November 18, 1989. Frosty Saturday, but no one pays attention to the weather, because Bulgarian hearts are hot…
On this day 35 years ago, on the square in front of the cathedral “St. Alexander Nevsky”, the first free rally was held after the fall of Todor Zhivkov from power. It includes both members of the BKP and people from the nascent blue opposition. What unites everyone is the dream of democracy.
At 11 o’clock, the square is already crowded, there are people even on the roofs and trees, BNT reports. In the press then, it was written that their number varied from 50 to 150 thousand people. The leader of the rally is Alexander Karakachanov, then secretary of “Ekoglasnost”. Years later, he admitted: “The square is not that big, there were a maximum of 40,000, even that seems a lot to me, but the number is not important. What is important is the effect it produced on the whole society.”
Only a week has passed since the fall of Todor Zhivkov from power. On the square are the future founders of the SDS, led by Zhelio Zhelev. However, there are also communists here, such as Angel Wagenstein and Georgi Mishev, whose party tickets were recently returned.
Dr. Peter Beron participated in the rally as an activist of “Ekoglasnost”. In the memoirs, he says: “The rally itself was largely initiated by the communists themselves, because the idea was to support the new government after the fall of Zhivkov.” What united communists and dissidents at this moment? According to him, the word is undoubtedly “democracy”.
The first to speak at the rally was Petko Simeonov, founder of “Club”. He calls for early, free elections to be held, in which every Bulgarian citizen can run for office without any political restrictions. The rally gives a vote of confidence to Petar Mladenov, the new general secretary of the BKP, but with a condition – if he does not do the democratic processes, he will leave like Zhivkov.
At this rally, Rumen Vodenicharov used the words “ladies and gentlemen” for the first time. He calls Petar Mladenov “sir” and not “comrade” – a reserved address under communism. He gets a lot of boos though.
Alexander Karakachanov remembers that one of the memorable words was that of Petar Gogov, who said – “We don’t want the skins of the communists on the walls”, but everyone understood that he wanted exactly that.
Writers Radoi Ralin and Blaga Dimitrova also speak, who recalls that at one time Bulgaria was known around the world as the “Land of Roses”, and the autocracy’s monopoly turned it into a “Land of Sclerosis”.
The resolution of the rally was read by the future president Zhelio Zhelev. It calls for urgent measures to be taken “to liquidate the most ugly entities from the personal regime of Todor Zhivkov and to open wide the way for democratic reforms in all spheres of social life.”
Security guards at the rally wear blue armbands to distinguish themselves. A little later, this will become the color of the SDS. A little later, the people present here will enter different parties and begin to divide into blue and red.
And we have been waiting for the promise of democracy for 35 years to happen…
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Interviewer: Alexander, could you share how Petar Mladenov reacted to the calls for early elections during and after the rally? What were the implications of his response for the political climate in Bulgaria?
As a professional website editor for world-today-news.com, I am pleased to present an interview with two guests about the historical event highlighted in our article today, the first free rally held in Bulgaria on November 18, 1989.
Guest 1: Dr. Peter Beron, an activist of “Ekoglasnost” during that time period, and now a renowned historian and political analyst.
Guest 2: Alexander Karakachanov, who was the leader of the rally and the secretary of “Ekoglasnost” back then, and is now a prominent politician and the leader of “Vazrazhdane” political party.
Section 1: The Significance of the Rally and the Unifying Factor - Democracy
Interviewer: Today, we’re talking about the first free rally held in Bulgaria on November 18, 1989, which marks its 35th anniversary. Dr. Beron, what do you think was the significance of this event for Bulgaria during that time period?
Dr. Beron: Well, the significance lies in the fact that it was a turning point in the history of Bulgaria. It was the first time that people gathered in such large numbers to call for democracy and freedom after decades of communist rule. It showed that the people were no longer willing to live under oppression and that they wanted change.
Interviewer: And Alexander, as someone who was part of the organizing committee of the rally, what were your thoughts on the unifying factor that brought both communists and dissidents together at that time?
Alexander: The word “democracy” united us all. Despite our differences, we all wanted the same thing – a system where the people had a voice and the power to shape their own future. The desire for democracy transcended political affiliations and ideologies.
Section 2: The Call for Early Elections and Petar Mladenov’s Response
Interviewer: Dr. Beron, you mentioned that the rally called for early free elections to be held. Can you elaborate on what that meant and how that demand was received by the authorities?
Dr. Beron: Sure, the demand for early elections meant holding elections before the new administration had time to cons
