States that could become part of the USSR. Bulgaria, People's Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of Belarus

As you know, the world's first state of workers and peasants consisted of 15 republics. However, many in society secretly believed that at the time of the collapse in 1991, the territory of the Soviet state consisted of 16 republics. But this is nothing more than an overblown myth.

So, at the time of the collapse of the USSR there were 15 republics:

Armenian SSR
Azerbaijan SSR
Byelorussian SSR
Estonian SSR
Georgian SSR
Kazakh SSR
Kirghiz SSR
Latvian SSR
Lithuanian SSR
Moldavian SSR
Russian SFSR
Tajik SSR
Turkmen SSR
Ukrainian SSR
Uzbek SSR

There was a version about another republic - the 16th. More precisely, not a version - but the whole dream of one person - the Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov. We are talking about the unrecognized Bulgarian Republic, which allegedly secretly was the 16th in a row.

Many considered the 16th republic to be Mongolia, which, to a much greater extent than Bulgaria, deserved the right to be called the “16th republic of the USSR.” Everything there was Soviet at every step. However, today we are talking about Bulgaria, which sincerely wanted to join the huge Soviet family, but was refused twice.

The book by Bulgarian President Zh. Zhelev “In Big Politics” describes in detail how the Bulgarian Communist Party (without wide publicity, at the plenum of the party’s Central Committee) twice, in 1963 and ten years later, discussed the gradual entry of its country into the Soviet Union.

It is difficult to say what attracted the Bulgarian leadership in such a decision and why they so diligently hid their plans from the citizens of their country, but the fact remains that the matter did not go beyond talk. The merger of Bulgaria and the USSR was a dream of many Bulgarian communists, which was not destined to come true. Bulgaria was never part of the USSR. But she really wanted to. And the policy of merger, which did not exist, was pursued by the then Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov.

The main reasons for President Zhivkov’s desire to annex Bulgaria to the powerful USSR is the desire to secure for himself an “eternal license” to govern the Bulgarian People’s Republic. Having managed to remove the remaining contenders for the “throne,” Zhivkov came to the conclusion that he could stay at the top forever in only one way - through absolute loyalty and constant declaration of loyal feelings to Moscow.

In total, the Bulgarians made two attempts to merge with the Soviet Union - the first under Khrushchev, the second under Brezhnev. Both were failures, and this despite the fact that it was the USSR that saved Bulgaria at the Paris Peace Conference in 1946. Then, by interceding for Bulgaria, the USSR managed to “reduce” war reparations from $1 billion to $70 million. And it would seem that Stalin had plans for Bulgaria, but the “Bulgarian question” was being resolved (unfortunately for the Bulgarians themselves) during the reign of Khrushchev and hopes for a merger were insignificant... But first things first.

The 1963 petition was unsuccessful. Zhivkov suspected that his plans were almost impossible to implement. A month before the famous December Plenum of the Central Committee of the BCP in 1963, he met with Khrushchev and during the meeting he uttered his notorious phrase about how the Bulgarian people understand sovereignty:

“Yes, there would be something to eat and drink.” Instead of a fraternal hug, the Bulgarian leader received from Khrushchev a veiled refusal, completely consistent with the intelligence of his colleague from the NRB: “Or maybe you, Bulgarians, want to eat pork at our expense?”

After this meeting, Khrushchev called the Bulgarian elite “cunning people from Sofia.”

However, Zhivkov did not stop dreaming of a “merger”. Ten years later, he sent a second request to Moscow, this time to the new Kremlin chief Leonid Brezhnev. And this request was unsuccessful.

The unanimous decision of the Central Committee of the BCP was attached to the petition. The transcripts of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the BCP were full of descriptions of general joy and fantasies about the fulfillment of the communist dream of several generations of “active fighters” in Bulgaria. Even radical deviations from normal logic were met with stormy applause:

"Bulgaria can only be a sovereign and independent country as part of the Soviet Union."

At that time, calls were heard to carry out an exemplary merger, so that it would become an example for other socialist countries of how to fulfill their international duty to create a global USSR.

“Bulgaria will be the first Soviet republic that itself wished for this, since today's Soviet republics are former colonies of the Russian Empire. Let's show countries like Poland and Romania how Bulgarian communists think and act!” - sounded from the BKP.

Bulgarian tourism boss Luchezar Avramov even expanded on this idea. He proposed to win the hearts of tourists from the USSR with the idea of ​​“merger” with the help of “Balkanturist”. He invited every Bulgarian home to shelter at least one Soviet family during the holiday season. “We will distribute loans for extensions to houses in cities and villages. We already have experience,” said Luchezar Avramov.

But Brezhnev was not entirely interested in the idea of ​​​​giving Bulgaria a chance to become the 16th republic. Firstly, the territories of the two countries did not have common borders. Secondly, such a concession to Bulgaria would complicate relations with Turkey, Greece and Yugoslavia, which have been improving for many years. Economically, this was beneficial only to the Bulgarians, and Brezhnev understood this.

Despite the lack of common borders, Bulgaria became the only “foreign” seaside resort for Soviet people. Then the famous saying was born: “a chicken is not a bird, Bulgaria is not a foreign country.” Even then, Russians vacationed in Bulgaria and often went on excursions to Bulgaria, and it was not considered abroad, since it was accessible to everyone! Traveling abroad was the cherished dream of most Soviet citizens. And it was Bulgaria that was the only place during the Iron Curtain era where Soviet people could relax. Everything here was almost Soviet: the letters on the signs, understandable speech and even the slogans - “Glory to the CPSU!”

Dreams of a merger were finally destroyed in 1975, when, as a result of the Conference of the Security and Cooperation Council in Europe, the USSR, NRB and other countries of the socialist camp were forced to sign a document consolidating existing borders. The idea of ​​becoming the 16th republic of the USSR was completely destroyed.

In fact, to put it very briefly, the intimate dream of the Bulgarian leadership to merge with the Soviet giant came not only from the desire of President Zhivkov to retain power for many years. There were other reasons as well.

Entering the economic and consumer balance sheets of the USSR has always been very profitable. But the profitable loans that Khrushchev distributed, turning entire states into parasites, quickly ceased. The most recent such freeloader was Cuba. And these loans were distributed for a reason - this was how the friendship of individual states was bought, directed against the United States and NATO. And the Bulgarians were, to put it mildly, late, or Khrushchev really did not want to take on Bulgaria’s debts - we are talking about war reparations after 1945.

The problem of war reparations turned out to be one of the most difficult that arose in the development of post-war conditions. The USSR - the country most devastated by the war - demanded the maximum allowable amounts from all the defeated countries, with the exception of Bulgaria.

During the negotiations, the Greek government, with support from Great Britain, put forward a demand to pay $1 billion as compensation for the occupation of Greek territories during the Second World War, but the government of the People's Republic of Bulgaria, with support from the USSR, rejected these demands. According to the peace treaty, Bulgaria was obliged to pay reparations in the amount of $70 million over 8 years.

It is curious that Todor Zhivkov held his post until 1989, and during his reign, Bulgaria was the most reliable partner of the USSR on all international platforms. Moreover, the shelves of USSR stores were littered with Bulgarian products. The country lived and developed almost independently (with the tacit support of the USSR).

