Accessibility links

Breaking News

Qaddafi's Magic Carpet Ride


I found an interesting photo in my archives. Libya leader Muammar Qaddafi and Bulgaria’s communist leader Todor Zhivkov are captured during an official visit by Qaddafi to Bulgaria in the late 1970s. Communist Bulgaria was one of the few European countries where Qaddafi could count on the royal reception he was accustomed to. The photo was taken by an official photographer of the BTA (Bulgarian Telegraph Agency). The location is most likely the countryside near a collective agricultural farm, which Zhivkov loved to boast about as evidence of the primacy of the socialist way.

-- Nikola Krastev

About This Blog

Written by RFE/RL editors and correspondents, Transmission serves up news, comment, and the odd silly dictator story. While our primary concern is with foreign policy, Transmission is also a place for the ideas -- some serious, some irreverent -- that bubble up from our bureaus. The name recognizes RFE/RL's role as a surrogate broadcaster to places without free media. You can write us at transmission+rferl.org

Latest Posts

XS
SM
MD
LG