Table Of ContentThe angry protests that shook Bulgaria in recent years were fueled by
SPPS
a widespread belief that, after 25 years of transition, a new base for 145
the political process is required. In this important new study, Popivanov
provides a critical re-assessment of the role of the Bulgarian Socialist SOVIET AND POST-SOVIET POLITICS AND SOCIETY
Party—arguably, the single most important political entity in Bulgaria’s Edited by Dr. Andreas Umland
post-com munist history.
Assessing its internal problems and the challenges it faces from a new P
o
and radical grassroots Left and emerging leftist political projects, Pop- p Boris Popivanov
i
ivanov asks why and how Bulgaria’s Socialist Party was the only one v
a
in the Eastern bloc to remain an important political organization, after n
o Changing Images of the Left
the end of com munism. This timely book skillfully analyzes the cur rent v
societal and political situation in Bulgaria that threatens the Socialists
in Bulgaria
and argues for a complete reformulation of the concept of the ‘Bulgar-
C
ian Left’. h
a
The Challenge of Post-Communism
n
g
in in the Early 21st Century
g
“Boris Popivanov’s new book is an insightful and knowledgable analy-
I
m
sis of the Bulgarian left; it is mandatory reading for those who seek
a
primary information on the recent history of political transformations in g
e
the third wave democracies, especially as it also offers an international s
o
comparative perspective. Highly recommended.”
f
Peter Bajomi-Lazar, th
e
Associate Professor of Mass Communication at the Budapest Business School
L
e
f
t
“Is Bulgaria’s Left heading towards decomposition or to a new identity?
in
Popivanov offers an excellent analytical answer.” B
Georgi Karasimeonov, Professor of Political Science at Sofia University u
lg
a
r
ia
The author:
Boris Popivanov is Assistant Professor of Political Systems and Ideolo-
gies at the St. Kliment Ohridski University of Sofia, Bulgaria.
ISBN: 978-3-8382-0717-9
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Boris Popivanov
CHANGING IMAGES OF
THE LEFT IN BULGARIA
The Challenge of Post-Communism
in the Early 21st Century
ibidem- Verlag
Stuttgart
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Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie;
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abrufbar.
Cover picture: Protest in Sofia against the Oresharski cabinet, 8 July 2013. © Luchesar
ILIEV. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0 (s.
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en).
