Relations with Noncommunist States
The European Conference for Security and Cooperation held in Helsinki in the spring of 1973 discussed the possibility of a freer exchange of people and ideas as well as a freer flow of information between Western European and Eastern European societies. The intensity of ideological polemics had diminished with increasing contacts between East and West, and the gap between the two social systems seemed narrower, especially in regard to economic planning and development. Bulgaria, however, publicly expressed doubts about importing anti-communist theories that might accompany the freer exchanges of people, ideas, and information.
In a plenum of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian CommunistParty in July 1973, the party leaders touched on issues of international relations. The leaders pledged to continue a new policy of building goodwill and enhancing relations with noncommunist European states as well as with other developed capitalist states in all aspects of political, economic, cultural, and other relations. Bulgaria also sought to continue cultivating and developing friendly relations with nonaligned friendly countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Consistent with this policy, it pledged to render assistance to these countries, especially where there were national liberation movements involved in active resistance to the established regimes.
Greece and Turkey
Greece is geographically contiguous to Bulgaria, and relations between the two countries have been alternately hot and cold depending on the political climate of the times. In 1964 both countries signed an accord relative to war reparations, which opened up some channels of communication, cultural exchanges, and relaxed travel restrictions. The move toward better relations was interrupted by the 1967 coup d'etat in Greece, but improvement began again in the early 1970s when officials of the two governments exchanged visits. By 1972 a newly created Bulgarian-Greek economic cooperation commission had met in Sofia.
Difficulties between Bulgaria and Turkey have deep roots in history and also involve the 750,000 ethnic Turks still residing in Bulgaria (see ch. 2; ch. 4). An atmosphere of cordiality, however, had been developing slowly as the officials of both countries cautiously negotiated to reduce tensions between the two countries. Exchanges of high-level visits and the signing of various economic agreements had stabilized Bulgarian-Turkish relations by the early 1970s. The hijacking of two Turkish planes to Sofia in 1972 disturbed the détente temporarily, but the Bulgarian foreign minister went quickly to Turkey to make amends. In 1973 the two countries again enjoyed improved relations.
The United States
The tensions that marked Bulgarian-United States foreign relations in the 1950s eased somewhat in the 1960s. The legations of both countries were raised to embassy status in November 1966. This action was believed to be an offshoot of United States efforts, particularly that of President Lyndon B. Johnson, to "build bridges" to Eastern Europe. This resumption of diplomatic goodwill was not pursued vigorously and, at the time, reception to the idea in Bulgaria was generally cool. A noted communist theoretician regarded the United States overtures as a divisive force in the fraternal world of the communist movement, designed ultimately to bring in a capitalist system inimical to the ideological interest of any socialist country.
In 1973 the relations between the two countries were, however, cordial. Observers noted an increase in trade, although it was still quantitatively small and accounted for only between US$6 million and US$7million annually. Bulgaria hoped to increase this volume to US$30 million, especially by exporting high-quality tobacco to the United States market.
Bulgaria has been seeking a consular agreement that would grant it most-favored-nation tariff treatment in order to keep Bulgarian exports on a competitive level with others in the United States market. Toward this end, a Bulgarian trade delegation visited the United States in mid-July 1973 to exchange views on expanded trade and economic relations between the two countries. While in Washington the delegation met with top officials from the Department of State, the Department of Commerce, the Department of the Treasury, and the Export-Import Bank and with some members of Congress.
West Germany
The two world wars saw Bulgaria fighting on Germany's side. Thereafter Bulgarian policy differed from the Soviet line only once in a case that involved relations between Bulgaria and the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany). When Chancellor Ludwig Erhard sounded out several Eastern European governments with peace notes in 1966, Bulgaria along with Romania did not publish official replies. Later that year West German officials met with the Bulgarian foreign minister, and it appeared that normalization of relations was in the offing. The negotiations did not come to fruition, however, and Bulgaria fell back in line with the Soviet Union, which at the time was hostile to West Germany. The mere fact that Bulgaria participated in such independent talks appeared remarkable to some observers.