Alas, the country’s modern leaders have failed to achieve an independent course of development for the country, and relations with the Russian Federation today are more than cool, which cannot be said about the common people who respect and love Russians.

As a result of the coup in 1989, Todor Zhivkov himself was sent under house arrest until 1996. Todor Zhivkov died in 1998 from pneumonia. At that time, everything socialist was “out of fashion,” and during the burial of the former Bulgarian leader, the Sofia authorities refused to provide a hall for his burial. The coffin remained under the scorching sun on Bartenberg Square for 2 hours.

According to statistics from the end of the 2000s, 51% of Bulgarians still felt “nostalgic” for the socialist period. In 2010, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov stated:

If we manage to do even one hundredth of what Todor Zhivkov built for Bulgaria, and what has been done over the years, it would be a huge success for the government. The fact that 20 years after he left power no one forgets him shows how much he did. We have been privatizing what was built then for 20 years.

Another interesting fact. All these attempts to merge Bulgaria with the USSR were supposedly top secret. Todor Zhivkov never admitted or confirmed these attempts. In his memoirs (Zhivkov T. Memoari. Sofia, 1997), published a year before his death, one can read:

“I heard and read various insinuations of charlatans from politics and journalism about some kind of “intention” of mine to annex Bulgaria to the USSR. This lie is not only vulgar, but also absurd... Traditional Russian-Bulgarian friendship is one thing, and quite another is the national identity and sovereignty of Bulgaria, which have always been sacred to me..."

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People's Republic of Bulgaria (RNB).

"A chicken is not a bird, Bulgaria is not a foreign country"

After the Communist Party came to power, the authorities carried out radical socio-economic transformations. The remnants of the feudal system were eliminated. Under the leadership of the BCP, the transition to a planned economy was carried out. Over the years of socialist construction, Bulgaria has transformed from a backward agrarian country into an industrial-agrarian country with developed modern industry and large-scale cooperative and mechanized agriculture. During 1939–69, the share of the economically active population employed in industry increased to 30%, and that of those employed in agriculture decreased to 38%. In 1969, compared with pre-war 1939, national income was 5.4 times greater, the volume of industrial production increased by 33 times, and the volume of agricultural production by 2 times. In the total social product of industry and agriculture, the share of industry increased from 25% to 79.6%. Bulgarian industry remains characterized by a significant role of agricultural raw materials. The pace of development and the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy were favorably influenced by Bulgaria's extensive participation in the international socialist division of labor. On this basis, metallurgy, mechanical engineering, fuel and energy and chemical industries are developing especially rapidly, old industries and agriculture are intensifying; Maritime and Danube transport became increasingly important in foreign trade relations. Bulgaria acted on the world market not only as a supplier of agricultural goods and products and their processing, but it also supplies large quantities of mechanical engineering, electrical and chemical products.

Since 1958, Bulgaria has entered the stage of creating a developed socialist society, improving socialist relations, and expanding socialist democracy in all areas of economic, political and social life. The 7th Congress of the BCP adopted directives for the 3rd Five-Year Plan (1958–62), which was implemented according to the main indicators in 3 years. In 1960, the total volume of industrial production increased by 68% compared to 1957, and agricultural production by 21.2%. As a result of the accelerated development of heavy industry, significant changes occurred in the structure of industrial production. Significant work was carried out on the consolidation, organizational and economic strengthening of TKZH and the technical re-equipment of agriculture. The consolidation of TKZH was a further development of the cooperative system in Bulgaria, a necessary condition for the development of productive forces and production in agriculture. Compared to 1948, national income increased almost 3 times in 1960. Illiteracy among the population under the age of 50 was eliminated; All school-aged children are enrolled in primary schools.

A state in the southeastern part of the Balkan Peninsula. Territory - 110.9 thousand square meters. km. Population - 8.846 million (1979), mostly Bulgarians (86%). Of the other nationalities, the most numerous are Turks and Gypsies. The capital is Sofia (1.1 million inhabitants). State language - Bulgarian.

During the Second World War, the Bulgarian palace clique, contrary to the will of the people, tied the country to the tripartite pact of the aggressive states - Germany, Italy and Japan. From the first days of the attack on the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany, the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP) headed for an armed struggle against the Nazi invaders and their Bulgarian accomplices. 9.1X 1944, the heroic struggle of the Bulgarian people, led by the Communist Party, was crowned with a historical victory: a socialist revolution took place in Bulgaria, as a result of which the dictatorship of the proletariat was established in the form of people's democracy. The Fatherland Front government that came to power broke off all relations with Nazi Germany and declared war on it. Relations of friendship and cooperation were established with the USSR and with all democratic countries. The people's power carried out radical changes in all areas of the country's life, in particular, agrarian reform (March 1946) and the nationalization of private industries were carried out. enterprises, mines and banks (December 1947).

The V Congress of the Bulgarian Communist Party (December 1948) outlined the paths of socialist industrialization and rural restructuring. households and the implementation of the cultural revolution.

The specific program for building socialism laid down in the first five-year plans has been successfully implemented. In 1958, the process of cooperation in villages ended. household Socialism has completely won in town and countryside.

In April 1971, the X Congress of the BCP took place, which adopted a new Party Program - a program for building a developed socialist society in Bulgaria. The XI Congress of the BCP (1976) concretized the program for the further construction of a developed socialist society and set the goal of preparing conditions for a gradual transition to communism.

As a member of the Warsaw Treaty Organization and a member of the CMEA, Bulgaria makes a significant contribution to strengthening the socialist community, expanding and deepening relations with fraternal countries. Particularly extensive cooperation is carried out between the NRB and the USSR. Bulgaria plays a significant role in the struggle of progressive forces for peace, security and mutual understanding between peoples.

Of great importance for the further expansion and deepening of Soviet-Bulgarian comprehensive cooperation and rapprochement, strengthening the cause of peace and socialism were the official friendly visit to the USSR of the party and government delegation of the People's Republic of Belarus led by the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the BCP, Chairman of the State Council of the People's Republic of Belarus T. Zhivkov in May - June 1977, friendly visit of the General Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR L. I. Brezhnev and member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee, Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee K. U. Chernenko in January 1979, to Bulgaria, other meetings of Soviet and Bulgarian leaders in 1979, as well as the signing in September 1979 in Sofia at the government level of the General Scheme of Specialization and Cooperation in the Material Production Sectors of the USSR and the People's Republic of Belarus until 1990.

According to the constitution of the NRB, adopted in May 1971, the supreme body of the state. authorities - the People's Assembly. The highest permanent government body. authorities - the State Council of the People's Republic of Belarus (Chairman - T. Zhivkov). The highest executive and administrative body of the state. authorities - the Council of Ministers (Chairman - S. Todorov).

The leading and guiding force of Bulgarian society is the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP). The foundations of the revolutionary Marxist party of the Bulgarian proletariat were laid in 1891. In May 1919, the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party (close socialists) was renamed the BCP. The first secretary of the Central Committee of the BCP is T. Zhivkov. The printed organ of the Central Committee of the party is the newspaper “Rabotnichesko Delo”, the theoretical organ of the Central Committee of the BCP is the magazine “Novo Vreme”.