ISSN: 1614-3515
ISBN-13: 978-3-8382-6717-3
© ibidem-Verlag / ibidem Press
Stuttgart, Germany 2015
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Contents
Abbreviations of political parties and organizations VI
Preface IX
1 Contextualizing the Bulgarian Left:
The Communist Successor Parties in Central and Eastern Europe 1
1.1 The Post-Communist Left in Central and Eastern Europe 1
1.2 Programmatic and Structural Change within
CEE Communist Parties 16
1.3 Programmatic and Structural Transformation of BCP 43
2 The Complex Historical Pathways of the Bulgarian Socialist Party 57
2.1 A Proletarian Party with no Proletariat 57
2.2 BCP in its Attempt to be Party of the Entire People 77
2.3 The Party in the Transition and the Transition in the Party 91
3 Leftist Elite and Leftist Supporters: An Emerging Divide 113
3.1 Has the Socialist Leadership been Sliding 'Right'? 113
3.2 Has the Socialist Electorate been Sliding 'Left'? 127
4 The Bulgarian Post-Communist Left in Crisis.
Is a New Left on the Way? 145
4.1 The Challenge of New Leftist Projects 145
4.2 The Challenge of New Leftist Groups 160
4.3 The Challenge of the 'Protest Year' 2013 177
In Lieu of a Conclusion 193
Bibliography 195
V
Abbreviations of political parties and
organizations
Abbreviation Full name of the Full name of the or- Country of origin
organization in the ganization in Eng-
original language lish
BCP Balgarska komunis- Bulgarian Com- Bulgaria
ticheska partija munist Party
BSP Balgarska socialisti- Bulgarian Socialist Bulgaria
cheska partija Party
BZNS Balgarski zemedels- Bulgarian Agrarian Bulgaria
ki naroden sajuz National Union
DPS Dvijenie za prava i Movement for Bulgaria
svobodi Rights and
Freedoms
FSN Frontul Salvǎrii National Salvation Romania
Naţionale Front
GERB Grajdani za evrope- Citizens for the Eu- Bulgaria
jsko razvitie na Bal- ropean Develop-
garija ment of Bulgaria
KSČ Komunistická strana Communist Party of Czechoslovakia
Československa Czechoslovakia
KSČM Komunistická strana Communist Party of Czech Republic
Čech a Moravy Bohemia and
Moravia
KSS Komunistická strana Communist Party of Slovakia
Slovenska Slovakia
MSzMP Magyar Szocialista Hungarian Socialist Hungary
Munkáspárt Workers' Party
MSzP Magyar Szocialista Hungarian Socialist Hungary
Párt Party
OSD Obedinenie za sozi- Union for Social Bulgaria
alna demokracija Democracy
VI
PCR Partidul Comunist Romanian Com- Romania
Român munist Party
PD Partidul Democrat Democratic Party Romania
PDS Partei des demokra- Party of Democratic German Democrat-
tischen Sozialismus Socialism ic Republic
PES --- Party of the Euro- European Union
pean Socialists
PRM Partidul România Greater Romania Romania
Mare Party
PSD Partidul Social De- Social Democratic Romania
mocrat Party
PZPR Polska Zjednoczona Polish United Poland
Partia Robotniczej Workers'Party
SDL' Strana demokrati- Party of the Demo- Slovakia
ckej l'avice cratic Left
SdRP Socjaldemocracja Social Democracy Poland
Rzeczypospolitej of the Republic of
Polskiej Poland
SDS Sajuz na demokra- Union of the Demo- Bulgaria
tichnite sili cratic Forces
SED Sozialistische Ein- Socialist Unity Party German De-
heitspartei Deutsch- of Germany mocratic Republic
lands
SPD Sozialdemokratische German Social Germany
Partei Deutschlands Democratic Party
SPS Socjalistička partija Socialist Party of Serbia
Srbije Serbia
SSRNJ Socjalistički savez Socialist Alliance of Yugoslavia
radnog naroda Ju- Working People of
goslavije Yugoslavia
VII
Other important abbreviations
Abbreviation Full name
CEE Central and Eastern Europe
Comecon Council for Mutual Economic Assistance
CSP Communist Successor Party
GDR German Democratic Republic (East
Germany)
VIII
Preface
It is now 11 years since Bulgaria became a full NATO member, and 8
years since the country acceded to the European Union. Yet Bulgaria is
still receiving relatively weak coverage in the annals of the European and
global social sciences—a situation evident both from the limited number of
special editions devoted to the country, and from the gaps in the literature
to which scholars often explicitly refer. There are diverse reasons for this
state of affairs. The socialist period of Bulgaria's history is not to be re-
membered for an impressive resistance against the regime or for strong
expressions of discontent against the Soviet domination. Later, in the pro-
cesses of transition to democracy in Central and Eastern Europe, Bulgaria
did not come to present a success story or model for emulation. On the
other hand, there was no dramatic failure, such as, say, a triumph of au-
thoritarian trends, to be observed in the country, either. In the context of
the Balkans, Bulgaria happily avoided the fate of neighbouring Yugoslavia
and did not get tangled in the quagmire of civil wars. Markedly positive or
resolutely negative cases usually tend to attract greater attention. Bulgar-
ia's case did not fall in either of those categories. Nevertheless, unique his-
torical experience could be found here. It is an experience which relates to
the peculiarly intertwined roles of Europe and Russia in the national devel-
opment as well as to the anti-fascist resistance and the social struggles of
the contemporary world.
Those introductory remarks are needed as initial steps to motivate interest
in one of the important manifestations of the Bulgarian political process for
many decades: the functioning of the Bulgarian left. This interest can be
positioned in a twofold context. The first aspect of this context is the back-
ground of the transition to post-socialist democracy and the specific role of
the principal organizational agent of the Bulgarian left, the former Com-
munist Party. In contrast with its counterparts in the other former Eastern
Bloc countries, the party maintained its unity and influence in a pluralist po-
litical model from the very start of transitions, and remained the only one
among them to maintain emotional closeness to Russia. The second as-
pect of the context is the perspective of the current situation, in which the
Bulgarian left can become the object of interest given the serious crisis it is
IX