During 1972 relations between Bulgaria and West Germany improved. Some of the reasons attributed to this changing tack included the ratification of treaties negotiated between West Germany, Poland, and the Soviet Union; the opening of diplomatic channels between Poland and West Germany; and the meetings of ambassadors of European countries in Helsinki. Most important, however, was the signing of a basic treaty that established and regulated relations between West and East Germany, a condition set by Bulgaria before diplomatic relations could be resumed with West Germany. The open advocacy of the Soviet Union for improved relations with West Germany also encouraged Bulgaria to expedite the resumption of diplomatic communications.
Other Western Countries
The mid-1960s saw party chief Zhivkov "building bridges" himself with other Western countries. In light of Bulgaria's interest in expansion of trade, relations with France were improved with reciprocal visits in 1966 between Zhivkov and Foreign Minister Maurice Couve de Murville. Also in the same year, partly as a result of these negotiations, the French car manufacturer, Renault, established an assembly plant in Bulgaria. Simultaneous with this move was the establishment of a diplomatic mission in Canada. Agreements were negotiated withBelgium and Italy on cultural, technical, and economic matters. Australia also had a share of Bulgaria's trade attention; both countries signed a long-term trade agreement in 1972, and an agreement was reached to establish diplomatic relations at the embassy level.
Relations with Other States
Bulgarian interest in trade with the developing countries has increased considerably. In 1971 and 1972 the volume of trade with third world countries exceeded 316 million leva (for value of the lev—see Glossary) as opposed to 113.3 million leva in 1965. The Arab countries rank first in the amount of business conducted with Bulgaria. A considerable number of Bulgarian experts are also engaged in the construction of industrial enterprises in various developing countries.
MEMBERSHIP IN REGIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
Regional Cooperation
Military cooperation on a regional basis was secured for Bulgaria and its allies (the Soviet Union, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Czechoslovakia) in a multilateral alliance known as the Warsaw Pact. Albania, an original member, withdrew in 1968 (see ch. 16). Signed on May 14, 1955, in Warsaw, Poland, the pact was and remains Eastern Europe's answer to the challenges and security arrangements of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). In one sense it seemed to provide legal grounds for the Soviet Union to keep its troops in east-central Europe as well as to secure the balance of military power in Europe, especially after West Germany joined NATO. In another sense it confirmed the Soviet Union's political and military hegemony in all of Eastern Europe.
The organization has two main bodies—the Political Consultative Committee, which recommends general questions of foreign policy for member countries, and the High Command of United Armed Forces, which prepares military plans in time of war and decides troop deployments. Both bodies are located in Moscow, and all its senior ranking officials are Russians.
Bulgaria has bilateral treaties of mutual aid with each other member of the Warsaw Pact. A multilateral agreement binds all the members to one another in general and to the Soviet Union in particular. Within Bulgaria Soviet officers serve as advisers at the division level and formerly served down to the regiment level. Others serve as instructors.
Bulgaria was a charter member of COMECON in 1949. An economic alliance among Eastern European countries, COMECON is the counterpart to Western Europe's European Economic Community (commonly called the Common Market). Other members are the SovietUnion, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and East Germany. Mongolia and Cuba, non-European countries, joined in June 1962 and July 1972, respectively. Albania joined in 1949 but withdrew in 1961.
Founded as an outlet for agricultural and industrial products and as a capital-and-labor market, COMECON, like the Warsaw Pact, binds its members to each other and all of them to the Soviet Union. Long-term trade agreements of five years are usually renewable at the end of each term. It is estimated that 60 to 65 percent of the total foreign trade of each signatory is carried on with other member countries. One of the obvious disadvantages of the organization, however, is the absence of a common market. Trade and commerce between the member countries are carried out on the basis of preference and within the framework of bilateral agreements.
Because the loose structure of COMECON does not make for effective regional planning, member countries such as Bulgaria continue to renew bilateral trade agreements within COMECON. The Soviet Union remains Bulgaria's largest foreign market, accounting for more than 50 percent of Bulgarian trade. Bulgaria also agreed to send Bulgarian workers to the Soviet Union for heavy industrial projects.
