Debating the Past
The book is comprised of the four major debates on modern Bulgarian history from Independence in 1878 to the fall of communism in 1989. The debates are on the Bulgarian–Russian/Soviet relations, on the relations between Agrarians and Communists, on Bulgarian Fascism, and on Communism. They are associated with the rule of key political personalities in Bulgarian history: Stambolov (1887–1894), Stamboliiski (1919–1923), Tsar Boris III (1918–1943), and the communist leaders Georgi Dimitrov and Todor Zhivkov (1956–1989). The debates are traced through their various articulations and dramatic turns from their beginnings to the present day.
INTRODUCTORY WORDS
CHAPTER 1: STAMBOLOV, THE RUSSOPHILES AND THE RUSSOPHOBES IN BULGARIA
INITIAL INTERPRETATIONS OF THE STAMBOLOV EPOCH
THE MARXIST HISTORIANS ON STAMBOLOV'S REGIME
TOWARDS STAMBOLOV'S REHABILITATION
AFTER THE FALL OF THE COMMUNIST REGIME
CHAPTER 2: THE RULE OF THE BULGARIAN AGRARIAN NATIONAL UNION AND THE «WORKER-PEASANT ALLIANCE»
THE ROAD TO POWER
THE AGRARIAN RULE: IDEOLOGY AND REFORMS
INTERPRETATION AND ASSESSMENTS
ALEXANDUR STAMBOLIISKI
THE AGRARIAN UNION AND THE «UNITY OF ACTION» WITH THE BULGARIAN COMMUNIST PARTY
CHAPTER 3: THE DEBATE ON FASCISM AND THE ANTIFASCIST STRUGGLES
THE LONG FASCISM AND THE BREACHES INTO IT
“MONARCHO-FASCISM”
BULGARIA AND HITLER’S GERMANY
THE STRUGGLE ANGAINST FASCISM AND THE ANTIFASCISM
AFTER COMMUNISM
CHAPTER 4: SEPTEMBER NINTH, “POPULAR DEMOCRACY” AND SOCIALISM
SEPTEMBER NINTH
“POPULAR DEMOCRACY” (1944-1948)
SOCIALISM IN PROGRESS
AFTER SOCIALISM ABOUT IT: SEPTEMBER NINTH REVISITED
THE POPULAR-DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION
GEORGI DIMITROV
THE MACEDONIAN QUESTION
THE REPRESSIONS
THE BULGARIAN TOTALITARIANISM
THE “ERA ZHIVKOV” AND DESCRIPTIONS OF THE SYSTEM
THE SOCIALIST MODERNIZATION
ASPECTS OF THE SYSTEM
CONCLUSION: ON OBJECTIVITY AND TRUTH IN THE BULGARIAN HISTORICAL SCHOLARSHIP