Debating the Past
Modern Bulgarian Historiography—From Stambolov to Zhivkov

Roumen Daskalov, New Bulgarian University, Sofia and Central European University, Budapest

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.

"This intelligent, competent and methodologically rigorous analysis of Bulgarian historiography from the 19th century to the present is one of the few genuinely modern historiographical syntheses in the East European field. It thus contributes significantly to the gradual de-provincialization of the discipline.”
Maria Todorova, Professor of History at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Contents

Introduction Chapter 1 Stambolov, the Russophiles, and the Russophobes in Bulgaria Initial Interpretations of the Stambolov Era –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 Agrarian Rule: Ideology and Reforms – Interpretation and Assessments – Aleksandŭr Stamboliiski – The Agrarian Union and the “Unity of Action” with the Bulgarian Communist Party – Chapter 3 The Debate on Fascism and the Anti-fascist Struggles The Long Fascism and the Breaches in It – “Monarcho-Fascism” – Bulgaria and Hitler’s Germany – Anti-Fascism and the Struggle against Fascism – After Communism Chapter 4 September Ninth, “People’s Democracy” and Socialism September Ninth – “People’s Democracy” (1944–1948) – Socialism in Progress – After Socialism, about Socialism: September Ninth Revisited – The People’s Democratic Transition – Georgi Dimitrov – The Macedonian Question – The Repressions – Bulgarian Totalitarianism – The Zhivkov Era and Descriptions of the System – Socialist Modernization – Aspects of the System Conclusion The Truth and Objectivity Question in Bulgarian Historical Scholarship Transliteration

2011

376 pages
ISBN 978-615-5053-00-9 cloth $50.00 / €42.95 / £40.00