Bulgarian Agricultural People's Union (BZNS) - founded in 1900, works closely with the BCP and recognizes its leadership role. Secretary of the BZNS - P. Tanchev. The Fatherland Front (FF) is the largest mass socio-political organization and movement, founded in 1942. The PF includes 28 organizations and creative unions (including trade unions and the Komsomol) as collective members. Central Council of Bulgarian Trade Unions (CBTU) - founded in 1904. Dimitrov Communist Youth Union (DCYM) - created in 1947 as a result of the merger of the Workers' Youth Union and other youth organizations.

In the years since the victory of the revolution, Bulgaria has transformed from an economically and culturally backward outskirts of Europe into a developed socialist state with modern industry and large villages. economics, high level of development of science and culture.

In 1979, the fourth year of the Seventh Five-Year Plan, a new step was taken towards building a developed socialist society. The decisions of the XI Congress of the BCP and the National Party Conference were consistently implemented, aimed at achieving high quality and efficiency of work.

The national economy continued to develop at a stable pace. National income increased in 1979 compared to 1978 by 6.5%. Labor productivity has also increased. Due to its growth, almost the entire increase in national income is ensured. income. Mastered approx. 6 billion leva of capital investments, of which 3 billion leva were aimed at improving the material and technical base of production, and investments in modernization, reconstruction and expansion of production capacity amounted to 67.4% of all capital investments in the sphere of material production.

During 1979, the improvement of the industrial structure continued, material, financial and labor resources were more fully used. By reducing material costs, relative savings of approx. 550 million leva.

Produced (1979) approx. 32.5 billion kWh of electricity, 1.45 million tons of cast iron smelted, approx. 2.4 million tons of steel produced St. 3 million tons of rolled ferrous metals. Produced mineral fertilizers - 959 thousand tons, soda ash - approx. 1.5 million g, sulfuric acid - 998 thousand tons; machine tools - 7634, electric hoists - more than 119 thousand, motor vehicles - St. 21.3 thousand, electric cars - St. 61.2 thousand, electric motors - 1118 thousand, etc. The national economy of the country received St. 5.4 million tons of domestic cement, more than 3.4 million cubic meters. m of wood materials, 313 thousand 1 paper.

The light industry produced: cotton. fabrics - 344 million m, woolen fabrics - 35 million m, knitted clothing - 108 million pieces, shoes - almost 20 million pairs. The food industry produced: canned vegetables - 264 thousand tons, butter - approx. 20.9 thousand tons, cheese - St. 23.5 thousand tons, feta cheese - more than 96.8 thousand tons.

In 1979, comprehensive measures were carried out aimed at “further increasing agricultural production, strengthening agrarian-industrial complexes, strengthening self-supporting principles in the activities of agricultural enterprises and organizations. The material and technical base of villages expanded compared to 1978, grain production in 1979 increased by almost 800 thousand tons, or 10.1%, the production of corn, barley, rice, soybeans, sunflowers, tobacco, sugar beets, hay and other feed. The successes achieved were a good basis for increasing purchases of crop products. Compared to 1978, more was purchased: food and feed grain - by 546.8 thousand g, sunflower seeds - by 64.4 thousand tons , soybeans - by 33.7 thousand tons, sugar beets - by 438.7 thousand tons. The number of main types of livestock in 1979 was (in thousands): cattle - 1786.9, pigs - 3832.5, sheep - 10,539.8, poultry - 41,022.2. Purchases increased compared to 1978: milk - by 154.2 million liters, eggs - by 128.2 million. 14.6 thousand commissioned hectares of new irrigated land (the area of ​​irrigated land is approximately 1.2 million hectares).

In 1979, construction organizations put into operation fixed assets worth 4.7 billion leva. The main objects of the year are the production of ethylene and acetaldehyde at the Burgas oil refinery and polyvinyl chloride in Devna, the iron foundry in Ihtiman, the Belmeken-Sestrimo hydroelectric power station cascade, the Bobov Dol integrated mine, etc.

Compared to 1978, in 1979 cargo transportation increased: by rail. transport - by 3.3%, water transport - by 5.5%.

Bulgaria's participation in the international socialist division of labor has expanded and deepened, and cooperation with non-socialist countries has also developed. Compared to 1978, foreign trade. turnover in 1979 increased by 11.4%. The main part of foreign trade. turnover accounted for the CMEA member countries, and primarily for the USSR. Exports to non-socialist countries have increased. The NRB trades with 112 countries of the world.

The monetary unit is the lev. 100 leva = 76.92 rubles. (February 1980).

The material well-being and cultural level of the people have increased. In 1979, real incomes of the population increased by 2%, Public consumption funds reached 4.5 billion leva Retail trade turnover increased by 2.6% Compared to 1978, in 1979, 8.1% more funds were spent on housing construction. 71.3 thousand apartments were built.

Sources:

1. Countries of the world: Brief political economics. reference book.-M.: Politizdat, 1980, 497 p.
2. Small Atlas of the World / senior ed. N.M. Terekhov-M.: GUGK, 1980, 147 p.

People's Republic of Bulgaria- a socialist state on the territory of Bulgaria. The People's Republic was created as a result of the overthrow of the fascist dictatorship. The NRB had the highest development indicators in the entire history of Bulgaria. In 1989, it ceased to exist as a result of a counter-revolutionary coup.

Story

Monarchical period

Throughout its history before the People's Revolution, Bulgaria was a reactionary state. The absolute monarchy was preserved even when all the countries around were republics. By the beginning of the twentieth century, the Bulgarian people hated their government. The population was starving, epidemics constantly broke out, which the country was unable to cope with. A huge number of people were homeless because the country did not have money to build new houses, and 98% of the buildings built were in disrepair. The only thing the state had money for was the army. The army suppressed revolutionary protests that broke out in the country several times a year. Also, the country needed an army for external wars - the kings dragged Bulgaria into all external conflicts.

The most popular party in the country was the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party (close socialists). It arose as a result of the split of the Bulgarian Labor Social Democratic Party into close and broad socialists. The “Broad” advocated for a bourgeois-democratic state with a market economy, although they were only formally socialists. The “close” wanted Bulgaria to be where the principle “From each according to his ability, to each according to his work” is fulfilled. Within a few years, the “Broad” lost all support and ceased to exist, while the “Close” party grew and developed.

In 1919-20, a peculiar situation developed in Bulgaria: it could not yet take power into its own hands, and the strength and political influence of the bourgeois parties, thanks to the revolutionary struggle of the working people, were so undermined that the bourgeoisie was forced to cede control to the moderate left Bulgarian Land People's Union. In May 1920, A. Stamboliysky, the leader of the BZNS, which received the largest number of votes in the elections in March 1920, formed a one-party cabinet. The leadership of the BZNS tried to implement the utopian idea of ​​establishing independent peasant power in the country. Stambolisky's reforms - the law on labor land ownership, which established a land maximum of 30 hectares (June 25, 1921), laws on progressive income tax (July 6-8, 1920), on labor service (May 28, 1920), etc. - were of a democratic nature and infringed on the interests of the big bourgeoisie, but did not affect the foundations of capitalism. At the same time, the government continued to fight against the Communist Party, whose influence was growing.

