We decided our topic to be concerned with the democratization in the post-communist world. Since I, Zhivko, am from Bulgaria and thus have a deeper knowledge of that subject and Andrew is from the US, we think that it would be a very good idea to compare Bulgaria’s transition into a democracy with the already established and used as an example democracy in the US. We think that, the fact that we were born and raised in two very different countries would prove beneficial (especially when using the qualitative method of research). To give you some idea of the history of Bulgaria prior to its democratic transition I have collected information from various web sites.

“The History of Communist Bulgaria encompasses the period of Bulgarian history between 1944 and 1989. During this time, the country was known as the People’s Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) (Bulgarian: Народна република България, Narodna republika Balgariya) and was under the administration of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP). BCP transformed itself in 1990, changing its name to Bulgarian Socialist Party, and is currently part of the governing coalition government. Bulgaria was an Eastern Block Soviet satellite state during the Cold War, a member of the Warsaw Pact and the Comecon.” Link

Todor Zhivkov (click here for information about him), has been associated with communism in Bulgaria. The concept of charismatic legitimacy, which is in our current readings, can be applied very well in this situation. Zhivkov possessed that kind of legitimacy which allowed him to rule Bulgaria for 33 years (1944-1989). The first free elections since 1931 were held in 1990, paving the way for democracy.

Bellow you will find two videos. One is from a Russian channel which was one of the only choices that Bulgarians could watch prior to 1974. The other one is from a modern, private-owned channel called BTV which shows Bush’s recent visit to Bulgaria. It is a very radical example, yet it is interesting to see it.

“For many years, without translation and the only choice on a Friday night, until Bulgarian TV started its second channel in 1974″