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A Philatelic Journey Through The History Of Bulgaria
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The First Kingdom (852-1018)
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The Bulgarian people are assumed to originate from the Siberian highlands around Altaj
and belong to the same population group as the Huns. Bulgarian tribes took part in
several migrations towards Europe between the 2nd and 6th century, assimilating other
population groups along the way. The word "Bulgarian" actually originates from a Turkish
verb which means "to mix".
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Attacking riders
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In 632 Khan Kubrat (†651) united several Bulgarian nomad tribes on the steppes north of
Caucasus between the Kuban river and the Asov Sea and the Black Sea. Kubrat put an
end to the Bulgarians nomad life with frequent raids against the Byzantine empire, and
founded a military alliance between the tribes. He negotiated a peace treaty with
Byzantium and created a state with an extension from Kuban in the east to the rivers of
Donets and Dnjepr in the west and the Black Sea in the south.
A legend tells that Kubrat on his deathbed made his sons bring him a bundle of twigs.
Kubrat asked his sons to try to break the bundle in two, but none of them were able to.
The old man then took the bundle apart and broke the twigs one by one. In this way,
Kubrat wanted to show his sons how the Bulgarian tribes had to stay united against their
enemies. Otherwise, these would defeat them one by one.
However, his sons did not follow his advice. After Kubrat's death the different tribes were
divided. In 680, his 5th son Asparukh led his tribe across the Donau and into Moesia. Next
year, he founded the first Bulgarian state in the Balkans in the Dobrudja area.
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Legend of
Kubrat
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The expansion of the new Bulgarian state was limited by the warrior tribes on the plains
to the north and by the Black Sea to the east, and thus had to go towards the north-west
and south-west. Khan Krum (†814) dedicated this life to this expansion. First, he invaded
the Avar kingdom to the north-west and incorporated Transylvania in Bulgaria. Then he
moved his attention to the south, and in 811 he took Sredets (Sofia) from the Byzantine
empire, followed by Nesebur on the Black Sea coast and Adrianople (Edirne) in Thrace.
The Byzantine emperor Nicephorus was in 811 killed in battle as the first of his stand in
500 years. In 813 Krum's army stood outside the walls of Constantinople. The Bulgarians
prepared the attack on the city for nearly one year, but due to Krum's sudden death in
April 814 the attack was never initiated. In addition to his conquests, Khan Krum is also
credited the making of the first written laws of Bulgaria.
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Khan Krum
(†814)
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In 852, Khan Boris I inherited the throne of one of the mightiest states in Europe at the
time. He is best known for introducing Christianity in Bulgaria in 864. This enabled a
peace treaty with the Christian Byzantium and easier acceptance from the other Christian
powers in Europe. More important, however, was Boris' achievement of merging the two
dominating ethnic groups in Bulgaria, the Christian slavs and the pagan Bulgarians, thus
increasing the nation's unity against the abundant foreign enemies.
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Christening
of Boris I
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After 37 years on the throne, Boris I in 889 voluntarily abdicated in favor of his son
Vladimir. When he tried to reintroduce paganism in Bulgaria, however, he was
overthrown by Boris himself in 893 and blinded. Boris' second son Simeon then took over
the throne (893-927). Simeon's constant warfare made Bulgaria the mightiest slavic state
in Europe, and he is often denoted in Bulgarian history as "Simeon the Great". He was a
well educated and ambitious man, and his leadership was dominated by two major goals:
First independence from Byzantine political and religious influence, then make Bulgaria a
mighty rival to the Byzantine empire itself. After several decades of victorious campaigns,
Simeon ruled over most of the Balkan peninsula. In 913 his army stood outside
Constantinople, and Simeon was given the blessing of the Patriarch and the title "Tsar of
Bulgaria". Simeon died in 927 during preparations to an attack on Constantinople itself.
Under the reign of Simeon also Bulgarian culture and litterature got an enormous uplift.
Simeon was himself educated in Constantinople, and was an advocate for Bulgarian
artwork and language during what is called "The Golden Era" in Bulgarian history.
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Crowning
of Simeon I
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After Simeon's death in 927 Bulgaria was gradually weakened due to inner discord and
religious disagreements, as well as constant warfare against the country's neighbors.