Arrested communists

On June 9, 1923, a fascist coup was carried out, prepared by the People's Conspiracy, the secret Military League and other reactionary organizations operating in Bulgaria. The BZNS government was overthrown, Stamboliysky and his associates were killed. Thousands of BZNS members also died. The spontaneous anti-fascist uprising of the popular masses on June 9-14 (June anti-fascist uprising) was suppressed. The government of the fascist dictatorship, headed by A. Tsankov, came to power, representing the interests of the big bourgeoisie and enjoying the support of foreign capital. On September 23, under the leadership of the BCP, the September anti-fascist uprising of 1923 began. After a long heroic struggle by workers and peasants, the uprising was suppressed. Despite the defeat, it played the role of the “Bulgarian 1905”, demonstrating the strength of the fighting unity of the working people of the city and countryside, their readiness for a decisive struggle against fascism and reaction. The fascist government of Tsankov maintained power through brutal terror.

In January 1926, Tsankov was replaced as prime minister by A. Lyapchev. The new government continued its policy of strengthening the power of the bourgeoisie, but was forced to allow the appearance of a weakening of the dictatorship. By mid-1926, the majority of trade unions were restored. In 1927, on the initiative of the BCP, which was still underground and sought to use legal opportunities to work among the masses, the legal Workers' Party was created, and in 1928 - the Workers' Youth League. The global economic crisis of 1929-33 also affected Bulgaria. After 1929, industrial production in Bulgaria sharply declined, unemployment increased, and prices for agricultural products fell, which caused massive ruin among the peasants. A new upsurge in the workers' struggle that began under the leadership of the BCP back in 1928-1929 led in June 1931 to a breakthrough in the front of the fascist dictatorship: the ruling fascist party, the Democratic Conspiracy, was defeated in the elections. At the Leipzig Trial of 1933, Germany won a major moral and political victory over fascism. The German Nazis tried to accuse his comrades of setting fire to the Reichstag, but thanks to a well-structured defense, he actually became an accuser instead of the accused. The court had no choice but to acquit Dimitrov and all his associates.

Monument to fighters against fascism

A movement for the creation of a united anti-fascist front developed in the country. However, by attracting the BZNS to the bloc of bourgeois parties of the bourgeoisie, it was possible to prevent the creation of a united anti-fascist front of workers and peasants, which largely became possible due to the mistakes of the “left” sectarians who led the BCP at that time.

On May 19, 1934, a coup d’état took place in Bulgaria, carried out by the Military League and the political group “Zveno”; A fascist military dictatorship was established in the country. The so-called supra-party government of K. Georgiev abolished the democratic gains of the masses, dissolved trade unions and all political parties. Taking into account the increased international authority, the traditional sympathies of the Bulgarian people for the Soviet Republic and the danger of German aggression, which intensified with the coming to power of fascism in Germany in 1933, the Georgiev government established diplomatic relations with July 23, 1934. In January 1935, the regime established by the participants in the May 19 coup fell. The monarcho-fascist dictatorship of Tsar Boris was established in the country. In foreign policy, Boris was guided by fascist Germany, which began to take control of the Bulgarian economy, turning the country into its agricultural and raw materials appendage. With the help of fascist Germany and Italy, Bulgaria intensively armed itself, which was facilitated by the Thessaloniki Agreement of 1938 with the countries of the Balkan Entente, which legitimized the abolition of military restrictions imposed on Bulgaria by the Neuilly Peace Treaty. The policy of the fascist government met with decisive resistance from the masses. Having overcome the wrong policies of the “left” sectarians, the BCP, led by G. Dimitrov, set a course for strengthening ties with the masses, organizing a Popular Front movement to fight against the danger of war, for friendship and cooperation with, in defense of democratic freedoms and national independence. In 1938, the Central Committee of the BCP decided to merge the BCP with the Workers' Party (restored in 1936) into a single Marxist-Leninist Bulgarian Workers' Party (BWP).

Since the beginning of World War II (1939-45), the Bulgarian government, despite its declared neutrality, has strengthened cooperation with Nazi Germany. On September 7, 1940, a Bulgarian-Romanian treaty was signed in Craiova, by virtue of which Southern Dobruja was returned to Bulgaria. The government of B. Filov (1940-43) refused to accept the proposal to conclude a Soviet-Bulgarian treaty of friendship and mutual assistance. On March 1, 1941, Filov, contrary to the national interests of the country, signed the Vienna Agreement on Bulgaria’s accession to the bloc of fascist powers; German troops entered Bulgarian territory, which Germany soon used as a springboard for attacks on Yugoslavia and Greece (April 1941). After the defeat of these countries by Nazi Germany, Bulgarian administration was introduced in eastern Serbia, as well as in part of Macedonia and on the Aegean coast. On December 13, 1941, Bulgaria declared war on Great Britain and the United States.

XI Congress of the BCP

The Bulgarian people did not put up with the criminal policies of the fascist rulers; in difficult conditions, they waged an anti-fascist struggle for many years. It became widespread after Germany's attack on the Soviet Union. The BRP led the fight against fascism that unfolded in Bulgaria. On June 24, 1941, the Politburo of the Central Committee of the BRP set a course for armed struggle against the German occupiers and their Bulgarian accomplices. In July 1941, the first partisan couple (detachment) was created in the Razlog region. In August - September, detachments began to operate in the areas of Dupnitsa, Batak, Karlova, Kalofer, Sevliev, Gabrovo, Yambol, and Sliven. In 1942, on the initiative of G. Dimitrov and under the leadership of the BRP, the Fatherland Front (FF) was created, which organizationally consolidated the unification of anti-fascist forces. The PF included the BRP, the left wing of the BZNS, left-wing Social Democrats, the political group "Zveno", and representatives of the progressive intelligentsia. Hundreds of local PF committees arose throughout the country, and in August 1943 the National PF Committee was created. The basis of the PF was the alliance of the working class and the working peasantry, which became increasingly stronger in the struggle, headed by the proletariat and its party. Under the leadership of the BRP, sabotage was organized in production, and illegal work was carried out in the army. Large partisan formations formed in 1943-1944 entered into open battles with the gendarmerie and government troops. In April 1943, the foundations of the People's Liberation Insurgent Army (NOVA) were laid. 12 partisan military operational zones, NOVA General Headquarters and zonal headquarters were created. The anti-fascist armed struggle of Bulgarian patriots against the Nazi invaders and their accomplices especially intensified after the defeat of the Nazi troops by the Soviet Army in the Battle of Stalingrad. It was essentially a revolutionary struggle of the working people, led by their vanguard - the BRP against the reactionary bureaucracy and monarchist officers who collaborated with the occupiers.

People's Republic

Bulgarian skyscrapers

With the approach to the Balkan Peninsula, the anti-fascist struggle in Bulgaria reached its maximum scope. A crisis began in government circles of the country. The Soviet government, regarding the Bulgarian policy as actually waging war in the German camp against the USSR, declared that from now on it would be in a state of war with Bulgaria (USSR government note dated September 5, 1944). The entry into Bulgaria (September 8) paralyzed the reactionary plans and actions of the ruling monarcho-fascist clique and was decisive for the success of the liberation struggle of the Bulgarian people. Under the leadership of the BRP, it turned into a massive popular armed uprising. On September 9, without waiting for the complete defeat of the Bulgarian army by the Red Army, the Bulgarian people overthrew the monarcho-fascist regime. Power in the center and locally passed in fact into the hands of the working class and working peasants, into the hands of the PF committees, in which the BRP played a leading role. A government of the United Front was formed, headed by G. Dimitrov.

