Boyan Zhekov
In late August 1944, the 3th Ukrainian Front (UF) of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army (WPRA) commenced its concentration on the Romanian-Bulgarian border. By this time, the preparation for the Soviet invasion in the Tsardom of Bulgaria had already started. On the 22nd of August 1944, Marshal Georgy Zhukov was summoned from the battlefield to Moscow. He received “the special task” to prepare the 3rd UF “for war with Bulgaria”. Thus, during the last days of August 1944, Marshal Zhukov arrived at the Headquarters (HQ) of the 3rd Ukrainian Front in the Romanian city of Fetești.
On the 4th of September 1944, the 3rd UF’s plan for an offensive in Bulgaria was relayed to the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin. It provided for the occupation of the eastern part of the state only. The very next day the Stavka of the Supreme High Command of the WPRA approved the plan. The actions were scheduled to begin on the 10th of September 1944.
As a matter of fact, the appointed date for the initiation of the operation was not adhered to. On the 8th of September 1944, the 3rd UF invaded Bulgarian territory. Three days earlier the Union of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) had declared war on the Tsardom of Bulgaria.
The Soviet occupation of Eastern Bulgaria occurred without problems. As early as the 6th of September 1944, the Council of Ministers in Sofia headed by Konstantin Muraviev adopted a decree, which read: “In the event that Russian troops advance into Bulgarian territory, they should not be met with any resistance”. However, Army General Fyodor Tolbukhin, Commander of the 3rd UF, took measures to avoid incidents. On the 9th of September 1944, he ordered all Bulgarian military units in the 3rd Ukrainian Front’s line of action to be disarmed. Only Bulgarian officers were permitted to keep their non-firearm weapons. The captured Bulgarian troops were to be placed in barracks or remain where they were stationed at the time of the Soviet invasion. Again on the 9th of September 1944, Army General Fyodor Tolbukhin and Admiral Filipp Oktyabrsky, Commander of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, received a directive from the Stavka of the Supreme High Command of the WPRA to cease “hostilities” against the Tsardom of Bulgaria, although no such “hostilities” had been undertaken.
The Soviet ground forces, which marched into the Bulgarian territory, included the 37th, 46th and 57th Armies, as well as the 7th Mechanized Corps and the 4th Guards Mechanized Corps. They were supported by the 17th Air Army. Detachments of the Soviet Black Sea Fleet also participated in the operation. In general, at the time of its invasion of Bulgaria, the 3rd UF consisted of 258 000 servicemen. Due to the lack of resistance, Soviet forces in Bulgaria were swiftly reduced. On the 10th of September 1944, the 46th Army, 7th Mechanized Corp and 7th Artillery Division were assigned to the 2nd Ukrainian Front.
On the 9th of September 1944, a coup d’état took place in Sofia. The Muraviev government was overthrown by a cabinet of the Fatherland Front (FF) – a political formation, which was created in the course of the Second World War on the initiative of the Bulgarian Workers’ Party (BWP) and according to instructions from the Communist International. The new Bulgarian Council of Ministers immediately dispatched a special delegation to Army General Fyodor Tolbukhin. The Sofia representatives negotiated with the Commander of the 3rd UF on four main issues – the terms for signing an armistice; the establishment of Bulgarian-Soviet military cooperation against the Germans; the sending of Soviet troops, especially of aviation units, to the Bulgarian capital in the event of a German assault on the city; the return to Bulgarian forces of the military equipment taken by the Red Army.
As a result of the Bulgarian requests, several developments occurred. Most significantly, air and ground units from the 3rd UF were swiftly redeployed to Sofia and the surrounding area. By the 18th of September 1944, a Soviet special military group for the protection of the Bulgarian capital was formed. A number of Red Army units also arrived in the northwestern part of Bulgaria, where Bulgarian troops were fighting the Germans. Secondly, Army General Fyodor Tolbukhin transmitted the Bulgarian appeal for an armistice to Moscow. Thirdly, the Bulgarian Armed Forces were placed under the operational subordination of the 3rd Ukrainian Front’s Command. Last but not least, return of the confiscated military equipment to the Bulgarian units was commenced.