Gradually the warfare became more and more defensive, and in 1014 Tsar Samuil was
defeated by the Byzantine emperor Basil II in a terrible battle in Macedonia, after which
the emperor got the nickname "Basil the Bulgar Slayer". 4 years later the Bulgarian state
finally collapsed and was incorporated in the Byzantine empire.
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Tsar Simeon
the Great
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The Cyrillic alphabet
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There are few facts available about the making of the Cyrillic alphabet in the 9th century. Two monks
from Salonika, Cyril og Methodios, are generally acknowledged as the originators. It is assumed that
the new alphabet was developed after a request in 862 from Prince Rostislav in Moravia, who wanted a
separate Slavonic alphabet to stem the influence from the Franks and Germans. The new alphabet
enabled the use of Bulgarian language in both administration and liturgy, and in 893 a national council
adopted Bulgarian as official language in the Bulgarian state and church both.
St. Climent of Ohrid (†896), a disciple of Cyril and Methodios, established at the end of the 9th century a
Bulgarian school in Ohrid which included both theological and other subjects. During it's first 7 years
the school attracted more than 3000 students. St. Climent simplified the newly developed Slavonic
alphabet and gave it the name "Cyrillic" after his master. The university in Sofia is named after Climent
Ohridski, who is buried in the St. Climent monastery in Ohrid.
Another of Cyril's and Methodios' diciples, St. Naoum (†910) from Moravia, established a school in
Preslav which also taught Bulgarian with basis in the new slavic alphabet.
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St. Climent of Ohrid
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The holy brothers
Cyril (827-869) and
Methodios (825-885)
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School of St. Naoum
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The Second Kingdom (1185-1393)
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The two bojar brothers Petur and Asen in 1185 used the strongly fortificated area around
Tarnovo as basis for an uprising against the Byzantine rule. Soon most of Eastern
Bulgaria had joined the uprising, and Petur was proclaimed Tsar in Tarnovo. This "Second
Kingdom" was further stabilised and extended by Tsar Kaloyan, Petur and Asen's 3rd
brother. Kaloyan drove the Hungarians out of North-West Bulgaria and signed a peace
treaty with Byzantium in 1202. The crusaders took Constantinople in 1204, but were kept
out of Bulgaria after a great battle near Adrianople the following year. In 1207 Kaloyan had
recaptured most of Macedonia, but was killed during the siege of Salonika.
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Proclamation
of The 2nd
Kingdom in
1185
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Tsar Ivan Assen II brought the 2nd Kingdom to it's greatest strength and extension, more
due to his skilful diplomacy that his warrior skills. He removed the threat from the
Hungarians in the north by marrying the king's daughter, and married off his own
daughters to the neighbouring rulers. Further, he conquered the despot Theodor
Angelus Comnenus in Epirus in 1230 and made an alliance with the Greek against the
crusaders in Constantinople. In 1235 he also managed to make an agreement with Rome
which ensured the independence of the Bulgarian church.
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Ivan Assen II
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Bogomils (Friends of God), Greek-Orthodox sect which developed in Bulgaria in the 10th
century with strong national and social back-ground. The sect persisted to the 14th
century and spread to Byzantium, Serbia, Bosnia, Sicily, North Italy and France. The
Bogomil doctrine was dualistic: The material world and the humans within were created by
Satan, as opposed to the original spiritual world. The doctrine demanded strong
asceticism, rejected marriage, image worshipping and the Christian sacraments. The sect
was exposed to hard persecution, and was in 1211 condemned as heretical by a council
meeting in Tarnovo. The negative philosophy of the Bogomils contributed to the
population’s reduced fighting spirit in the continuous struggles with Bulgaria’s neighbour
states.
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Sentencing of
the Bogomil
Basil
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After the death of Ivan Assen II, however, the 2nd Kingdom declined both due to inner
strife and the lack of strong and skilled leaders. The country was finally conquered by the
Ottoman Turks in 1393. Eftimi was the last Bulgarian Patriarch in Tarnovo at the end of the
14th century. He had made a copy of holy hagiographies which emphasized Bulgarian
saints and martyrs. After Turnovo fell to the Turks in 1393 Eftimi was deported to a
monastery.
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Deportation
of Eftimi
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The Struggle for Independence
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During 500 years of Ottoman occupation, armed uprisings occured from time to time.
However, all of them were badly organised, small and lacked widespread coordinated
support from the population. Thus, all of them were quickly and brutally suppressed by
superior Ottoman forces.
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Velcho A.
