971. + + U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs. Office of Media + Services. "Educational and Cultural Exchange Between Communist and + Non-Communist Countries in 1971." (News Release.) December 8, 1972. + + U.S. Department of State. Geographer. Office of Research in Economics + and Science. _Bulgaria-Greece Boundary._ (International Boundary + Study, No. 56). Washington: 1965. + + Wolff, Robert Lee. _The Balkans in Our Time._ Cambridge: Harvard + University Press, 1956. + + _World Christian Handbook, 1968._ (Eds., H. Wakelin Coxill and Kenneth + G. Grubb.) New York: Abingdon Press, 1967. + + _World of Learning, 1972-73._ London: Europa Publications, 1973, + 207-212. + + _World Population Data Sheet, 1972._ Washington: Population Reference + Bureau, 1972. + + Yovkov, Yordav. _Short Stories._ (Trans., Monco Mincoff and Marguerite + Alexieva.) Sofia: Foreign Language Press, 1965. + + (Various issues of the following periodicals were also used in the + preparation of this section: _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], 1967-1972; + and _East Europe_ [New York], 1965-1973.) + + +Section II. Political + + Antonoff, Nicolas. _The Bulgarian Crisis._ New York: Mid-European + Studies Center, 1953. + + ----. _The Constitutional Evolution of Bulgaria._ New York: + Mid-European Studies Center, 1953. + + Black, Cyril E. _The Establishment of Constitutional Government in + Bulgaria._ Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1943. + + Blemenfeld, Yorick. _Seesaw: Cultural Life in Eastern Europe._ New + York: Harcourt, Brace and World, 1968. + + Bromke, Adam. "The CSCE and Eastern Europe," _World Today_ [London], + XXIX, No. 5, May 1973, 196-206. + + Brown, James F. "Bulgaria." Pages 11-15 in Richard F. Staar (ed.), + _Yearbook on International Communist Affairs, 1973._ Hoover + Institution Press, 1973. + + ----. _Bulgaria Under Communist Rule._ New York: Praeger, 1970. + + Bulgaria. Central Council of the Trade Unions. _Bulgaria Traditions_, + Sofia, 1971. + + Bulgaria. Laws, Statutes, etc. + + _Constitution of the People's Republic of Bulgaria._ Sofia: Sofia + Press, 1971. + + Bulgaria. State Information Office with the Council of Ministers. + _Statistical Pocket Book, 1970._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970. + + "Bulgaria," _East Europe_, XVII, No. 2, February 1968, 25-26. + + "Bulgaria: History". Pages 385-400 in _Encyclopaedia Britannica_, IV. + Chicago: William Benton, 1969. + + "Bulgaria: Introductory Survey." Pages 570-588 in _The Europa + Yearbook, 1972_, I. London: Europa Publications, 1972. + + "Bulgarian Books Abroad," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XVI, No. 10, + October 1967, 10. + + "Bulgarian Television," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], XV, No. 2, February + 1966, 36-50. + + "Bulgaria." Pages 41-50 in Moshe Sachs (ed.), _Worldmark Encyclopedia + of the Nations_, V: Europe. New York: Harper and Row, 1967. + + "Bulgaria." Pages 789-796 in _Statesman's Yearbook, 1971-72_. London: + Macmillan, 1973. + + "Bulgaria." Pages 205-206 in _The World of Learning, 1972-73_. London: + Europa Publications, 1973. + + Cary, William. _Bulgaria Today._ New York: Exposition Press, 1965. + + Costello, Michael. "Bulgaria." Pages 135-157 in Adam Bromke and Teresa + Rakowska-Harmstone (eds.), _The Communist States in Disarray, + 1965-71_. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1972. + + Davis, Fitzroy, "Bulgarian Filmmakers: Looking for a Place in the + Cinematic Sun," _East Europe_, XX, No. 3, March 1971, 29-35. + + Dellin, L. A. D. (ed.) _Bulgaria: East-Central Europe Under the + Communists._ New York: Praeger, 1957. + + Dinkova, Maria. _The Social Progress of the Bulgarian Woman._ Sofia: + Sofia Press, 1972. + + Dobrev, Georgi Mihailov. "Library Organization in Bulgaria," _UNESCO + Bulletin for Libraries_, IX, No. 8-9, August-September 1955, + 161-164. + + _Editor and Publisher International Year Book, 1972._ New York: Editor + and Publisher, 1971. + + "Exposing the 'Pseudo-Marxists'," _East Europe_, XVIII, No. 7, July + 1969, 29-30. + + Feron, James. "Ideology on Decline in Eastern Europe," _New York + Times_, March 22, 1973, A-15. + + Fischer, Lewis A. "COMECON and the Brezhnev Doctrine," _East Europe_, + XXI, No. 10, October 1972, 4-7. + + Georgeoff, Peter J. _The Social Education of Bulgarian Youth._ + Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1968. + + Gloghinski, Bogdan (ed.). _Meet Bulgaria and Its Trade Unions._ + (Trans., Petko Drenkov, et al.) Sofia: Profizdat, 1966. + + Gsovski, V. (ed.) "Bulgaria: Motion Pictures Under New Regulations," + _Highlights of Current Legislation and Activities in Mid-Europe_, + II, No. 3, March 1, 1954, 55-60. + + Gyorgy, Andrew. "External Forces in Europe." Pages 221-235 in Adam + Bromke and Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone (eds.), _The Communist States + in Disarray 1965-71_. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, + 1972. + + Kane, Robert S. _Eastern Europe: A to Z._ New York: Doubleday, 1968. + + Karadelkov, Petko. "The Fires of Mount Bouzloudja," _Bulgaria Today_ + [Sofia], XX, No. 8, August 1971, 3-4. + + ----. "The Founders of the Bulgarian Communist Party," _Bulgaria + Today_ [Sofia], XX, No. 8, August 1971, 2. + + Kharalampi, Georgiev H. _The Bulgarian Agrarian Union: Seventy Years + Since the Foundation._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970. + + Koritarova, Roza. "The Role and the Position of Trade Unions in the + System of Social Administration at the Contemporary Stage: A + Report." (A report delivered by Roza Koritarova, President of the + Central Council of the Trade Unions at the Tenth Plenum of the + Central Council of the Bulgarian Trade Unions.) Sofia: Profizdat, + 1969. + + Kraus, Wolfgang. "Is Bulgaria Closing the Gap?" _East Europe_, XV, No. + 4, April 1966, 2-11. + + Larabee, F. Stephen. "Bulgaria's Politics of Conformity," _Problems of + Communism_, XXI, No. 4, February 20, 1972, 42-53. + + Lauwerys, Joseph A., and Scanlon, David G. "Education in Cities," _The + World Year Book of Education_, 1970. New York: Harcourt, Brace and + World, 1970. + + "Liberals Under Fire," _East Europe_, XXI, No. 5, May 1972, 35. + + Morgan, Dan. "Bulgaria Moving Cautiously to Better U.S. Ties," + _Washington Post_, March 29, 1973, A15. + + Mossechkov, Nedyalko. "University Library," _Bulgaria Today_ [Sofia], + X, No. 7, July 1961, 25-26. + + Newman, Bernard. _Bulgarian Background._ London: Robert Hale, 1961. + + Olson, Kenneth E. _The History Makers._ Baton Rouge: Louisiana State + University Press, 1966. + + Oren, Nissan. _Revolution Administered: Agrarianism and Communism in + Bulgaria._ Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1973. + + Ostoich, Peter D. _The Bulgarian Communist Party--Builder of a + People's Democratic State._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970. + + Perl, Lila. _Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria._ Camden: Thomas Nelson, + 1970. + + Popoff, Emil. "Bulgaria's Young: The Silent Nihilists," _East Europe_, + XVII, No. 7, July 1968, 7-11. + + Rakowska-Harmstone, Teresa. "Patterns of Political Change." Pages + 323-347 in Adam Bromke, and Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone (eds.), _The + Communist States in Disarray, 1965-71_. Minneapolis: University of + Minnesota Press, 1972. + + Rothschild, Joseph. _Communist Eastern Europe._ New York: Walker, + 1964. + + ----. _The Communist Party of Bulgaria: Origins and Development, + 1883-1936._ New York: Columbia University Press, 1959. + + Rusinov, Spas. _Bulgaria: A