People of the Revolution and the USSR
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Dimitar Nikolov Blagoev Димитр Николов Благоев
Founder of Bulgarian socialism who organized Russia's first Marxist circle
Political and party leadership · Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP)
1856–1924
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Vasil Petrov Kolarov Васил Петров Коларов
Co-founder of Bulgarian communism, from the Comintern to head of state
Diplomacy and international organization · Comintern
1877–1950
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Georgi Mihaylov Dimitrov Георги Михайлов Димитров
From Leipzig defendant to Comintern General Secretary
Diplomacy and international organization · Comintern
1882–1949
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Nikola Dimitrov Petkov Никола Димитров Петков
Agrarian leader who opposed communist rule and was hanged after a show trial
Political and party leadership
1893–1947
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Traicho Kostov Трайчо Костов
Bulgaria's number two, who ran the repression and fell to a Stalinist purge
Political and party leadership · Bulgaria
1897–1949
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Todor Hristov Zhivkov Тодор Христов Живков
The Eastern Bloc's longest-serving leader, 35 years as Moscow's most loyal Balkan ally
Political and party leadership · Bulgaria
1911–1998
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Petar Mladenov Петър Младенов
The diplomat who opened Bulgaria's post-Zhivkov transition
Political and party leadership · Bulgaria
1936–2000
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Ivan Yotov Krastev Иван Йотов Кръстев
Bulgarian political thinker who argued that the post-1989 imperative to imitate the West bred illiberal backlash in Eastern Europe
Scholarship and theory
1965–