Participation of Bulgaria on a regional level has been confined to a few projects. Among these are a COMECON electric power grid, which serves the western Ukraine, especially the city of Kiev; a Romanian-Bulgarian project to construct a power dam and navigation system for sixty miles along the Danube River; a system of high-speed expressways to connect the capital cities of member countries; a project to modernize steel industries and to reduce production and delivery time; and membership in the International Bank for Economic Cooperation, headed by a former deputy chairman of the Soviet State Bank.
United Nations Membership and Participation
Bulgaria became a member of the UN on December 14, 1955. Its delegates are active in committee work of the UN organs and subsidiary bodies as well as in deliberations on the floor of the General Assembly. One of its most important committee assignments is to the so-called First Committee, which was established as one of the original six committees under the General Assembly's rules of procedure in 1946. It deals with political and security matters and was headed by Milko Tarabanov, one of five Bulgarian delegates to the UN in the session held from September through December 1972.
Available records of General Assembly activities in 1970 showed active participation of Bulgaria's delegates in committee work touching on such matters as the review of administrative tribunal judgments; the question of defining aggression; the peaceful uses of outer space; the peaceful uses of the seabed under international waters; and the implementation of the declaration on the granting of independence tocolonial countries and peoples. Bulgaria was particularly interested in the Caribbean territories.
As a member of the Committee on Disarmament, Bulgaria, along with twenty-four other participating states, met in Geneva in 1970. The committee met to consider the question of cessation of the nuclear arms race and associated matters, such as the prohibition of emplacing nuclear arms or other destructive weapons on the seabed. A refinement of the comprehensive test ban treaty of 1963 extended the prohibition on arms control to underground testing. Bulgaria, along with other Eastern European countries, also supported draft proposals of the committee not to undertake the "development, production, and stockpiling of chemical and bacteriological weapons" and the consequent "destruction of such weapons" as well as the prohibition of "biological methods of warfare." Bulgaria, as a member of the General Assembly's First Committee, also cosponsored a resolution to secure guarantees that the seabed would be used only for peaceful means.
In regard to the question of nuclear and thermonuclear testing, Bulgaria sought the early passage of an agreement to prohibit all nuclear weapons testing while the Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) were going on between the United States and the Soviet Union. Bulgaria also participated actively in the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. As a member of a subcommittee's working group, proposals and working papers were submitted on the question of liability for damage caused by objects that were launched into outer space. For its part, Bulgaria sought to clarify the "question of applicable law" and the "settlement of disputes."
The country was also represented in bodies dealing with economic questions; questions of development; and social questions involving housing, building, and planning as well as the promotion of children's welfare. Additionally, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development had Bulgarian delegates in five of its working groups, dealing with trade and development, commodities, domestic shipping, international shipping legislation, and the transfer of technology. Bulgaria is also a member of the Economic Commission for Europe.
Since the Communists took over the government in 1944, the mass communications systems have been perceived as instruments of propaganda and vehicles for party control. Because of this perception of the significance of the media, the new government immediately claimed all mass media as state property.
There is little if any tolerance of the free expression of ideas throughout the entire mass communications system. Because Bulgaria is more closely tied to the Soviet Union than most of the other Eastern European countries, the dictates of Moscow are virtually followed to the letter in the media. Themes that are initiated in Moscow are reiterated almost verbatim in Sofia. The major theme of the mass media is respect for and emulation of the Soviet Union, although recently some social themes—such as the problems of youth and alcoholism—have been incorporated as well.
The only sources of information and entertainment permitted to the people are the domestically controlled mass media. Most Bulgarians distrust information available to them from these sources but, having no alternative, continue to use them.
Historically, of all the mass communications systems, the press has always reached the largest number of people and has traditionally been viewed by the government as the most effective means of informing the general public. Although the circulation of the press dropped drastically in the mid-1940s, it has since the 1960s once again become the chief instrument of the mass communications system. Radio has greatly expanded in variety and scope since the 1940s. Television, although slow to develop and still limited in its audience relative to other European countries, has been growing rapidly since the early 1960s and was beginning to experiment with color in the early 1970s.