Survey._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1969. + + Schoepflin, George (ed.). _The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe._ New + York: Praeger, 1970. + + Sharp, Samuel L., and Fedlam, Fruzsina H. _The Soviet Union and + Eastern Europe, 1972._ (The World Series.) Washington: Stryker-Post + Publications, 1972. + + Sokolski, Alexander. "A Glance at the New Bulgarian Films," _Bulgaria + Today_ [Sofia], XXI, No. 7, July 1972, 28-29. + + Staar, Richard F. _The Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe._ Stanford: + Stanford University Press, 1967. + + ----. _The Communist Regimes in Eastern Europe._ (Rev. ed.) Stanford: + Stanford University Press, 1971. + + _The Statesman's Year Book, 1972-73._ (Ed., John Paxton.) London: + Macmillan, St. Martin's Press, 1972, 789-797. + + _Statistical Yearbook, 1972._ Sofia, National Information Office, + 1972. + + Stavrianos, Leften S. _Balkan Federation: A History of the Movement + Toward Balkan Unity in Modern Times._ (Smith College Studies in + History XXVII, Nos. 1-4.) Northampton: Department of History, Smith + College, 1942. + + Sylvester, Anthony. "The Bulgarian Paradox," _East Europe_, XVII, No. + 1, January 1968, 15-19. + + "Television in Eastern Europe," _East Europe_, XV, No. 4, April 1966, + 12-15. + + Toma, Peter A. (ed.) _The Changing Face of Communism in Eastern + Europe._ Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1970. + + Triska, Jan F. (ed.) _Constitutions of the Communist Party-States._ + Stanford: Hoover Institution, 1968. + + United Nations. "Delegations to the General Assembly and the Councils + Delegations to the Twenty-fifth Session of the General Assembly 15 + September-17 December 1970." Page 1083 in _Yearbook of the United + Nations_, 1970. New York: U.N. Office of Information, 1972. + + _UNESCO Statistical Yearbook, 1971._ Paris: United Nations + Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, 1972, 700-731. + + United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. + _World Communications: Press, Radio, Television, Film._ (4th ed.) + New York: UNESCO, 1964. + + United Nations. Office of Public Information. Press Section. "United + Nations Bodies and Their Membership, 1972." (Press Release ORG/ + 713.) May 1, 1972, 1-58. + + U.S. Department of the Army. _Communist Eastern Europe: Analytical + Survey of Literature._ (DA PAM 550-8.) Washington: GPO, 1971. + + U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint + Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington). The following + items are from the JPRS series _Translations on Eastern Europe: + Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs_. + + "Aspects of New Constitution Interpreted," _Novo Vreme_, Sofia, + January 1969, 1. (JPRS: 47,959, No. 93, 1969). + + "Attention Called to Problems of Working Women," _Trud_, Sofia, + March 14, 1972. (JPRS 55,798, No. 514, 1972). + + "BCP Greetings Message Outlines Tasks of Bulgarian Propaganda," + Sofia, December 3, 1971. (Speech by Georgi Bokov recorded on Sofia + Radio.) (JPRS 54,763, No. 458, December 22, 1971). + + "Book Publication Circumstances Criticized," _Partien Zhivot_, + Sofia, II, February 1970. (JPRS 50,510, No. 197, March 25, 1970). + + "Communist Party Courts Full Support of KOMSOMOL," _Rabotnichesko + Delo_, Sofia, March 27, 1971. (JPRS 52,862, No. 339, 1971). + + "Constitutional Problems of People's Councils Viewed," _Narodni + Suveti_, Sofia, No. 4, 1971. (JPRS: 54,667, No. 388, 1971). + + "Control Committee Scores Serious Lack of Textbooks," _Otechestven + Front_, Sofia, August 1, 1970. (JPRS 51,187, No. 246, August 18, + 1970). + + "Czechoslovak Normalization Process Discussed," _Literaturen Front_, + Sofia, No. 39, September 19, 1968. (JPRS 46,866, No. 42, November + 14, 1968). + + "Development of TV Relay Station Network Discussed," _Radio i + Televiziya Sofia_, No. 11, 1969. (JPRS 50,112, No. 268, March 20, + 1970). + + "The Effectiveness of Ideological Propaganda at the Contemporary + Stage," _Politichecka Prosveta_, Sofia, July 1972. (JPRS 57,025, + No. 592, 1972). + + "Facts, Figures on Printed Broadcast Media Published," + _Rabotnichesko Delo_, Sofia, November 25, 1971. (JPRS 54,716, No. + 456, December 16, 1971). + + "Further Upgrading of Role of Fatherland Front," _Novo Vreme_, + Sofia, No. 7, July 1970. (JPRS 51,271, No. 250, 1970). + + "Greater Role Urged for People's Councils," _Otechestven Front_, + Sofia, August 10, 1972. (JPRS: 57,149, No. 600, 1972). + + "Ideological Peaceful Coexistence Criticized," _Literaturen Front_, + Sofia, April 18, 1968. (JPRS 45,428, No. 346, May 17, 1968). + + "Importance of Leading Role of Party Emphasized," _Politicheska + Prosveta_, Sofia, December 1970. (JPRS 52,298, No. 309, 1971). + + "Improvement in Construction Troops Work Urged," _Trudovo Delo_, + Sofia, January 23, 1973. (JPRS 58,600, No. 690, 1973). + + "Increased National Assembly Role Foreseen," _Pravna Misul_, Sofia, + No. 2, 1971. (JPRS: 53,656, No. 387, 1971). + + "Medicosocial Problems of the Antialcoholism Campaign," _Nevrologiya + Psikhiatriya i Nevrokhirurgiya_, Sofia, XI, No. 2, 1972. (JPRS + 56,973, No. 589, September 7, 1972). + + "Military Training for Secondary Students," _Narodna Mladezh_, + Sofia, March 20, 1972. (JPRS 55,828, No. 516, 1972). + + "Minister Stoilov's Keynote Address at World Conference on + Pollution," BTA, Sofia, April 27, 1972. (JPRS 55,907, No. 520, May + 5, 1972). + + "National Conference on Party Propaganda Reviewed," _Politicheska + Prosveta_, Sofia, No. 5, May 1970. (JPRS 50,880, No. 233, 1970). + + "New Television Studio Opens in Ruse," _Zemedelsko Zname_, Sofia, + November 6, 1972. (JPRS 57,590, No. 631, November 24, 1972). + + "The Obshtina Party Committees and Organizations--Political + Leaderships," Partien Zhivot, Sofia, No. 18, December 1968. (JPRS + 47,447, No. 69, 1969). + + "Party Application of Democratic Centralism Discussed," _Partien + Zhivot_, Sofia, No. 8, June 1970. (JPRS 51,534, No. 257, 1970). + + "Party Guidance of the Fatherland Front," _Partien Zhivot_, Sofia, + No. 9, 1972. (JPRS 57,109, No. 598, 1972). + + "Patriotism and Internationalism Defined," _Trudovo Delo_, Sofia, + April 16, 1969. (JPRS 48,138, No. 100, 1969). + + "Political Knowledge of Working People Analyzed," _Partien Zhivot_, + Sofia, February 1972. (JPRS: 56,081, No. 530, 1972). + + "Qualifications for Party Membership Analyzed," _Novo Vreme_, Sofia, + April 1969. (JPRS 48,428, No. 114, 1969). + + "Radio, TV Development, Progress Viewed," _Transporten Glas_, Sofia, + April 7, 1971. (JPRS 53,205, No. 471, May 24, 1971). + + "Special TV Program for Tourists Inaugurated," _Otechestven Front_, + Sofia, July 30, 1972. (JPRS 56,813, No. 579, August 18, 1972). + + "State Council Formation Discussed," _Pravna Misul_, Sofia, No. 2, + 1971. (JPRS 53,656, No. 387, 1971). + + "Strengthening of Contemporary Ideological Struggle Needed," + _Rabotnichesko Delo_, Sofia, August 4, 1972. (JPRS 56,851, No. + 582, August 23, 1972). + + "Study of Religiousness of Socialist Society Made," _Politicheska + Prosveta_, Sofia, No. 10. (JPRS 47,047, No. 52, December 10, + 1968). + + "Twenty-Five Years of Publishing Reviewed," _Bulgarski Knigi_, + Sofia, September 1969. (JPRS 49,166, No. 152, October 30, 1969). + + "Youth Warned Against Western Psychological Warfare," _Mladezh_, + Sofia, No. I, January 1973. (JPRS 58,807, No. 700, April 19, + 1973). + + U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Intelligence and Research. + "Bulgaria." Pages 61-63 in _World Strength of the Communist Party + Organization_, (23rd annual edition.) Washington: GPO, 1971. + + U.S. Department of State. Bureau of Public Affairs. Office of Media + Services. "Educational and Cultural Exchange Between Communist and + Non-Communist Countries in 1971." (News Release.) December 8, 1972. + + Verin, Velko. "Getting Into Print in Bulgaria," _East Europe_, XVIII, + No. 1, January 1969, 22-24. + + _Women in the People's Republic of Bulgaria._ Sofia: Sofia Press, + 1971. + + _World Radio-TV Handbook, 1973._ (Ed., J.M. Frost.) Hvidovre: World + Radio-TV Handbook, 1973. + + "Youth Time" _East Europe_, XXI, No. 10, October 1972, 23-24. + + +Section III. Economic + + Alton, Thad P. "Economic Structure and Growth in Eastern Europe." In + U.S. Congress. 