The history of Bulgaria. From the First World War to socialism. Lesson eleven.

On the Bulgarian throne, Tsar Ferdinand was succeeded by his son Boris, who was destined to become the last Bulgarian tsar. Boris III ruled the country until 1943. The times he was given were not easy, and he was not always able to rest at the royal residence.

The wars of the beginning of the century cost Bulgaria dearly. The reforms carried out by the government could not normalise the situation. One military coup after another took place in the country. In addition, Bulgaria was affected by the Great Depression, which had engulfed the whole world.

Bulgaria in the Second World War

For some time, Bulgarian diplomats managed to manoeuvre between the opposing forces, maintaining neutrality. Skilful diplomacy allowed the Bulgarians to regain Southern Dobruja, which by that time had belonged to Romania for more than two decades.

However, the pressure from other states increased, and in 1941 the country entered the Second World War, having concluded a treaty with Germany and Italy. This step allowed Bulgaria to realise its long-held dream of recovering its ancestral territories. During the war it managed to win back Macedonia and part of Greece, but Bulgaria was unable to hold on to these gains.

While effectively fighting on Germany’s side, Bulgaria tried to maintain friendly relations with the USSR. In particular, Bulgarian soldiers were not sent to the Eastern Front. Nevertheless, the situation became increasingly tense. In 1943, Tsar Boris III travelled to a meeting with Hitler, after which he unexpectedly died. This led to a deepening of the crisis: the population refused to support the pro-fascist government.

Further changes

In September 1944, the USSR declared war on Bulgaria. Within a few days, Soviet troops entered the country’s territory in the area of Silistra and moved towards Shumen and Razgrad. Their aim was to neutralise the German fleet, which was in the area of Varna and Burgas. At the same time, a new coup took place in Bulgaria — the communists came to power. Thus, the USSR’s troops met with no resistance; moreover, they were greeted with flowers, just as the German troops had been greeted several years earlier.

Once again Bulgaria failed to resolve the question of recovering its lost territories — only Southern Dobruja remained part of the country. In addition, from this moment a new chapter of Bulgarian history began — for almost 50 years the country became socialist. Until the end of the war, Bulgarian troops fought alongside the Soviet ones against the Third Reich.

Tsarska Bistritsa — the residence of the last Bulgarian tsar

The «Srebarna» nature reserve near Silistra

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