Major Characters in this Episode:

Prime Minister Andrey Lyapchev

Prime Minister Alexander Malinov

Prime Minister Nikola Mushanov

Alexander Tsankov

Timeline for this episode:

• 1929, November 20th - Dec 16th - 52 members of the extremist wing of the Worker’s Party are put on trial.

• 1930, Jan 20th - A reparations conference is held in The Hague during which payments are eased.

• 1930, Jan - The first talking film presented in Bulgaria - Atlantic - is screened at the “Modern Theater” in Sofia.

• 1930, Mar 28th - On the request of the Turkish government, international bodies begin to refer to Constantinople as Istanbul.

• 1930, May 15th - Lyapchev forms a new cabinet

• 1930, 12-22nd June - A bomb is detonated at the Nis railway station, leading to the arrest of 25 Macedonian activists in Bulgaria under British pressure.

• 1930, Jun 17th - The Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act comes into law, kicking off a round of tariffs around the world that will worsen the Great Depression and slow international trade.

• 1930, Jul - Ivan Mihailov purchases 1,000 rifles from a Croatian manufacturer through the Ustaca organization.

• 1930, Oct 5-12 - The First Balkan Conference for Cooperation is held in Athens with all Balkan states participating.

• 1930, Oct 31st - Tsar Boris marries Princess Giovanna.

• 1930, Dec - A law is passed to help sustain Bulgarian agriculture during the growing international crisis. Grain is purchased at above market rates and half the payment is in cash while the other half is in government bonds which can be used to pay taxes or debts to state banks.

• 1930, Incident where Macedonian army members tortured a man to extract a confession against an army official opposed to them.

• 1931, Apr 2nd - Seven opposition parties (Democrats, two agrarian parties, Craftsman, Radicals, United National Liberals, and National Liberals) make a statement against government terror and 6 days later enact a vote of no confidence in Lyapchev.

• 1931, May 14th - After a month-long crisis, the Democratic Conspiracy, National Liberal Party, and People’s Coalition form a new government known as the People’s Coalition with Lyapchev remaining as Prime Minister.

• 1931, May 30th - The Democratic party forms the People’s Bloc coalition, which is joined by two Agrarian parties, the Radical Party, and the National Liberal Party.

• 1931, Jun 19th - The Hoover Moratorium suspends reparation payments for Germany in light of the growing financial crisis. The reparations will be canceled entirely just over a year later.

• 1931, June 21st - Elections for the 23rd National Assembly are held in which the People’s Bloc wins 152 seats, the People’s Coalition, 78 seats, the Labor Bloc, 31, and the Macedonian Group, 8, and the Broad Socialists, 5.

• 1931, Jun 29th - Alexander Malinov becomes the new PM at the head of a People’s Bloc government. Assessment of the Lyapchev government.

• 1931, Sep 3rd - King Aleksander of Yugoslavia announces a new constitution.

• 1931, Oct 12th - After ill health forced Malinov to step down, a new People’s Bloc government is formed under the head of the Democratic Party Nikola Mushanov.

• 1931, Oct 30th - Senior members of the Bulgarian Communist Party end up in a shootout with police. A member of the Central Committee is arrested and the secretary is killed.

• 1931, Dec 16th - Alexander Tsankov is prevented from giving a lecture at a university by students, farmers, and communists who clash with police.

• 1931, Dec 23rd - The Law on the Control of Monopoly and Cartel Prices is passed, rationing raw materials and essential industrial goods.

• 1931, Dec - The General Union of Patriotic Organizations is founded. It includes the Union of Reserve Offices, Union of Reserve NCOs, the “Yunak” Union, the “Bulgarian Homeland Defense Union, the Bulgaria People’s Union “Kubrat”, and others.

• 1932, Jan 5th - Political amnesty is granted for crimes committed until the end of 1931.

• 1932, Mar - Various small Agrarian parties hold a Congress, with some merging and others splitting.

• 1932, Late Mar - The League of Nations grants a moratorium on reparation payments and relieves Bulgaria of 50% of its remaining external debts for 6 months. Also called the March Reparations Crisis.

• 1932, Apr 1st - Amendments to tax law exempt around 400,000 farmers from land taxes. Note that by 1932-3 food prices were at ½ to ⅓ the prices they had been in 1929, resulting in a 52% decline in agricultural income.

• 1932, Early Apr - The Mihailovist wing of the VMRO holds a congress, voting for the full independence of all of Macedonia.

• 1932, Apr 12th - The Law for the Protection of the Farmer-Owner is adopted, halting the payment of debts by farmers and reducing those debts by 30%. Remaining debts can be repaid in installments.

• 1932, May 15th - The Democratic Conspiracy holds a congress during which the Tsankov wing splits from the Lyapchev wing. The Tsankov Wing is subsequently called the People’s Social Movement.

• 1932, May 15th - A Bulgarian Nazi Party is founded under the leadership of Hristo Kunchev with a newspaper called “Attack”.

• 1932, May 16th - The Protogerovist wing of the VMRO assassinated the chairman of the Macedonian National Committee, Dimitar Mihailov.

• 1932, Jun 24th - A trade agreement is signed with Germany.

• 1932, July - Prime Minister Mushanov meets with exiled Agrarians in Switzerland to agree on their amnesty.

• 1932, Aug 26th The fascist Union of Bulgarian Legions is founded.

Sources:

• История на България в Дати by Vasil Katsunov, Plamen Mitev, Valeri Kolev, Evgenia Kalinova, and Iskra Baeva

• The Rose of the Balkans by Ivan Ilchev

• History of the Balkans: Twentieth Century by Barbara Jelavich

• Crown of Thorns by Stephane Groueff

• The Balkans by Misha Glenny

• Alexander Stamboliiski by R.J. Crampton

• A Concise History of Bulgaria by R.J. Crampton

• Bulgaria 1879-1946: The Challenge of Choice by Tatiana Kostadinova