91st, 2d session. Joint Economic Committee. + _Economic Development in Countries of Eastern Europe._ Washington: + GPO, 1970. + + Costello, Michael. "Bulgaria." Pages 135-157 in Adam Bromke, and + Teresa Rakowska-Harmstone (eds.), _Communist States in Disarray, + 1965-1971_. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1972. + + Dellin, L. A. D. (ed.) _Bulgaria: East-Central Europe Under the + Communists._ New York: Praeger, 1957. + + Dobrin, Boguslav. _Bulgarian Economic Development Since World War II._ + New York: Praeger, 1973. + + Koleva, M. "Size, Structure and Efficiency of Production Funds + Invested in Dairy Cattle Breeding." _Ikonomika Selskoto Stopanstvo_ + [Sofia], August 1971, 71-83. + + Narodna Respublika Bulgariya. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri + Ministerskiya Suvet. _Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika + Bulgariya, 1963._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1963. + + ----. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri Ministerskiya Suvet. + _Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika Bulgariya, 1966._ + Sofia: Sofia Press, 1966. + + ----. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri Ministerskiya Suvet. + _Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika Bulgariya, 1968._ + Sofia: Sofia Press, 1968. + + ----. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri Ministerskiya Suvet. + _Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika Bulgariya, 1971._ + Sofia: Sofia Press, 1971. + + ----. Tsentralno Statistichesko Upravlenie pri Ministerskiya Suvet. + _Statisticheski Godishnik na Narodna Respublika Bulgariya, 1972._ + Sofia: Sofia Press, 1972. + + Osborne, R. H. _East-Central Europe._ New York: Praeger, 1967. + + Pick, Franz. _Pick's Currency Yearbook, 1972._ New York: Pick + Publication, 1972. + + Pounds, Norman J. G. _Eastern Europe._ Chicago: Aldine, 1969. + + Rusinov, Spas. _Bulgaria: A Survey._ Sofia, Sofia Press, 1969. + + Selucky, Radoslav. _Economic Reforms in Eastern Europe._ New York: + Praeger, 1972. + + Starodubrovskaya, V. N. _Kooperativnaya sobstvennost v selskom + khozyastve sotsialisticheskikh stran._ Moscow: Nauka, 1970. + + _Statistical Yearbook, 1971._ National Information Office, Sofia, + 1971. + + _Statistical Yearbook, 1972._ National Information Office, Sofia, + 1972. + + _Statisticheskii Ezhegodnik, 1971._ Moscow: Tipografiia Sekretariata + SEV, 1971. + + U.S. Congress. 91st, 2d Session. Joint Economic Committee. _Economic + Developments in Countries of Eastern Europe._ Washington: GPO, 1970. + + U.S. Department of Agriculture. Economic Research Service. _The + Agricultural Economy and Trade of Bulgaria._ (Bulletin ERS-Foreign + 256.) Washington: GPO, February 1969. + + U.S. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Mines. "The Mineral + Industry of Bulgaria." Washington: GPO, n.d. (Preprint from _1971 + Bureau of Mines Minerals Yearbook_.) + + Wilczynski, J. _Socialist Economic Development and Reforms._ New York: + Praeger, 1972. + + _Yearbook of National Account Statistics, 1971._ New York: United + Nations, 1973. + + +Section IV. National Security + + Baldwin, Godfrey (ed.). _International Population Reports._ (U.S. + Department of Commerce, Series p-91, No. 18.) Washington: GPO, + 1969. + + Bulgaria. State Information Office with the Council of Ministers. + _Statistical Pocket Book 1970._ Sofia: Sofia Press, 1970. + + Cary, William. _Bulgaria Today._ New York: Exposition Press, 1965. + + Dellin, L. A. D. (ed.) _Bulgaria: East-Central Europe Under the + Communists._ New York: Praeger, 1957. + + _The Military Balance, 1972-73._ London: Institute for Strategic + Studies, 1972. + + Newman, Bernard. _Bulgarian Background._ London: Robert Hale, 1961. + + Oren, Nissan. _Bulgarian Communism._ New York: Columbia University + Press, 1971. + + Perl, Lila. _Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria._ Camden: Thomas Nelson, + 1970. + + Popoff, Emil. "Bulgaria's Young: The Silent Nihilists," _East Europe_, + XVII, No. 7, July 1968, 7-11. + + Pounds, Norman J. G. _Eastern Europe._ Chicago: Aldine, 1969. + + Rothschild, Joseph. _Communist Eastern Europe._ New York: Walker, + 1964. + + U.S. Department of Commerce. Office of Technical Services. Joint + Publications Research Service--JPRS (Washington). The following + items are from the JPRS series _Translations on Eastern Europe: + Political, Sociological, and Military Affairs_. + + "Bulgarian Criminal Code," _Sbornik postanovleniya i + razporezhdaniya na Ministerskiya suvet na NRB_, Sofia, May 1968. + (JPRS: 45,757, No. 5, 1968). + + "Bulgarian Customs Operations," _Otechestven Front_, Sofia, 1971, + (JPRS: 55,110, No. 475, 1972). + + "Civil Defense Plans and Tasks," _Narodna Armiya_, Sofia, February + 21, 1972. (JPRS: 58,495, No. 685, 1973). + + "Crime Treatment in Socialist Society," _Filosofska Misul_, Sofia, + 1971. (JPRS: 53,920, No. 405, 1971). + + "Execution of Court Sentences," _Durzhaven Vestnik_, Sofia, April + 15, 1969. (JPRS: 48,065, No. 98, 1969). + + "History of Military Medical Institute," _Voenno Meditsinsko Delo_, + Sofia, No. 5, 1970. (JPRS: 52,242, No. 308, 1971). + + "Intermediate-Level Service School Entrance Exams," _Trudovo Delo_, + Sofia, May 12, 1970. (JPRS: 50,783, No. 228, 1970). + + "Internment Without Deprivation of Liberty," _Pravna Misul_, Sofia, + 1971. (JPRS: 56,452, No. 550, 1972). + + "Law Governing Stay of Foreigners in Belgium," _Durzhaven Vestnik_, + Sofia, November 28, 1972. (JPRS: 58,035, No. 658, 1973). + + "Law on Universal Military Service," _Durzhaven Vestnik_, Sofia, + August 11, 1970. (JPRS: 51,354, No. 257, 1970). + + "Medicosocial Problems of Alcoholism," _Nevrologiya Psikhiatriya i + Nevrokhirurgiya_, Sofia, 1972. (JPRS: 56,973, No. 589, 1972). + + "Military School Cadet Entrance Exams," _Narodna Armiya_, Sofia, May + 17, 1970. (JPRS. 50,687, No. 224, 1970). + + "Military Training for Secondary Students," _Narodna Mladezh_, + Sofia, March 20, 1972. (JPRS: 55,828, No. 516, 1972). + + "New Medals," _Armeyski Pregled_, Sofia, September 11, 1969. (JPRS: + 48,790, No. 129, 1969). + + "New Training Year," _Armeyski Pregled_, Sofia, December 1969. + (JPRS: 49,929, No. 187, 1970). + + "New Uniforms for Officers and Noncoms," _Pogled_, Sofia, March 22, + 1971. (JPRS: 53,014, No. 347, 1971). + + "Party Program for Defense," _Otechestven Front_, Sofia, July 8, + 1971. (JPRS: 53,641, No. 386, 1971). + + "People's Councils Legal Departments," _Durzhaven Vestnik_, Sofia, + March 6, 1970. (JPRS 50,415, No. 210, 1970). + + "Pre-Induction Military Training Reorganized," _Narodna Armiya_, + Sofia, August 8, 1968. (JPRS: 46,551, No. 31, 1968). + + "Provisions for Servicemen, Families," _Narodna Armiya_, Sofia, + February 8, 1973. (JPRS: 58,336, No. 676, 1973). + + "Regulations on Obshtina Militia," _Durzhaven Vestnik_, Sofia, May + 12, 1970. (JPRS: 50,920, No. 236, 1970). + + "Scientific Training for Youth," _Durzhaven Vestnik_, Sofia, + December 