Bulgaria

by R.J. Crampton

Overview

Tracing the evolution of the Bulgarian state and its people, from the beginning of the Bulgarian national revival in the middle of the nineteenth century to the entry of the country into the European Union, Richard Crampton examines key political, social, and economic developments, revealing the history of a country which evolved from a backward and troublesome Balkan state to become a modern European nation. The formation of the first modern Bulgarian state in 1878 played a major role in Bulgaria's evolution, determining its stance in the two World Wars. Seeing the collapse as well as the establishment and evolution of communist rule, Bulgaria survived an often painful journey from monolithic authoritarianism to representative democracy and the market system. This book follows this journey, and analyses the development of Bulgaria's political culture, examining the emergence of radical movements, both agrarian and socialist, as well as looking at the role of religion and the position of minorities. Crampton highlights the problems and dilemmas created by the country's position situated between east and west, problems which might not be entirely solved by the country's admission to the EU.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780191513312
Publisher:	OUP Oxford
Publication date:	02/01/2007
Series:	Oxford History of Modern Europe
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	1 MB

Table of Contents

Preface     vii
Acknowledgements     x
List of Maps     xviii
List of Tables     xix
Abbreviations     xx
Transliteration scheme     xxii
Prologue     1
Origins     6
Bulgaria and the Bulgarians     6
Bulgaria before the Ottoman conquest     11
The Bulgarians under Ottoman Rule     18
The Bulgarian National Renaissance, I. Introduction     23
The pre-renaissance     25
The kurdjaliistvo     32
Population movements     35
The Bulgarian National Renaissance, II. The Cultural Revival and the Creation of the Modern Bulgarian State     41
The Tanzimat and the modernization of the Ottoman system     41
The education movement     49
Language and the press     55
The campaign for a Bulgarian Church     63
The revolutionary and political movements     81
The Turnovo Constitution and the Reign of Prince Alexander, 1878-1886     96
The Turnovo constitution and political instability, 1879-1881     96
Prince Alexander's attempted authoritarian rule, 1881-1883     107
The restoration of the Turnovo constitution and the rule of the liberals,1883-1885     113
The national question, and the unification of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, 1878-1885     116
War with Serbia and the deposition of Prince Alexander, 1885-1886     123
The election of Prince Ferdinand     128
Stefan Stambolov, Prince Ferdinand, and the Quest for Recognition, 1887-1896     133
Stambolov ascendant, 1887-1890     134
The decline and fall of Stambolov, 1890-1894     138
The recognition of Prince Ferdinand, 1894-1896     143
Parties, partizantsvo, and the political system     146
Prince Ferdinand's Personal Rule, 1896-1912     150
The Macedonian question, 1894-1898     150
The ORC fiasco, 1894-1899     153
The agrarian crisis and the birth of BANU, 1899-1901     157
Money and Macedonia, 1900-1903     162
The Ilinden rising and the second stambolovist government, 1903-1908     166
The government of Malinov and the declaration of independence, 1907-1911     174
The growth of political radicalism     179
Bulgaria at War, 1912-1918     190
Constitutional change and the formation of the Balkan league     190
The first Balkan war     196
The second Balkan war: the first 'national catastrophe'      198
From Balkan to European war     204
Bulgaria and the first world war: the commitment to the central powers     206
Bulgaria in the first world war: the second 'national catastrophe'     210
Between Two Wars, 1919-1941     220
The treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine     221
The agrarians versus the communists, 1919-1920     222
BANU in power, 1920-1923     224
The tsankovist terror, 1923-1926     236
The government of the Democratic Alliance, 1926-1931     239
The People's Bloc and the great depression, 1931-1934     240
The zvenari government, 19 May 1934-January 1935     245
The personal regime of King Boris, 1935-1941     248
Bulgaria and the Second World War, 1941-1944     258
The occupied territories     258
Domestic politics during the war     262
Bulgaria's military participation in the war     267
The regency and the end of the 'symbolic' war     270
Internal opposition: the Fatherland Front, and the partisan movement     274
Bulgaria's exit from the war     277
Social and Economic Factors, 1878-1944     282
Demography     282
Stability and change     284
The persistence and dominance of the small peasant proprietor     287
Standards of living in rural areas     289
Agricultural backwardness     291
Urban growth     295
Industrial development     298
The state and industry     301
Public health     305
The position of women in Bulgarian society     305
The Communist Acquisition of Power, 1944-1948     308
The first purges, September 1944-May 1945     308
The communists versus the agrarians, May-November 1945     312
The communist offensive, December 1945-October 1946     314
The communists embattled, October 1946-February 1947     316
The peace treaty and the elimination of Petkov, February-September 1947     321
The communists assume total control, September-December 1947     323
The Communists in Power, I. The Rule of Terror, the Reign of Vulko Chervenkov, and the Rise of Todor Zhivkov, 1948-1965     327
The transformation of the social and economic order     327
The terror and the stalinist purges     333
Vulko Chervenkov and the sovietization of Bulgaria, 1949-1953     340
The 'new course' in Bulgaria, 1953-1956     343
The April plenum 1956     345
Zhivkov versus Yugov, 1956-1962      347
The Communists in Power, II. The Rule of Todor Zhivkov, 1965-1989     352
Todor Zhivkov     352
Building socialism     354
'Mature' or 'real existing socialism' in Bulgaria     356
Zhivkov ascendant, 1965-1975     358
Zhivkov's external policies     363
The amazing career of Lyudmila Zhivkova     367
The decline of communist power; the collapse of the economic strategy     370
The decline of communist power: the 'regenerative process'     375
The decline of party authority, 1975-1985     379
The collapse of the Zhivkov regime, 1985-1989     381
Post-Communist Bulgaria, 1989-2005     389
Devising a new constitution, December 1989-July 1991     389
Treading water, October 1991-January 1995     395
The BSP government, January 1995-April 1997     400
The Kostov government and movement towards the EU and NATO, April 1997-June 2001     407
Government by 'the king' and entry into NATO and the EU, June 2001-June 2005     415
Postscript: the elections of 2005     420
The Minority and Demographic Questions     422
The Muslims: Turks and Pomaks, 1878-1989     426
The other minorities, 1878-1944     433
The minorities under communist rule, 1944-1989     436
The minorities since 1989     438
Recent demographic decline     443
Epilogue: Bulgaria between East and West     445
Bulgarian Political Parties, 1878-1934     449
Bibliographical Notes     456
General histories     456
The Bulgarian national revival     459
From the liberation to the end of the first world war     463
From the end of the first to the end of the second world war     469
Social and economic development from 1878 to 1944     473
The years of communist domination, 1944-1989     474
Bulgaria since 1989     479
Minorities and ethnic questions     479
Index     483

Editorial Reviews

"R.J. Crampton is the foremost English-language scholar in the field of Bulgarian history.... his book is undoubtedly an important addition to the Anglo-American literature on Bulgarian history. In fact, of all the books in this sparse field, I would say it is the most important volume to date."—Mary Neuburger, American Historical Review

"This comprehensive history of Bulgaria is excellent in every respect."—D. MacKenzie, Choice

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