There has been little change in the Bulgarian publishing industry since 1944. Owing to the government's fear of contamination by the West or other capitalist societies, there is very little importation of foreign books into the country. Although books have increased greatly in terms of sheer numbers of editions, the quantity of book titles has remained very much the same since World War II.
Libraries range from those under the control of state ministries and committees to local reading rooms and enterprise libraries. Thelatter are generally more widely used by the people.
Since the end of World War II the film industry has grown to a great extent. Like other instruments of the media, films are chosen for their propagandistic value; however, since the advent of television, fewer people have attended films.
BACKGROUND
The press—composed of newspapers and periodicals—was the most developed of the Bulgarian media in the first half of the twentieth century. Radio, which was introduced in the 1920s, was under the aegis of what was then the Ministry of Post, Telegraph, and Telephone. The production, importation, and sale of radios were unrestricted. The least developed communications system of the day was the film industry, which was privately owned and operated. Television was not initiated in the country until the mid-1950s.
In the years immediately after the takeover, a strong pro-Soviet policy was established for the media, which was still in effect in 1973. While the new government restricted individual freedom and initiative within the media, it demanded total support by the media of all policies of the Soviet Union. Despite the fact that Bulgaria has never deviated from the policy of complete commitment to the Soviet Union, after the invasion of Czechoslovakia various media conferences were held in which calls for stricter adherence to the Soviet line were sounded.
OBJECTIVES OF MASS COMMUNICATIONS
The government has certain distinct perceptions as to how the media must serve the state. Propaganda permeates every aspect of life from formal education to membership in unions and clubs to the publication of books and pamphlets. The Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see Glossary) is the main political force. It both creates the appropriate condition for the expression of public opinion and forms public opinion itself.
At a recent conference on the mass communications system, a leading member of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party delineated the principal tasks of the media. The major task of the media was "to work for the broadest possible propagation of the congress decisions and for the mobilization of the people's physical and mental powers to make their decisions materialize...." The second vital task of the media was to "help form a socialist outlook on life among the peoples and educate the new man—active fighter for the developed socialist society, ideologically convinced, morally durable, physically tempered, with profound awareness of duty and responsibility." The third task was to promote the economic awareness of the people and to train managers, specialists, workers, and farmers for the greater economic good of the country. The fourthmain task was to continue in the active struggle against "bourgeois ideology ... and the ideological subversion of imperialism."
A basic tenet of the Bulgarian system, however, is the belief that mass communications must be actively supplemented by human contact on the individual level. Iliya Georgiev, secretary of the Varna Okrug Bulgarian Communist Party Committee, in an article on the political knowledge of working people in 1972, stated categorically that the interest stimulated in the people by the mass communications system must be maintained and extended by informal means of communications, such as district (okrug) seminars, meetings in enterprises and farms, activities in the trade unions, and the Dimitrov Communist Youth Union (Dimitrovski Komunisticheski Mladezhki Suyuz—commonly referred to as the Komsomol).
The government has spent considerable time in assessing the extent to which these media objectives have been achieved. In the years immediately following the takeover, the government was consistently distressed by continued Bulgarian feelings of friendship with the West and the continual influence of the West upon the country. Although the propaganda efforts of the communist government were tireless, radio broadcasts and printed materials from the West continued to pour into Bulgaria.
As the government's control over both the formal communications media and the informal means of communications widened, the external threat was perceived to be less, and governmental attention turned to the assessment of the relative popularity of the various branches of the media. In a recent study 3,294 people were questioned as to their favorite source of domestic and international information. The vast majority—64.8 percent—of those polled stated that their preferred source was daily newspapers; 24.6 percent preferred television; and only 2.7 percent preferred radio. Although the newspapers were the favorite source of information, they were frequently criticized by the people, who expressed a basic lack of confidence in the press. In a second study dealing with people's attitudes toward the press alone, 48.1 percent of the 900 people polled said they disliked the press, and 52.1 percent complained of the primitive quality of Bulgarian newspapers.
Young people, especially students, appeared to be even less stimulated by the mass media than their elders. A study performed in the 1969/70 academic year indicated that students were indifferent to both domestic political events and international developments. The pollsters concluded that generally Bulgarian students take little advantage of the mass media as a source of information. Unlike the broad public, whose primary source of information was the press, students tended to see television as their preferred source and the press and radio as secondary sources.
