23 chapters
10 hour read
Selected Chapters
23 chapters
Coauthors Eugene K. Keefe Violeta D. Baluyut William Giloane Anne K. Long James M. Moore, Jr. Neda A. Walpole
Coauthors Eugene K. Keefe Violeta D. Baluyut William Giloane Anne K. Long James M. Moore, Jr. Neda A. Walpole
DA Pam 550-168 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Keefe, Eugene K. Area handbook for Bulgaria. "DA Pam 550-168." "One of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area Studies (FAS) of the American University." Bibliography: p. 301-316 Supt. of Docs. no.: D 101.22:550-168 1. Bulgaria. I. American University, Washington, D.C. Foreign Area Studies. II. Title. DR90.K4 914.977 03'3 74-600028 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washi
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FOREWORD
FOREWORD
This volume is one of a series of handbooks prepared by Foreign Area Studies (FAS) of The American University, designed to be useful to military and other personnel who need a convenient compilation of basic facts about the social, economic, political, and military institutions and practices of various countries. The emphasis is on objective description of the nation's present society and the kinds of possible or probable changes that might be expected in the future. The handbook seeks to presen
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PREFACE
PREFACE
Although many changes have swept across the Eastern European communist countries, Bulgaria through the years has remained a bastion of consistency. It is a loyal military ally of the Soviet Union as a member of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact), and its economy is inextricably linked to the Soviet Union through bilateral agreements as well as through membership in the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON). Of the six Eastern European members of the Warsaw Pact, Bulgaria sha
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COUNTRY SUMMARY
COUNTRY SUMMARY
1. COUNTRY: People's Republic of Bulgaria. Proclaimed by the communist party in the 1947 Constitution. Formerly, Kingdom of Bulgaria. 2. SIZE AND LOCATION: Area 42,800 square miles. Located in eastern part of Balkan Peninsula on Black Sea south of Danube River. Borders Romania, Yugoslavia, Greece, and Turkey. 3. TOPOGRAPHY: Mountains predominate in west and in ranges that run west to east across the central and southern regions. Lower and more level areas south of Danube River and between the mo
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SECTION I. SOCIAL CHAPTER 1
SECTION I. SOCIAL CHAPTER 1
In mid-1973 Bulgaria was under the complete control of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see Glossary) as it had been since the latter days of World War II. As that war came to a close, the Kingdom of Bulgaria was occupied by the Soviet army and was governed by a coalition under the communist-dominated Fatherland Front. By 1947 the monarchy had been deposed, a new constitution had been promulgated, and the country had become the People's Republic of Bulgaria under the BKP. Todor Zhivkov, who be
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CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 2
The history of Bulgaria is marked by four interrelated motifs or themes. The first motif is that of regional rivalry coupled with irredentism. The second is Bulgaria's strategic significance for the leading powers of Europe and the varying relationships with those powers. The third theme is Bulgaria's constant conflict between loyalty to, and alliances with, the East—particularly Russia and the Soviet Union—on the one hand and to the West—particularly Italy and Germany—on the other. The fourth m
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CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 3
Bulgaria occupies 42,800 square miles of the Balkan Peninsula, and its 1973 population was estimated at 8.7 million (see fig. 1). It is a member of the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact), together with five other Eastern European countries to its north and northwest and the Soviet Union. Bulgaria's location is such that its natural features are combinations of those found in the western Soviet Union and in southern Europe. Its climate is transitional between that of the Mediterranean count
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CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 4
In 1878 Bulgaria emerged from Turkish rule as a homogeneous, egalitarian peasant society centered in the family and the community. Through the introduction of foreign economic and social ideas and institutions, the society gradually changed during the period between the two world wars. At the time of World War II Bulgaria actually had two social systems: the traditional peasant society, changing but still focused on the family and the community, and a growing urban society that focused on the ec
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CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 5
After a period of austerity during which the population's needs were neglected in favor of rapid industrialization, the standard of living of Bulgarians began to improve in the early 1960s as more goods and services became available. The physical well-being of most of the population has been improving steadily since the end of World War II. Morbidity has declined noticeably, and declines in the overall death rate and in the infant mortality rate have resulted in increased life expectancy. Electr
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CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 6
The educational system in Bulgaria, as in the Balkans generally, began to develop in a real sense only in the nineteenth century, principally because Bulgaria had been under Turkish rule for 500 years. As education was of little concern to the Turks and an educated Bulgarian population would only represent a threat to their regime, the advancement of a formal educational system was either openly repressed or neglected by the Turks. As a result, the literacy rate in Bulgaria was one of the lowest
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CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 7
Bulgaria has a proud cultural heritage that dates to early medieval times. During the Golden Age (A.D. 893-927) of the first and second Bulgarian kingdom, Bulgarian arts and letters dominated the Slavic world. Exposed to the flourishing culture of neighboring Byzantium, Bulgarians absorbed its influence, adapted it to their own Slavic culture and language, and then spread it among the less advanced Slavic peoples in the Balkans and to the north. After the Turkish conquest in 1396, cultural devel
