SOFIA -- The government's recommendation to give the highest state award to Georgi Yordanov, a former culture minister closely associated with the communist regime of Todor Zhivkov, has sparked outrage and political debate in Bulgaria.
With Bulgaria facing its seventh general election in three years amid an ongoing political crisis, the cabinet of the caretaker government recently decided to award Yordanov -- a senior and influential Communist Party apparatchik who turned 90 this year -- the prestigious Stara Planina Order of the first degree.
Yordanov would be the first senior party official to receive the prestigious award in the postcommunist period, and critics have said it would be disrespectful to the victims of communism and whitewash Bulgaria's troubled past.
Atanas Atanasov, a leader of the reformist We Continue The Change-Democratic Bulgaria coalition, told parliament on August 1 that he strongly opposed the nomination and reminded parliament of the 2000 law that declared the communist regime criminal. His comments sparked a heated debate when representatives from the Bulgarian Socialist Party, the successor of the Communist Party, confronted him at the rostrum.
Yordanov's supporters have defended the former communist minister, saying that, by promoting the country's culture and heritage, he was a great global ambassador for Bulgaria. They point to his role in organizing international exhibitions of Thracian treasure found in Bulgaria and the promotion of Bulgarian folk and classical music abroad.
Agitprop
Born in 1934, Yordanov rose through the ranks of the Communist Party, working in the propaganda and agitation department, which was connected to the Komsomol, the party's youth wing.
Georgi Yordanov rose through the Communist Party ranks.
Yordanov was reportedly close to Lyudmila Zhivkova, the daughter of the communist leader who was known for her role in promoting Bulgarian arts and culture internationally.
Despite his brief tenure as culture minister from 1987 to November 1989, Yordanov was a critical figure in the 1980s, implementing the Communist Party's policies of control, censorship, and prohibition of any artistic creations that did not align with the official ideology.
Since 1982, Yordanov served as the chairman of the Committee for Culture at a ministerial level, and, since 1986, he was the head of the Council for Spiritual Development, a body that regulated religious and cultural activities.
The decision to honor Yordanov, initiated by acting Culture Minister Nayden Todorov, cites Yordanov's "contribution to the spiritual upliftment of the nation." That particular turn of phrase has raised eyebrows in Bulgaria, redolent of the ruling party's nationalist rhetoric in the final years of the communist regime.
In the late 1980s, Bulgaria's communist government launched a forced assimilation campaign against the ethnic Turkish minority. The campaign attempted to restrict the use of the Turkish language and mandated that ethnic Turks use Slavic versions of their names.
A still from video footage of ethnic Turks being expelled from Bulgaria, at the border with Turkey, in 1989.
However, the integration effort was strongly resisted by the Turkish minority, which led to the expulsion in 1989 of nearly 320,000 ethnic Turks and their forced migration to Turkey.
Communist Party and intelligence service archives have revealed that Yordanov was involved in Politburo discussions on how to deport the Bulgarian Turks in 1989. "Our country has an interest in spilling some blood," Yordanov was quoted as saying in a Politburo meeting. "That which is unclean must expire."
Nostalgia For Communism
Nearly 35 years after the fall of communism, Bulgaria is still struggling to come to terms with the injustices of its authoritarian past. Campaigners for historical justice have criticized Bulgaria's limited lustration, feeble public education, and only the partial opening of the security service's archive.
The 2000 law that declared the communist regime criminal, which was referred to in parliament by Atanasov, has been repeatedly criticized for not providing a framework with which to punish perpetrators of political crimes in the communist era.
While Yordanov would be the first senior leader to be given the Stara Planina Order, it is not the first time that Bulgarians with ties to the communist regime have been honored by the state. Under President Rumen Radev, previous recipients of the state awards have included a businessman with ties to Multigrup, a conglomerate associated with the communist secret police, and a former agent for the security services. Radev was nominated for the presidency -- an influential but ceremonial position -- by the Bulgarian Socialist Party and his pro-Russian statements have been popular among his supporters.
Bulgarian President Rumen Radev arrives for a summit in Oxfordshire, England, on July 18.
Nostalgia for communism and the Soviet period goes hand in hand with anti-Western, antidemocratic, and pro-Russian sentiments. These views are represented in parliament by the Bulgarian Socialist Party and the far-right Revival and Greatness parties.
Bulgaria is still blighted by high-level corruption and organized crime, much of it involving shadowy business networks with ties to the former communist secret police. Many former communist officials are still active in key political positions.
The Stara Planina Order, named after a famous Balkan mountain range, is given to Bulgarian citizens or foreign nationals for their outstanding achievements and service to Bulgaria. The order of the first degree is only given to the most distinguished recipients.