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The Tsardom of Bulgaria, also known in the west as Kingdom of Bulgaria or, in short, Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It borders Austria-Hungary and Romania to the north, the Black Sea to the east, the Ottoman Empire to the southeast, the Aegean Sea to the south, Greece to the southwest, Albania to the west, and Serbia to the northwest.

A constitutional monarchy, Bulgaria gained independence from and expanded at the expense of the Ottoman Empire at the start of the 20th century. Disputes with its former Balkan allies lead to its defeat in the Second Balkan War, the desire to avenge the defeat of 1913 motivated Bulgaria's entrance into the Weltkrieg on the side of the Central Powers. Victory brought the country immense territorial gains, but also caused severe overextension and contribute to its stagnant economy and parliamentary instability.

History[]

Independence and Bulgarian Crisis (1878-1886)[]

San Stefano & Berlin

Bulgarian borders agreed upon as per the terms of the Treaty of San Stefano (left) and border revision following the Treaty of Berlin

After Imperial Russia fought against the Ottoman Turks for the eighth time in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78, the Russians achieved victory and demanded the establishment of an autonomous Bulgaria. With the signing of the Treaty of San Stefano, the new Bulgarian autonomy was promised Eastern Rumelia, Macedonia as well as parts of the Danube Vilayet. However, the sudden creation of a state so large in the Balkans upset the Great Powers of Europe, and so the Treaty of Berlin was signed instead on British pressure, limiting the Principality of Bulgaria, led by the German prince Alexander of Battenberg. To the south, East Rumelia was established as a separate state ruled by a Christian governor chosen by Constantinople. The remaining Bulgarian-inhabitated territories remained part of the Ottoman Empire.

Tarnovo Constitution

The Tarnovo Constitution, introduced by Alexander I in 1879

This new order in the Balkans was first and foremost to the benefit of the Russians, who thought that they would be able to exert a more direct influence in Southeastern Europe via a Russian-aligned, conservative Bulgarian bulwark against the Turks and Austro-Hungarians. But things turned out differently. Under the rule of Prince Alexander, Bulgaria would prove to have no interest in bowing to the Russian bear. Instead, he adopted one of the most progressive constitutions of its time, the Tarnovo Constitution, which was a thorn in the side of the autocratic Russians.

BulgarianWarriors1885

Bulgarian volunteers from Macedonia during the Serbo-Bulgarian War, the conflict that started the Serbian-Bulgarian rivalry

The situation in Bulgaria came to a head when Alexander, after a bloodless revolution and military coup in Plovdiv, proclaimed the union of East Rumelia with the Principality of Bulgaria, which was in violation of the Treaty of Berlin. Russians and Austro-Hungarians were equally concerned about the Bulgarian expansion, especially as Alexander had begin to foster closer ties to the British. Therefore, in late 1885, the Austrians persuaded the Serbian prince to invade and shatter Bulgaria, in exchange for possible concessions in Austrian territory and Bosnia.

The Serbian surprise attack however was countered and pushed back, and the only thing that saved Serbia from being overrun by Bulgaria was Austria's threats to the principality. Via the Treaty of Bucharest and the Treaty of Tophane, peace between Bulgaria and Serbia was signed and Bulgaria was de facto allowed to reunite with Eastern Rumelia by the Sublime Porte, respectively. However, relations between Serbia and Bulgaria were to be from then on mistrustful, and Bulgaria remained a puppet state of the Turks. Shortly after, a pro-Russian coup was launched in Sofia. While it did not succeed in dethroning Alexander as initially hoped, Alexander still abdicated shortly after to calm down the crisis in relations with Russia.

