History of Bulgaria during communism
| People's Republic of Bulgaria | ||||||||||
| Народна република България (Bulgarian) Narodna republika Balgariya (transliteration) |
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| Satellite state of the Soviet Union Member of the Warsaw Pact |
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Flag of Bulgaria (1971–1990)
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Motto Пролета̀рии от всѝчки странѝ, съединя̀вайте се! Proletàrii ot vsìčki stràni, sǎedinjàvajte se! (transliteration) (Workers of all countries, unite!) |
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Anthem
Our Republic, Hail! (until 1950)
Републико наша, здравей! (Bulgarian) Republiko nasha, zdravey! (transliteration)
Dear Bulgaria, Land of Heroes (1950–1964)
Dear Motherland (from 1964)Българийо мила, земя на герои (Bulgarian) Balgariyo mila, zemya na geroi (transliteration) Мила Родино (Bulgarian) |
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 Location of Bulgaria in Europe in 1990
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| Capital | Sofia | |||||||||
| Languages | Bulgarian | |||||||||
| Government |
Unitary Marxist–Leninist one–party socialist republic (1944-1989) Unitary parliamentary constitutional republic (1989–1990) |
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| General Secretary | ||||||||||
| • | 1946–1949 | Georgi Dimitrov | ||||||||
| • | 1949–1954 | Valko Chervenkov | ||||||||
| • | 1954–1989 | Todor Zhivkov | ||||||||
| • | 1989–1990 | Petar Mladenov | ||||||||
| President | ||||||||||
| • | 1946–1947 (first) | Vasil Kolarov | ||||||||
| • | 1989–1990 (last) | Petar Mladenov | ||||||||
| Chairman of the Council of Ministers | ||||||||||
| • | 1946–1949 (first) | Georgi Dimitrov | ||||||||
| • | 1990 (last) | Andrey Lukanov | ||||||||
| Legislature | National Assembly State Council | |||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | |||||||||
| • | Monarchy abolished | 15 September 1946 | ||||||||
| • | Admitted to the United Nations | 14 December 1955 | ||||||||
| • | Zhivkov Constitution | 18 May 1971 | ||||||||
| • | End of the People's Republic | 15 November 1990 | ||||||||
| Area | ||||||||||
| • | 1946 | 110,994 km2 (42,855 sq mi) | ||||||||
| Population | ||||||||||
| • | 1946 est. | 7,029,349 | ||||||||
| Density | 63/km2 (164/sq mi) | |||||||||
| • | 1989 est. | 9,009,018 | ||||||||
| Density | 81/km2 (210/sq mi) | |||||||||
| Currency | Bulgarian lev | |||||||||
| Internet TLD | .bg | |||||||||
| Calling code | +359 | |||||||||
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| Today part of |
 Bulgaria
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The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; Bulgarian: Народна република България (НРБ) Narodna republika Bǎlgariya (NRB)) was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic.
The People's Republic of Bulgaria existed from 1946 to 1990 and it was ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP), which in turn ruled together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union. Bulgaria was part of Comecon and a member of the Warsaw Pact and was closely allied with the Soviet Union during the Cold War. The Bulgarian resistance movement during World War II deposed the Kingdom of Bulgaria administration in the Bulgarian coup d'état of 1944 which ended the country's alliance with the Axis powers and led to the People's Republic in 1946.
The BCP modelled its policies after those of the Soviet Union, transforming the country over the course of a decade from an agrarian peasant society into an industrialised socialist society. In the mid 1950s and after the death of Stalin, conservative hardliners lost influence and a period of social liberalisation and stability followed under Todor Zhivkov. Varying degrees of conservative or liberal influence followed. After a new energy and transportation infrastructure was constructed, by 1960 manufacturing became the dominant sector of the economy and Bulgaria became a major exporter of household goods and later on computer technologies, earning it the nickname of "Silicon Valley of the Eastern Bloc". The country's relatively high productivity levels and high scores on social development rankings made it a model for other socialist countries' administrative policies.
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