6, 1968. (JPRS: 47,136, No. 56, 1968). + + "Significance of CEMA Defense Programs," _Narodna Armiya_, Sofia, + September 22, 1971. (JPRS: 54,261, No. 549, 1971). + + "Winter Defense Exercise," _Armeyski Pregled_, Sofia, December 1969. + (JPRS: 49,929, No. 187, 1970). + + Wolff, Robert Lee. _The Balkans in Our Time._ Cambridge: Harvard + University Press, 1956. + + + + +GLOSSARY + + BKP--Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya (Bulgarian Communist Party). + Party dates its origins from the founding of the Bulgarian Social + Democratic Party in 1891. Through many years of factional splits, + coalitions, changes of designation, underground operations, and front + organizations, the BKP finally emerged from World War II (with Soviet + backing) as the only viable political force in the country. + + COMECON--Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Economic alliance + founded in 1949 to further cooperation among member states. Members + are Bulgaria, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Mongolia, + Poland, Romania, and the Soviet Union. Headquarters is in Moscow. + + Fatherland Front--An umbrella organization for all other mass + organizations; provides a structure for democratic electoral processes + but, actually, is controlled by the BKP. + + greenback--United States legal tender. Term used in international + monetary transactions since convertibility of the United States dollar + into gold was suspended on August 15, 1971. + + lev (pl., leva)--Basic unit of currency; divided into 100 stotinki + (_q.v._). Officially rated at the artificial level of 0.97 per US$1. + Lev is nonconvertible and is actually exchanged at several different + rates depending on type of transaction. + + stotinki (sing., stotinka)--100 stotinki equal one lev. + + Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact)--A military alliance founded + in 1955. The Soviet minister of defense is traditionally the supreme + commander of the joint pact forces. Members are Bulgaria, + Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and the Soviet + Union. + + + + +INDEX + + + Academy of Agricultural Sciences: 135 + + Academy of Sciences: 135 + + Agitation and Propaganda Department (Agitprop): 160, 169, 187 + + Agrarian Party. _See_ Bulgarian Agrarian Union + + agriculture (_see also_ agroindustrial complexes): viii, 21, 160, + 225-247, 260; + civil defense teams, 276; + collectivization, 3, 33, 34, 52-53, 69, 74, 77, 204; + cropping pattern, 230-231; + erosion, 227-228; + faulty practices, 243-244, 245-246; + fertilizers and pesticides, 243-244, 266-267; + five-year plans, 228, 229, 234, 235, 236, 237, 240; + income, 84; + investment, 211, 238-239, 245; + irrigation, viii, 41, 42, 44, 226, 229-230, 231, 300; + labor, 207, 225, 237-238; + land protection, 227-229; + land use, viii, 45-46, 227-231; + livestock and livestock products, viii, 225, 234, 241, 242, 244-247, + 260; + marketing, 240-241; + mechanization, 239-240; + national income, 207, 241; + organization, 231-235; + planning and management, 235-237, 246; + private farm plots, 204, 225, 231, 234-235, 241, 245; + production, viii, 160, 225, 230, 241-247; + shortage of skilled workers, 225, 237, 244, 245, 246; + Thracian Plain, 45-46; + trade, 178, 222, 225, 247; + traditional, 76-77 + + agroindustrial complexes: viii, 5, 53, 203, 205, 225, 231-234; + communications problems, 236-237; + labor, viii, 232, 237, 238, 246; + land ownership, 234; + legal and economic aspects, 233-234; + marketing, 241; + planning and management, 236; + types, 232-233; + voluntary nature, 233 + + air and air defense forces: ix, 7, 287, 289, 290, 291, 298, 299; + training, 294, 295 + + airlines: ix, 62-63 + + Albania: 35, 172, 176, 179, 180, 292; + historic, 12, 14, 17 + + alcoholism: 190, 278, 281-282 + + Algeria: 257 + + Andonov, Ivan: 129 + + Angel, Isaac: 13 + + architecture: 133-135 + + armed forces (_see also_ air and air defense forces; army; navy): 7-8, + 287-300; + cadet programs, 295-296; + equipment, 288, 291, 298; + logistics, 298, 300; + manpower, 292-293; + medical service, 296-297; + military justice, viii, 297-298; + military service, 142, 274, 275, 292-293, 296; + morale, 287, 296; + officers, 8, 289, 293, 298-299; + officers' training, 275, 295; + political indoctrination, 8, 289, 294, 300; + ranks, uniforms, and decorations, 298-300; + reserves, 293; + social benefits, 296; + Soviet aid, 291, 298; + Soviet officers, 179; + state and party control, 146, 288-289; + training, 293-296, 300 + + Armenians: 2, 55, 65 + + army: ix, 7-8, 32, 290-291; + border troops, ix, 7, 269, 273, 289; + Bulgarian People's Army, ix, 273, 287, 289; + Construction Troops, 269, 273-275, 293; + equipment, 290-291; + Soviet model, 288, 293 + + art: 131-133; + National Revival, 131-132; + Turnovo School of, 131 + + artisans and craftsmen: 72, 73, 86-87, 204, 211, 245, 249; + historic, 12, 17 + + artistic and intellectual expression: 21, 123-135, 162; + First Congress on Culture--1967, 155; + Golden Age, 7, 12, 14, 121, 126, 131, 134; + government and party control, 7, 123, 124-125, 155, 187; + ideological messages, 124, 128; + library clubs, 125; + minority groups, vii; + National Revival, 18, 131-132, 134, 135; + National Theater, 123, 128; + prestige, 7, 123; + self-censorship, 7, 125; + Soviet model, 7, 124; + Stalinist period, 124; + subsidies, 123, 125, 127, 128; + unions, 7, 125, 187, 276 + + Asen: 13 + + Attila the Hun: 54 + + Australia, relations: 179 + + Austria, historic: 17 + + + Bagrianov, Ivan: 28 + + Balkan-Bulgarian Airlines (BALKAN): ix, 62-63 + + Balkan Pact: 26-27 + + Balkan wars, 1912, 1913: 21, 22-23, 288 + + banks and banking: viii, 204, 215-219; + Bulgarian Foreign Trade Bank, viii, 215, 216, 219; + Bulgarian National Bank, viii, 215, 216, 219; + credit, 204, 216-217; + state lotteries, 217; + State Savings Bank, viii, 215-216, 217 + + Basil II: 13 + + Battle of Ankara: 17 + + Battle of Varna: 17 + + Belgium, relations: 178-179 + + Black Sea: viii; + effect on climate, 43, 44, 45, 46, 226; + patrol boats, 273; + ports, 54; + tourism, 196 + + Black Wind: 44 + + Blagoev, Dimiter: 30 + + Bobov Dol: 253-254, 255 + + Bokov, Georgi: 186 + + border troops: ix, 7, 269, 273, 289 + + Boris I: 11, 66 + + Boris III: 25, 26, 27, 28, 30 + + Botev: 196 + + Botev, Khristo: 126 + + boundaries: 2, 48-50; + Congress (Treaty) of Berlin--1878, 2, 22; + Greece, 49-50, 273; + post-World War I, 25, 49; + post-World War II, 29, 49; + Romania, 49, 50, 273; + Treaty of San Stefano--1878, 2, 20, 22; + Turkey, 49, 50, 273; + Yugoslavia, 49, 273 + + Boyana Church: 131 + + Bozhinov, Alexander: 132 + + Brezhnev, Leonid: 3, 156, 162 + + budget: 213-215 + + Bulgars: vii, 2 + + Bulgaranov, Boyan: 161 + + Bulgarian Academy of Sciences: 245 + + Bulgarian Agrarian Union: 21, 25, 26, 30, 31, 141, 150, 153, 163-164, + 165, 191; + membership, 163, 277; + organization, 163 + + Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP) (_see also_ Politburo; State Council; + Tenth Congress): 3, 25, 141, 157-163; + Central Committee, vii, 3, 4, 153, 157-158, 160, 191; + democratic centralism, 157, 166; + first secretary, vii, 4, 140, 143, 158, 160; + growth of, 30-36, 158-159; + membership, 158-160, 276; + New Course, 34; + news organization, 192; + nomination of candidates, 150-151; + organization, 157-158, 284; + Party Congresses, 3, 155, 157, 159, 160-163; + party uprising--1923, 25-26, 30; + pre-World War II, 25, 26; + purges, 32, 34, 35, 36, 159, 161; + Secretariat, vii, 3, 4, 153, 157, 158, 162-163; + Soviet leadership, 156, 157, 160, 171; + structure, 3, 137; + supremacy over all aspects of