Dzamdzijata
(1778-1835)
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Velcho Atanasov Dzamdzijata (1778-1835) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and freedom
fighter. He led an unsuccessful uprising in Tarnovo i 1835, and was hung by the Turks
after the uprising was suppressed.
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Georgi Rakovski (1821-67), Bulgarian revolutionary leader, writer, poet and journalist.
Rakovski was one of the leaders in the Bulgarian struggle for independence from the
Turks. 1861-62 he organised a Bulgarian legion in Belgrade, then travelled around
Europe to gain support for the Bulgarian case. His radical views were opposed by more
moderate groups in Bulgaria, but his poetry and his journalistic contributions were
important for gaining the support of the younger people in the struggle against the Turks.
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Georgi Rakovski
(1821-67)
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After Rakovski's Bulgarian legion in Belgrade was dissolved by the Serbs in
1862, he moved to Bucurest and started organising small armed groups of
revolutionary fighters; cheti. The idea was that these cheti should cause unrest
inside Bulgaria to motivate the population to fight the Ottoman rule. Hadzi
Dimitar (1837-68) and Stefan Karadza (1840-68) led their cheta into Bulgaria in
1868. With only 120 men they crossed Moesia and fought all the way to the
Balkan Range before they were surrounded by superior Ottoman forces. Rather
than surrender to the Turks, the group fought to the last man.
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Hadzi Dimitar
(1837-68)
Stefan Karadza
(1840-68)
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Vassil Levski (1837-73), Bulgarian revolutionary
leader, considered by many as the greatest
Bulgarian national hero of all times. He
participated in Rakovski's Bulgarian legion in
1862. From 1869 Levski led the organising of a
secret network of armed revolutionary
committees inside Bulgaria. At the height of his
work, however, he was captured by the Turks in
1873 and hung in Sofia.
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Vassil Levski
(1837-73)
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Georgi Benkovski (1844-76), Bulgarian
revolutionary leader. He continued
Levski's work of establishing Bulgarian
revolutionary committees, and organised
the country in four "revolutionary
districts"; Tarnovo, Vratsa, Sliven and
Plovdiv. Benkovski is considered as the
leader of the April Uprising in 1876. He died
in battle with the Turks in Plovdiv.
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Georgi
Benkovski
(1844-76)
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Khristo Botev (1848-76), Bulgarian writer and freedom fighter, educated in Russia. Botev
was a member of the Bulgarian liberation committee in Bessarabia and worked as
journalist in Braila. His collected patriotic poems was published in Bucurest in 1875, and
had major political impact. He also wrote sad lyric love poems. During the April Uprising in
1876 Botev hijacked an Austrian steam boat and crossed the Danube with his "cheta" of
200 Bulgarian immigrants from Romania. The group fought approximately 20 km
southwards inside Bulgaria before they were surrounded and neutralized by Ottoman
forces in June 1876. Botev is honoured as Bulgaria's national poet.
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Khristo Botev
(1848-76)
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Ljuben Karavelov (1834-79), Bulgarian
writer. Lived most of his life abroad,
both in Moscow and Bucurest, but
dedicated his life and poetry to the
struggle for liberation of Bulgaria.
Karavelov was the only one of the
revolutionary leaders who lived to see
an independent Bulgaria.
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Ljuben Karavelov
(1834-79)
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Tsar Alexander 2 of Russia (1818-81) is honoured in Bulgaria as "The Liberator". The
Russian-Turkish war 1877-78 is reckoned as the direct cause for Bulgaria's autonomy in
1878, although the real reason for the war probably could be found in Russia's political
interests in Balkan. Russia wanted to take over all the Ottoman possessions in Balkan,
either directly or through formally independent vassal states under Russian control. This
was in direct opposition to the western power's interests in the same area, and Russia
used the Turkish brutality during the April uprising to declare war on the Ottoman Empire
without interference from the western powers. Approximately 200,000 Russians fell during
this war.
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Tsar Alexander 2
of Russia
(1818-81)
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The April Uprising 1876
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The April Uprising 1876 was a partly coordinated armed uprising in several Bulgarian regions. After
several days of hard fighting, however, the uprising was suppressed by the Ottoman forces with a
brutality thus far unsurpassed in European history. Entire villages were massacred to the last man,
whether they had been active in the uprising or not. Approximately 29000 Bulgarians are assumed to
have been killed. The Turkish brutality turned the European opinion in favor of Bulgarian
independence. During the autumn and winter of 1876, the great powers tried to gain independence for
Bulgarian areas through negotiations with the Ottoman empire, but the suggestions from the great
powers were dismissed by the Turks. Finally, the attempts to find a diplomatic solution were given up,
and in April 1877 Russia declared war on Turkey.
