A KIND OF HISTORY

A KIND OF HISTORY

Mon, 10/01/2007 - 18:29

Under Communism, the Bulgarians saw their national mythology blossom. Now it flourishes

blessing necropolis.jpg

The average English person will cheerfully admit ignorance about history. Bulgarians, by contrast, will queue up to tell you their version of their country's past. However, it seems no accident that in bookshops the now bulging history section adjoins those about mysticism and the esoteric. After the Communist drought Bulgarians find themselves willing guests at a dubious feast.

Picking up books at random I discover that Bulgarians built the pyramids before they travelled east of the Urals; that Bulgarians inspired the Inca civilisation; that the tomb of the Goddess Bastet can be found near a small town on the Turkish border; that the EU is just the last in a succession of Vatican-Jewish-Communist-Turkish plots – take your pick! – to destroy Bulgaria.

Most of the more sensationalist stuff reflects two popular views of history. One is the Vile Conspiracy Theory in which evil forces have undermined the Bulgarians' country. The other is the Deplorable Tribe Theory which states that Bulgarians have only themselves to blame. Bulgarians have no difficulty in expressing both views in one breath.

What an incredible transformation since I worked as a teacher in Burgas under the Communist regime! In 1978 I found myself scouring bookshops, seeking a simple history of Bulgaria, to no avail. The books that did adorn shelves seemed unsullied by human hand. There would be a couple on the founder of the Bulgarian Communist Party, Dimitar “Grandpa” Blagoev. Glowing accounts of Georgi Dimitrov – the hero of the Leipzig trial, head of Stalin's Comintern and Bulgaria's first Communist boss – were always available. Two shelves were devoted to the memoirs of Communist partisans and the top shelf contained 20 volumes of Todor Zhivkov's speeches.

Thus I found no mention of Bulgaria's colourful medieval history, or the nineteenth century nationalist struggle – indeed very little about Communism preceding Zhivkov's rise to power. There was a noticeable mixture of pride and shame when a year later a biography of national hero Vasil Levski appeared in the shops. The author was not a Bulgarian – but the idealist British Bulgarophile, Communist Mercia Macdermott.

In conversation, Bulgarians were naturally very reticent about recent history and their knowledge of earlier years depended largely on historical films and novels. The greatest blot on the Bulgarian national landscape was their 500-year domination by the Ottoman Empire. This period was known alternatively as the Turkish Yoke or the Turkish Slavery.

Bulgarian suffering during the Turkish Slavery was seen as unique in world history. My mention of other imperial experiences was treated with contempt. “At least the Irish had been ruled by a civilised nation”. That, I am sure, was a great consolation during the potato famine! Yet in Koprivshtitsa, I used to wander the streets looking in awe at the rich Bulgarian cloth merchants' houses. These houses were decorated inside by the best Bulgarian woodcarvers and contained artefacts from across Europe. They were built at the same time as the Irish potato famine by Christians who, unlike the Irish, had been allowed to practice their faith freely. They lived amid a culture of hygiene and social responsibility, which was at least partly Turkish. This contrasted strongly with the European experience of continuous war and hunger.

Yet the Communists enjoyed reducing 500 years to a series of disembowelments. It particularly suited Todor Zhivkov, panicked by the implications of a new UN human rights initiative in 1984, who decreed that the significant Turkish population living in Bulgaria were not Turkish, but in fact Bulgarians. In this year, Anton Donchev's book and film Splitting Times heavily featuring impalement, and Alan Parker's The Midnight Express occupied TV and cinema screens for weeks. Mercia Macdermott was dispatched on a nationwide lecture tour to add international authority to the campaign. This paved the way for the notorious renaming process whereby Hassan and Ferdiney were forced to become Ivan and Donka. Speaking Turkish in public places was banned.

Living in Bulgaria at this time gave me an extraordinary lesson in propaganda. The Turkish-speaking population had hitherto been regarded with respect, seen as honest, loyal to every government – the backbone of Bulgarian agriculture. As rumours spread of shootings in Turkish villages, the campaign against them went into overdrive. I was told by intelligent people that the NATO Turkish army was massing on Bulgaria's borders and that the Turkish population was just waiting to rise up and murder their Bulgarian neighbours.

This may seem strange in the current climate in which every government contains a prominent Turkish presence. Back in 1984 it was very different. I remember having my bags searched at the airport to ensure I was not carrying a copy of the Qur'an and reading notices forbidding the use of foreign languages – such as Turkish. However, the power of this indoctrination still resonates today, particularly among Bulgarians frightened to travel to Turkey. Those that do so are astonished at the warmth of their reception, particularly from Turks who emigrated in 1989 and for whom Bulgaria will always seem their natural homeland.