The people's democratic revolution in Bulgaria, as indicated in the resolution of the 7th Congress of the BCP on the report of the Central Committee (1958), from the very beginning, in its class character, content and significance, was. Its victory is a natural result of the revolutionary struggle of the Bulgarian working class in alliance with the working people of the city and countryside. The leading force in the revolution was the BRP. The people's democratic government established on September 9, 1944 successfully fulfills the functions of the dictatorship of the proletariat. The volume of bourgeois-democratic reforms that were to be carried out in Bulgaria was insignificant due to the absence of landownership in the country and the almost complete destruction of feudal orders during the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke. This determined the anti-capitalist orientation of the revolution, setting the main task for it - to quickly eliminate the economic base of capitalism in the country and lay the foundations of a socialist society, simultaneously solving general democratic problems.

Burgas Petrochemical Plant

From the first days of its existence, the government of the Fatherland Front carried out a number of fundamental democratic reforms, which ensured it the support of the masses. Fascist laws were repealed, fascist and war criminals were put on trial by the people, their property was confiscated, fascist organizations and the police were dissolved, and a people's militia was created. The army and state apparatus were cleansed of pro-fascist elements, private monopolies were eliminated, and new labor legislation was introduced. The government of people's democratic Bulgaria declared war on Nazi Germany. Soon, units of the new Bulgarian army began military operations under the operational leadership of the command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front.

On October 28, 1944, in Moscow, representatives of Great Britain signed an armistice agreement with Bulgaria. In accordance with it, units of the Bulgarian army, acting together with, participated in operations to liberate the territories of Yugoslavia, Hungary and Austria from Nazi troops. On August 14, 1945, diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and Bulgaria were restored. On November 18, 1945, elections were held to the People's Assembly, which adopted a number of laws that strengthened the gains of the working people - the law on labor land ownership (agrarian reform, March 12, 1946), the law on progressive income tax (September 27, 1946), etc. September 8, 1946 A national referendum was held on the form of government. 92.7% of its participants supported the abolition of the monarchy and the proclamation of Bulgaria as a People's Republic (proclaimed on September 15, 1946). On November 22, 1946, a new government of the United Front was formed, headed by G. Dimitrov. On February 10, 1947, at the Paris Peace Conference, a peace treaty was signed with Bulgaria, confirming the national independence, state sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. On December 4, 1947, the Great People's Assembly approved the constitution of the People's Republic of Belarus, which legally secured the victory of the principles of people's democracy as a unique form of dictatorship of the proletariat. Supported by the British and American imperialists, the internal counter-revolution fiercely fought against the people's democratic system and for the restoration of the reactionary regime. Conducted under the leadership of the BRP and completed by mid-1947, the complete exposure, isolation and defeat of the counter-revolutionary opposition N. Petkov - K. Lulchev, as well as the liquidation of other anti-people conspiratorial groups, the further strengthening of the alliance of the working class and the working peasantry created the political preconditions for depriving the bourgeoisie of those important economic positions that were still in her hands.

At the end of December 1947, the people's democratic government nationalized industrial enterprises, mines, and private banks and established a state monopoly of foreign and wholesale domestic trade. As a result of the implementation of the 2-year national economic plan (1947-48), the task of restoring the national economy was solved. On March 18, 1948, the Soviet-Bulgarian Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance was signed. It was erected in honor of this. Similar agreements were concluded in 1947-48 by Bulgaria with other people's democratic countries. The guiding and guiding force in the construction of the new Bulgaria was the BRP. In February 1948, at the 2nd Congress of the PF, a charter was adopted that eliminated elements of the coalition and transformed the PF into a single socio-political organization of the Bulgarian people, working under the leadership of communists, and the PF program. In May-August 1948, on the basis of Marxist-Leninist ideological and organizational principles, the BRP merged with the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party (broad socialists). The 5th Congress of the Communist Party, held in December 1948, restored its former name - the Bulgarian Communist Party.

The rule of the BKP was the best period in the history of Bulgaria. For the first time in many years, the country became independent, free, and actively developing. The country's economy grew every year. No one went hungry, there were no homeless people in the country. New factories were constantly opening, new cities and villages were being built.

Current state

During perestroika, many countries abandoned the socialist path of development and switched to capitalism. Some countries did this themselves, some under external pressure. The People's Republic of Bulgaria could well have survived and preserved its truly national character - after all, people have not forgotten the decades that the BKP provided them. Decades without wars, decades of calm, peaceful life. Bulgaria has transformed from a backward raw materials appendage into a developed, powerful, socialist state.

Bulgaria now

But the quiet development of People's Bulgaria was prevented. On November 10, 1989, Todor Zhivkov was removed from the leadership of the party. Zhivkov was a true communist who consistently advocated the building of socialism in Bulgaria. But Todor Zhivkov was replaced by Pyotr Mladenov. Mladenov was an opportunist. He, seeing the collapse of socialist countries throughout Europe, decided to change the face of Bulgaria. Mladenov thought that if he gave up power and liberalized the economy, he would be able to stay in power. He liquidated the BCP and allowed various anti-communist parties into parliament - mainly nationalists and liberals. But liberals and nationalists did not allow Mladenov to remain in power; they removed him from leadership and gave power to the nationalist Zhel Zhelev.

Now Bulgaria is a raw materials appendage of the European Union. the exchange rate of the Bulgarian lev fell several dozen times, and would have fallen further if it had not been pegged to the Euro. Almost all social guarantees were abolished. Now Bulgaria has turned from a powerful, developed country into a backward capitalist state.

Economy

Before the victory, Bulgaria was an agrarian and raw material appendage of the developed European capitalist states. The bulk of the national income on the eve of World War II 1939-45 came from low-commodity agriculture. According to the last pre-war census of 1934, 79.7% were employed in agriculture, 8.3% in industry and handicraft production, 1.2% in transport and communications, and 2.3% of the amateur population in trade and finance.

Factory industry was poorly developed and handicraft production was significantly developed. In 1939, 112 thousand people were employed in industry, and about 146 thousand people were employed in handicraft production. The cultivated land was the property of approximately 1 million agricultural holdings. The low level of the economy under capitalism was organically linked to the weak division of labor between individual regions of the country; except for the Sofia-Pernik region, the economy of other regions was exclusively agricultural in nature, the southern mountainous regions (Pirin, Rhodope, Strandzha regions) and some northern regions (primarily Southern Dobrudja) were especially backward.

After the victory in Bulgaria, the people's government carried out radical socio-economic transformations. The remnants of the feudal system and nascent capitalism were eliminated. Under the leadership of the BKP, a transition was made to. Over the years of socialist construction, Bulgaria has transformed from a backward agrarian country into an industrial-agrarian country with developed modern industry and large-scale cooperative and mechanized agriculture. During 1939-69, the share of the economically active population employed in industry increased to 30%, and that of those employed in agriculture decreased to 38%. In 1969, compared with pre-war 1939, national income was 5.4 times greater, the volume of industrial production increased by 33 times, and the volume of agricultural production by 2 times. In the total social product of industry and agriculture, the share of industry increased from 25% to 79.6%. Bulgarian industry remains characterized by a significant role of agricultural raw materials. The pace of development and the sectoral and territorial structure of the economy were favorably influenced by Bulgaria's extensive participation in the international socialist division of labor. On this basis, metallurgy, mechanical engineering, fuel and energy and chemical industries are developing especially rapidly, old industries and agriculture are intensifying; Maritime and Danube transport became increasingly important in foreign trade relations. Bulgaria acted on the world market not only as a supplier of agricultural goods and products and their processing, but it also supplies large quantities of mechanical engineering, electrical and chemical products.