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SECTION II. POLITICAL CHAPTER 8
SECTION II. POLITICAL CHAPTER 8
The People's Republic of Bulgaria is a socialist state with a form of government not too different from the Soviet model on which it was patterned. Following the classical Marxist-Leninist ideology, it subscribes to rule by the working class—that is, dictatorship of the proletariat—a doctrine asserting that all power emanates from the people and is exercised by them through the electoral process. Corollary to this right of the people to elect national representatives is the power to recall them
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CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 9
In mid-1973 political affairs and the administration of the country remained completely in the hands of the ruling circle of the Bulgarian Communist Party (Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya—BKP, see Glossary), headed by First Secretary Todor Zhivkov. Political power was exercised by him and by the few select officials in the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, particularly those who were members of the Politburo and the Secretariat. The extent of such power was best described by
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CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 10
Throughout the communist era in Bulgaria, that is, since World War II, the foreign policy of the country has mirrored that of the Soviet Union. In addition to the close relationship resulting from bilateral agreements between the two countries, Bulgaria was also a charter member of both the Soviet-dominated Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON—see Glossary) and the Warsaw Treaty Organization (Warsaw Pact) military alliance. Bulgaria's loyalty to the Soviet Union throughout the period
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CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 11
Since the Communists took over the government in 1944, the mass communications systems have been perceived as instruments of propaganda and vehicles for party control. Because of this perception of the significance of the media, the new government immediately claimed all mass media as state property. There is little if any tolerance of the free expression of ideas throughout the entire mass communications system. Because Bulgaria is more closely tied to the Soviet Union than most of the other Ea
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SECTION III. ECONOMIC CHAPTER 12
SECTION III. ECONOMIC CHAPTER 12
Under comprehensive control of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see Glossary), the economy was severely strained in mid-1973 as the result of the dual task imposed upon it by the BKP leadership to increase productivity rapidly and substantially and to provide a growing volume of consumer goods and services under a newly announced program for raising the population's low standard of living. A first step in improving the living standard took the form of an upward adjustment in the lowest wage br
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CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 13
In the spring of 1973 the country's political and governmental leadership expressed serious concern about the uneven growth of agriculture over a period of several years. Although wheat production had progressed satisfactorily and reached a record level in 1972, and good results had also been obtained in the cultivation of tobacco and tomatoes—both of which are important export crops—the expansionary trend in fruit growing was reversed in 1968, and cattle raising had stagnated for at least a dec
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CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 14
In mid-1973 industry continued to expand, though at a significantly lower rate than in the mid-1960s. Industrial expansion was being increasingly restrained by the inadequacy of domestic raw material and skilled labor resources. Limits on an increase in imports of materials and essential machinery were placed by the insufficiency of foreign exchange reserve and by the need to reduce traditional exports of consumer goods in short supply on the domestic market. The Soviet Union continued to be the
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SECTION IV. NATIONAL SECURITY CHAPTER 15
SECTION IV. NATIONAL SECURITY CHAPTER 15
To maintain order and to retain control of the population, party and governmental authorities rely on a number of police and security organizations that are able to exert physical force and, also, upon a group of large social organizations that are able to apply social pressures. When individuals, in spite of the efforts of the law enforcement agencies and the social organizations, engage in antisocial or criminal behavior, the courts are charged with handing down appropriate sentences, and the
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CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 16
Bulgaria's regular military forces are organized within the Bulgarian People's Army (Bulgarska Narodna Armiya) and are subordinate in the governmental system to the Ministry of National Defense. Approximately 80 percent of the personnel are in the ground forces. Of the remaining 20 percent about three-quarters are in air and air defense units, and about one-quarter are naval forces. Although Bulgaria is possibly the most staunch and sympathetic of the Soviet Union's allies in Eastern Europe, the
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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ABC World Airways Guide , CDLV, May 1972, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, England: ABC Travel Guides. Anderson, Raymond H. "Bulgarians Like Zip in Wash Cycle," New York Times , May 21, 1973, 7. Apanasewicz, Nellie, and Rosen, Seymour M. Studies in Comparative Education. (OE-14115.) Washington: U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare, 1965. Baldwin, Godfrey (ed.). International Population Reports. (U.S. Department of Commerce, Series P-91, No. 18.) Washington: GPO, 1969. "Big Prospects for Educ
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GLOSSARY
GLOSSARY
BKP—Bulgarska Komunisticheska Partiya (Bulgarian Communist Party). Party dates its origins from the founding of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Party in 1891. Through many years of factional splits, coalitions, changes of designation, underground operations, and front organizations, the BKP finally emerged from World War II (with Soviet backing) as the only viable political force in the country. COMECON—Council for Mutual Economic Assistance. Economic alliance founded in 1949 to further cooperat
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