Bulgarian life, 156, 184, 276-277; + women members, 160, 168 + + Bulgarian Hunting and Fishing Union: 277 + + Bulgarian National Library: 187,199 + + Bulgarian Red Cross: 167, 277 + + Bulgarian Telegraph Agency: 186-187 + + Bulgarian Union for Physical Culture and Sports: 277 + + Bulgarian Union of Tourists: 277 + + Bulgarians abroad: 55, 272 + + Bulgars: 9, 10, 11, 52 + + Burgas: 47, 54, 57, 62, 199, 227, 250, 254, 255 + + Byzantine Empire: 9, 10-11, 12-17 _passim_ + + + Canada, relations: 178 + + Carpathian Mountains: 38 + + caves: 40, 47 + + Central Leninist Party School: 121 + + Chelopets: 259 + + Chervenkov, Vulko: 3, 34, 35, 113, 115, 153, 159, 160, 161, 186 + + China, People's Republic of: 35, 160-161, 189 + + citizenship: 272 + + civil defense: 167, 275-276 + + civil rights: 142, 186, 283, 285-286 + + climate: vii, 37, 42-44, 226 + + Committee for Science, Art, and Culture: 106 + + Committee of Bulgarian Women: 168-169 + + Committee of State Security: 36, 271 + + Committee on Art and Culture: 125, 140, 155, 198, 199 + + communications. _See_ mass communications + + Communist Party. _See_ Bulgarian Communist Party + + Congress of Berlin: 2, 22 + + Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON): vii, 171, 176, + 179-180, 240; trade with, viii, 180, 222 + + Council of Ministers: vii, 4, 106, 137, 138, 141, 142, 144, 145-147, + 218-219, 220; + administration of ministries, viii, 5; + agricultural programs, 228, 238; + Department of Motion Pictures, 201; + establishment, 139; + functions, 5, 140, 145-147, 173, 174, 204, 205, 216, 235-236, 250, + 261, 274; + legislative initiative, 32, 140, 141; + organization (chart), 146; + police power, 146 + + Couve de Murville, Maurice: 178 + + crime: 190, 269-270, 273, 279-282; + criminal code, 282-283; + death penalty, 283, 298; + economic, 281; + juvenile, 280, 294; + military, 297-298; + penalties, 280, 283; + political, 142, 269, 270, 274, 280-281, 283 + + Crusades: 13 + + Cuba: 117, 180, 222 + + currency: viii, 14, 219-220; + exchange rates, 219, 221 + + Cyril: 11, 126 + + Czechoslovakia: 106, 172; + Bulgarian students, 117; + relations, 175, 222; + Soviet invasion, 1968, 155, 189-190 + + + dams: 42 + + Danube River: viii, 41, 44, 54, 61-62, 227; + as boundary, 49, 50; + Iron Gate, 38, 62; + patrol boats, 273, 291 + + Danubian plateau: 38, 39, 41, 43, 226-227; + population density, 57 + + Dimitrov, Georgi: 2-3, 25, 32, 34, 121, 165, 172 + + Dimitrov, Vladimir: 132 + + Dimitrov Communist Youth Union (Komsomol): 155, 166-168, 169, 185, + 277-278; + membership, 217-218; + officer training, 289; + premilitary training, 294-295; + source of manpower reserve, 167, 294 + + Dimitrovgrad: 55 + + Dimov, Dimitur: 127 + + divorce: 70, 190 + + Dobrudzha: 15, 27, 28, 29, 40, 43, 50, 226 + + Dolni Dubnik: 254 + + Dospevaki, Vladislav: 132 + + Dragoman Pass: 59 + + Dragoycheva, Tsola: 161 + + drainage: 38, 41-42 + + Dzhurov, Dobri: 289 + + + Economic Commission for Europe: 181 + + economy: viii, 5, 203-223; + automation, 203-204, 236-237, 249; + BKP policies, 215, 250; + Bulgaria's Great Leap Forward, 160-161; + decentralized management, 156, 205, 250; + five-year plans, viii, 154, 157, 160, 250, 254, 255; + investment, 210-213, 260-261; + national income, 204, 206-207, 210, 300; + New Economic Model, 156; + organization, 204-206; + Soviet aid, viii, 156, 175, 203, 212, 223; + State Planning Committee, 5; + trusts, 205-206, 220-221, 233, 251; + Twenty-Year Plan of Economic Development, 161; + World War I, 24; + World War II, 28 + + education: viii, 6-7, 21, 93-122; + abroad, 96, 97, 116-117; + administration, 96, 106-107; + adult, 97, 120, 121; + boarding schools, 120; + Center for Amateur Scientific and Technical Activities among Youth + and Children, 279; + Communist policies, 97-99, 113, 115; + ethnic minorities, 96, 99, 102; + financing, 107-108; + foreign student exchange, 94, 116-117; + graduate, 116; + higher (_see also_ students of worker or peasant origin, preference, + _infra_), 6-7, 21, 94-95, 97, 98, 100-101, 104, 105, 111, 113-118; + history, 21, 95-97; + ideological indoctrination, viii, 6, 97-99, 100, 115, 121, 159, 169, + 284, 285; + literacy, 21, 93, 95-96, 97, 98, 106, 120, 169; + of prisoners, 284; + polytechnic schools, 103, 104, 105, 110-111, 112; + private schools, 120-121; + reforms, 6-7, 96, 99-105, 109, 110, 159, 162; + religious, 94, 95, 96, 98-99, 100, 121; + scholarships, 102, 117; + science and technology, emphasis on, viii, 58, 93, 94, 117-118, 167, + 237, 263; + Soviet pattern, 93, 98, 100, 102, 115, 118, 119; + special, 113, 119-120; + state control, 76, 97-99, 100, 113, 120; + students of worker or peasant origin, preference, 6, 73, 74, 76, + 93-94, 99, 162; + teacher training, 101, 102, 103, 115, 118-119; + Teachers Union, 277; + technical and vocational schools, 96-97, 99, 100, 101-102, 104, 110, + 111, 112-113, 116, 121, 284; + Turkish period, 16; + work concept, 98, 101-102, 103, 109 + + elections: 3-4, 149-151; + BKP membership, 150; + Central Election Commission, 149-150; + Law of Election for the National Assembly, 149; + 1971 Constitution, 149; + nominations, 150, 165; + Secretariat, 158; + trade unions, 166 + + electric power: 255-257, 266; + hydroelectricity, 41, 42, 176, 180, 252, 255 + + Elin Pelin Bulgarian Bibliographical Institute: 199 + + Eliseyna: 259 + + ethnic groups: + Armenians, 2, 55, 65; + Bulgar, vii, 2; + Greek, vii, 2, 55, 58, 65, 106; + Jews, 2, 28, 34, 55, 58, 67, 106; + Macedonians, vii, 55, 58, 65, 66; + minority languages, vii, 97; + Romanians, vii, 2, 55, 58, 65; + Turks, vii, 2, 55, 65-66, 106, 177 + + European Conference for Security and Cooperation: 176 + + + family: 65, 67-71; + extended family (_zadruga_), 67-68, 70-71, 76; + family allowance payments, 90; + traditional, 67-69 + + Father Paisi: 18, 95, 126 + + Fatherland Front: 7, 33, 77, 100, 137-138, 139, 141, 165-166, 277; + BKP use of, 7, 166, 276; + _Izgrev_, official organization, 191; + National Council (Committee), 31, 137, 150, 164; + State Council, relationship, 164; + World War II, 1, 29, 31-32 + + Ferdinand, King: 22, 24, 25 + + films: viii, 91, 129, 184, 187, 200-202; + Soviet, 201 + + finance (_see also_ budget): viii, 21 + + folk arts: 126,130-131 + + folk songs: 18 + + forced labor camps: 273 + + foreign policy: 155, 171-181; + Chervenkov, 34; + Communist countries, 175-176; + conduct of, 173-175; + historical factors, 172-173; + irredentism, 1, 2, 9, 10, 13, 20, 21-22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 176; + military relations (_see also_ Warsaw Treaty Organization), 292; + noncommunist states, 175, 176-179; + Soviet model, 35, 171, 172, 173, 178; + Western Europe, 155, 178-179, 190 + + foreigners, laws governing stay of: 272-273 + + France: 178, 222 + + freedom of information: 186-187 + + French Revolution: 18 + + + Gabrovo: 253 + + Genkov, Genko: 133 + + Genov, Todor: 127 + + geography: v, vii, xiv, 2, 137 + + Georgiev, Iliya: 185 + + Georgiev, Kimon: 26, 29, 32 + + German Democratic Republic: 117, 172, 175, 222 + + Germany (_see also_ World War I; World War II): 9, 27 + + Germany, Federal Republic of: 178, 222 + + Ghiaurov, Nikolai: 129 + + Goths: 10 + + government (_see also_ Bulgarian Communist Party; Chervenkov; Council + of Ministers; Dimitrov, Georgi; National Assembly; State Council; + Zhivkov): vii, 3-5, 137-151; + BKP control, 137, 143, 149, 153; + central, 142-147; + Dimitrov constitution, 1947, 1, 32-33, 97-98, 100-101, 106, 139-140, + 143, 168, 186; + Fatherland Front coalition--1944-1947, 1, 2, 31-32, 139, 158, 163, + 165, 172; + interwar years, 25-27; + local, _see_ local government; + 1971 constitution, 137-138, 140-142, 