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Cannons of cherry tree, used by the revolutionaries during
the April uprising 1876
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The Battle of the Shipka Pass
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The battle of the Shipka Pass in August 1877 was vital for the outcome of the Russian-Turkish war, and
thus the liberation of Bulgaria. The Russian supreme command had highly underestimated the strength
and endurance of the Ottoman forces. At the Shipka Pass, however, Bulgarian volunteer forces held
Ottoman forces superior in both numbers and equipment long enough for the Russians to bring
sufficient reinforcements.
The Shipka monument and the battle of the Shipka Pass is counted as one of the foremost symbols of
the liberation war in 1877-78. The victory against the Turks in this war was the direct reason for the
Bulgarian independence in 1878.
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Shipka Monument
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The Principality of Bulgaria
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After the Russian-Turkish war 1877-78, the Principality of Bulgaria under Turkey was
established at the peace treaty of San Stefano March 3 1878. The principality included
most of Thrace and Macedonia. However, the western powers were worried about the
existence of a strong Bulgarian state under Russian influence, and at the following Berlin
Congress in June 1878 the new state was split in three. The principality was limited to the
area between Donau and the Balkan Range (including Sofia), Eastern Roumelia became
an autonomous province with a Christian governor chosen by the sultan, while
Macedonia and Thrace was returned to Turkey. The German prince Alexander of
Battenberg was elected Prince of Bulgaria in April 1879.
The principality of Bulgaria issued their first stamps May 1 1879. These stamps were
printed in Russia and are the only Bulgarian stamps with values in francs and santimes.
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Bulgaria
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Bulgaria 1878
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The first decades of Bulgaria's political independence was dominated by the major task of uniting
Bulgarian lands which in some form or other had remained under Turkish rule. In September 1885
voluntary forces and army units in Eastern Roumelia overthrew the Turkish supported government and
declared the province as a part of Bulgaria. Prince Alexander and the Bulgarian government accepted
the reunion against the great powers' wishes from the Berlin Congress.
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Bulgarian
occupation
of Eastern
Roumelia
1885
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Eastern
Roumelia
1881
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Russia's government with Tsar Alexander 3 feared that Bulgaria might move away from their sphere of
interest. In the spring of 1886 Russia started an international campaign to dethrone prince Alexander
and his political supporters. Bulgaria gradually became more and more internationally isolated, which
increased also the internal political tension and polarisation. In August 1886 a group of officers made a
coup d'état, arrested the prince and had him sent to Russia. The President of the Parliament, Stefan
Stambulov, succeeded in a counter-coup to bring Alexander back to Sofia, but without international
support he was forced to abdicate shortly after. Prince Alexander died in 1893 at the age of 36.
The search for a new Prince of Bulgaria caused new political crises both internally and internationally.
Then, in July 1887, the Bulgarian parliament chose the German prince Ferdinand of Sachsen-Coburg as
new Prince without waiting for the great powers' approval. Simultaneously, a new government was
established with Stambulov as Prime Minister. Stambulov crushed political opposition and pro-Russian
elements in the army with an iron fist, and secured Ferdinand's position as Prince of Bulgaria.
Gradually, this caused both the national and international crises to abate.
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Prince Ferdinand I 1901
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25 year anniversary as regent 1912
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30 year anniversary as regent 1918
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Ferdinand I (1861-1948) belonged to the house of Sachsen-Coburg, and was chosen as Prince of
Bulgaria in 1887. He proclaimed himself as independent king (tsar) in 1908 and abolished the vassalage
to Turkey. When Bulgaria during the Balkan wars 1912-13 did not succeed in reclaiming Macedonia, he
joined the central powers in World War I. After the defeat in September 1918 he was forced to abdicate
in favour of his son Boris, and moved to Germany where he stayed the rest of his life.
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Tsar Alexander 3 of Russia died in November 1894. His
successor Nicholas 2 was more friendly minded towards the
Bulgarians, and the work of normalising the relationship
between Russia and Bulgaria started. To officially
acknowledge Ferdinand as Prince of Bulgaria, however, the
Russians demanded that his son and successor Boris
should convert to the orthodox church. Ferdinand
accepted this, and Boris got his orthodox baptism February
14 1896 with Tsar Nicholas himself as Godfather.