Shipyard named after. Dimitrova

Adopted by the congress and then approved by the Great People's Assembly, the 5-year national economic plan (1949-53) provided for the industrialization and electrification of the country, cooperation and mechanization of its agriculture, and determined the main tasks of building the foundations of socialism. The successful implementation of the 1st Five-Year Plan (in the industrial field the plan was completed in 3 years 10 months) created the preconditions for the transformation of Bulgaria from a backward agricultural country into a developed industrial-agrarian country. In 1949-52, over 700 industrial enterprises were built, reconstructed and put into operation. Industrial output in 1952 increased more than 2 times compared to 1948 and more than 4 times compared to pre-war 1939. New industrial areas and settlements were created (Dimitrovgrad, Madan, Rudozem). Significant progress has been made in the field of agriculture. Based on the Leninist cooperative plan and taking into account the experience of collective farm construction, agricultural cooperation was carried out without prior nationalization of land, in the form of labor cooperative agricultural farms (TKZH). TKZH, which at the beginning of the 1st Five-Year Plan united approximately 11% of all peasant farms and about 6% of cultivated areas, by the end of 1952 already united more than 50% of peasant farms and 60% of cultivated areas.

As a result of the implementation of the 2nd Five-Year Plan for the Development of the National Economy (1953-57), Bulgaria turned into a socialist industrial-agrarian country with large-scale cooperative and mechanized agriculture. The ratio between the cost of industrial and agricultural products, which was 30:70 in 1948, changed by the end of 1957 to 68:32. By 1958, TKZH became an integral part of the socialist system in Bulgaria - 92% of the cultivated area was cooperative.

The 7th Congress of the BCP (1958) stated that socialism completely dominates the entire national economy of the country; socialist public ownership of the means of production is the inviolable basis of society in Bulgaria; The exploitation of man by man has been eliminated. The socialist restructuring of the economy led to fundamental changes in the class structure of the country. With the victory of the cooperative system in agriculture, the economic base of the capitalist elements in the countryside - the last remnants of the exploiting classes in the country - was eliminated. In Bulgaria, as noted by the 7th Congress of the BCP, there are now two friendly classes: workers and peasants - members of cooperatives, and the people's intelligentsia inextricably linked with them.

Since 1958, Bulgaria has entered the stage of creating a developed socialist society, improving socialist relations, and expanding socialist democracy in all areas of economic, political and social life. The 7th Congress of the BCP adopted directives for the 3rd Five-Year Plan (1958-62), which was implemented according to the main indicators in 3 years. In 1960, the total volume of industrial production increased by 68% compared to 1957, and agricultural production by 21.2%. As a result of the accelerated development of heavy industry, significant changes occurred in the structure of industrial production. Significant work was carried out on the consolidation, organizational and economic strengthening of TKZH and the technical re-equipment of agriculture. The consolidation of TKZH was a further development of the cooperative system in Bulgaria, a necessary condition for the development of productive forces and production in agriculture. Compared to 1948, national income increased almost 3 times in 1960. Illiteracy among the population under the age of 50 was eliminated; All school-aged children are enrolled in primary schools.

With scientific and technical cooperation with and with the help of his loans (1.8 billion rubles in 1969), old sectors of Bulgarian industry were reconstructed and new ones were created (mechanical engineering, energy, chemical industry, etc.). Mutually beneficial all-round Soviet-Bulgarian cooperation was established. Based on international goals and objectives, Bulgaria is expanding its cooperation with member countries of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Bulgaria satisfies about 90% of the member countries' needs for electric cars and electric hoists and 20% of their needs for batteries; develops cooperation between enterprises specializing in the production of certain types of products and increases its foreign trade exchange.

The 8th Congress of the BCP (1962) adopted directives for a 20-year long-term plan for the development of the NRB (1961-80) and formulated the main economic task - to complete the construction of the material and technical base of socialism and gradually move on to the extensive construction of the material and technical base of communism. During the 4th Five-Year Plan period (1961-65), fixed production assets increased by 75%, social product by 51%, and national income by 38%. The ratio between the volumes of industrial and agricultural production in 1965 was 74:26. At the same time, the leading branches of heavy industry - energy, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, mechanical engineering and the chemical industry - developed especially quickly. Their share in all industrial production increased from 26% in 1960 to 34% in 1965. In 1964, a new system of managing the national economy began to be introduced, objectively determined by the requirements of the new stage of development. Its essence is to increase production efficiency through the maximum use of economic incentives and increasing the role of economic accounting.

The 9th Congress of the BCP (1966) outlined a specific program for the development of the national economy, accelerating the scientific and technological revolution, intensifying the national economy, raising the level of scientific management of the entire life of society, all its spheres. The plenums of the Central Committee of the BCP in July and November 1968, September 1969, March and April 1970 were devoted to these problems.

The high growth rate of national income (8.4% annually for 1948-68) contributed to an increase in people's well-being. The absolute volume of the consumption fund for 1952-69 increased more than 3 times; the bulk of it falls on personal consumption and is provided mainly by increasing the wages of workers and office workers and the labor remuneration of peasants. The average wage of those employed in the national economy more than doubled between 1952 and 1969. The growth rate of real wages of workers and employees is characterized by the following indicators (1952 = 100): 195 in 1960, 255 in 1968, and the average income of cooperative peasants in workdays increased 4.6 times. There is a process of reducing the difference in income of the urban and rural population (in 1968, the average annual salary of workers and employees was 1366 leva, peasants - members of the TKZH 1342 leva), as well as certain categories of workers. About 30% of workers' needs are satisfied by societies and funds. Real incomes of the population for 1952-68 increased by 2.6 times. The population's deposits in savings banks increased from 940 million leva in 1960 to 2725 million leva in 1969. The increase in the purchasing power of the population contributed to the growth of retail trade turnover (in corresponding prices) from 1.2 billion leva in 1952 to 5.2 billion leva in 1969. Every second family in Belgium lives in an apartment built after 1944 (1.16 million new apartments with an average living area of ​​11 m2 per person). At the end of 1969, 92% of settlements were electrified (99.4% of the population lives in them) versus 13% in monarchical Bulgaria.

State social insurance covers fully and without fail workers and employees of state, public, cooperative, mixed and private enterprises, institutions, organizations, liberal professions and foreigners working in the country (in 1968 the number of insured people was 2.6 million people, or 31% of the total population). Management is carried out by the Central Council of Trade Unions. Financial assistance is provided for temporary disability, during pregnancy and childbirth, maternity leave is provided, and old-age and disability pensions are paid. Allocations for pensions (1968) amount to 58.8% (634.2 million leva) of allocations for social insurance; compared to 1952 they increased 8.8 times. In 1969, 1,676 thousand pensions were paid: a) for years worked (3 categories: 15 years of work experience and 50 years of age; 20 years of work experience and 55 years of age for men, 50 years of age for women; 25 years of work experience and 60 -years of age for men, 20 years of experience and 55 years of age for women). The pension amount is from 55 to 80% of the average monthly salary for 3 consecutive years, optionally, from the last 15 years of work experience; b) for disability (3 groups). Pensions for years of work and disability pensions are also received by members of the TKZH (over 1.1 million people), members of labor trade cooperatives, private artisans and persons of a liberal profession.