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION
The 1947 Constitution, known as the Dimitrov Constitution, established the stated rights of citizens as well as the nationalization of all private property, including the mass communications network. Regarding the so-called freedom of citizens, Article 88 of the 1947 Constitution claimed: "The citizens of the People's Republic are guaranteed freedom of the press, of speech, of assembly, of meetings and demonstrations." At the same time, Article 10 and Article 17 prohibited the unrestricted freedom of private property and provided for its nationalization under the authority of the National Assembly. More specifically, Article 80 of the constitution dealt directly with the system of mass communications: "The state cares for the development of science and art by establishing ... publishing houses, libraries, theatres, museums, public reading clubs, ... film studios, [and] cinemas...."
In 1956 the premier of the communist regime, Vulko Chervenkov, emphasized the ultimate control of the party over all institutions of the country. He stated: "No institution, organization, or person can be above the Politburo and the Central Committee ... those guilty of deviation from the Bolshevik rule must be held responsible and punished." Under his successor, Todor Zhivkov, a slight liberalization regarding freedom of the media ensued (see ch. 9). For a brief period writers and scholars were given greater latitude of expression. When some writers dared to openly criticize the government, however, Zhivkov was unable to tolerate this criticism and reimposed restrictions on the media. The ultimate authority of the party was again made manifest. In an article in 1969, Georgi Bokov, chief editor ofRabotnichesko Deloand chairman of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists, flatly rejected the notions of freedom and independence for the mass communications system. The stated goals of the Union of Bulgarian Journalists in the late 1960s were "to promote the development of mass information and propaganda media as first-rate ideological weapons in the struggle for the victory of socialism and Communism ... the Union must constantly work to turn the press, radio, and television into effective ideological instruments for the Party."
In 1971, a new constitution was promulgated, but the basic clauses of the 1947 document, regarding so-called individual freedoms and state ownership, remained essentially intact. It was restated in Article 54 that "citizens enjoy freedom of speech, press, meetings, associations and demonstrations." Article 46 again provided for state development of, and control over, the mass communications system.
The results of the policy regarding the media are witnessed by numerous examples of party control and the repression of dissidents. All newspapers must provide space for the official news of the government, and all Central Committee directives must be printed without alteration. No dispatches sent out by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency (Bulgarska Telegrafna Agentsiya—BTA)—the official news agency of thecountry—are allowed to be revised. No criticism of government policies is tolerated. Dissident individuals and groups are singled out for criticism by the Politburo. In 1972 a Politburo member, Todor Pavlov, accused certain writers of rejecting Socialist Realism in favor of more bourgeois literature and art. Other writers were criticized for their so-called subjectivistic interpretation of Bulgarian literature and were branded as pseudoscientists.
ADMINISTRATION OF THE MASS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM
Administrative Units
As the system has evolved, the broad outlines of propaganda have been dictated from the Politburo, the party's chief policymaking unit. From there policy is transmitted to the Agitation and Propaganda Department (Agitprop), which is a major operational unit of the Central Committee. Agitprop, in turn, is responsible for the transmission of guidelines down to the lowest levels of party organization. Simultaneously, the same dictates are transmitted throughout all cultural institutions by the Ministry of Information and Communications. Under this ministry's jurisdiction are the arts, the film industry, radiobroadcasting, television, book and pamphlet publishing, printing, all cultural or educational institutions, and all so-called independent artists. Still a third channel for the transmission of the original propaganda are the mass organizations that function in the propaganda field under direction of either Agitprop or the Ministry of Information and Communications (see ch. 9).
The administrative center for all media is Sofia, the capital. Eight daily newspapers are published in Sofia and distributed throughout the country; there are also seventeen major publishing houses in Sofia. The National Film Board, which oversees all aspects of film production, is in Sofia, as is Radio Sofia, which is the radio station for the entire country. The Cyril and Methodius Library—also known as the Bulgarian National Library—is within the confines of the city, as are the Union of Bulgarian Writers; the Union of Bulgarian Artists; and the Union of Composers, Musicologists, and Performing Musicians (see ch. 7).