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Successor Boris’
conversion to the
orthodox church
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Internal crises in Turkey in 1908 led to the revolution of the Young Turks. Bulgaria and prince
Ferdinand used the turbulence after the dethroning of the sultan to declare the country as
independent kingdom October 5 1908. Simultaneously, Austria-Hungary annexed Bosnia and
Hercegovina October 6.
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International Crises
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The Balkan Wars 1912-13
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The Balkan wars, two armed conflicts which caused increased tension on Balkan shortly
before the outbreak of World War I. In the first Balkan war the new Balkan alliance
(Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece) declared war on Turkey and conquered nearly
all of the Ottoman areas in Europe. The peace treaty was signed in London May 30 1913.
The new alliance partners, however, did not manage to agree on how to divide the
gained areas. The second Balkan war in 1913 was a conflict between Serbia, Greece and
Romania on one side, and Bulgaria on the other about the division of the conquest.
Bulgaria lost the war, and had to give up most of Macedonia to it's allies from the first
Balkan wars, while Romania secured Southern Dobrudja. Turkey used the conflict as an
opportunity to terminate the London peace treaty and regained Thrace. A new peace
treaty was signed in Bucurest August 10 1913.
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The end of the
Balkan wars
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Bulgaria in World War I
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The disappointment over the peace treaty after the Balkan wars, caused Bulgaria to enter
World War I on the side of the Central Powers. After staying neutral during the first year
of the war, the country attacked Serbia in the autumn of 1915. The Serbian army was
defeated in a few days, and the Bulgarians advanced through Macedonia towards
Salonika which was the Entente bridgehead on Balkan. However, the German supreme
command wanted to maintain a front on Balkan to bind Entente troops otherwise available
against the Germans on the west front. The Bulgarian advance was thus stopped, and a
front line extending from Albania to Thrace was established.
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Liberation of
Macedonia:
Ohrid
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In the autumn of 1916 Romania entered the war on the side of the
Entente. The Bulgarian supreme command only had one army group left
to engage against the Romanians. However, these forces considered
the fighting as a war of liberation for their people in Dobrudja,
occupied by Romania only three years before. Both the Romanian army
and several Russian supporting divisions were beaten in only two
months. Early December the Bulgarian forces supported by German
units advanced into Bucurest, the capital of Romania.
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Occupation
of Romania
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A long-lasting embargo from the entente side caused suffering and social unrest in Bulgaria. In
September 1918 several Bulgarian divisions in Macedonia deserted and marched towards Sofia.
However, the fatigued and poorly organised rebels did not succeed in breaking through the loyal
defence forces surrounding the capital, supported by German troops, and the rebellion was put down
October 2.
In the meantime, however, the government had asked for a cease-fire with the Entente. The truce was
signed September 29 in Salonika, demanding full retreat of all Bulgarian forces and occupation of
strategically vital areas by Entente troops. Later, in the peace treaty of Neuille November 1919 Bulgaria
lost further territories to it's neighbors, including Thrace and the access to the Aegean Sea.
Having led the country into two national disasters since 1913, King Ferdinand was forced to abdicate
October 3 1918. His son ascended the throne as Boris 3.
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King Boris 1918
Issued for the 20th anniversary as regent
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King Boris 1921
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King Boris 1937
19 year anniversary as regent
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Boris 3 (1894-1943) ascended the Bulgarian throne after his father Ferdinand was forced to abdicate in
October 1918. After the army and conservative elements made a coup d'état in 1923, he gradually
reigned more and more autocratic. When the parliament was dissolved in 1934 Boris reigned absolute.
After strong German pressure he joined the Axis Powers in 1941, but avoided conflict with the Soviet
Union due to the traditional strong friendship between Bulgarians and Russians. Boris died under
mysterious circumstances in August 1943.
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The Inter-War Period
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The situation in Bulgaria after the war was very difficult. The country had lost large
territories and had to pay large war reparations . The society was marked by a feeling of
defeat and lack of faith in the future. The population had lost faith in the traditional
political institutions; the monarchy, the bourgeois parties, the parliament and the
government. In the National Assembly elections in 1920 the radical agrarian party under
the leadership of Aleksander Stambolijski won, followed by the Bulgarian communist
party. Stambolijski formed a one-party government and introduced comprehensive
democratic reforms, in particular with respect to the distribution of farmlands.
