Balgarianovinite.com On November 10, 1989, the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) accepted the resignation of its general secretary, Todor Zhivkov. He came down after 33 years in power, as Gorbachev’s policies of perestroika and glasnost had transformed the political landscape across Eastern Europe.
Zhivkov submitted his resignation to the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party on November 9, the day the Berlin Wall fell. However, the leadership of the Communist Party did not inform the public until after it had been voted on at the party plenum on November 10. Zhivkov, aged 78, agreed to resign following a series of meetings with the Soviet ambassador to Bulgaria, KGB General Viktor Sharapov, between November 6 and 9, according to Dr. Mihail Gruev, head of the State Archive Agency.
He was replaced by Petar Mladenov, the then Minister of Foreign Affairs who was to restructure the communist regime, similar to Mikhail Gorbachev’s attempts in the USSR. However, following the rapid developments in Eastern Europe, it soon became clear that the totalitarian system could not be preserved and that the BCP could no longer rule alone. On November 17, Mladenov was elected President of the State Council in the first National Assembly sitting after the plenum, which was broadcast live on TV. The Assembly also repealed Penal Code provisions that criminalized criticism of the government. A month later, the BCP renounced one-party rule when its Central Committee adopted a package of decisions setting the nation on a course to parliamentary democracy and proposed the repeal of Article 1 of the Constitution, which had granted the BCP a monopoly on power. The repeal of Article 1 came into effect on January 15, 1990.
In June 1990, Bulgaria held its first multiparty parliamentary elections since the reforms.
Zhivkov stepped down on the understanding that his family would not be subjected to any reprisals, leaving the Bulgarians facing huge debts – nearly BGN 11 billion in foreign debt and BGN 26 billion of domestic debt, according to “The Secret Bankruptcies of Communism” by investigative journalist Hristo Hristov – that had accumulated over the last few years of his administration.
Todor Zhivkov was charged for the forcible assimilation of ethnic Turks, abuse of power and causing detriment to the state budget. He died on August 5, 1998, without ever being convicted of the crimes he committed during his time in power. All charges against him were dropped after his death.
Here is how the Bulgarian News Agency covered the fall of Todor Zhivkov on November 10, 1989:
Petar Mladenov Is Elected Secretary General of Communist Party Central Committee
Sofia, November 10, 1989 (BTA) – At its regular plenary session today, the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party elected Comrade Petar Mladenov General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party.
The plenary session granted Todor Zhivkov’s request to be relieved of his duties as General Secretary and member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, and expressed deep gratitude for his many years of dedicated service to the Party and the people.
The plenum proposes that the National Assembly honour Comrade Todor Zhivkov’s request to be relieved of his duties as Chairman of the State Council of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria.
The international reaction to Zhivkov’s ouster was reported in BTA’s S–2A Special Confidential Supplement Bulletin. Following is a dispatch from the Associated Press:
Petar Mladenov is BCP CC Secretary General
Sofia, November 11 (By Roland Prinz, Associated Press Writer). Todor Zhivkov, the Soviet bloc’s longest- serving party leader, stepped down, but his successor said that the struggle to remove the other members of the old guard will be very severe. While promising full freedom of all information, Petar Mladenov still made it clear that Bulgaria will not follow the example of some other Warsaw Pact countries and deviate from communism. Zhivkov resigned yesterday after 35 years in power, during which he moulded Bulgaria into one of the Kremlin’s most loyal allies.
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