6. Demonstrations
Southern Bulgaria starts beyond Cape Nos Emine and the port city of Burgas. Nos Emine is located more than 55 km south of Varna and forms the extension of the elongated Stara Planina mountain range that divides Bulgaria into north and south. In this part, there are numerous attractive villages and several pristine bays, often accessible only by water.
Ivan decides to sail into a bay, the Sveta Paraskeva. Once the anchor has been dropped, attached to a rock, and the engine silenced, there is a moment of profound silence. Red-gray granite embraces the clear water. Countless schools of small fish swim beneath the shore. The forest creaks, rustles, and reveals various bird sounds. Then Ivan’s call echoes against the wooded slopes: “Paraaaadise!”
Indeed, the place is beautiful and situated in the middle of a nature reserve that once belonged to party leader Todor Zhivkov. Viewed from the water, it’s the communist version of a stage-set landscape; an area that, when viewed from the water, seems to promise nothing but balance and harmony. The failing economy, scarcity, and poverty remain hidden behind the beautiful rock formations and green forest edges along the coast. It’s no wonder that communist leaders liked to retreat here.
When he was deposed in 1989, Comrade Zhivkov had been in power uninterrupted for 33 years. On November 10, 1989, a day after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the staunch ally of the Soviet Union was forced to resign ‘due to health reasons’ after a palace revolution orchestrated by his friends in the Politburo.
The coup was led by former minister Peter Mladenov, the later president. One of the other participants was former Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov. He was appointed Prime Minister in February 1990 and began negotiations with the opposition. This led to the introduction of a multi-party system in March 1990 and free elections in June 1990. These were overwhelmingly won by the (now former) Communists who had renamed their party the Bulgarian Socialist Party. The BSP won 211 out of 400 parliamentary seats, after which Lukanov unsuccessfully attempted to form a government of national unity.
But tensions rose, and in the fall of 1990, anti-communist sentiments flared up. The headquarters of the BSP were attacked, and demonstrations took place again, mainly against the announced economic reforms. The unions threatened a general strike. The economy was completely stagnant with food shortages, rationed electricity, and outdated industry.
Lukanov resigned and faded into the political background. A ‘government of experts’ was formed to prepare economic reforms, draft a new constitution, and announce new elections. Foreign credits to Bulgaria had been suspended a year earlier after it was forced to repay its debt. Therefore, agreements also had to be reached with foreign creditors.
Economic reforms were introduced in February 1991. Prices and the exchange rate were liberalised. The state monopoly on foreign trade was lifted. According to a report by the European Union, “the stabilisation program introduced at that time was based on strict monetary and fiscal policies and a drastic income policy. When this policy led to social tensions, it was somewhat ‘relaxed’ in September 1991.”
Politically, the situation remained unstable. In December 1991, elections were held again, but none of the participating parties secured a majority. Eventually, a new ‘government of experts’ was formed, which would govern the country until December 1994. Former Prime Minister Lukanov did not fare well. In 1992, he was arrested on charges of fraud. He was also alleged to have maintained dubious contacts with Western businessmen like Robert Maxwell during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Trade. The charges were later dropped.
Lukanov would eventually be shot in the head and chest by an unknown assailant in front of his apartment in Sofia on October 2, 1996, and did not survive the attack. The motive was never clarified. It’s possible that the assailant was hired by a political opponent, but there were also speculations about a criminal settling of scores.
In the bay, Ivan looks around with enjoyment. Apart from an apparatchik who still has a dacha here, the local population, according to him, includes wolves, bears, and snakes, among other creatures. “You have to be careful of the ‘pep lanka,’ a venomous snake that’s fifty centimetres to a meter long. They’re not very aggressive, only if you startle them. So, you need to be a bit cautious while walking.”
Ivan is one of many who expects a lot from the opening of the RMD canal and the free market economy. The poor economic situation in the countries around the Black Sea has led to a decrease in the number of visitors to Bulgarian ports. In 1991, the harbour master in Varna counted about a hundred yachts; seventy from the former Soviet Union, thirty from the West. This year, there are only about thirty, and the season is already halfway through.
“I’d like to bring a group of people from Varna here every week,” Ivan continues a little later, pointing around him. “But how do you explain to them how stunning this area is? How do you convince them? Last year, I still encountered Bulgarian ships here. Now, nobody has time anymore. Everyone is too busy working, doing business.”