Dictator and Ethnic Cleanser Zhivkov: A Posthumous Personality Cult

Description

Comrade Todor Zhivkov ruled communist Bulgaria between 1954 and 1989. He was the sole stalinist leader of a Soviet bloc state who survived the official destalinization. As many as three times Zhivkov applied for Bulgaria to join the Soviet Union. Zhivkov ordered the ethnic cleansing of 360,000 Bulgarian Turks and Muslims in the summer of 1989, which spelled his own downfall and the end of communism in this country. During his term in office, Zhivkov did not pursue a personality cult. In 1990, he was put on trial for communist crimes. This trial never fully concluded, due to the defendant’s death in 1998. Formally, Zhivkov was under house arrest. Yet, in postcommunist Bulgaria, he travelled widely across the country to the applause of adulating masses. In 2001, the personality cult of Zhivkov kicked off on the 90th anniversary of his birth. Uniquely for the postcommunist states that became members of the EU and NATO, the personality cult of Zhivkov continues to this day. Is it just a quaint custom or rather a strong indicator of popular support for a totalitarian (authoritarian) system of governance in quest for the full ethnolinguistic and ethnoconfessional homogeneity in Bulgaria?

Period	29 Oct 2025
Event title	Between the Worlds: Crossroads, Dialogues, and Stories
Event type	Conference
Location	Sofia, BulgariaShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International