Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

80 years since the communist coup in Bulgaria

Photo: historymuseum.org

It is 80 years, on 9 September, since the communist coup d'état which put an end to the Kingdom of Bulgaria.

On 9 September, 1944, as World War II was still raging, officers who had passed over to the so-called Fatherland Front seized the Ministry of War, the Central Post Office, the Central Railway Station and other key sites in Sofia. The cabinet ministers from the government of Konstantin Muraviev were arrested and Kimon Georgiev, who took the helm of the new government, declared, over the radio, the new government of the national committee of the Fatherland Front. Bulgaria, which had been an ally of Nazi Germany, had by that time severed relations with the Third Reich. Nevertheless, on the night of 9 September, 1944, the government was overthrown, and Bulgaria was occupied by the Soviet Union’s red army. Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence, and a wave of brutal violence and repressions ensued, with the so-called People’s Court later sentencing thousands to death, thus effectively beheading the country’s political, state, military and intellectual elite.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Златни пясъци

Bulgaria has the fifth highest growth in overnight stays in the EU, according to Eurostat

Bulgaria is among the top 5 countries in the EU in terms of growth in the number of nights spent by visitors in the period Apr-June 2024 compared to the same period in 2023, Eurostat said.  The data show that the country is establishing itself as a..

published on 9/18/24 3:57 PM

MPs introduce 'national resort' criteria

Parliament has adopted, in first reading, amendments to the Tourism Act that regulate the criteria for the designation of National Resorts. The designation will be made by a decision of the Council of Ministers on the proposal of the Minister of..

published on 9/18/24 1:53 PM
Minister of Labour and Social Policy Ivaylo Ivanov

One out of five Bulgarians has received help from the European Social Fund

One out of five Bulgarians has received support from the European Social Fund during the past 7 years, caretaker Minister of Social Affairs Ivaylo Ivanov said at the "Europe is with me" forum, organized by the "Human Resources..

published on 9/18/24 11:46 AM