History of Bulgaria, Bulgaria is a country in South Eastern Europe, by the Black Sea, and it borders, Romania, Greece, Turkey, and Macedonia. and Serbia.
Bulgaria experienced typical European history's right upto the era of humanity, seeing neanderthals, then Homo Sapien Sapiens, trapse across it's vallets, and hills, and plains, for their lifestyles. Look at http://www.lonympics.co.uk/
It was among the first European lands, to see Neolithic farming , partly via internal creatuions, according to some, but massively as of immigration it is felt from the Middle East. But others state that the Nelithic could have been just adopted by locals, or a mix of these things, still, some believe that.
7000 years ago there were many Neolithic sites.
Bulgaria developed places like like Karnavo, where Bulagria has more artifacts in single archaological, sites, to 20thC archaeologists eyes, than entire counties in Britain at the time. (I say 20thc, as in the future archaologists will maybe develop such good technolagy that bits of old wood will be artifacts, and dirt). Karnavom, is a mound where old houses saw new houses built on topf othem, so it rises as a man made hill.
By 681BC, with immigration from locals, Persians, and all, there was in Bulgaria, and strecthing to the North, Thrace, a land, of many units, feared by Greeks, and Persians plenty of the time. With of couyrse the Thracians having to fear them at times. The THracians were groups of many states, and even in 514 BC sent a force to the North of the THracians to attack Scythians who it opposed for rasons of it's attacks, and such. and raids,
Thrace was conquerred by Rome, and Bulgaria was part of Byzantium for many yeras, seeing the Barbariansm, ransack many of it's cities in the fall of the Roman Empire.
It is felt in the 2nd C many people of the Bulgar tribe of the Eurasians steepes, arrived between the Caucacus and Black Sea, some were pushed by Barbarians invaders into other tribes, and some into North Russia, for whom the remnants of the Bulgars are today., These Bulgars like the rest of the steepes, and most of Russia, were in the push of Barbarian tribes that destroyed the Roman Empire. Some sdtayed in South Eastern Europe. Eventually many fought as allies of Byzantium, and such, and eventually founded states called Bulgaria. Many Bulgar tribes had been absorbed across their migrations into Khazars, in Ukraine, and Armenian in the Caucacus. The 7thC saw Bulgaria form in it's own area, and this empire, fought Byzantium, and many states, In 969 they saw attacks by the Russian states. In 1019, the Byzantium, Enmpire, which in many ways had been weaker for centuries, defeated the Bulgarians in battle ruining the dmominant feelinsg of the Bulgarian leadershiop. The land survived on and off, till Ottoman Conquest in the 1480s.
The Ottomans, led for centuries, at the start reducing serfdom, but then increasing feudal ways,
In the 19thCentury, most Buylgarians were not serfs, but were still oppressed by Ottoman rulers. Look at http://www.lonympics.co.uk/
This provoked a revolt in the 1870s, started by small numbers of attacks, on the Ottoman rulers, whose Turkish settlers, were richer and wealthier than Bulgarians at the time. Feeling ok, as they felt Russia would help them in ousting Turkish power. But the killing in battles of 1000s Turks, across the war's tart, or less, saw 15000 Bulgarians massacred in Plovdiv city, and 30,000 to 60,000 in total. The war provoked a Russian Turkish war of half a million deaths.
In 1886 Bulgaria became autonomus as a pro Russian part of the Ottoman Enmpire. 70% of the Turks stayed, and became part of Bulgarian society, as a former richer powerful group, now just a wekaned minority, of less power than the Bulgarains.
Bulgaria was till poor, indeed 1882 the capital Sofia, saw most people still had a cow, using communal lands, and stray dogs went around still causing deaths
Sharecropping still existed, and poverty was still a plenty in Bulgaria.
Bulgaria had a small war v Serbia in 1885, so there was not massive Blkan unity.
The Blkan war in 1912, saw Montenegro, Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbvia fight the Turkls, Bulgaria was felt bny many to have been the bnig gainer of this war, so another war started and it lost land to the other states where Christianity was the major religon. upto 225,000 died in the Blkan Wars, of which upto 50,000 were Bulgarian. Bulgaria is said to have seen it's forces massacre 1/10,000 Turks in the war. just like the Turks.
