Soviet Newspapers on the 1923 Bulgarian Coup D’État

Abstract

The events of June 9, 1923 have been reflected in the works of not only Bulgarian, but also Russian researchers. However, their coverage in Soviet periodicals has been overlooked by historians. It should be noted that mass media were the most important propaganda channel used by the Bolsheviks to form the perceptions of the country’s population. On the basis of the analysis of information and analytical materials of Soviet newspapers, this article investigates the reflection of the 1923 Bulgarian coup d’état in the Soviet press. The author points out that throughout 1923 Soviet newspapers painted a picture of growing contradictions in Bulgarian society, calling what was happening a civil war. The reader was led to believe that the coup was a consequence of A. Stamboliyski’s foreign and domestic policies. The press described in detail the causes, participants, course and results of the coup, highlighting the significant role of the Macedonian rebels and the absolute indifference of the working masses. A special place in the newspapers was given to drawing lessons from the Bulgarian events. Most importantly, a conclusion was made that the Menshevik-Socialist-Revolutionary idea of a bloodless revolution had failed. From the standpoint of Soviet newspapers, the events in Bulgaria showed that “bourgeois reaction” was ready to shed rivers of blood in order to retain its power. This way the reader was led to believe that only decisive actions of the workers and peasants could ensure victory and establish the workers’ and peasants’ power in the country. The Bulgarian Communist Party, however, was indecisive and adopted a wait-and-see attitude, which was condemned by the Comintern. The Comintern analysts concluded that the coup once again confirmed the idea that the working masses could only come to power under the leadership of the Communists, otherwise the “black bourgeois reaction” would triumph.