After the counter-revolutionary coup, a sharp liberalization of prices was carried out. This led to a protracted crisis, which Bulgaria still cannot cope with. Almost all social guarantees were abolished. Now the country is actually a raw materials appendage of the European Union and exists only due to the industry created by the BKP.

Nature

Bulgaria is located in the temperate zone; due to its natural conditions, it occupies a transitional region between Eastern and Central Europe in the North and Middle Earth in the South.

Relief

Sea resort Albena

The north of Bulgaria is occupied by the Danube hilly plain with heights ranging from 100-380 m in the West to 500 m in the East. Deep river valleys divide it into hilly and plateau-like areas. Towards the Danube valley the plain ends with a high (up to 100m) ledge, in the East it turns into the Dobrudzha plateau. To the south of the plain, the Stara Planina Mountains (Balkan Mountains) cross the whole of Bulgaria from West to East. The middle and western parts of these mountains are higher (height 1500-2000 m, the highest 2376 m), the eastern part is lower (600-1100 m) and more dissected. To the south of the middle part of Stara Planina stretches the chain of lower Sredna Gora mountains (up to 1604 m high). In some places, Sredna Gora and Stara Planina are connected by bridges 1000-1300 m high, between which there are tectonic basins (Kazanlak, Karlovskaya, etc.), united under the name Sub-Balkan basins. The south and southwest of the country are occupied by the Rila, Pirin and Rhodope mountains. Rila and Pirin are the highest part of the entire Balkan Peninsula (Musala, 2925 m, Vihren, 2914 m), with alpine-type peaks. Between the Rhodope Mountains and Sredna Gora along the river. Maritsa is the most fertile Upper Thracian lowland in the country. It is separated from the Black Sea lowland by the Tunjan hilly regions and the Strandzha Mountains (Turkish name Istrandzha). The Black Sea coast of Bulgaria is predominantly low, with steep banks in some places; many beaches. In the extreme Southeast are the northern spurs of the Strandzha Mountains.

Geological structure and minerals

According to its geological structure, the territory of Belarus belongs to the Mediterranean fold belt. In the north of Bulgaria there is the Moesian platform, composed of horizontally lying Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic deposits overlying Precambrian folded rocks. To the south extends the Cis-Balkan zone, composed of folded deposits of the Triassic, Jurassic, Cretaceous and Paleogene. The axial part of the Balkans is occupied by the meganticlinorium of Stara Planina, composed of Paleozoic rocks at the core, and Jurassic and Triassic rocks in the East. Mesozoic and Paleogene deposits are developed on the wings and in narrow synclines. Further south is the Sredna Gora zone, consisting of horstanticlinoriums formed by metamorphic rocks of the Paleozoic and Precambrian, and graben-synclinoriums filled mainly with Upper Cretaceous flysch and andesites. From the north, the Sredna Gora zone is limited by the Trans-Balkan deep fault, along which there are structures of ridges and depressions filled with Neogene-Paleogene continental deposits. The southern part of Bulgaria is occupied by the Rhodope massif, consisting of Precambrian crystalline rocks overlain by Paleogene deposits. It is limited from the North by the Maritsky deep fault, and from the West by the Kraishte fold-fault system.

The most important minerals: coal (East Maritsky, Perniksky, Bobov-Dolsky basins), iron ores (Kremikovskoye deposit), lead-zinc ores (Rhodope massif), copper ores (Medetskoye deposit), rock salt (Mirovo region), oil (Moesian platform), mineral waters, building materials.

Climate

The climate of most of Bulgaria is temperate, continental; in the South, especially along the valleys of the Struma and Mesta rivers, it is transitional to the Mediterranean. In the mountains there is an altitudinal climatic zone. Stara Planina is an important climatic boundary between North and South. The average January temperature on the plains is from -2 to +2.5 ° C, in the mountains - up to -10.8 ° C (Musala); July, respectively, up to 25.1°C (Petrich) and up to 5.1°C (Musala). Precipitation is brought by western and northwestern winds; 450-600 mm falls per year in the lowlands, in the mountains - 850-1300 mm, with a maximum in the first half of summer. The driest time of the year is the beginning of autumn. In summer, droughts occur in many areas (mainly on the plains). Snow cover in the North lasts 50-70 days, in the South - 20-30 days, in the mountains - up to 7-8 months.

Inland waters

There are relatively many rivers in Bulgaria (with the exception of the eastern part of the Danube hilly plain), but most of them are short in length and mountainous in nature, becoming very shallow at the end of summer. The Danube is the only navigable river. The largest tributary of the Danube in Bulgaria is the river. Iskar. Of the rivers in the Aegean Sea basin, the deepest is the Maritsa (the main tributaries are the Tundzha and Arda), then the Struma and Mesta. Rivers are of great importance as sources of hydropower and irrigation. Many reservoirs were built on them. There are few lakes (mainly of glacial origin - in the Rila and Pirin mountains) and they are small in size. There are over 500 mineral springs in Bulgaria.

Soils and vegetation

The soils on the Danube Plain are predominantly chernozem and gray forest podzolized, to the south of Stara Planina - brown and dense chernozem-like ("smolnitsa"), in the mountains - brown forest, mountain forest, dark-colored, mountain meadow and skeletal. In the floodplains of the rivers there are fertile alluvial soils.

The vegetation is represented by forests, occupying about 3.7 million hectares (1968), or about 1/3 of the country's territory (including over 1 million hectares occupied by artificial forest plantations). 75.3% are deciduous forests, consisting mainly of oak and hornbeam in the North, and eastern beech in the Southeast. Floodplain forests are characteristic - longoses (elm, ash, etc.). In the mountains above deciduous forests up to an altitude of 1700-2000 m there are coniferous forests of pine, spruce, and fir (24.7%). 87.8% of forests are used primarily for timber production, 5.8% are protective forests, 2.1% are resort forests, 1.7% are green zones, 0.5% are shelterbelts, 0.4% are nature reserves ( 1965). Among the shrub thickets, shiblyak is typical (shrub oak, dwarf tree, juniper, and also pistachio in the south). Grass formations are represented by dry, subalpine and alpine meadows and steppe vegetation in the north of the country.

Animal world

Animals of various origins are represented on the territory of Bulgaria. Central European species are recorded mainly in northern Bulgaria and Stara Planina, steppe species - mainly in Eastern Bulgaria, Arctic-Alpine species - in the upper mountain belts, and Mediterranean species - in the southern part of the country. In the forests there are red deer, fallow deer, roe deer, chamois, and wild boar; The mountains are characterized by black ferret, weasel, badger, wolf, fox, European cat, squirrel, brown hare, dormouse, and small mouse-like rodents. In the treeless northern regions there are ground squirrels, light-colored ferrets, hamsters, and mole rats. The bird fauna is rich, which consists of species common in southern and central Europe. A variety of reptiles, especially in the south. In the Black Sea off the coast of Belarus, bonito, mackerel, mullet, and flounder are caught; in the Danube - stellate sturgeon, pike perch, carp.

