Anarchism in Bulgaria first appeared in the 1860s, within the national movement seeking independence from theOttoman Empire, strongly influenced by the Russian revolutionary movement. Anarchism established itself as a distinct political movement at the end of the 19th century. It developed further in the 20th century, so much so that Bulgaria was one of the few countries in Eastern Europe where the organized anarchist movement enjoyed a real establishment throughout the country, until the seizure of power by theBulgarian Communist Party. Under thePeople's Republic of Bulgaria, the anarchist movement survived underground, but was the victim of severe repression. From 1989, anarchism has been freely reconstituted.
Anarchism in Bulgaria has its roots in theBogomils, a medieval socio-religious movement that resisted the authority of the church and the state.[1] According to Bulgarian historianGeorgi Khadzhiev [bg], for centuries Bulgarians preserved traditions that "contain[ed] elements of libertarian communism."[2]
During the late 19th century, prominent figures of theBulgarian National Revival, includingLyuben Karavelov andHristo Botev, first came into contact with anarchism. Under the influence ofRussian anarchistMikhail Bakunin, Bulgarians joined theInternational Workingmen's Association (IWA) and participated in the uprisings of theParis Commune andHerzegovina. Botev himself was inspired by Bakunin to takeanarchist communism back to Bulgaria, where he communicated the philosophy through his poetry.[1] Anarchists also went on to participate in the movement for theliberation of Bulgaria from theOttoman Empire, with Botev being killed during theApril Uprising of 1876.[3] During the uprising,Georgi Benkovski led guerrillas in the capture ofPanagyurishte and ran the city as a commune, influenced by the Paris Commune. Allcattle were brought undercommon ownership, food was handed out for free and money was abolished, while non-essential goods were distributed by a system oflabour vouchers. But the implementation of a trulyself-managed economy was halted after 10 days, when theOttoman Empire re-captured the city from the Bulgarians.[4]
In 1879, thePrincipality of Bulgaria wasconstituted as an independent state. By this time,Dimitar Blagoev andSpiro Gulabchev had broughtsocialist ideas back from their studies inRussia, initially influenced byMarxism but later moving towards anarchism. During the 1890s, the Bulgarian anarchist movement began to organise itself inPlovdiv, where the first anarchist journals such asBorba (English:Fight) were published.[5] The beginning of the organized anarchist movement in Bulgaria is generally considered to be Spiro Gulabchev's "siromakhomilstvo" movement, inspired bypopulism andRussian nihilism.[6]
Many anarchists also became heavily involved in theMacedonian Struggle, believing that national liberation could further their libertarian communist objectives.[7] In 1893, Bulgarian anarchists established theMacedonian Secret Revolutionary Committee (MTRK) which,[8] through its organOtmastenie (English:Revenge), rejectedethnic nationalism and called for the formation of aBalkan Federation.[3] In 1903, MTRK memberMihail Gerdzhikov led the short-livedPreobrazhenie Uprising against Ottoman rule inEast Thrace.[9] During the uprising, he and other anarchists helped establish theStrandzha Commune, the first Bulgarian experiment in libertarian communism.[10] But after a month, the Ottomans repressed the uprising, without any intervention by the Bulgarian state.[11] When Gerdzhikov returned to Bulgaria, he was imprisoned and his magazine banned, due to political repression that had followed a transit workers' strike.[5]
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.[2]
Anarcho-syndicalism arrived in Bulgaria at the turn of the 20th century,[12] whenVarban Kilifarski founded a rural trade union, began publishing the journalBesvlastie and translated anarchist works into Bulgarian. With the outbreak of theBalkan Wars in 1912, he fled to France, where he worked atSébastien Faure'sprogressive school and participated in the localclass struggle, for which he was often arrested and imprisoned. DuringWorld War I, Bulgarian anarchists published a number of new journals, participated in the anti-militarist movement andrefused military service, resulting in 40 anarchists being found guilty of anti-war agitation by military tribunals.[13]
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 ofPyotr Wrangel'sWhite Army in Ukraine. In June 1919, theFederation of Anarchist-Communists of Bulgaria (FAKB) was established and, after theBulgarian Agrarian National Union waselected 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 the1923 Bulgarian coup d'état, during which 26 anarchists were executed without trial.[14]
In reaction to the coup, anarchists participated in theSeptember Uprising, during which many were killed resisting the new fascist government ofAleksandar Tsankov. In 1925, another anti-fascist revolt broke out in theSredna Gora andBalkan Mountains, but it was suppressed and many anarchists were executed without trial.[15] Despite the rise of fascism, the Bulgarian anarchist movement continued to grow throughout the 1920s and 1930s,[16] with the anarchist tobacco workerManol Vassev organising a peasants movement.[17] But by the time of the1934 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 theRepublican faction during theSpanish Civil War and returned to Bulgaria to fight against the fascist regime, which was finally overthrown in 1944.[15]
Bulgarian anarchists initially welcomed the1944 Bulgarian coup d'état, which overthrew the Kingdom of Bulgaria and established thePeople's Republic of Bulgaria. In October 1944, the FAKB was re-established and began publication of its paperRabotniceska Missal. In March 1945, it held a conference to discuss the establishment of formal relations with theFatherland Front, but before the conference could start, its delegates were all arrested by the militia and confined in internment camps.[18]
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 theBulgarian Communist Party was opened in December 1948, 600 anarchists were arrested en masse and interned in theBelene 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.[19] After continuing his work underground for 22 years,Manol Vasev was found and executed by the communist regime in 1957.[15] This vast repression led to the destruction of the anarchist movement organized in the country until 1989. According to State Security, the variousanarcho-communist,anarcho-syndicalist and otherlibertarian organizations had 2,917 members at the time of their liquidation.[20]
In 1952, theOur 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.[21]
In 1989,Todor Zhivkov was removed from power, giving way todemocratization and the restoration ofcivil liberties in Bulgaria. TheFederation of Anarchists in Bulgaria (FAB) was established, declaring its aim to be the abolition of the state, the securing ofwell-being for all and the establishment of free communes.[21] Other anarchist or anarchist-like organizations, such as the informal AnarchoResistance group formed in 2001, have also been established.[22]
