| SEPT 9 1944 | 1968 | 1987 | NOV 4, 1989 | 1990 - 2000 |
| The Circus Comes to Town |
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Angel Wagenstein being interviewed, January 1989, just before the collapse of communism in Bulgaria
Bulgaria is the only Soviet Bloc country that in its first free election democratically voted the Socialists – basically, the re-named reform wing of the Communist Party -- into power. But when the opposition party refused to enter a coalition with the Socialists, political chaos and economic paralysis ensued.
By the early 1990’s, most of Bulgaria’s state wealth had been privatized, quickly disappearing into the pockets of a small clique of apparatchiks who had mysteriously morphed into passionate democrats and free-marketeers. Wagenstein was twice elected as the Socialist Member of Parliament for Plovdiv but left toward the end of his second term, disheartened by the chaos. He has struggled to maintain his belief in the ideals of 1989, but now sees it as one more failed revolution … like the Russian Revolution of 1917, and the idealistic communism of Bulgaria’s post-war era.
The present moment is a boiling pot of stew! New ideas, old ideas, nostalgia for socialism, extreme capitalism, and unfortunately also very clear neo-fascist and nationalist ideas – all these ingredients are becoming stronger and stronger, they’re all part of the recipe, for this strange dish.
“Socialism, with all its bad points, with all its vices, … was a blueprint and quite a clear blueprint. You demolish it, and then you don’t know what to do with the ruins. That’s where the nostalgia comes from, nostalgia for socialism. There are parties now who are ridiculously nostalgic, ludicrous neo-Stalinist parties, they speak of Stalin with admiration.
There is no blueprint.
What values are we talking about? Who formulates them?
Where are we going? What sort of society are we building now?
Political life in Bulgaria has become a circus. Really, it’s a circus. A complete mess!"
Angel Wagenstein
The present moment is a boiling pot of stew! New ideas, old ideas, nostalgia for socialism, extreme capitalism, and unfortunately also very clear neo-fascist and nationalist ideas – all these ingredients are becoming stronger and stronger, they’re all part of the recipe, for this strange dish.