During the last ten days of September 1944, the main forces of the 3rd UF were redeployed to the Bulgarian-Yugoslav border to take part in the Belgrade Strategic Offensive Operation. Only the 37th Army remained in the Tsardom of Bulgaria. Its troops had to be ready for any action towards the south. In December 1944, the 37th Army was redesignated as the 37th Separate Army and subordinated directly to the Stavka of the Supreme High Command of WPRA. It fulfilled garrison duties in Bulgaria until the end of the Second World War in Europe.
On the 28th of October 1944, the Tsardom of Bulgaria concluded the Moscow Armistice with the Allies, which provided for Bulgarian troops to participate in the war against Germany. By that time, Bulgarian military formations had already started fighting against the Wehrmacht on Yugoslavian territory. All in all, Bulgarian troops participated in hostilities against the Germans from the beginning of October 1944 until mid-May 1945. They fought side by side with the Soviet servicemen and contributed to the defeat of the Third Reich. However, Bulgaria was not recognized as a cobelligerent state by the Allies.
Very soon after the end of the Second World War in Europe, Soviet troops outside of the USSR were reorganized. Several novel formations, called Group of Forces, were created. On the 29th of May 1945, the Stavka of the Supreme High Command of WPRA issued Directive № 11098 for the establishment of the Southern Group of Forces on the basis of the 3rd Ukrainian Front. The newly created formation incorporated the 27th, 37th, 46th and 57th Armies and fell under the command of Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin. The Southern Group of Forces occupied Romania and Bulgaria. It was the 37th Army that stayed in the latter country. In a letter dated the 12th of August 1945, the Deputy People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs Andrey Vyshinsky informed the Chief of the General Staff of WPRA Army General Aleksei Antonov that 92 000 Soviet servicemen were currently stationed in Bulgaria. In June 1946, the 37th Army was transformed into the 10th Mechanised Army.
On the 10th of February 1947, the Peace Treaty with Bulgaria was signed in Paris. Its Article 20, Paragraph 1 read: “All armed forces of the Allied and Associated Powers shall be withdrawn from Bulgaria as soon as possible and in any case not later than 90 days from the coming into force of the present Treaty”. On the 15th of September 1947, the Peace Treaty with Bulgaria entered into force. This meant Soviet troops were to leave the state no later than the 15th of December 1947. On the 14th of December 1947, Stepan Kirsanov, the Soviet envoy to Bulgaria in the period 1945–1947, informed the Bulgarian government that Soviet troops had been completely withdrawn from the country. Thus, the Soviet occupation of Bulgaria, which had lasted more than three years, officially came to an end.
The Occupational Administration in Bulgaria
Upon invading Bulgaria, the troops of the 3rd Ukrainian Front began setting up an occupational administration. The process involved the establishment of Soviet military commandant offices (MCOs) across the territory of the Bulgarian state. For instance, by the 14th of September 1944, the 57th Army had already created 14 such structures in different Bulgarian cities and towns, including Shumen, Razgrad and Omurtag. In turn, the 46th Army constituted MCOs in a number of Danube ports like Silistra, Tutrakan and Ruse. As of the 25th of September 1944, the 37th Army had instituted 2 regional and 7 district military commandant offices. In addition, it established 7 MCOs in some large settlements. On the whole, the 3rd UF’s troops founded 53 military commandant offices on Bulgarian territory – 6 regional, 41 district and 6 municipal. Additionally, on the 15th of September 1944, special MCOs were organized at the strategically important railway junctions of Sofia, Plovdiv, Ruse, Burgas, Sliven, Vidin, Mezdra, Gorna Oryahovitsa, Dzhebel and Karnobat.
Senior Soviet officers – colonels and lieutenant colonels, were usually appointed as chiefs of the military commandant offices. Rarely were the MCOs commanded by captains and first lieutenants. The Soviet military commandant offices in Bulgaria were made up of different personnel. For example, the district MCOs comprised 8 people and a commandant platoon of 25 servicemen. The military commandant offices at the municipal level included 6 people and a commandant platoon of 18 servicemen. The activity of the Soviet MCOs was regulated by a special document called “Provisional Regulation for the military commandant offices”.