Principality to Tsardom (1886-1908)[]

YoungFerdinand

Young Ferdinand I, the successor of the controversial Alexander of Battenberg, in the 1890s

In July 1887 the Bulgarians elected Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha-Koháry as their new Prince. Ferdinand was a German noble in service of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and therefore similarly despised by the Russians as Alexander, which is why St. Petersburg refused to recognize him. During his first years, Ferdinand closely cooperated with the liberal Prime Minister Stefan Stambolov, dubbed "the Bulgarian Bismarck". However, while under Stambolov Bulgaria turned into a respectable regional power, his anti-Russian stance and his more and more dictatorial behavior made him many enemies. In 1894, he was dismissed by Ferdinand - merely one year later, he became the victim of an assassination, most likely orchestrated by Prince Ferdinand himself. With Stambolov out of the way, Ferdinand began to centralize most of the power around himself and radically changed Bulgaria's foreign policy, aiming for a reconciliation of Bulgaria with Russia and a return to a more conservative leadership.

Macedonian demonstration in Sofia after the Ilinden Uprising

Macedono-Bulgarian refugee demonstration in Sofia after the crushing of the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising. The insurrection had the inofficial support of the Bulgarian government which however could not intervene due to being de facto an Ottoman client state

Throughout the late 19th ad early 20th century, Ottoman rule was still present in large swathes of the southern Balkans, and Bulgaria and Serbia remained under nominal Ottoman suzerainty despite being de facto able to pursue their own foreign policy. However, many Slav-inhabitated territories were still under Turkish control, most importantly Macedonia, but also Thrace and Kosovo. To free these people from their Turkish overlords, Bulgarian and Serbian ultra-nationalist secret revolutionary societies were founded to enforce the reunification of these territories with their home countries. The most influential Bulgarian secret society was without a doubt the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), already founded in the 1890s in Salonica. Starting in 1896 the IMRO fought the Ottomans using guerrilla tactics, and in this they were successful, even establishing a state within a state in some regions. This effort escalated in 1903 into the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising. The fighting involved about 15,000 IMRO irregulars and 40,000 Ottoman soldiers. After the uprising failed, the IMRO resorted to more systematic forms of terrorism targeting civilians.

Tzar Ferdinand at proclamation of Bulgarian-independence

Ferdinand at the proclamation of Bulgarian independence, 5 October 1908

In the years following independence, Bulgaria became increasingly militarized and was often referred to as "the Prussia of the Balkans", with regard to its desire to revise the Treaty of Berlin through warfare. This militarization was deemed necessary, as there was a substantial Bulgarian population still living under Ottoman rule and, to complicate matters, Serbia and Greece also had overlapping claims over said territories. However, as long as Bulgaria remained a nominal subject of the Sublime Porte, an escalation of the situation in the Balkans seemed unlikely - but the situation changed drastically with the Young Turk Revolution of 1908; on 5 October, Ferdinand used the distraction to declare Bulgaria a fully independent kingdom, with himself as Tsar, on 5 October.

Balkan Wars (1912-1913)[]

800px-Territorial Changes in the Balkans Between 1878 and 1914 (v1p16)

Border changes in the Balkans following the Balkan Wars of 1912/13

In 1911, the begin of the Italo-Turkish War emboldened the small Balkan countries to find a compromise between each other and formed an alliance, the Balkan League, in an effort to finally shatter Turkish hegemony in Southeastern Europe. The subsequent treaties provided for the partition of Macedonia and Thrace between the allies, although the lines of partition were left dangerously vague. After the weakened Ottomans refused to implement reforms in the disputed areas, the First Balkan War broke out in October 1912. The Bulgarian army inflicted several crushing defeats on the Ottoman forces and advanced threateningly against Constantinople, while the Serbs and the Greeks took control of Macedonia. Peace was signed in mid-1913; Bulgaria gained possession of most of Thrace, including Adrianople and Dedeagach, but most of Macedonia fell under Greek and Serbian control.

Bulgaria sustained the heaviest casualties of any of the allies, and on this basis felt entitled to the largest share of the spoils. The Serbs, in particular, did not see things this way and refused to vacate any of the territories they had seized in northern Macedonia. Insulted by their Serbian and Greek allies ignoring the established plan to split Macedonia, Bulgaria invaded to regain its claimed territory. Instead of being on the offensive, however, the Second Balkan War would became a disaster for Bulgaria when both Romania and the Ottoman Empire intervened. Defeated and humiliated, Bulgaria was left without its desired possessions, only retaining a few territories in Western Thrace.