Stambolijski was overthrown by the army and conservative elements June 9 1923 and
later murdered.
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Charity
issues for
Prisoners of
War
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Aleksander Stambolijski (1879-1923), Bulgarian politician, from 1902 one of
the leaders for the agrarian party. He opposed King Ferdinand's pro-German
politics, and was in 1915 given life-sentence in prison. After the defeat in
1918, however, he was released, and joined in organising a military coup
d'état to force Ferdinand to abdicate. From 1919 he was the ideological
leader of the radical wing of the agrarian movement, and was prime minister
1919-23, when he was murdered after Tsankov's coup. As prime minister
Stambolijski ruled nearly autocratic, and introduced a comprehensive
farmland distribution reform in favour of Bulgarian peasants.
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Aleksander
Stambolijski
(1879-1923)
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After the coup in June 1923 the new government started
persecution of the followers of the agrarian and communist parties
both. A communist revolt in September 1923 was revealed at the
last moment, and resulted in mass arrests and brutal reprisals. The
communist party continued it's armed struggle against the
government, however, and several turbulent year followed with
political murders, assassinations and suppression.
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Bulgarian Lion
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April 16 1925 Bulgarias government and entire military leadership was gathered in the
Sveta Nedelya cathedral in Sofia for a state funeral. The military fraction of the Bulgarian
communist party had planted a bomb in the roof of the cathedral to finish off the entire
political leadership in one single blow. Approximately 120 people were killed in the
explosion, but amazingly no prominent figures were among the dead. The bombing was
used by the government as the final excuse to clear away all opposition. Martial law was
declared, and thousands of left wing activists were detained or killed without any trials.
The persecution affected not only followers of the communist and the agrarian parties,
but also intellectuals, writers, poets and journalists.
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St. Nedelya
cathedral in
Sofia after the
bombing April
16, 1925
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After several years of terror and political suppression
followed after 1925 a period of relative stability. The growth in
the world economy caused prosperity and growth also in the
Bulgarian economy. The industry was renovated, the power
production increased and the agriculture modernised. This
positive development dampened the social and political
conflicts in the country, and the tense atmosphere gradually
became more relaxed.
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Bulgarian lion and
postal coat-of-arms
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During the 20's the foreign policy of Bulgaria followed a strategy of changing the harsh conditions of
the Neuilly treaty through peaceful political means. This was to be achieved through the League of
Nations with Italy as support. As a symbol of the relationship between Bulgaria and Italy, King Boris
married the Italian Princess Giovanna in 1930. They got two children, princess Marie Louise and crown
prince Simeon. Politically, however, the relationship to Italy did not give any of the desired results.
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Princess Marie Louise's
4th birthday 1937
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King Boris and Queen
Giovanna 1930
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Crown Prince Simeon's
1st birthday 1938
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In the 30's the democratic system in Bulgaria fell into deep crisis. The
traditional bourgeois parties lost their support among the population due to
their incompetent leaders, widespread corruption and internal fighting for
power. This enabled the growth of "alternative" ideologies, like the belief that
a totalitarian rule was better suited to solve Bulgaria's problems than an
ineffective democracy. May 19 1934 the ideological organisation "Zveno" (link)
orchestrated a coup d'état with military support. The Constitution was
suspended, the Parliament dissolved and all political parties were banned.
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5th Balkan football
championship 1935
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In the mean time, however, King Boris had built himself a strong position
as the only savior of the nation in this difficult period. Supported by loyal
military forces, he forced the Zveno Prime Minister to resign in January
1935. The following years Boris ruled autocratic.
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King Boris 1938
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Bulgaria in World War II
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The bitter experiences from World War I caused King Boris to immediately declare
Bulgaria as neutral at the outbreak of World War II. However, there was no lack of offers
from a number of potential allies. The Soviet Union, for one thing, suggested in October
1939 a Soviet-Bulgarian pact of mutual assistance. In return, Soviet would support
Bulgarian territorial demands in the Dobrudja region. This was rejected by Boris as were
other similar offers. Boris once despairingly remarked: "My army is pro-German, my wife is
Italian, my people are pro-Russian. I alone am pro-Bulgarian."