Following the signing of the Moscow Armistice on the 28th of October 1944, the occupational administration in the Tsardom of Bulgaria underwent a change. Article 18 of the agreement read: “For the whole period of the armistice there will be established in Bulgaria an Allied Control Commission which will regulate and supervise the execution of the armistice terms under the chairmanship of the representative of the Allied (Soviet) High Command and with the participation of representatives of the United States and the United Kingdom. During the period between the coming into force of the armistice and the conclusion of hostilities against Germany, the Allied Control Commission will be under the general direction of the Allied (Soviet) High Command”.
On the 29th of November 1944, the Allied Control Commission (ACC) for Bulgaria commenced its work. Marshal Fyodor Tolbukhin and Lieutenant General Sergey Biryuzov were appointed Chairman and Deputy Chairman of ACC respectively. The Allied Control Commission for Bulgaria consisted of a Headquarters, Administrative Department, Group of the Political Advisor, Economic Department, Military Department, Naval Department, Department of the Air Force, Transport Department, etc. All units were made up of Soviet representatives. In addition, there were mandatories of the ACC in all districts of the Bulgarian state, as well as in the seaside bases in Varna and Burgas and the river bases in Ruse, Nikopol and Vidin. These mandatories were Soviet officers. Although there were American and British representatives on the ACC, their functions were largely only observational. Indeed, from time to time, Western representatives tried to oppose some actions taken by the Soviet leadership of the Allied Control Commission for Bulgaria. But such attempts showed a lack of consistency, steadfastness and intransigence.
According to Article 3 of the Moscow Armistice of the 28th of October 1944, “the Government of Bulgaria will afford to Soviet and other Allied forces freedom of movement over Bulgarian territory in any direction if, in the opinion of the Allied (Soviet) High Command, the military situation so requires the Government of Bulgaria contributing to such movements every assistance with its own means of communication, and at its own expense, by land, water and in the air”. In addition, Article 15 of the Moscow Armistice read: “The Government of Bulgaria must make regular payments in Bulgarian currency and must supply goods (fuel, foodstuffs, et cetera), facilities and services as may be required by the Allied (Soviet) High Command for the discharge of its functions”. From October 1944 until May 1947, the Bulgarian state paid out more than 2 680 000 000 leva to cover the expenses under Article 3 of the Moscow Armistice and about 36 000 000 000 leva to cover the expenses under Article 15 of the Moscow Armistice.
In practice, the balance of power in the ACC reflected the arrangements between the Allies, according to which Bulgaria fell under the Soviet sphere of influence. Through the Allied Control Commission, the USSR established strict control over the development of the Bulgarian state. In many ways the Soviet representatives in the ACC provided support to the FF’s government and especially to the Bulgarian Workers’ Party (Communists) in carrying out the so called “people’s democratic reforms” in the country. Soon after the Paris Peace Treaty entered into force on the 15th of September 1947, the Allied Control Commission for Bulgaria ceased its work. By this time, the establishment of the Communist regime in the Bulgarian state was already underway.
The Behaviour of the Red Army in Bulgaria
On the eve of the 3rd Ukrainian Front’s invasion of Bulgaria, its Political Directorate issued a special “memo” to the Soviet officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers. The document contained instructions regarding the behaviour of the 3rd UF’s servicemen in the Bulgarian state. It was pointed out in the “memo” that the Soviet military personnel had to be disciplined, cultured and neat. The 3rd UF’s servicemen must show no tolerance towards people, “who disgrace the Red Army by their behaviour”. There should be no mercy in regard to “robbers, marauders, rapists, violators of the order”. The 3rd UF’s servicemen were obliged to display “respect” for the Bulgarian “customs, laws and family”. In addition, the Command of the 3rd Ukrainian Front issued an address to the Bulgarian population underlining that “the private property of the citizens remains everywhere inviolable”.