Weltkrieg (1914-1919)[]

In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, Bulgarian opinion turned against Russia and the western powers, whom the Bulgarians felt had done nothing to help them at the London Ambassadors' Conference; revisionism became the new main government policy of the weakened Third Bulgarian State, despite slow rapprochement with its neighbors. Simultaneously, Bulgaria signed far-reaching loan agreements with Austria-Hungary and Germany, making the country more and more dependent on the financial support of the Triple Alliance powers. Nonetheless, after the beginning of the Weltkrieg in the summer of 1914, Ferdinand and the government decided to declare a policy of "strict and loyal" neutrality, a stance that was popular with both ruling and opposition parties. The Entente tried to sway Bulgaria to join the war on their side by promising a partial revision of the Treaty of Bucharest, but to no avail.

However, by summer 1915, Bulgaria's stance on the war had changed. The country was in a very strategic situation for both the Allies and the Central Powers, and therefore, both sides promised more or less the fulfillment of Bulgaria's national aspirations, and the only problem facing the Bulgarian prime minister, at this time the liberal Vasil Radoslavov, was how to secure maximum gains in exchange for minimum commitments. The situation on the major European fronts was at that time developing markedly in favor of the Central Powers, and while the Allied operation in Gallipoli turned into a costly stalemate, the Russians were being driven out of Galicia and Poland. Under these circumstances, the Central Powers were hoping to secure Bulgaria at last - and their hopes would be fulfilled. On 14 October 1915, Bulgaria officially joined the war after signing several treaties with Germany, Austria and the Turks which promised them the acquisition of Vardar Macedonia plus the part of Old Serbia to the east of the Morava river and, in case Greece or Romania attacked Bulgaria or its allies without provocation, the territories in Thrace and Dobruja lost in 1913.

Bulgaria played an important role during the Fourth Invasion of Serbia, capturing most of Morava and Macedonia and crushing the Serbian forces during the Battles of Morava, Ovche Pole and Kosovo, which led to famous Great Retreat of the remaining Serbian forces via Albania to the Mediterranean Sea. Serbia fell under complete Central Powers occupation and Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire finally had a direct land connection to Austria-Hungary and Germany. To catch the Central Powers off-guard, the Allied powers decided to pressure the Bulgarians from the south and began to to land at the port of Salonica in neutral Greece in October 1915, advancing up until the Vardar River. The Macedonian Front had been officially opened and would turn into an uneasy stalemate until the end of the war.

Since the beginning of the Bulgarian occupation of Serbia, the Bulgarian army had launched crimes against the civilian population, which was exposed to various measures of repression, including mass internment, forced labor, and Bulgarisation efforts. The use of the Serbian language was banned and books in the Serbian language were burned in Niš and Leskovac. Public executions of Serbians were common sights, most prominently the gruesome Surdulica massacre of 1916/17. Tensions escalated in early 1917, when Serbian Chetniks launched the Toplica Uprising against the Bulgarian occupation forces; the insurrection failed and more than 20,000 civilians were executed.

The course of the war in the Balkans changed drastically in the Allies' favor when Romania, motivated by the success of the Brusilov Offensive, declared war on the Central Powers in the summer of 1916, hoping to regain Transylvania and Bukovina. Simultaneously, an Allied offensive was launched in Macedonia, which ended in the forced retreat of the Bulgarians deep into Vardar Macedonia as far as Monastir. At least a Romanian invasion of Bulgaria proper could be averted after a successful battle at Turtucaia in early September; the success of the Bulgarian capture of most of Dobruja during the autumn enabled the Germans and Austrians to invade Romania via the Carpathians, subjugating most of the kingdom including the capital Bucharest by December. The next step towards the restoration of Bulgarian greatness was fulfilled, even though Dobruja was initially not put under Bulgarian control like Macedonia, but under joint Central Powers occupation; after the Treaty of Bucharest in early 1918, a condominium was established in Constanta which was only reluctantly awarded to the Bulgarians later that year.