The exportation of propaganda is under the auspices of the Sofia Press Agency. This agency was founded in 1967 with the express purpose of disseminating Bulgarian propaganda to other countries. Its three major tasks are to publicize Bulgaria's achievements and successes actively to the world; to attempt to counter anti-Bulgarian propaganda; and to provide the various communist parties of the world with rationale in their struggles against capitalism.
In 1972 the Sofia Press Agency was in the process of negotiating agreements with the BTA and the Committee for Television and Radio.Agreements had already been established with book publishers, photographic artists, and the film industry. In early 1972 over 500 people—the majority of whom were editors and translators—were working for the Sofia Press Agency, and contracts had been signed with approximately 120 foreign countries. Nine magazines, translated into eleven languages, had been published each year in 2.5 million copies. A dual language newspaper has been published each year in 500,000 copies, and 400 books had appeared in approximately 4 million copies. Some 15,000 articles had been written, 30,000 photographs taken, and dozens of television motion pictures and documentaries had been filmed.
News Agency
The BTA was founded originally in 1898 in Sofia. It is the official news agency of the country and the sole source of both foreign and domestic news. It receives most of its foreign items from the Soviet Union news agency but also maintains exchange agreements with Reuters, Associated Press, and the Associated Foreign Press as well as a host of lesser known foreign news agencies, although it tends to be more discriminating in terms of the items selected from these sources.
In the 1960s the BTA had twenty-three correspondents posted throughout the nation, as well as foreign correspondents in Moscow, Peking, East Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Tirana, Belgrade, Ankara, Paris, Bonn, New York, Vienna, Cairo, and New Delhi. Correspondents are sent on special assignments to investigate news that is considered to be of interest to Bulgaria. Domestic news is reproduced in Russian, English, French, German, and Spanish, and international news is reproduced in Russian, English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian. In an average day the BTA receives approximately 800 foreign newspapers, magazines, and bulletins and itself produces over 125,000 words.
THEMES OF THE MEDIA
The predominant theme of the media remains the expression of friendship with the Soviet Union. In 1971 a leading member of the party's Central Committee informed members of the media that one of their primary functions was to champion the feelings of "fraternal love, trust, and gratitude" of the Bulgarian people for the "heroic Soviet people," at the same time demonstrating "clearly and convincingly the unbreakable ties linking our present and future with the present and future of the Soviet Union."
A second common theme of the current media deals with the continuing struggle between so-called bourgeois capitalism and socialism. The people are, on the one hand, warned of the invidiousness of capitalistic methods—"The veiled methods of ideological struggle appliedon an even broader scale by contemporary imperialism requires greater vigilance from us...." On the other hand they are assured that socialism will ultimately prevail—"their [socialist] ideas make their way with insuperable force into the minds and hearts of working people all over the world, gain more and more new adherents, and become a powerful factor of social progress."
Another dichotomy that the media pose as a continuing theme is that of religion versus socialism. Bulgarian writers triumphantly proclaim that "religion as a component of the sociological structure of society for thousands of years gradually withers away at an even faster pace throughout the transition from capitalism to communism." Since one of the major aims of the government is to eliminate religious sentiment among the people, the public is from time to time assured that—according to the latest survey—only 35.5 percent of the population is considered religious or that the "Bulgarian people is one of the least religious in the world."
Another divisive force that is frequently posed by the media is national patriotism versus proletarian internationalism. Although internationalism is viewed as predominant, citizens are warned against feelings of bourgeois nationalism, since the "unity between internationalism and patriotism is of a relative character, and there is always the real possibility of dissension between them; they may even be placed into a position of mutual opposition." Somehow the conflict, according to the journalFilosofska Misal, is perceived as being resolved through a higher form of patriotism that is inextricably linked with love of the Soviet Union. Socialist patriotism is seen as a "qualitatively new, higher form of patriotism" as expressed in "love and gratitude toward the Soviet Union and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union organically linked with love for Bulgaria."