Despite these explicit instructions and promises, the reality turned out a little differently. After their invasion of the Tsardom of Bulgaria, Soviet troops started seizing various possessions belonging to the Bulgarian population. For instance, in the village of Brestovene Soviet servicemen helped themselves to 20 horses, 10 carts, 1 carriage, 6 wheels, 10 horse collars, 15 sheep, 10 lambs, 50 packets of cigarettes, etc. Additionally, they confiscated 1 watch and even 1 accordion. In the Burgas municipality Soviet troops took different amounts of 48 types of material objects, including watches, radio equipment, pincers, thermometers, face towels, curtains, chairs, pine podiums, ink bottles, mirrors, glass ashtrays, chairs, medicine balls and footballs. According to a protocol dated the 23rd of October 1944, from the Business and Weaving School in the city of Vratsa Soviet troops seized 1 sewing machine, 10 tables, 20 stools, etc. In a number of documents from the fall of 1944, information can be found referring to the seizure by the Red Army of livestock, food products, fodder, various household goods and other items from the Bulgarian population. In addition, Soviet troops cut down and confiscated thousands of cubic meters of firewood. On the 23rd of October 1945, the Bulgarian Minister of Foreign Affairs Petko Stainov was informed that “Russian military units from the region of Kazanlak and Stara Zagora cut down the forest along the Shipka pass most indiscriminately“.
Motor vehicles proved particularly attractive for the 3rd UF’s servicemen. For example, from the 16th to the 17th of September 1944, Soviet military personnel seized two cars along with their spare parts from the Main Car Depot in Sofia. Many authentic documents contain details concerning the seizure of motor vehicles by Soviet troops. In 1944, only in the Varna municipality the 3rd UF confiscated a significant number of lorries, cars, and motorcycles owned by private individuals.
Alcoholic drinks turned out to be other items seductive for Soviet servicemen. As of the 17th of September 1944, Soviet troops took more than 70 liters of raki from the residents of the village of Prelez. On the 14th of September 1944, Soviet troops passing through the village of Semerdzievo seized 3 liters of raki from a local inhabitant. In some cases the seeking out of alcohol by the 3rd UF’s military personnel had tragic consequences. In mid-September 1944, Soviet servicemen in Burgas discovered warehouses, where kegs of liquor were stored. Upon examination the substance in the kegs was found to be methyl alcohol. But it proved to be too late. From the 16th to the 19th of September 1944, due to methyl alcohol poisoning 190 Soviet servicemen were injured, of whom 154 sought medical help, 120 were hospitalized, 6 went blind and 42 died.
On the 22nd of September 1944, the Bulgarian Communist leader Georgi Dimitrov sent a personal letter to Joseph Stalin, which contained interesting information regarding the behaviour of Soviet troops in Bulgaria. Alerting the Soviet leader, Dimitrov wrote: “There have been cases of violence against the local population by individual servicemen in a number of places”. The Bulgarian Communist leader added that Soviet military personnel seized the Bulgarian population’s “working cattle, carts, food products, etc., without notifying the local authorities and without the appropriate registration of the seized livestock and foodstuffs”. Furthermore: “State and private motor vehicles and lubricating oils are arbitrarily seized. This leads to the failure of the autumn sowing”. However, what worried Georgi Dimitrov the most was intoxicated Soviet servicemen “entering people’s homes in cities and villages at night with the aim of robbery, and in some cases raping women and killing their husbands”.
In truth, Soviet troops in Bulgaria seized not only property belonging to the civilian population, but from Bulgarian Armed Forces as well. In the fall of 1944, three Bulgarian Navy ships were taken without any documents – protocols, acts, etc. One of the vessels was returned soon after due to damage, but the other two were not handed over until the summer of 1945. Additionally, Soviet troops confiscated a large amount of communications, chemical and engineering equipment from the Bulgarian Navy. According to a report compiled by Colonel Rangelov, Chief of the State Military Factory in Kazanlak, in September 1944, without being ordered to do so the 3rd UF took from the enterprise a certain amount of motor vehicles, spare parts, materials, inventory, tires, gasoline, oils and barrels.