145, 149, 156, 162, 163-164, + 168, 173, 186; + Soviet model, 137, 140; + structure (chart), 144; + Turkish rule, 16; + Turnovo Constitution--1879, 21, 32, 138-139; + unity of rule, 35, 138, 140, 141-142, 148, 149, 153, 157 + + Greece: 26-27, 35, 177, 290, 296; + Balkan Wars, 22-23; + historic, 9, 10, 11, 14; + radio relay lines, 195; + World War I, 23 + + Greeks: vii, 2, 55, 58, 65, 106 + + Grigorov, Mitko: 161 + + Gypsies: 55, 66, 106 + + + health: 79-83; + feldshers, 82; + hospitals, 80, 82; + life expectancy, 79-80; + physicians, 81, 82; + polyclinics, 80-82; + Public Health Service, 80-83 + + history (_see also_ Turkish rule): 9-36; + Balkan wars--1912 and 1913, 21, 22-23, 288; + Byzantine Empire, 9, 10, 11, 12-14, 17; + early, 9-15; + early migrations, 10; + feudalism, 11, 12, 13, 14, 16; + First and Second Bulgarian Kingdoms, 1, 9, 10, 11-15; + Golden Age, 7, 12, 121, 126, 131, 134; + independence, 21; + interwar years, 25-27; + monarchy abolished in 1946, 32; + postliberation, 20-21; + Slavs, 2, 9, 10, 11, 52 + + Holy Roman Empire: 14 + + housekeeping: 70, 91 + + housing: 85, 87-89, 211; + conveniences, 53, 79, 89; + rural, 88; + shortage, 71, 87-88, 213, 250 + + Hungary: 28, 172, 175; historic, 15, 17 + + Huns: 10, 11 + + hydroelectricity: 41, 42, 252, 255; + Danube River cooperative project, 176, 180, 255 + + + industry: viii, 3, 5, 24, 161, 222-223, 249-261; + civil defense teams, 276; + economic crime, 281; + forced labor camps, 273; + growth, 6, 21, 34, 264; + investment, 211, 253, 260-261; + labor, _see_ labor; + organization, 249-252; + production, 263, 264-265; + programs for improvement, viii, 5, 154, 160, 249, 250, 264; + quality, 264-265; + raw materials, 175, 252, 257-260; + raw materials, fuels and power shortages, 203, 249, 252, 257, 259, + 260, 261; + Soviet aid, 6, 175, 223, 249, 254, 255, 260; + State Inspectorate for Industrial Power and Power Control, 256; + state ownership, viii, 3, 32-33, 69, 249; + supply system, 251-252; + textile, 208, 264, 267; + trusts, 5-6, 203, 213, 249, 250, 251 + + Institute for the Improvement of Teachers: 118-119 + + Institute for Political Instruction: 121 + + international organizations: vii + + irredentism: 1, 2, 9, 10, 13, 20, 21-22, 23, 27, 28, 29, 176 + + Iskur River: 41, 42, 49 + + Italy: 9, 27, 28, 179, 222 + + Ivan Asen II: 14 + + Ivan Vazov State Library: 199 + + + Jews: 2, 28, 34, 55, 58, 67, 106; + emigration, 34, 58; + World War II, 28 + + Johnson, Lyndon B.: 177 + + judicial system: viii, 7, 138, 144, 148-149, 269, 283-284; + Chief Prosecutor, 138, 141, 144, 148-149; + district courts, 148; + military courts, viii, 148, 297-298; + party control, 149; + penal institutions, 7, 269, 284-286; + special courts, viii; + Supreme Court, viii, 141, 144, 148, 149, 297 + + + Kalarov, Vasil: 25, 32 + + Kaloyan: 14 + + Kamchiya River: 46 + + Karavelov, Lyuben: 126 + + Khristov, Boris: 129 + + Khrushchev, Nikita: 3, 34, 35, 102-103, 161, 173, 192 + + Komsomol. _See_ Dimitrov Communist Youth Union + + Kostov, Traicho: 34, 35 + + Koulekov, Pencho: 133 + + Kozloduy: 255 + + Kremikovtsi: 257 + + Krumovo: 257 + + Kurdzhali: 259 + + Kyustendil: 196 + + + labor: viii, 58, 207-210, 252, 261, 262-264, 300; + agricultural, viii, 207, 225, 232, 237-238, 246; + BKP membership, 159; + Construction Troops, 269, 273-275; + employment, 207, 264; + Labor Army, 274; + lack of incentive, 204; + preferential treatment of workers, 6, 73, 74, 76, 93-94, 99, 162; + shortage of skilled workers, viii, 203, 207-208, 225, 237, 244, 245, + 246, 256, 263, 300; + sickness and disability benefits, 89-90; + wages, 84, 208-210, 237-238, 262-263; + workweek, 91 + + language: vii, 97, 102; + Cyrillic alphabet, 12, 126; + foreign, education in, 113; + minorities, vii; + Russian, compulsory education, 109, 110 + + Lasarov, Ivan: 133 + + Levski, Vasil: 19 + + liberation, 1878: 1-2, 19-21, 52, 287, 288; + Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee, 19; + Congress (Treaty) of Berlin, 2, 22; + growth of nationalism, 17-20; + Internal Secret Revolutionary Organization, 19; + "moderates"-"radicals", 19; + revolution of 1876, 19-20, 288; + Russian role in, 1, 19, 20, 172; + Treaty of San Stefano, 1878, 2, 20, 22; + Turnovo Constitution, 21, 32, 138-139 + + libraries: 183-184, 199-200; + Cyril and Methodius Library, 187 + + literature: 125-128, 187; + historic, 12, 14, 15; + periodicals, 126, 128; + _Slav-Bulgarian History_, 18, 95, 126; + writers' revolt, 127-128; + Writers' Union, 125 + + living conditions (_see also_ health; housing): 79-91, 300; + Commission on the Living Standard, 84, 205; + consumer goods, shortage, 83, 84, 86; + cost of living, 83-84, 85; + leisure, 91; + rural, 53, 88; + special plenum on, viii, 83-84, 87, 203, 205, 209-210; + workers and peasants, 84, 85 + + local government: vii, 50-52, 137, 138, 140, 141, 147-148; + budget, 213; + cities and towns (_rayoni_), 50, 147, 271; + civil defense, 276; + districts (_okruzi_), vii, 50, 52, 107, 144, 147, 159, 236; + elections, 149; + legal departments, 284; + police, 148, 271; + townships (_obshtini_), vii, 50, 52, 147, 271 + + Lovech: 254 + + Lulchev, Kosta: 32, 33 + + + Macedonia: Bulgarian territorial claims, 1, 9, 13-14, 21-23, 24, 26, + 27, 28, 49, 176; + historic, 9, 12, 14, 15, 17, 20-23, 29; + Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), 22, 25, 26; + People's Republic of, 66 + + Macedonians: vii, 55, 58, 65, 66 + + Macedonian terrorism: 23, 25, 26 + + Madan: 55, 259 + + Magyars: 12, 13 + + Manov, Emil: 128 + + Maritsa-Iztok coalfield: 253 + + Maritsa River: 40, 42, 45, 49, 55, 59, 60, 226, 227, 255 + + Marxism-Leninism (_see also_ ideological indoctrination _under_ + education): 141, 167, 175 + + mass communications (_see also_ films; press; publishing; radio and + television): viii, 183-202; + administration, 187-188; + local groups, 185; + objectives, 183, 184-185; + party control, 183, 186; + pro-Soviet themes, 183, 188, 189, 191; + public opinion, 184; + relative popularity, 185; + state ownership and regulation, viii, 183; + themes, 183, 188-189, 191 + + mass organizations (_see also_ Dimitrov Communist Youth Group; + Fatherland Front): 7, 65, 76, 77, 164-169; + BKP control through, 7, 153, 164, 165, 166; + civil defense, 276; + ideological training, 169; + memberships, importance, 76; + public order role, ix, 276; + social pressure by, 269; + sources of popular opinion, 7; + trade unions, 89, 166, 185, 193, 276, 277; + youth groups, 8, 76, 167-168, 277-279 + + merchant marine: 62 + + Mesta River: 42, 49, 226 + + Methodius: 11, 126 + + Mihailov, Ivan: 161 + + Milev, Ivan: 132 + + mineral resources: 37, 47-48, 252-257 + + mineral waters: 48 + + Ministry of: Agriculture (and Food Industry), 193, 205, 228, 233, 235, + 236, 240; + Chemical Industry and Power Generation, 204; + Culture, 106, 195; + Education, 106; + Finance, viii, 89, 204, 213, 219, 221; + Foreign Affairs, 173-174; + Foreign Trade, viii, 173-175, 204, 219, 221; + Information and Communications, 187; + Interior, 32, 35, 154; + Internal Affairs, ix, 7, 148, 167, 269, 271, 273, 284; + Justice, viii, 7, 32, 283-284, 285; + National Defense, ix, 7, 8, 167, 193, 273, 275, 287, 288, 289-290, 294; + National Education, 106-107, 116, 167, 198, 208, 263; + Public Education, 96; + Public Health, 80; + Supply and State Reserves, 251-252; + Transport, 63 + + Montenegro: 22, 28 + + motor vehicles: 59 + + Murad I: 15 + + Murkvichka, Ivan: 132 + + music: 129-130 + + + National Assembly. (_See also_ State Council): vii, 4, 137, 138, 142, + 144, 147; + elections, 139, 147, 149, 150; + establishment, 139; + functions, 4, 5, 32, 139-140, 145, 147, 148, 149, 173, 