Another problem for the Bulgarians proved to be Greece, which had officially remained neutral despite foreign nations occupying most of its Macedonian territories, but which officially joined the war on the side of the Allies in mid-1917 following the controversial Noemvriana of late 1916. Greek army units then joined the Entente forces at the Macedonian Front, further pressuring the Bulgarians at their soft underbelly. At this point, material conditions within Bulgaria deteriorated and the situation began to look dire. German forces and supplies were shifted away to other fronts and starvation became a major problem, morale was at an all-time low, further aggravated by disputes with the Austrians over the future border between Albania and Macedonia. The war had become immensely unpopular with the majority of the Bulgarian people, who suffered great economic hardship and also disliked fighting their fellow Orthodox South Slavic brethren in alliance with the Muslim Ottomans.

Still, in the end, the war proved to be worth the effort for the Bulgarians. When peace was signed in late 1919, Bulgaria was awarded handsomely with territories from Greece, Serbia and Romania. From the latter it gained Dobruja and from the former two the whole of Macedonia (already on 5 October 1918, the ten year anniversary of the Bulgarian declaration of independence, the eternal union of Bulgaria and Macedonia had been proclaimed) as well as the lands east of the Morava. The national catastrophe of 1913 had been avenged and Bulgaria finally stood victorious, having ostensibly achieved the regional hegemony it had strived for so long; but every victory comes at a cost.

Victory Malaise[]

Even though the war was finally over after over four years, Bulgaria arguably was in an even worse condition than in 1915. The country, overstretched, in debt and in the midst of a starvation crisis, was on the brink of collapse; any stronger Allied military blow would have left its army completely disintegrating. Additionally, throughout the war, Germany had treated Bulgaria as hardly more than a resource extraction site and constantly placed pressure on Radoslavov’s government for more economic concessions and control over the country’s military affairs, which only made the financial and economical situation worse, and the people’s resentment higher. Beneath the shell of splendor and supposedly achieved greatness, Bulgaria was a country thoroughly weary of war, exhausted, impoverished, and radicalized.

Regiments were on the verge of mutiny, trade unions and revolutionaries sought to repeat the events in Russia and France, and a constant insurgency was ongoing in the newly annexed areas, especially in the mountains of Macedonia and Nis, requiring a constant military presence and thus preventing Bulgaria from proper demobilization. Skirmishes, brawls, and sometimes entire shootouts were taking place in the nation’s streets - the fighting organization of the Narrow Socialists, the Red Guards, and the paramilitaries loyal to Aleksandar Stamboliyski’s (an agrarian populist politician imprisoned in 1915 for his anti-war efforts) agrarian movement, the Orange Guard, were duking it out against hastily organizing nationalist veteran paramilitaries and the returning forces of the Bulgarian army, sowing fear and terror.

Prime Minister Radoslavov, a favorite of Tsar Ferdinand and long-time leader of the Radoslavovist Liberal Party, manoeuvred himself and his party in a peculiar situation throughout the war; while cunning, Radoslavov was also corrupt and vain, deep in the pocket of the Germans and known for his dictatorial tendencies, as he loved to fashion himself as the new Stefan Stambolov, and his rule, though superficially democratic, was marked by violation of electoral procedure and suppression of political opponents in order to maintain Liberal dominance. Nonetheless, In the election of August 1919, held shortly after the signing of the armistice with the Allied powers, the Liberal Concentration (Radoslavov-led coalition of Radoslavovist Liberals, Stambolovist Liberals, and centrist Young Liberals) returned and rode the wave of patriotism following the end of the war – this, combined with the usual Radoslavovist electoral manipulation, granted them a plurality and allowed it to form a government again.

