WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE IN COMMUNIST BULGARIA?

Interview of Albena Kaneti by Moni KanetiBulgarian anti-government protestors.

BULGARIAN HISTORY Prior to being under communist control,

Bulgaria was controlled by the Ottoman Empire for about 500 years.

GERMAN INFLUENCE IN BULGARIA Not long after the Ottoman Empire fell

and Bulgaria became independent, Germany established its influence over Bulgaria.

For the next 40-50 years, until WWII, the Bulgarian government was mainly under German influence.

BEGINNING OF COMMUNISM “In ‘44, the people decided that they

wanted all of the factories and businesses to belong to the people.” Albena Kaneti, translated from Bulgarian

My Grandfather’s sock factory was one of these factories and businesses seized by the government for the good of the people.

NO POOR, AND NO RICH “…so that there wouldn’t be any very

poor people, and any very rich people…” Albena Kaneti, translated from Bulgarian

The goal of communism was to achieve equality. No one would be rich or poor, everyone would have the same amount of money.

COMMUNISTIC TAKEOVER In 1943 all of the people who supported

the German regime in Bulgaria were sent to re-education camps and put in jail.

This marks the official transition of communism into Bulgaria.

HOW PEOPLE LIVED DURING COMMUNISM

During communist rule in Bulgaria, most people were content with their lives.

My grandma says that most people enjoyed the simplicity of life. They simply had to work at their job, no matter what they did, and they didn’t have to worry about not having enough money.

ATTITUDES TOWARDS COMMUNISM In the early days of communism,

people trusted the government and did not question whether what they did was right or not. If the government said it, it was the right thing to do and you shouldn’t question it.

ATTITUDES BEGIN TO CHANGE Attitudes towards the communist

government only began to change with the younger generations of Bulgarians. My parent’s generation.

I also talked to my mom, who has often told me stories of what it was like for her to live under communist rule.

MY MOM’S EXPERIENCES Unlike my grandma, my mom really

HATED communism. She always dreamed of coming to the US.

This was partly because she was more exposed to Western culture than the previous generation.

She almost got expelled from boarding school because she was seen wearing jeans outside of school!

MY MOM’S EXPERIENCES CONT. My mom and other Bulgarians from her

generation went to great lengths to procure black-market copies of The Beatles albums and jeans and other basic things I overlook because I find them so familiar.

GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES It’s pretty clear to see the differences

between my grandmother’s views and my mother’s views on communism.

It’s important to note that people from my grandmother’s generation were perfectly happy living in communism and enjoyed the control because it meant they had less to worry about.