213-214; + presidium, 139, 141, 143 + + National Liberation Army: 31 + + National School of Choreography: 113 + + national security (_see also_ armed forces; border troops; civil + defense; police): ix, 154, 269-286; + organization, 270; + police state period, 159, 270-271; + state security police, 7, 269, 270 + + nationalism: 189; historic, 16 + + naval base (Varna): 54 + + navy: ix, 7, 287, 289, 291, 295, 298, 299 + + Nedkova, Maria: 133 + + Nicephorus: 11 + + North Atlantic Treaty Organization: 290 + + + opera: 123, 129-130 + + _Otechestven Front_: 191, 192-193 + + Ottoman Turks (_see also_ Turkish rule): 15-16 + + + Panagyurishte: 259 + + _Partisan Song_: 132 + + Pavlov, Todor: 161, 187 + + Pavlovich, Nikola: 132 + + Peasant Union Party: 32 + + peasants (_see also_ Bulgarian Agrarian Union): 6, 67, 71, 72, 73, 74; + BKP membership, 159; + populism movement, 25; + postliberation period, 21; + preferential treatment for education, 6, 73, 74, 76; + Turkish rule, 16-17, 131 + + Pelin, Elin: 127 + + penal institutions: 7, 269, 284-286 + + pensions: 89, 90 + + Pernik coalfields: 253, 254 + + Peter, rebellion against Byzantine Empire: 13 + + Petkov, Nikolai: 32 + + Petrov, Ilia: 132 + + Philip of Macedon: 10, 54 + + Pioneers (Young Septembrists): 167-168 + + Pirdop: 259 + + Pirin range: 40, 42, 46, 57, 227 + + Pleven oil refinery: 254-255 + + Pliska: 11 + + Plovdiv: 45, 54, 226, 250, 255, 259; + libraries, 199; + railroads, 59, 60; + universities, 115 + + Poland: 172, 175 + + police: ix, 7, 269; People's Militia, 148, 269, 270, 271-273; + registration of weapons, etc., 272; + secret police (police state period), 159, 270-271; + voluntary paramilitary auxiliaries, 269 + + Politburo: vii, 3, 4, 5, 143, 153, 157, 158, 160, 161, 187; + composition, 154, 156, 162-163; + foreign policy role, 171 + + Pomaks: 16, 55, 67 + + Popov, Lyuben: 194 + + population (_see also_ ethnic groups): vii, 37, 55-58; + by age and sex, 55, 56; + exchanges, 57-58; + growth rate, vii, 57; + minorities, + percent, 37, 55, 65; + rural, 56, 57 + + ports: Black Sea (_see also_ Burgas; Varna): 54, 62 + + Preslav: 12 + + press: 183, 184, 190-193; BTA, 187, 188, 189; + circulation, 193; + foreign language, 188; + party control, 186-187, 190-191, 192; + periodicals, 193; + provincial, 192, 193; + public attitude, 185; + Sofia Press Agency, 187-188; + Soviet pattern, 191-192; + Union of Bulgarian Journalists, 186, 191 + + private ownership: 33, 140, 142, 204; + Law on Citizens' Property, 142 + + propaganda: 183, 184, 185, 187, 190, 191, 194; + anti-Western (_see also_ Western influence), 155, 169, 188-189, 190, + 191; + Soviet Press Agency, 187-188 + + publishing: viii, 183, 187, 197-199; + ideological content, 198-199; + party control, 187, 197, 198; + promotion of books abroad, 199; + textbooks, 197-198, 199; + translations, 197 + + + _Rabotnichesko Delo_: 191, 192 + + radio and television: 125, 183, 184, 193-196, 267; + color TV, 183, 196; + foreign language, 195, 196; + Intervision, 196; + party control and use, 187, 194, 195; + popularity, 185; + programming, 195, 196; + radio relay ties, 195; + TV subscribers, 196 + + railroads: viii, 59-61; + Orient Express, 59 + + rainfall: 43-44, 226 + + Rakovsky, Georgi: 19 + + religion: vii, 33, 65, 66-67, 189; + Bulgarian Orthodox Church, 15, 19, 33, 66, 95, 98, 99, 121; + Christianity, early, 12, 13, 14; + church schools, 94, 95, 96, 99, 100, 121; + Committee for Religious Affairs, 33; + freedom of, vii, 66-67, 142; + government control, 67; + Greek (Eastern) Orthodox Church, 12, 16, 95; + Jews, vii, 34, 67; + Moslem, vii, 16, 33, 67; + Protestants, vii, 33-34, 67; + religious art, 131; + Roman Catholics, vii, 14, 33, 67; + Russian Orthodox Church, 33; + Turkish era, 16, 66 + + Rila Monastery: 134 + + Rila mountains: 40, 41, 42, 46, 57, 226, 227; + mineral resources, 253; + Mount Musala, 40 + + Rilska River: 42 + + roads: 61 + + Rodopi (Rhodope) Mountains: 25, 39-40 _passim_, 55, 226, 227; + as boundary, 49; + mineral resources, 48, 257, 259; + Pomaks in, 67; + population density, 57 + + Romania: 26-27, 35, 172, 175, 176, 256, 287; + Balkan War--1913, 22-23; + border crossing, 50; + cooperative hydroelectric power complex, 176, 180, 255; + World War I, 24 + + Romanians: vii, 2, 55, 58, 65 + + Romans: 9-10, 11, 12, 54 + + Rositsa River: 42 + + Rumili (Rumelia): 16, 20 + + Ruse: 54, 115, 199, 232, 250; + railroads, 59, 60 + + Russia: 9, 17, 19, 22, 106, 172; + Revolution--1917, 24 + + + Saint Sophia church: 54 + + Saint Theodor of Plateina: 131 + + Sakar mountains: 40 + + Samuel, King: 13 + + Scientific and Technical Union: 277 + + sculpture: 133 + + Serbia: 12, 15, 17, 22, 23, 28 + + settlement patterns: 52-55 + + shipbuilding: 62 + + Shumen: 199 + + Simeon, regency for: 28 + + size: vii, 37 + + Slaveikov, Pencho: 127 + + Slaveikov, Petko: 126 + + Slavs: 2, 9, 10, 11, 52 + + Sliven: 253 + + Slunchev Bryag: 196 + + smuggling: 273 + + Smyrnenski, Khristo: 127 + + social benefits: 89-91, 142 + + Social Democratic Party: 21, 30, 31, 32, 33, 159, 191 + + social system: 6, 65-77; + BKP membership, 6, 75; + Communists, effect of, 65, 69, 73-77; + feudal, 11; + party elite, 6, 73-74, 75; + peasants (_see also_ peasants), 6, 71,72, 74; + rural-urban differences, 71-73; + social mobility, 6, 7, 75-76; + traditional, 6, 65, 72-73, 76-77; + urban intelligentsia, 72, 73 + + Socialist patriotism: 189 + + Sofia: 40, 53-54, 250; + Academy of Fine Arts, 132; + administrative district, 50; + Bulgarian National Library, 199; + climate, 44, 53; + education in, 107, 115, 117; + Higher Institute of Construction and Engineering, 275; + hot springs, 48, 53-54; + industry, 259; + libraries, 199; + media administrative center, 187; + mineral resources, 47, 48; + Radio Sofia, 195; + television, 196; + theaters, 128, 129; + transportation, ix, 59, 60, 63; + Turkish period, 16, 17; + University of, 96, 97, 113, 135; + World War II, 28, 29 + + Sofia Basin: 38, 41, 227 + + soils: 44-45, 226-227 + + Soviet Union: Bulgarian students, 116; + Bulgarian timber workers, 260, 263; + electricity imports from, 256; + influence, 3, 9, 10, 29-30, 155; + relations, 153-154, 156, 162, 171, 172, 175, 296; + trade, viii, 175, 180, 222, 244, 257; + World War II, 27, 28-29, 30-31, 288 + + sports: 91 + + Sredna Gora: 38, 42, 45, 259 + + Stalin, Joseph: 3, 34, 159, 172-173, 191-192, 270 + + Stambolisky, Alexander: 25, 163 + + Stara Planina: 38-46 _passim_, 226, 227; + Botev Peak, 38; + mineral resources, 47, 48, 253, 257, 259; + population density, 57 + + Stara Zagora: 194, 199, 255 + + State Committee for Education and Technical Progress: 116, 140 + + State Council: vii, 137, 147; + BKP membership, 143; + establishment, 156, 162; + executive council of Council of Ministers, 145, 174; + Fatherland Front, relationship, 164; + functions, 4-5, 143-145, 149, 173, 174; + legislative initiative, 138, 141, 144; + president, 143 + + Strandzha mountains: 40, 47, 227, 257 + + Strategic Arms Limitation Talks: 181 + + Struma River: 42, 49, 226, 227, 253 + + suffrage: 21, 138, 139, 149 + + Suleiman the Magnificent: 17 + + Svishtov: 97, 115 + + + Tarabanov, Milko: 180 + + Tatars: 15, 17 + + taxes: 84, 214 + + Tenth Party Congress: 140-141, 154, 156, 157, 161-163, 211, 212; + Soviet-Bulgarian relations, 173; + theme, 162 + + theater: 123, 125, 128-129 + + Thrace: 10, 14, 15, 20, 29; + Bulgarian territorial claims, 1, 9, 21, 23, 25, 27, 28, 49 + + Thracian Plain: 38-45 _passim_, 226, 227 + agriculture, viii, 45-46; + population density, 57 + + timber: 260, 266 + + Timok River: 49 + + Todorov, Stanko: 143, 161 + + topography: vii, 37-41 + + tourism: 133, 134; + laws on stay of