In accordance with the media's constant expression of admiration for, and solidarity with, the Soviet Union, any issue that raises the question of conflicting loyalties between the People's Republic of China (PRC) and the Soviet Union is summarily dismissed with the reiteration of support for the Soviet Union. One journal warned the people of the dangers from the left in the form of the people of the PRC as well as from the right in the form of capitalist societies: "Contrary to all healthy logic, for years on end, the Chinese leadership has been waging hostile propaganda campaigns against the Soviet Union ... which are in no way inferior to the most malicious fabrications of bourgeois anti-Sovietism."
When the troops of the Soviet Union invaded Czechoslovakia in August 1968, Bulgaria once again rose to the Soviet Union's defense in complete justification of the invasion. The BTA cited a long list of workers, peasants, and intellectuals who were allegedly in favor of the action. Major newspapers such asRabotnichesko Delointerpreted the event as symbolic of proletarian internationalism, andZemedelskoZnamestated that "it is our supreme duty to resist the common enemy and not to allow anyone ever to tear away even one link from the chain of the socialist community." The Czechoslovak uprising itself, as reported by the Bulgarian press some months later, was interpreted as nationalistic and counterrevolutionary.
Bulgaria's relationship with the West, as expressed by the media, has evolved over time from overt hostility to some degree of tolerance. In 1968 the Bulgarian media openly denounced the concept of peaceful coexistence with the West. By the early 1970s, however, although citizens were still urged by the media to struggle against bourgeois capitalism as epitomized by the West, a slight thaw in the cool relations that had prevailed since the mid-1940s was detected. On the one hand, all instruments of the media were urged to direct the people away from foreign influences and to struggle against "bourgeois ideology, anticommunism, and the ideological subversion of imperialism." On the other hand, however, Western correspondents in 1973 declared that Bulgaria was entering a period of greater flexibility with the West.
The last polemical theme of the Bulgarian mass media is known as the Bulgarian miracle. Although success for the alleged achievement of Bulgaria's national goals is attributed to correct socialism, the application of Leninist principles, and the unity of party and people, the media take every opportunity to stress the achievements of the Bulgarian state since the advent of communism. One journal stated that "our country strengthened and matured as a state with a modern socialist industry, intensive mechanized agriculture, and flourishing national culture, a state enjoying an indisputable international prestige, respected as an economic partner and as a factor for the safeguard of peace."
On the nonpolemical side, the Bulgarian media discuss both Bulgaria's immediate social problems and issues that affect the world. The issue of alcoholism is discussed relatively openly and is viewed as an issue of national concern. Alcoholism is perceived to be related to both the rising number of divorces and the frequency of crimes (see ch. 5; ch. 15).
Bulgarians also have become involved in the international issue of pollution of the environment, and the press has given the topic a fair amount of coverage. The issue has been dealt with on a completely nonpolemical basis; in fact the brotherhood of all forms of societies is stressed as the means of combating the problem.
THE PRESS
Newspapers
In 1944, three months after the new government took control, all newspaper plants were made the property of the state. In the ensuingyear, the government took over the distribution of newsprint, and many noncommunist editors and Communists were either jailed or executed. By 1945 only eight daily and weekly newspapers were permitted to publish. Five of them were published under the aegis of a governmental or party agency.Rabotnichesko Delo—which was patterned on the SovietPravda—became the organ of the Central Committee, andOtechestven Front—patterned on the SovietIsvestia—became the official organ of the government.Izgrevwas an organ of the Fatherland FrontZvenos;Narodwas an instrument of the Fatherland Front (Otechestven Front) Socialists; andNarodna Voiskawas an army organ.Politikawas not directly affiliated with the party but was decidedly pro-Communist (see ch. 9).
The other two newspapers, both expressing a degree of opposition, were tolerated only through 1946. These wereNarodno Zemedelsko Zname, an organ of the Bulgarian Agrarian Union (Bulgarski Zemedelski Suyuz—BZS) andSvoboden Narod, an organ of the Social Democratic Party. In early 1947, however, they were closed down.