Radoslavov’s second government did not last long, however, as protesting the government’s refusal to fully demobilize, several Young Liberals and Turkish coalition members walked out, causing the fall of the coalition and forcing Radoslavov to resign. Furious, he forced a tighter grip over its remaining members and merged them into the National Liberal Party. In early 1920, the government, this time run by a fragile coalition of Radical Democrats, the People’s Party, Liberal defectors and minority deputies, fell once again, as the NLP controlled just enough seats to block the passing of a budget. Radoslavov was forced to leave the ship of state after almost 7 years at the helm; he was replaced by Teodor Ivan Teodorov, former Minister of Finance of the People's Party. New elections were called, in which the NLP once again obtained a plurality – this time however not enough to easily take control of the government, but also not weak enough to be ignored in the formation of the government. This theme would repeat for some time.

Between 1920 and 1925, governments would rise and fall, ripped at the seams by Radoslavov’s ambitions and the hatred of the rest of Bulgarian politicians towards him. Political parties were fragile, merging and dissolving at a whim – aside for the NLP, however, the prominent ones were the United People’s Progressive Party (a merger of the People’s Party and Progressive Liberals, two parties which claimed succession from the Bulgarian Conservatives of the 19th century), the Democratic Party (formerly an ally of Radoslavov slighted during the 1910s), and the Social Democratic Workers’ Party, or the Broad Socialists. The only government which lasted longer than a year ruled between 1923 and 1924 – led by the NLP, and in coalition with several factions of the former Bulgarian Agrarian National Union. The concession for this stability was Prime Minister Radoslavov’s amnesty for Aleksandar Stamboliyski. This did not give him complete freedom, of course – he was still eyed with suspicion – but it helped the Agrarians pull themselves out of their leadership rut in which they had been stuck for several years.

While Sofia was occupied with political squabbles, the rest of the country did not rest. Only in 1924 did the Bulgarian army finally fully demobilize, as up to that point thousands of soldiers had to be maintained in the western parts of the country to maintain order. Numerous issues needed to be resolved – the integration of the annexed territories, the government’s relations with the many minorities in the newly-gained territories, the postwar economic downturn, a debt crisis, growing German control of the country’s economy, its relations with Mitteleuropa and the rest of Europe, and others. Because of constantly changing governments, Bulgaria’s responses to all of these issues were inadequate or superficial. Economic growth was sluggish, industrial development lagged, the maintenance of annexed territories was a burden on the budget, and national debt grew ceaselessly. For many Bulgarians, the post-Weltkrieg years proved one thing – that the democratic government has failed them and a radical transformation of the country would be the only viable solution.

During the Weltkrieg, Bulgaria mobilized a total of 600 thousand men, a quarter of all adult males in the country, one of the largest percentages of any country in the war. Only a tiny fraction of this force remained in the army after demobilization – which meant that now there were hundreds of thousands of men with military training, many of them unemployed, and others forced to tighten their belts in an ailing economy. The organization which cared for them was the Military League, ostensibly an independent organization of active and reserve officers which attracted numerous veterans and active soldiers of the Bulgarian army – it even received the tacit support of Crown Prince Boris. Here, in the halls and offices of the League, open hatred for the unstable democratic government was being spoken of, and discussions began to take place of what should replace it (be it a restoration of royal power or something more revolutionary). Its founding leaders – Kimon Georgiev, Damyan Velchev and Nikola Rachev – ended up playing an important role in Bulgarian politics later on.

An organization which the Military League allied themselves with early on were the Ohrana, paramilitary vigilante units supporting the Bulgarian army in maintaining order, often with brutal measures. The Ohrana had arisen from the remnants of the IMRO, which had mostly lost its purpose after the liberation of Vardar Macedonia – however, the extensive structures of the organization and thousands of revolutionary veterans under it could not simply vanish into nothing. The main purpose of the Ohrana during the 20s was to combat Serbian partisans especially in the lands east of the Morava and Vardar Macedonia, but it also played a major role in the political power-plays in Sofia: due to the Ohrana's close alliance with the Military League, the civilian government was in constant fear of a possible army coup, which would only add to the instability, as parties would seek to draw army veterans to their side and push off prime ministers who were seen as too soft towards “the Chetnik threat” which the Ohrana proclaimed.