foreigners, 272-273; + official currency exchange rate, 219; + special problems, 282; + television programs, 196 + + trade (_see also_ Council for Mutual Economic Assistance): 27, 179, + 207, 220-223, 259; + Arab countries, 179, 222; + balance of trade, 223; + foreign trade organizations, 220, 221; + historic, 14, 17, 18, 27; + imports of minerals, 253, 254, 257, 258, 260; + incentives and subsidies, 220-221; + Soviet Union, viii, 175, 180, 222, 244, 257; + state monopoly, viii, 220; U.S., 177-178 + + transportation: viii, 59-63, 86; + airways, ix, 62-63; + Berlin-to-Baghdad route, 59; + cargo, viii, 59, 61-62; + merchant marine, 59; + passenger, viii, 61; + railroads, viii, 59-61; + roads, viii, 61; + waterways, viii, 61-62 + + Traykov, Georgi: 164 + + Treaty of San Stefano: 2, 20, 22 + + Tsar Ivailo: 14 + + Tsar Simeon: 12 + + Tundzha River: 42, 45, 227 + + Turkey (_see also_ Turkish rule; Turks): 26-27, 177, 290, 296; + Balkan Wars, 22; + radio relay lines with Bulgaria, 195 + + Turkish rule (_see also_ liberation): 9, 13, 15-20, 52; + administration, 16; + culture, 15, 17, 123, 126, 130, 131, 134; + education, 16, 93; + reforms, 18-19; + religion, 16, 66; + rise of nationalism, 17-20 + + Turks: vii, 2, 55, 65-66, 106, 177; + emigration, 57-58, 66 + + Turnovo: 15, 199; Balkantourist Hotel, 134 + + Tyulenovo: 254 + + + Union of Working Youth: 277 + + United Nations: Committee on Disarmament, 181, 292; + membership, vii, 34, 172, 180; + participation, 180-181 + + United Nations Conference on Trade and Development: 181 + + United States relations: 34, 35, 177-178, 222 + + urban development: 53 + + Ustashi: 26 + + + Valley of Roses: 38, 45 + + Vaptsarov, Nikola: 127 + + Varna: 54, 57, 62, 199, 250; + radio and television, 195, 196; + railroads, 59, 60; + universities, 97, 115 + + Vazov, Ivan: 126-127 + + vegetation: 45-46 + + Velev, Angel: 150 + + Veliko Turnovo: 54 + + Velsko: 199 + + Vidin Kingdom: 15 + + Vietnam, North: 117, 222 + + Visigoths and Ostrogoths: 10 + + Vitosha mountains: 40 + + Vladigerov, Pancho: 130 + + Vratsa: 254 + + Vucha River: 42 + + + Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact): vii, 7, 171, 175, 179, 287, + 290, 292, 293-294, 298 + + Western influence: 18, 34, 176, 185, 294 + + wildlife: 47 + + women: 69-70; + alcoholism, 281; + BKP membership, 160; + Committee of Bulgarian Women, 168-169; + labor, 237, 262; + maternity leave, 90; + penal institutions, 285; + rights of, 142, 168; + traditional role, 68 + + Workers Party: 30 + + World War I: 23-25 + + World War II: 1, 9, 10, 23-25, 288; + declaration of war against Germany, 29; + effect, 29-30; + partisans, 30-31, 132, 277, 287; + relations with Soviet Union, 27, 30-31, 288; + Soviet occupation, 28-29, 31 + + + youth: crime, 280, 285, 294; + films on, 202; + ideological training, viii, 6, 97-99, 100, 115, 121, 159, 169, 284, + 285; + labor, 237; + news organization, 193; + nihilist attitude, 155-156, 167, 278-279, 295; + sources of information, 185 + + youth organizations (_see also_ Dimitrov Communist Youth Union): 8, 76, + 167-168, 277-279 + + Yovkov, Yordan: 127 + + Yugoslavia: 26, 35, 172, 256; + Macedonians, treatment of, 66; + relations, 26-27, 34-35, 176, 192, 296; + World War II, 28 + + Yugov, Anton: 35, 161 + + + Zakhariev, Vasil: 133 + + Zemen Monastery: 131 + + Zhivkov, Todor: 1, 3, 35-36; + agricultural policy, 230, 231-232, 233; + attempted coup against in 1965, 35-36, 153, 154, 156, 271; + Committee of Bulgarian Women, 168-169; + cultural policy, 124, 132; + economic reforms, 160, 206; + foreign policy, 35, 178; + head-of-state, 4-5, 143, 153, 158, 160, 161; + loyalty to Soviet Union, 1, 35, 153, 156, 171, 173, 175; + media restrictions, 186; + on education, 98, 103, 104; + on Politburo + membership, 162-163; + pension system, criticism of, 90; + reforms, 83, 154-155; + Tenth Party Congress, 162; + wage system reform, 208-209; + "Youth Theses", 155, 167 + + Zlatni Pyassutsi (Golden Sands): 55 + + Zveno (link) group: 26, 32 + + + + +PUBLISHED AREA HANDBOOKS + + 550-65 Afghanistan + + 550-98 Albania + + 550-44 Algeria + + 550-59 Angola + + 550-73 Argentina + + 550-66 Bolivia + + 550-20 Brazil + + 550-168 Bulgaria + + 550-61 Burma + + 550-83 Burundi + + 550-166 Cameroon + + 550-96 Ceylon + + 550-159 Chad + + 550-77 Chile + + 550-60 China, People's Rep. of + + 550-63 China, Rep. of + + 550-26 Colombia + + 550-67 Congo, Democratic Rep. of (Zaire) + + 550-91 Congo, People's Rep. of + + 550-90 Costa Rica + + 550-152 Cuba + + 550-22 Cyprus + + 550-158 Czechoslovakia + + 550-54 Dominican Republic + + 550-155 East Germany + + 550-52 Ecuador + + 550-150 El Salvador + + 550-28 Ethiopia + + 550-167 Finland + + 550-29 Germany + + 550-153 Ghana + + 550-87 Greece + + 550-78 Guatemala + + 550-82 Guyana + + 550-164 Haiti + + 550-151 Honduras + + 550-165 Hungary + + 550-21 India + + 550-154 Indian Ocean Territories + + 550-39 Indonesia + + 550-68 Iran + + 550-31 Iraq + + 550-25 Israel + + 550-69 Ivory Coast + + 550-30 Japan + + 550-34 Jordan + + 550-56 Kenya + + 550-50 Khmer Republic (Cambodia) + + 550-81 Korea, North + + 550-41 Korea, Republic of + + 550-58 Laos + + 550-24 Lebanon + + 550-38 Liberia + + 550-85 Libya + + 550-163 Malagasy Republic + + 550-45 Malaysia + + 550-161 Mauritania + + 550-79 Mexico + + 550-76 Mongolia + + 550-49 Morocco + + 550-64 Mozambique + + 550-35 Nepal, Bhutan and Sikkim + + 550-88 Nicaragua + + 550-157 Nigeria + + 550-94 Oceania + + 550-48 Pakistan + + 550-46 Panama + + 550-156 Paraguay + + 550-92 Peripheral States of the Arabian Peninsula + + 550-42 Peru + + 550-72 Philippines + + 550-162 Poland + + 550-160 Romania + + 550-84 Rwanda + + 550-51 Saudi Arabia + + 550-70 Senegal + + 550-86 Somalia + + 550-93 South Africa, Republic of + + 550-95 Soviet Union + + 550-27 Sudan, Democratic Republic of + + 550-47 Syria + + 550-62 Tanzania + + 550-53 Thailand + + 550-89 Tunisia + + 550-80 Turkey + + 550-74 Uganda + + 550-43 United Arab Republic (Egypt) + + 550-97 Uruguay + + 550-71 Venezuela + + 550-57 Vietnam, North + + 550-55 Vietnam, South + + 550-99 Yugoslavia + + 550-75 Zambia + + + + ++-------------------------------------------------------+ +| Transcriber's Note: | +| | +| Typographical errors corrected in the text: | +| | +| Page 17 beseiged changed to besieged | +| Page 28 prisioners changed to prisoners | +| Page 83 footware changed to footwear | +| Page 86 knitware changed to knitwear | +| Page 105 knowlege changed to knowledge | +| Page 111 gymasium changed to gymnasium | +| Page 129 Ghiaourov changed to Ghiaurov | +| Page 168 activitists changed to activists | +| Page 193 Blageovgrad changed to Blagoevgrad | +| Page 205 offically changed to officially | +| Page 218 organizaton's changed to organization's | +| Page 240 officialy changed to officially | +| Page 255 billiion changed to billion | +| Page 256 bilowatt changed to kilowatt | +| Page 261 distruption changed to disruption | +| Page 302 Vladimer changed to Vladimir | +| Page 306 Youkov changed to Yovkov | +| Page 322 Ghiaourov changed to Ghiaurov | +| Page 322 hydroelecticity changed to hydroelectricity | +| Page 323 okrugi changed to okruzi | +| Page 324 Rabotnickesko changed to Rabotnichesko | ++-------------------------------------------------------+ + + + +***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AREA HANDBOOK FOR BULGARIA*** + + +******* This file should be named 32627.txt or 32627.zip ******* + + +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: +http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/3/2/6/2/32627 + + + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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