The Fifth Party Congress in 1948, endeavoring to more fully exploit the potential of the press for propaganda purposes, called upon it to serve as the "first assistant of the Bulgarian Communist Party, of the Fatherland Front, and of the government." The primary function of the printed news media, as stated by that congress, was to mobilize the working people in terms of their identification with the so-called great socialist buildup. In the same year the Central Home of Bulgarian Journalists was established in order to train writers in the correct propaganda line established by the party. This institution was replaced in 1955 by the Union of Bulgarian Journalists.
After World War II the national newspapers were generally four pages long and consisted of news concerning Bulgaria, the Soviet Union, and other socialist countries; progress reports regarding national economic plans; foreign news presented with a decided anti-Western bias; and information regarding cultural events and sports. Cartoons, which appeared occasionally in the daily and weekly newspapers, were generally propagandistic and dealt with so-called foreign agents, the bourgeoise, and other so-called enemies of the people. There was little humor in the newspapers, as their overall purpose was to portray and defend the communist system.
The national newspapers were modeled after those of the Soviet Union, in both style and content. During the 1940s they established ties with the Soviet news agency, the Chinese Communist news agency, and the news agencies in other communist countries. All international events—those dealing with the communist-bloc countries and those dealing with the West—were integrated through these sources.
While Stalin lived, all of his dictates were followed to the letter, including the duplication of the Soviet example in the strong verbalcampaign against Yugoslavia. When Nikita Khrushchev succeeded him and subsequently made some semblance of peace with Yugoslavia, the Bulgarian press followed suit. Similarly, when the Soviets quickly quelled the Polish and Hungarian revolts, the Bulgarian press endorsed the Soviet versions of these events. Strict control over the press was retained in the early 1970s, and most news still emanated from the Soviet news agency. Censorship was seldom required, however, since all editors were by this time acutely aware of their responsibilities to the party.
In contrast to the natural press, the provincial press concentrated on local matters. It included, in addition to a few regularly published newspapers, a variety of new types of publications, such as multicirculators—which were wall posters—and the so-called bumblebees, which were letters of accusation pointing out alleged failures of particular individuals to maintain acceptable social standards or to attain programmed economic goals. In broad terms, all these publications were designed to indoctrinate specific groups of people, generally in their places of work. The multicirculators called on workers to support the economic goals of the government and promised them rewards if they fulfilled the required objectives (see table 10).
Table 10. Bulgaria, Newspaper Circulation by Frequency of Issue, 1971
Frequency of IssueNumberAnnual Circulation(in thousands)Daily13611,900Two to four times per week31108,181Weekly58100,880Less than once per week60416,533TOTAL706837,494
In the early 1970s the style of Bulgarian newspapers remained essentially the same as in the mid-1940s. National daily newspapers ordinarily had four pages, but sometimes had from six to eight pages when there was vital news to cover. Headlines were often printed in red, but stories and articles were in black print. Since the late 1960s or early 1970s advertising increased, and newspapers began to resemble their Western counterparts to a greater extent.
In 1972 thirteen daily newspapers were published, eight of which were printed in Sofia.Rabotnichesko Delowas a descendant of the first workers' newspaper, which was begun in 1897. It led both in importance and circulation, was the primary organ of the BKP, and set the tone for all other newspapers in the country. In 1950 it had a daily circulation of 364,500 copies, and by 1960 its circulation had risen to 567,360. In 1972 this newspaper had a total circulation of approximately 650,000 copies. The second most important dailynewspaper published in Sofia was theOtechestven Front, the organ of the government. This publication was initiated as an underground newspaper in 1942. As of 1972 it claimed a daily circulation of 247,000.
The other Sofia dailies and their circulations were:Zemedelsko Zname, 168,000;Narodna Mladez, the newspaper for youth, 225,000;Trud, the organ of the trade unions, 200,000;Narodna Armiya, an organ of the Ministry of National Defense, 50,000;Vecherni Novini, founded in 1951, an evening newspaper, 40,000; andKooperativno Selo, the organ of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry, 230,000. The major provincial dailies wereOtechestven Glas(in Plovdiv),Narodno Delo(in Varna),Chernomorski Front(in Burgas),Dunavska Pravda(in Ruse), andPirinsklo Delo(in Blagoevgrad) (see table 11).