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King Boris 1941
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After the German occupation of Scandinavia and France in the autumn
of 1940, Stalin demanded "compensations" in the east. This was carried
out at the expense of Romania, which after Soviet pressure had to
cede Northern Bukovina and Bessarabia to the Soviet Union, later also
North Transylvania to Hungary as well as returning Southern Dobrudja
to Bulgaria.
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Annexation of
Southern
Dobrudja 1940
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With German armies at the border, Bulgaria was March 1 1941 forced to join the Axis
Powers to avoid a direct invasion. This was generally accepted by the population, mostly
because Germany in 1939 had signed a pact of non-aggression with the Soviet Union,
which by most Bulgarian still was identified with the Russia which liberated their country
in 1878.
Thus, Germany could attack Yugoslavia and Greece in April 1941 by sending troops over
Bulgarian territory. Within one month the whole Balkan peninsula was occupied, and the
region was divided between the Axis Powers and their allies. Bulgaria got back the lands
lost in 1918; Western Thrace and Macedonia.
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Annexation
of
Macedonia
1941
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Balkan during World War II
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Bulgaria with King Boris in the lead managed as the only country among the Axis Powers
to avoid that one single soldier was sent out of the Balkans to fight for Germany on
other fronts. Especially important for Bulgaria was to avoid military confrontation with
the Soviet Union on the eastern front. Boris agreed, however, to fight partisans in
Yugoslavia. At the end of 1941, Bulgaria was forced also to declare "token" war on USA
and Great Britain.
The Bulgarian government opposed the German persecution of jews. Bulgaria's 50,000
jews survived the war, although deported to internal labour camps in Bulgaria.
As the war turned in favour of the Allied, especially with the advance of the Soviet
troops on the eastern front, the Bulgarian communist party started guerilla warfare
against the monarchy and its German allies. In the middle of 1942 the "Fatherland Front"
was formed after a communist initiative to join "all democratic organisations" in the
fight against the pro-German government.
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"Leave-taking"
Issue for
disabled
soldiers 1942
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August 15 1943 King Boris returned exhausted and
depressed after a visit with Hitler. Rumours tell that Boris
and Hitler had had a terrible row over Bulgaria's lack of
engagement on the eastern front, but this is not confirmed
by any official sources. Neither is there found proof of any
conspiracy against the king, but his condition soon
deteriorated. Boris died August 28 at the age of 49. The
leadership of the country was taken over by a regency on
behalf of the minor King Simeon II.
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King Boris
memorial issue
1944
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In 1944 the Soviet army was approaching Balkan and the pressure on Bulgaria
increased. August 23 Romania left the facist block and declared war on Germany. Then
the situation developed fast. After first having declared Bulgaria as neutral August 17,
the government August 25 demanded that all German troops had to leave Bulgaria.
The Soviets, however, was not to be placated. September 5 the Bulgarian government
terminated all diplomatic connections with Germany, and two days later declared war
on Germany. The Soviet Union, however, had then already declared war on Bulgaria
September 5, and the Soviet army invaded the country Sept. 8. The Bulgarian army was
ordered not to offer resistance against the invading forces.
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Red Cross
issue 1946
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September 9 1944 the Fatherland Front made a coup d'état and
deposed the pro-German government. Already the following day the
new government declared war on Germany and all its allies. Soon
after, Bulgarian forces started a major offensive against
Yugoslavia. During a month the Bulgarian army had liberated most
of Macedonia and southern and eastern Serbia, and continued its
offensive towards Hungary. In April 1945 the Bulgarian forces
reached Klagenfurt in Austria, where they met British troops on the
very same day as Nazi-Germany capitulated.
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1st anniversary of
Bulgaria's liberation
Sept. 9, 1944
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Even though Bulgaria in the last stages of the
war made a considerable contribution on allied
side, the peace treaty in Paris in 1946 deprived
Bulgaria of all the occupied territories. The
annexation of Southern Dobrudja, however,
was maintained.
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Cease-fire May 9 1945
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After the assumption of power in September 1944, the communists dominated
through the Fatherland Front most public bodies in Bulgaria, including the army and
the media. Local Fatherland Front committees immediately started persecution of
representatives of the old system; policemen, teachers and priests. Former
members of the government and the parliament was sentenced to death and
executed. "People's tribunals" convicted more "traitors" and "war criminals" pro
capita than any other Eastern European country after the war, even though Bulgaria
never really had been occupied. Communist intrigues split what was left of political
opposition, and in September 1946 the monarchy was formally abolished after a
referendum, and Bulgaria was declared "People's Republic."