The Serbian Revolution and the Stamboliyski Affair[]

The Serbian Revolution of 1925, taking place immediately after its British counterpart, deeply affected Bulgaria. Bulgaria’s large Serbian minority, swayed by the democratic revolution in their home country, expressed themselves with supportive demonstrations, and the radical left element acting in Belgrade was stirring up their counterparts in Bulgaria as well. Trade unions in Sofia organized strikes and demonstrations in support of the revolutionary events, often coming into clash with the police and nationalist paramilitaries. The Bulgarian Prime Minister at the time, National Liberal Nikola Genadiev, held his hopes in Germany and Austria-Hungary, and their ability to maintain order in Serbia – when it became clear that neither of them were willing to intervene militarily and Austria was even willing to cooperate with the Republican government, it left a bad taste in the Bulgarian government’s mouth. A rift between Germany and Austria on one hand and Bulgaria on the other, which had already begun during the Weltkrieg, only grew wider as a result, and Bulgaria’s part in the greater European sphere became increasingly tenuous.

The Bulgarian local elections of early 1926 were held in the shadow of the Serbian revolution, mere months after King Aleksandar II’s assassination, and so were deeply affected by the events in Belgrade. The factions of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union, the Narrow Socialists and Broad Socialists made significant gains in the election, and they were now far more ideologically charged. Aleksandar Stamboliyski, having returned to politics as a councilor, expressed the mood of the era quite simply, if not very tactfully – “Serbians and Bulgarians are brothers, so should Bulgarians not follow the way of their brothers?” The republican sympathies of the Agrarians were very well known.

Understandably, the political establishment was left worried, and the small, conservative People’s Party, having lost their trust in the government’s ability to contain the situation, withdrew their support for the Genadiev cabinet, causing its fall. This is where, for the first time in the nation’s political history, Crown Prince Boris tossed his hat into the ring. The eldest son of Ferdinand, Boris was swiftly developing into a capable negotiator and administrator, and began to reach out to politicians and supporters in his father’s stead. He put forward the candidacy of Konstantin Georgiev, retired general and member of parliament from the Democratic Party. It was approved by Aleksandar Malinov, the leader of the Democratic Party, and the Military League who endorsed his candidacy.

Prime Minister Georgiev imposed martial law, passed the State Protection Act (Zakonŭt za zashtita na dŭrzhavata, ZZD) which gave the government authoritarian powers in cracking down on elements threatening public order, and put it to use in banning the Agrarians and Narrow Socialists. Aleksandar Stamboliyski was arrested again, this time for good, and so did hundreds of other peasant activists, communists, socialists and syndicalists. Georgiev’s regime did not last – by 1928, the authoritarian means being used to maintain order were seriously worrying liberal democratic politicians that the regime might try to stay forever, and Georgiev was forced to resign and call elections. However, the military and the radical right had felt the taste of authority, and from then on out, to appeal to the Georgiev regime and call for its restoration became an important talking point among their circles. The new government was formed by Atanas Burov of the United People’s Progressive Party, which rolled back the terror and the worst of the authoritarian measures, and restored somewhat normal democratic rule, but kept the State Protection Act in place – because of its presence, Bulgaria was no longer a full democracy, and it would take a long time for its democratic institutions to heal.

In 1927, the political circle “Zveno” was founded as the political branch of the Military Union and as a support base for Georgiev’s regime among the army and the veterans. Over time, under the leadership of Kimon Georgiev, Pencho Zlatev and Damyan Velchev, it developed an ideological foundation of its own – their primary interests were the “rationalization” of Bulgaria’s institutions, removing what they saw as an institutional rot within the government, and the maintenance of Greater Bulgaria. From 1928 onwards, however, they found themselves on the far end of the political spectrum, becoming increasingly alienated from civilian politics and thus growing disillusioned of the political situation. What concerned them was not just the ineffectual civilian government, but also growing radicalism on the left and the right.