Bulgaria fought for the Central Powers, Austria, Hungary, Germany and the Ottomans, in World War One, and saw itself invade Serbia. seeing Sebvia, suffer huge amounts of deaths in their rereat fromk Austrian invasions, and fleeing across the Albanian mountains,. Some Serbs blame the Serbs for those 100s of thousands of deaths crossing tey mountains, and some the Austrians, and Kaiser, for starting world war one, and invading Serbia, and occupying Bosnia, and making Sefbs still serfs too 1918. 387500 Bulgarians had sdied in the war and flu, and Bulgaria had massacred 2/12,000 Serbs and Turks. With evictions of Serbs killing 100s, But it was a nationalistic time, and era. so of course bad thinsgt happend, without full utopian democartic principles. Some Bulgarians were so angry at the failure of the European elites, that some did what happened from Ireland to Germany in small areas, some formed quite weak Soviets trying to copy the Russian Revolution, but thre was less potential for revolution than Russia, as nobody had absolute power, to steel, and Bulgaria stablised.
From 1870s to 1918, libs, and Royals, and Royalists and others led Bulgaria, in a quite democartic quite dictator led, nationmalistic land, With Russia casuing coups to help it's alliances, that saw Germany and other lands try to get influcnece here too. Bulgaria saw some support allowed for the Macedonian rising of 1903, that was crsuihed by the Turks in massacres. Some Bulgarians even threw bombs from planes in the Blkan wars, a first with Italians.
The Agrarian Union led to 1923's army coup, using 1918 election wins tonmake land reform,, crushing sharecropping, but this antagonised many.
The king and fascist style people led.
These people werwe allied allot with Macedonian terrorists who fought Serbia, for Macedoanin independanmce, which at the time, to a large extent wanted union with Bulgaria.
123 died in A communist revolt in 1925, including a large bomb explosion.
A Buklgaria that still saw women picking perfume, roses, in old style clothes, and Bulgarian urban centre full of working class poverty and low wealtgh, And people coming to Bulgaria, from Macedonia. It was allot richer than Albania, but allot, poorer than Western Europe just as for a long time.
In the 1930s, the fascist and royal alliance, had technocratic policies, but still attacked, rivals, Kings and fascist forces kill 4000 too 1930s, with army fascists and killing,
Macedonian supporters allied with the fascist elite at times, and sometimes were allied against.
Many Macedonians in Bulgaria died in infighting.
1000s of Turks leave,in the 1918-40 era.
Macedonian terrorists kill 1000 serbs in 1924-34, and Yugoslav, governm,ents, led by Serbs execute Macedonians, in numbers.
After World War One, there were post war population swaps, of Bulgarians and Greeks, in 100s of thousands added togther
Greek Royal libs, massacred 300 Bulgars in 1913
In 1940 the Bulgarian fascists and Royal, government (the king had a llot of authority and could have stopped this) allied to Nazi Germany. Unl;ike Yugolslavia, Turkey, and Greece, it chose to ally to the most evil force in history. Bulgaria's royal regime used this to occupy parts of Greece, and Yugoslavia. The takibng of Thrace, and Macedonia, proved to be a bit of a double edged sword, for Bulgarian morality, as in here, 14/20,000 Jews and Macedonians, probabaly the higher number, were massacred by the royal government, in some numbers sent to German camps, in others killed by Royal soldiers.
Some talk of the way that Jews in Bulgaria, were bnot sent to German camps during World War Two, but neither were Turkish Jews, or Swedish Jews, 2 sides, that just like Bulgaria did not have to fight World War Two. And in reality 20,000 Jews were evicted from the capital, and 10s of Jews died in forced labour camps. The regime was only swayed from not sending Jews to camps, by Sopcialuist political campaigns, and the church.
Some say 100s odf Bulgarians died in famine in World War Two.
1000s of Romanians were evicted from gains from Romania.
After World Wra Two, the Communists took over Bulgaria. The Communist initiated massive pro socialist reforms, such as more education, and national;isations, and land reforms, It ios said sharecropping dissapeared.
But they did this by oppression, not as bad as oppression in Stalinist USSR, but still bad.
Some say 200,000 died, but that statement is said to very exajerated, by unbiased observers.
So the normal statement is Commmunists executed in world war two, and after it, 10/30,000
Asd during World War Two, Communist partisans, organised in Bulgaria against their regime,
20,000 Bulgarians died fighting for what was the Nazi side in World War Two.
While 10s of Communists at least were executed by the royal fascist regime
I calculate that 10,000 Communist executions, of war criminals, and absoluteloy innocent political objectorsm, coukld be a realistioc stats, but that is from the evidence of works I have found. Lets say 25000 died in other Bulgarian oppressions, in 1500 Turks dying in Bulgarian oppression, of evicting them, 50000 Turks were evicted. by the regime, a bigorty carried onto 1989 by the Bulgarian regime, selling Turks to Turkey,. as like almost all Comie regimes it tried to ban emmigration.