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Declaration of the
People's Republic
of Bulgaria 1946
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Famous Bulgarians
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Cernorizec Hrabri, monk, Bulgarian
middle age writer from the 9th-10th
century. Member of a literary circle in
Preslav that translated texts by
Byzantine theologians to Bulgarian.
Some historians belive Hrabri was a
pseudonym for none other than Tsar
Simeon the Great himself (864-927).
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Cernorizec
Hrabri monk
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Father Paisi, monk from Hilendar monastery on Athos mountain. Paisi was born in
Bansko in 1722 and came to Hilendar in 1745. As a monk he travelled a lot on official
business for the monastery, and achieved good insight in the living conditions of
ordinary people in the Bulgarian. In the 1760's he combined this insight with the
history of former Bulgarian days of glory to write the very popular history work 'A
Slavonic-Bulgarian History of Peoples, Tsars, Saints, and of all their Deeds and of the
Bulgarian Way of Life.'
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Father Paisi (1722)
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Sofroni Vrachenski (1729-1815),
archbishop in Kotel. The first printed book
to be published in Bulgarian is generally
agreed to be Vrachenski's collection of
sermons, Nedelnik (Bucurest 1806). In
1765 he met Father Paisi, and was so
impressed by his History that he had it
copied and placed in his own church.
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Archbishop Sofroni
Vrachenski
(1729-1815)
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The first printed version of Father Paisi's
famous work of history was published
anonymously in Budapest in 1844. Marin
Drinov (1838-1906), Bulgaria's first
modern professional historian, was the
first to formally identify Paisi as the
author in 1871.
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Marin S. Drinov
(1838-1906) historian
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Konstantin Miladinov (1830-62) collected Bulgarian folk songs
together with his brother Dimiter (1810-62). The work of collecting
was primarily done by Dimiter in 1854-60, while Konstantin got the
folk songs published in Zagreb in 1861. Intrigues by the greek
priesthood, however, caused Dimiter to be imprisoned by the Turks.
Konstantin was also thrown in jail, where they both lost their lives.
Their work ’Bulgarian folk songs’ has had great importance for the
development of the Bulgarian national feeling.
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Konstantin
Miladinov
(1830-62)
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Ivan Vazov (1850-1921), Bulgarian writer. In 1874 he joined the struggle for his
country's liberation, and had to flee after the unsuccessful April uprising in 1876. He
serviced in the Russian army in the Russian-Turkish war 1877-78 and returned
together with the Russian liberators in 1878. Under Stambulov's dictatorship he lived
in exile in Odessa 1887-89. In a number of collections of poems from the 1870's and
onwards he praises his country's nature and country life, and describes the people's
suffering under the Turkish yoke and their thirst for liberty. From the 1880's Vazov also
turned towards the prose and wrote a number of realisic stories from country life and
liberation war. His main work, which earned him European fame, is the novel 'Under
the yoke' (1888), which portrays the tragic uprising against the Turks in 1876. Vazov is
honoured as Bulgaria's national writer, and has had large influence on the literary
development of the coutry.
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Ivan Vazov
(1850-1921)
writer
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Petko Slavejkov (1827-95), Bulgarian writer who collected and
published a vast material of Bulgarian popular poetry. The best
of his lyrics and his epic poems are related to the popular
poetry, and is strongly marked by his patriotism. Slavejkov was
the first prominent Bulgarian lyric poet in modern times, and
has had large influence on the development of the Bulgarian
literary language.
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Petko R. Slavejkov
(1827-95) writer
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Rila Monastery
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The holy Ivan Rilski (876-946), Bulgaria's National Saint, is believed to be the founder of the Rila
Monastery. The monastery is built near the place where Rilski lived as a hermit in the 10th century. The
monastery fell into decline after the Ottoman occupation, but received an enormous boost in 1469
when the remains of Rilski were brought back from Tarnovo. After a disastrous fire in 1833 the
monastery was rebuilt with guild funds. The many historical and architectural monuments in Rila
Monastery include the Hrelyo tower from 1335, the five-domed Birth of the Blessed Virgin Church and
the original monastery kitchens from the 19th century. Rila Monastery is included in the UNESCO List of
World Heritage.
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Rila Monastery
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Rila Monastery
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St. Ivan Rilski (876-946)
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