The usual suspects from the former were the banned Narrow Socialist faction of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Workers’ Party, which openly sympathized with the Third International, and the left wing of the ever so prominent Agrarian movement, concentration in agrarian socialist associations and professional associations such as the Vlasovden movement. On the right, the threat came from former army officers and even more disillusioned veterans, who, faced by what they see as threats to “Bulgarianness”, pursued nothing short of Bulgarian supremacy in their Greater Bulgaria. The Bulgarian National Union “Kubrat” (Bŭlgarski naroden sŭyuzKubrat“) had been founded in 1913, and they were joined by the Bulgarian Homeland Defense Union (Sŭyuz „Bŭlgarska rodna zashtita“), created during the postwar period alongside many, many other far-right leagues. Some of the movements were pragmatic, and so closer to Zveno’s program of “political rationalization”, some were more esoteric, calling for the defense of a “Bulgarian spirit”, but the Bulgarian right shared several common characteristics, e.g. that Bulgaria is a nation for Bulgarians by blood, and that the ethnic groups populating its peripheries are likely to be traitors, and therefore any Bulgarian government should pursue faster and more determined Bulgarization. Adding to it was a belief that foreign entanglements are a threat to Bulgaria, that the Germans will only seek to exploit it and make it serve foreign capital – instead, they called for protectionism, corporatism, and overall state control over the economy to make it serve only Bulgarians.

1929 was marked by two notable events in Bulgarian politics. Prime Minister Burov formed the Second Liberal Concentration, a merger of the United People’s Progressive Party, the Radical Democratic Party, and the core faction of the Democratic Party, molding a union of the conservative and conservative-liberal forces in the country. It was also the death date of Vasil Radoslavov, the long term leader of the National Liberals. While Radoslavov was despised by many both at the top and in below, his death left a solemn remembrance of the past ten years of “Greater” Bulgaria, and how much potential had been squandered since then. On his deathbed, Radoslavov prophetically declared “Why didn’t God give me ten more years? Instead, he will give it to Bulgaria’s enemies...

Creditanstalt Crisis and the Crown Prince’s Party[]

New elections called in 1930 after the collapse of the Second Concentration-National Liberal government ushered in the Popular Bloc, a centre-to-centre-left alliance of the remnants of the Democratic Party and the Radical Democrats, the National Liberals, and moderate Agrarians (the “Sparrow 1” faction led by Vergil Dimov and Dimitar Gichev), assumed power. What they had to face, however, was the ensuing Creditanstalt Bankruptcy Crisis of 1931, rippling from Austria-Hungary and striking Bulgaria directly. Bulgaria had been slowly distancing itself from its former allies in Europe ever since the Weltkrieg, but the old economic ties had still remained due to the high amount of debt the Bulgarians had amassed during and after the war, and the sudden collapse of Austro-Hungarian banking, as well as exports, hit hard against Bulgaria’s still mainly agrarian economy. The Popular Bloc’s response was moderate protectionism, imposing tariffs on imports from Austria-Hungary and the Mitteleuropa to keep the local agricultural market afloat, and investment into diversification of production (which meant state-sponsored industrial development). The tariffs backfired, however, causing Bulgaria to be shunned from the greater European economic sphere and limiting its exports even further. The government fell in early 1933.

The opposition was not silent in that time, however, and Crown Prince Boris once again played his hand. His favor was with the Second Liberal Concentration, which, shunned from power, began to transform into what foreign observers described as “the Crown Prince’s Party” - a platform of the monarchy’s political allies which aimed to maintain the remnants of the authoritarian Georgiev regime’s laws such as the State Protection Act, and invest more power in the Bulgarian monarchy to cope with the nation’s malaise. After the election of 1933, however, while the Alliance achieved a plurality, the incomplete transformation of the party (many were hesitant to slip to authoritarianism again when their party was what stopped General Georgiev’s regime) and the need to placate the National Liberals meant that a compromise Prime Minister was pushed forth – Petko Staĭnov, jurist, professor and diplomat from the Second Liberal Concentration.

The Alliance maintained the policies of their predecessors and saw a slow recovery from the economic failure, although growth remained somewhat stagnant, while state control over the media, society and the military continued to rise. In 1935, much to public controversy, the State Protection Act was not only renewed by parliament again, but empowered, citing the growing rearmament of the Third Internationale as a reason to maintain Bulgaria’s security against the internal socialist threat. Since then, the Prime Minister, though initially easy to control, has grown hesitant to make the next step forward, however, and some begin to suspect he may be collaborating with the opposition or might even be Zveno-aligned.