But there were massive achivements uinder the Communist regime, massive increases in life expectancy, and education, and wealth. And even by people, not noted in the main for being Communists, it has to be said, massive developments in Computers.
But it was till less prosperous than West European social democratic societies.
The 1990s saw line of many new regime, of the Turkish minority who had seen dominance in the 19thC, and oppression in the 20thC, now getting essentially equality, able to form, a political party and be in league with other pol;itical parties.
But in the main, it was Socialist parties, who wanted less reform, but some capitalist reform, versus capitalist reform, parties. All wanted to join Nato and the EU, joinming Nato in 2004, and eventually being prmoissed EU entry for 2007. I wrote this in 2006.
But in the start of the next millenia, a shocking thing hapened, a Royalist party led by some guy who had been in Fascist Spain, for a long number of decades 9a regime that massacred 250,000 people, and caused the deaths via camps of 150,000, aswell in total with war upto 1.4million people, returned to Bulgaria,. His supporters who wanted to re-establish the monarchy had had small popularity in the 1990s, sometimes getting near to votes. He had returned, and the poluitical leaders stalled him from being President. But in 2001 he actually won and election in coalition with many parties of small political groups, joining in colaition, to get on his bandwagon. He rose from not that likley to win in the 1990s, less likley than Socialist and Rightists, and far right at times, and the first 2 most of the time, to being 42% in polls. In th1 990s the Bulgarian economy like all Eastern Europe ghas declined hugely in the early 1990s, and the growth in the late 90s, was less astonishing than the rest of Eastern Europe. Inequiality had increased, and in tejh late 90s, there was another economic crisis. less bad than the early 1990s, and then recovery came. Evem Poland, and Hungary though, among the biggest economic gainers, of post Communjist rule, have allot of problems, which to many m,ake the new freedoms, seem not utopuian, so Bulgaria had even worse than that. This leader allied with the Turks, in coalition he promiised massibve growth, and was seen as the classic charisma, poliotiocian,. Yes he was not some cool dood, whop gets votes just as he is cool. and he is actually personally quiit, but being king, is as good as being cool, in term,s of being cool,. But he did not see massive growth, some growth came, but all knew this was just liek all of Eastern Euroep at the time, and actually gangtsrs wer seen to be associated with his partyu, and him, so he lost votes, to a re-invigoraed socialist coalition, The polls showed the socialists way in front for the 2005, election, Some feared the king could use some posistion of authoritym, or the fact he was not a real hate figure as of being a king, but it id dnot work, the far right formed a party that used anti Muslim, and anti Gypsy, feelings to grow, so the Socialist did lose votes as some expected but to the Rotyalists to the Far right. So in 2001, or 2000, the socialists and the cebntrist capitalist coalitions were behind not that happy,
But now it was Socialists first, Royalists second, Turks 3rd, Capitalist the onces ruling parties, a mix of behind far right,
The king kept on styauing he should be PM, which angered many, he even said he would never form a colaityion with the Socialists, The Turks had promissed to ally to the Socialists before the election. Eventually as the Socialists had lost so mabny votes they could not do what they in some ways wanted which was to form, a government tnhemselves or with turls, but some had always saidm, they wanted a large coalition with many parties, and did not really need majority government, In eth edn humilaitingly for him the king joined the Socialist colaition, and seemed so ego style about, it, the plans to re-iontroduce monarchy were down,. not a dictat saudi style monarchy, or even a Dutch style one.
By 2006 the Royalists laost support and were now way below the 20% v 31% of some polls, now they were 12%, and by mid 2006, the royalists as of links with Italian corruption scandals, were 3%, with a new rightist colaition on 12%, and far right still strong, but Socialist and Turks still looking very strong. The Turks now in theri rightful p[osistion as part of Bulgarian society.
Soa relief for democracy.
The king had been boasted as the first former, king (he had as a kid in 1945 been puppeteered by regents while an ally of Hiotker, before a fake referenda, by Comies evicted him) to be elected to power in a new posistion, was now the first to lose power. He wanted to be king of all Bulgarians regrdaless of political affiliation and now was of none. The royalists claimed royalism, was western values, but a royal family that allied to nazis was the opposistiet of that, and entirely charisma, led politics. the degagomic enemy of demoacrcy, ok, that slife, a great success. for socialism, and demoacracy
Here are some more sites, there are books and articles on the subjects in many internet places, or internet book shops, bookstores, at the bottom, are lists of which were the worst regimes of the past few centuries.
100s of Websites, here, http://www.lonympics.co.uk/
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My Worst regimes of the 20th century essay
My worst regimes of the 20th century stats
Find Cottages here in Britain or Ireland