An important consequence of the Soviet invasion of Bulgaria was the confiscation of documents. Soviet special services played a key role in this process. As early as September 1944, they started searching for documentary and personal evidence regarding the activities of the German, Italian, British, American, French and Turkish intelligence in Bulgaria, as well as documents of various Bulgarian institutions like the Secret Royal Office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of War, the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Finance, etc. Correspondence between Colonel General Fyodor Kuznetsov, Chief of Soviet military intelligence, and the Secretariat of the Soviet People’s Commissar for Foreign Affairs Vyacheslav Molotov in the period from the 23rd of November to the 7th of December 1944 reveals more than 1 000 documents taken just from the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. To this day, it is not entirely clear what specific Bulgarian documents were extracted out of the country by the Red Army. Some of those seized documents still reside in the Russian archives, despite Bulgarian attempts to get them back.
Road accidents leading to the death or injury of Bulgarians emerged as a serious problem related to Soviet occupation. According to incomplete data, from the 16th of September until the 1st of December 1944, 3 Bulgarians died as a result of accidents involving Soviet lorries. Another was wounded.
In total, in the period September 1944 – October 1946, more than 120 Bulgarians died or were injured due to incidents caused by Soviet troops. Most of these cases involved collisions with Soviet motor vehicles. However, accidents also had other causes. A number of Bulgarians died or were injured in incidents involving Soviet explosives. Approximately 20 people were directly killed or wounded by Soviet servicemen. Most of these Bulgarians were shot, but one woman was stabbed to death by a Soviet soldier. Even Soviet officers were among the perpetrators of such crimes.
In truth, the Command of the Soviet troops in Bulgaria took harsh disciplinary measures against misdeeds of Soviet servicemen. In September 1944, one Soviet soldier, who shot the tamed pigeons flying over the municipal square in the city of Varna, was immediately arrested by uniformed men “with blue caps”, taken behind the theatre building and shot on the spot, while local residents looked on. At Provadia railway station Several Soviet servicemen randomly stopped passenger trains to steal watches from the passengers. The former were arrested, forced to dig their own graves and then shot. A Bulgarian, who lived in Ruse in September 1944, described that “some young boys with blue caps and huge swords” appeared and established “great order” in the city. These “young boys” were from the Soviet People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs. From 1946–1947, no less than 16 Soviet servicemen were sentenced to various prison terms for crimes against Bulgarians. The list of wrongdoings included theft of money and property, marauding, attempted rape and murder. During the XV Plenum of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Workers’ Party (Communists) in 1948, Traicho Kostov, one of the leading Communist figures in Bulgaria, underlined that “in the first days after the entry of the Soviet Army into Bulgaria, there were individual cases of misdeeds by individual Soviet soldiers and officers”. In this regard, “the Soviet Command” took “strict measures” against the delinquencies.
As a matter of fact, in order to promote the so called “Bulgarian-Soviet friendship”, the Command of Soviet troops in Bulgaria undertook some propaganda activities. One of them was related to aid for Bulgarian agriculture. In the spring of 1945, Soviet servicemen participated in plowing and sowing activities in the Burgas region. At the same time, 161 Soviet soldiers helped Bulgarian families in their sowing work in the Sofia region. There were examples of support for Bulgarian agriculture by Soviet military personnel in the regions of Stara Zagora and Varna. In the fall of 1945, Soviet servicemen again took part in sowing activities. Soviet aid for Bulgarian agriculture continued into 1946 as well.
Alongside these activities, in from1944 to 1946, Soviet troops organised concerts, movie shows, exhibitions and special radio broadcasts for the Bulgarian population. In addition, the Command of Soviet troops in the state arranged public lectures for Bulgarian society. These lectures were usually delivered by Soviet officers. Occasionally, scientists and artists from the USSR were invited. In November 1945, the Soviet ballet master, dancer, choreographer and pedagogue Igor Moiseyev delivered a lecture entitled “The Soviet Ballet”. Professor Ivan Anisimov from the Moscow State University gave a speech on the topic “Soviet and Western Literature in the Period of the Patriotic War”.
Conclusion
The Soviet occupation of Bulgaria, which began in September 1944, lasted just over three years. But it predetermined the development of the Bulgarian state for more than four decades. When the last Soviet troops left the country at the end of 1947, Bulgaria was already under the shadow of the Communists.
Boyan Zhekov (PhD) – Rakovski National Defence College, Sofia, Bulgaria