From every side, worries have begun to rise over Bulgaria’s fate. The Zveno clique, having built its power across the 1930s, feels that they are finally in a strong enough position to strike and seize power, and all they need is the right signal. The opposition – the Liberal, Radical Democratic, National Liberal, moderate Agrarian, and Broad Socialist party leaders have gathered together into an informal alliance, the Committee of Five, which openly rings the alarm bell that Bulgaria is descending towards authoritarianism and places pressure to abolish the State Protection Act once and for all. In the underground, the alliance between socialists and left Agrarians continues, and while Stamboliyski is still imprisoned, the most die-hard of his supporters denounce the “Sparrow 1” moderate branch and call for a republican regime, while Bulgaria’s anarchists and Marxist-aligned Narrow Socialists await their chance to raise the banners of revolution. And finally, the radical right is consolidating – the Bulgarian Homeland Defense Union, merging with several other paramilitaries and youth associations, transformed itself into the radical nationalist and populist Union of Bulgarian National Legions, an extremist force terrifying for every single other party in Bulgaria’s political spectrum.

In 1936 Bulgaria - still shaken by massive political division, the threat of coup, and a sluggish economy - is completely unprepared for war but war will come and test the fate of greater Bulgaria once and for all.

Politics[]

The Tsar has significant political power, from naming generals to deciding which laws will be implemented.

Title Name Party Portrait
Tsar of Bulgaria Ferdinand I

(born 26 February 1861)

Unaffiliated
Prime Minister Petko Staĭnov

(born 31 May 1890)

Second Liberal Concentration
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Religious Denominations Georgi Kyoseivanov

(born 19 January 1884)

Minister of Finance Kiril Gounev (born 1887)
Minister of War

Minister for the Interior: Georgi Sapov

Minister of Justice: Dimitar Peshev

Minister of War: Hristo Lukov

Chief commander of Land Forces: Todor Georgiev

Chief commander of Naval Forces: Sava Ivanov

Chief commander of Air Forces: Vasil Boydev

Military[]

Army[]

The Bulgarian Army is very large, for a country of its size: it comprises 14 infantry divisions, 4 infantry divisions with artillery support, 1 tank division, 1 mountaineer division and two outdated cavalry divisions. However, even if numerous, only a few units are well-trained and fully equipped and the majority of the forces are in much worse conditions.

Navy and Air Force[]

The Bulgarian Aegean Sea Navy (Belomorska Flota) is relatively strong despite its old age. It consists of 1 armored cruiser, two battleships (Battlecruisers), two light cruisers, 8 destroyers, and 4 submarines. The Black Sea Navy (Chernomorska Flota) consists of 4 destroyers.

The Bulgarian Air Force is comprised of two tactical bomber squadrons and one Interceptor squadron.

Foreign Relations[]

Bulgaria's relations with its neighbors are generally poor due to its annexation of their territories following the Weltkrieg. Serbia and Greece maintain claims to their former lands in Macedonia, while Romania claims the coastal region of Dobrudzha. Relations with the Ottoman Empire, while not as fraught by irredentism, remain cool. Although Bulgaria is isolated in its own region, it maintains good relations with its former allies Germany and Austria-Hungary, as well as being a member of the Mitteleuropa bloc.

Culture[]

Bulgaria Linguistic Map V2

Map depicting an estimate of all the different ethnicities of the Tsardom of Bulgaria.

The country has a diverse linguistic and religious structure. The majority language is Bulgarian and Eastern Orthodoxy is the official religion, with smaller Muslim and Jewish minorities. The largest ethnicities after Bulgarians are Serbs, Pomaks, Romanians, Greeks and Albanians.

Bulgaria is the birthplace of the Cyrillic Script which would be adopted by a number of countries. It also has a rich history of folk music and a tradition of folk dancing based on asymmetric meter.

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