However the Communist anti-Turkish story lives on in the world view of Ataka, the extreme nationalist party that sees the EU as heading a conspiracy to destroy the Christian Orthodox state.

Many myths flourished during the Communist era – the same myths repeated now in print. As part of the Vile Conspiracy Theory, most Bulgarians know there is no such thing as coincidence. Thus it is impossible for a notable individual to die a natural death. There are facts unknown to any non-Bulgarian historian. Wartime King Boris must have been poisoned by Hitler because he refused to deport Bulgarian Jews. Georgi Dimitrov could not possibly have died as result of alcoholism. He too was poisoned – by Comrade Stalin. Ludmilla Zhivkova, the reputedly reformist daughter of Todor Zhivkov, must have been murdered by the KGB. Her brain haemorrhage could not possibly have been linked to an earlier car crash.

Similarly as part of the Deplorable Tribe Theory most Bulgarians know that every great national leader has been betrayed by his own people from Tsar Kaloyan to Vasil Levski; from Hristo Botev, to Stefan Stambolov.

So when you feel you need to listen to intense monologues full of amazing connections, just draw up a barstool and pose an innocent historical query. For a whole night's combination of drink and startling stories, just ask about the Macedonian Question.

Issue 13

Commenting on www.vagabond.bg

Vagabond Media Ltd requires you to submit a valid email to comment on www.vagabond.bg to secure that you are not a bot or a spammer. Learn more on how the company manages your personal information on our Privacy Policy. By filling the comment form you declare that you will not use www.vagabond.bg for the purpose of violating the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria. When commenting on www.vagabond.bg please observe some simple rules. You must avoid sexually explicit language and racist, vulgar, religiously intolerant or obscene comments aiming to insult Vagabond Media Ltd, other companies, countries, nationalities, confessions or authors of postings and/or other comments. Do not post spam. Write in English. Unsolicited commercial messages, obscene postings and personal attacks will be removed without notice. The comments will be moderated and may take some time to appear on www.vagabond.bg.

0 comments

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Restricted HTML

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.

Discover More

bridge over the danube at ruse
WHAT ABOUT ROMANIA?
Especially in recent years Bulgarian politicians of various inclinations periodically trumpet that this country has fulfilled all the "technical requirements" for membership of Schengen, the police cooperation agreement between most EU states.

WHO ARE VAZRAZHDANE'S VOTERS?
Since the fall of Communism in 1989 and the introduction of multiparty elections the following year Bulgarians have been given a Constitutional right to go to the polls regardless of whether they actually live in Bulgaria or not.
IS CHANGES CONTINUED TO BE CONTINUED?
The most readily available explanation why the Changes Continued government collapsed, propagated by former Prime Minister Kiril Petkov and former Finance Minister Asen Vasilev themselves, is that because it stepped on so many corrupt toes within a short pe
king samuil
IS IT REALLY ABOUT MAKEDONIYA-A-A?
Slavi Trifonov, the showman and crooner credited with propagating chalga culture in Bulgaria, could not have put it more plainly.

communist bulgaria youth
WHAT FEEDS BULGARIAN NOSTALGIA FOR COMMUNISM?
Some years ago the Pew Research Center in Washington DC produced a survey indicating the levels of nostalgia in Bulgaria surpassed by far longing for the past everywhere else in the former East bloc countries. How come?

pro-russia rally bulgaria
IS PUTIN 'WORLD LEADER' OR SADISTIC VILLAIN?
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has polarised public opinion in Bulgaria. In fact, Bulgaria has emerged, since the start of the war in Ukraine, as the only EU state where public support for Putin remains high.

anti ukraine protest bulgaria.jpg
WHY DO SO MANY BULGARIANS SUPPORT PUTIN?
Perhaps surprisingly for a country that was once an enthusiastic applicant to join NATO and the EU Bulgaria is now home to a significant number of people who support... Russia's tyrant Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine.

Satan strategic nuclear-head missile, capable of reaching the island of Manhattan in 20-30 minutes after launch
WHAT BULGARIANS GET WRONG ABOUT WAR IN UKRAINE
Though it has been a member of NATO since 2004 and of the EU since 2007 present-day Bulgaria appears not to be very enthusiastic about any involvement in the war in Ukraine.