Anarchism in Bulgaria has its roots in the
Bogomils, a medieval socio-religious movement that resisted the authority of the church and the state. According to Bulgarian historian , for centuries Bulgarians preserved traditions that "contain[ed] elements of libertarian communism."
Early developments During the late 19th century, prominent figures of the
Bulgarian National Revival, including
Lyuben Karavelov and
Hristo Botev, first came into contact with anarchism. Under the influence of
Russian anarchist Mikhail Bakunin, Bulgarians joined the
International Workingmen's Association (IWA) and participated in the uprisings of the
Paris Commune and
Herzegovina. Botev himself was inspired by Bakunin to take
anarchist communism back to Bulgaria, where he communicated the philosophy through his poetry. Anarchists also went on to participate in the movement for the
liberation of Bulgaria from the
Ottoman Empire, with Botev being killed during the
April Uprising of 1876. During the uprising,
Georgi Benkovski led guerrillas in the capture of
Panagyurishte and ran the city as a commune, influenced by the Paris Commune. All
cattle were brought under
common ownership, food was handed out for free and money was abolished, while non-essential goods were distributed by a system of
labour vouchers. But the implementation of a truly
self-managed economy was halted after 10 days, when the
Ottoman Empire re-captured the city from the Bulgarians. In 1879, the
Principality of Bulgaria was
constituted as an independent state. By this time,
Dimitar Blagoev and
Spiro Gulabchev had brought
socialist ideas back from their studies in
Russia, initially influenced by
Marxism but later moving towards anarchism. During the 1890s, the Bulgarian anarchist movement began to organise itself in
Plovdiv, where the first anarchist journals such as
Borba () were published. The beginning of the organized anarchist movement in Bulgaria is generally considered to be Spiro Gulabchev's "
siromakhomilstvo" movement, inspired by
populism and
Russian nihilism. Many anarchists also became heavily involved in the
Macedonian Struggle, believing that national liberation could further their libertarian communist objectives. In 1893, Bulgarian anarchists established the
Macedonian Secret Revolutionary Committee (MTRK) which, through its organ
Otmastenie (), rejected
ethnic nationalism and called for the formation of a
Balkan Federation. In 1903, MTRK member
Mihail Gerdzhikov led the short-lived
Preobrazhenie Uprising against Ottoman rule in
East Thrace. During the uprising, he and other anarchists helped establish the
Strandzha Commune, the first Bulgarian experiment in libertarian communism. But after a month, the Ottomans repressed the uprising, without any intervention by the Bulgarian state. When Gerdzhikov returned to Bulgaria, he was imprisoned and his magazine banned, due to political repression that had followed a transit workers' strike. By this time, anarchism had been overtaken in popularity by Marxism, as anarchists had only participated in various national liberation movements, but not yet constructed a specifically anarchist movement.
Growth and consolidation Anarcho-syndicalism arrived in Bulgaria at the turn of the 20th century, when
Varban Kilifarski founded a rural trade union, began publishing the journal
Besvlastie and translated anarchist works into Bulgarian. With the outbreak of the
Balkan Wars in 1912, he fled to France, where he worked at
Sébastien Faure's
progressive school and participated in the local
class struggle, for which he was often arrested and imprisoned. During
World War I, Bulgarian anarchists published a number of new journals, participated in the anti-militarist movement and
refused military service, resulting in 40 anarchists being found guilty of anti-war agitation by military tribunals. Following the end of the war, the Bulgarian anarchist movement experienced a period of growth, carrying out an underground campaign of action against the government. In 1919, anarchists participated in a rail workers' strike, which contributed to the defeat of
Pyotr Wrangel's
White Army in Ukraine. In June 1919, the (FAKB) was established and, after the
Bulgarian Agrarian National Union was
elected to lead the government, anarchist organisations were legalised for the first time. Now able to act in the open, the FAKB expanded its activities, held public congresses and published a number of magazines. This period was brought to an end by the
1923 Bulgarian coup d'état, during which 26 anarchists were executed without trial.
Underground activities In reaction to the coup, anarchists participated in the
September Uprising, during which many were killed resisting the new fascist government of
Aleksandar Tsankov. In 1925, another anti-fascist revolt broke out in the
Sredna Gora and
Balkan Mountains, but it was suppressed and many anarchists were executed without trial. Despite the rise of fascism, the Bulgarian anarchist movement continued to grow throughout the 1920s and 1930s, with the anarchist tobacco worker
Manol Vassev organising a peasants movement. But by the time of the
1934 Bulgarian coup d'état, the anarchist movement had retreated underground and many anarchists were forced into exile, imprisoned or killed. A number of the exiled anarchists joined the
Republican faction during the
Spanish Civil War and returned to Bulgaria to fight against the fascist regime, which was finally overthrown in 1944. Bulgarian anarchists initially welcomed the
1944 Bulgarian coup d'état, which overthrew the Kingdom of Bulgaria and established the
People's Republic of Bulgaria. In October 1944, the FAKB was re-established and began publication of its paper
Rabotniceska Missal. In March 1945, it held a conference to discuss the establishment of formal relations with the
Fatherland Front, but before the conference could start, its delegates were all arrested by the militia and confined in internment camps. International pressure secured their release and the FAKB continued its activities, gaining popularity and falling under further political repression, with the government banning its journal and forcing the anarchist movement underground by 1946. Shortly before the 5th Congress of the
Bulgarian Communist Party was opened in December 1948, 600 anarchists were arrested en masse and interned in the
Belene labour camp, intending to suppress any libertarian communist sentiments from being expressed during the congress. Anarchism was thus outlawed and anarchists began to flee into exile, but as border controls got stricter, those that attempted to leave were taken to internment camps. After continuing his work underground for 22 years,
Manol Vasev was found and executed by the communist regime in 1957. This vast repression led to the destruction of the anarchist movement organized in the country until 1989. According to State Security, the various
anarcho-communist,
anarcho-syndicalist and other
libertarian organizations had 2,917 members at the time of their liquidation. In 1952, the
Our Road journal and publishing house was established in Paris. It went on to play a key role in the resurgence of Bulgarian anarchism, with emigrant anarchist organisations such as the Union of Bulgarian Anarchists in Exile being established.
Contemporary period In 1989,
Todor Zhivkov was removed from power, giving way to
democratization and the restoration of
civil liberties in Bulgaria. The (FAB) was established, declaring its aim to be the abolition of the state, the securing of
well-being for all and the establishment of free communes. Other anarchist or anarchist-like organizations, such as the informal AnarchoResistance group formed in 2001, have also been established. == See also ==