Natural areas

• The Danube hilly plain, composed mainly of limestone, with the most continental climate in Bulgaria, steppe or forest vegetation on loess chernozem soils, is almost entirely plowed.
• Stara Planina, in which the landscapes of the northern, more humid wooded (oak, beech) slope are sharply different from the landscapes of the steeper, drier and treeless southern slope over large areas.
• Pre-Balkans - hilly, low-mountain northern foothills of Stara Planina, partially covered with oak forests, but mostly occupied by vineyards, gardens, and fields.
• Sredna Gora - medium-high and low mountains, with gentle slopes, covered in the West and in the center with beech forests, heavily plowed in the East.
• The Upper Thracian and Burgas lowlands have the most fertile soils, mild climate, densely populated and almost entirely cultivated.
• South-Eastern Bulgaria (Tundzhansky massif and Strandzha Mountains) - smoothed ancient massifs, covered with deciduous forests and shiblyak bushes. Western Bulgaria is an alternation of fairly high (500-900 m) basins with a temperate continental climate, densely populated and cultivated, and forested mountain ranges separating them.
• Rilo-Rhodope region - mountains composed of ancient crystalline rocks, high in the middle and western parts, with coniferous forests, subalpine and alpine meadows, and in the East - lower, largely developed.

The infamous website of Australian Julian Assange has made public American intelligence documents from forty years ago. It is unlikely that these papers will become a big discovery, but, at a minimum, they should be of interest to specialists in modern history. Political intrigues and rumors that once worried millions of people are discussed there.

America studied rumors about the merger of Bulgaria and the USSR

This time the WikiLeaks website presented a historical excursion into the ins and outs of American intelligence and diplomacy. A message dated May 1974 caught my attention. It discussed persistent rumors that were being spread by one of the sources in Bucharest. A Romanian source reported that the Bulgarian authorities were allegedly seriously considering the issue of voluntarily becoming one of the republics of the USSR.

However, the same telegram notes that this data is most likely just plain misinformation. The fact that the US authorities were studying this possibility and their actions as a result of such transformations is evidenced by documents published on the Bulgarian resource Bivol.bg, which is in contact with WikiLeaks. Of course, for the Bulgarians themselves, this data is interesting, since it is directly related to their history.

A few days later, the American ambassador in Sofia sent a telegram in response. It quoted the response of the Romanian ambassador to the question of whether it was in principle possible for Bulgaria to join the Soviet Union. It literally says that the Bulgarians are worthy of all admiration. In external activity they are at one with the USSR, but in fact it is the most nationalist country on the planet. The published documents are not very interesting from the point of view of relevance, but it seems that the site has once again managed to shed some light on what is happening in the world, even if we are talking about fairly long-standing events.

Whoseriouslythought about Bulgaria as the 16th republic of the USSR?

Any schoolchild a couple of decades ago knew how many republics there were in the USSR - fifteen, of course. But no! There were one more republic, but over time the Karelo-Finnish SSR was transformed into the Karelian Autonomous Republic, which became part of the RSFSR. There were many reasons for this. Officially, it was about reducing the cost of spending on the state apparatus, and also about the fact that there are very few Karelian-Finns left to live in this territory: after the Finnish War, they slowly moved to Finland, and in percentage terms there are now not enough of them. And there was no political expediency to keep this republic under the Finnish border at the height of the thaw.

How serious was the possibility of Bulgaria emerging as the 16th Soviet republic? In Soviet times, rumors about the absorption of Bulgaria by the Soviet Union were not taken particularly seriously by anyone. However, telegrams from the American diplomatic and/or intelligence services also clarify that these are just conversations.

What really happened? The book by Bulgarian President Zh. Zhelev, “In Big Politics,” describes in detail how the Bulgarian Communist Party (without wide publicity, at the plenum of the party’s Central Committee) twice, in 1963 and ten years later, discussed the gradual entry of its country into the Soviet Union. It is difficult to say what attracted the Bulgarian leadership in such a decision, and why they so diligently hid their plans from the citizens of their country, but the fact remains that the matter did not go beyond talk. Bulgaria and Russia, and until recently the Soviet Union, have always had strong political and economic ties, and the fact that after World War II the country entered the socialist camp, given the powerful partisan movement in Bulgaria during the war, as well as its liberation by Soviet troops, was quite natural.

Any Russian who has visited Bulgaria feels how friendly this people remains towards Russia. In Sofia, the name of the street has been preserved - Tsar Liberator (meaning Alexander II), which neither the communists nor the current rulers could rename. But still, the capital of Bulgaria is located on the western borders of the state, and in the turbulent nineties, the right-heir to the Soviet Union had absolutely no time for the small Black Sea country, which quietly and without loud statements switched to pro-Western development.

At the same time, Bulgarian social reforms had their own specifics: the communist regime in the country was a pronounced gerontocracy, and young people were completely uncomfortable in it. It was the younger generation that actively broke into the reforms that brought Bulgaria into the ranks of the EU countries. Today's Bulgaria still strongly resembles our country, including a fairly widespread nostalgia for the positive aspects of socialism.

It is now difficult to simulate what Europe would look like if one of the former Soviet republics were built into it. It is likely that in this case, Bulgaria would now have closer ties with Russia, and our Western partners in the form of NATO countries, striving to endlessly expand their influence to the east, would have to take this into account. In turn, the economic and political assistance of the “big brother” in the person of Russia would now help Bulgaria to stand more firmly on its feet in the era of the economic crisis raging in Europe...

America doesn't like it when its secrets are revealed.

Today, 1.7 (!) million samples of classified documentation from the correspondence of representatives of the American diplomatic service and intelligence agencies in the period 1973-1976 have been published. The release of documentation that was “leaked” to the public almost forty years later was commented on by the site’s founder, J. Assange. He said that the published documents could shed light on a huge range of US activities, which had a truly irreversible impact on world history and especially politics.

It is interesting that many of the published documents were personally in the hands of Henry Kissinger, then Secretary of State of the United States (from 1973 to 1977), he either wrote these documents or accepted them as the addressee. The creators of the Bulgarian resource Bivol.bg, which took part in the publication of the documents, also joined Assange’s comments. According to them, not an ounce of sensationalism can be found in the correspondence, but it is of great value for historians.

What is a multi-million dollar base? On Assange’s resource it was called the “American Public Library of Diplomacy.” Naturally, most published documents are marked “Not for distribution.” And some of the documents generally had the original status of secret. Now telegrams, intelligence reports, correspondence of Congressional representatives and some other documents declassified by the US authorities themselves and posted for public viewing are publicly available.

Let us recall that the epicenter of the high-profile scandal surrounding the WikiLeaks resource occurred in the fall of 2010, when the site published documents from the American diplomatic service. As one would expect, the very next month the MasterCard, Visa, and PayPal systems stopped accepting user donations to the site, under the official pretext of involving the resource in clearly illegal activities. J. Assange himself is currently taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in Great Britain. All this time, a British Supreme Court ruling on extradition to Sweden hangs over him. There he will have to answer to charges of sex crimes. For obvious reasons, the founder of WikiLeaks does not want to go to Scandinavia. He fears, not without reason, that he will be handed over to US authorities. And then he could be sentenced to death.