Sofia, 1 June 1960
To the members of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party
This open letter addressed to you is written by a group of party members and democrats who are deeply concerned about the course taken by socialism in this country.
People have long associated the struggle for socialism with their hopes and aspirations to emancipate labour and mankind from economic and political oppression and insecurity, for a just and dignified life.
Is this the case here and now?
Distortion of ownership relationships
In the wake of the nationalization of industry, ownership of the means of production went over to the State instead of to the working people, and the top echelons of bureaucracy took full control. Thus, the working collectives were practically deprived of participation in any decision-making regarding production, investment and income distribution at their workplaces. As a result, workers were cheated and expropriated.
In the villages, cooperative farms quickly turned into state-owned units suffering from every disadvantage endemic to state-owned industrial enterprises. In this context, farmers too were expropriated.
In addition, ownership of craftsmen's and consumers' cooperatives, originally created as self-governing organizations, also fell under state control.
The top government and party bureaucracy now reigned supreme as the sole owner and exclusive distributor of all means of production. Total state expropriation demanded totally centralized management and planning, characterized by inherent disbalance. The above situation was not at all remedied by recent coercive attempts to transfer certain managerial functions of the economy onto local bodies.
Such a model of bureaucratic state socialism deprived workers of incentives and resulted in a sharp decline in labour efficiency. Thus, any attempts to employ administrative tools to redress the situation came to nothing.
Socialism's most hailed advantage to develop the means of production to the benefit of the people fell short of its target.
Facing the impossible task to guard and promote the potential of socialism for advancement, top party leaders resorted to certain hazardous steps of sheer adventurism, such as the idea of "leap-like" economic development, promoted as "a way out of the cul-de-sac". Todor Zhivkov turned to setting groundless and overambitious goals for a manifold increase of industrial and agricultural production and making the nation false promises for instantaneous prosperity.
Forced collectivization of mountainous and semi-mountainous areas was also wrong and instead of improvement, it was bound to further exacerbate agriculture. We have now two years of experience confirming the failure of the strategy of both leap-like development and accelerated collectivization of mountainous regions. Nonetheless, Todor Zhivkov still clings to the course he has chosen to pursue, thus taking the central committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party along the dangerous road of irresponsible and adventurous undertakings threatening the life of the nation and the fate of socialism itself.
Political distortions
Under the pretext of keeping civic law and order in Bulgaria and preventing unrest similar to the recent events in Hungary and Poland, Todor Zhivkov has launched an onslaught against the new course for democracy in the Party and society, proclaimed by the Party's April Plenum in 1956. Opponents and contenders are being systematically persecuted and removed for holding divergent opinions. The new policy line set by the 20th Congress of the Soviet Communist Party has been totally blocked; the struggle against the cult of personality and violations of the rule of law deriving from it have likewise been abandoned.
The ghost of the uncontrollable rule of the few and of limitless personal power, the ghost of arbitrariness, unlawfulness and covered crimes has risen again. It should be kept in mind, however, that no external factors can either explain or justify the present reign of unlawfulness, distortions, and crimes.
The country and Party have reached a breaking point because the above-mentioned political distortions and deteriorating economic situation have become irreversible. Enough evidence is now at hand that socialism has degenerated into a caricature.
Our generation may be blamed for blighting the hopes and beliefs of millions of people at home and abroad that socialism is the most humane and democratic alternative to capitalism. Country and Party are paralyzed with fear; double-dealing and double-thinking are becoming dominant; morality in human relations is being undermined to the point of degradation.
However, nothing in history is fatally predetermined, neither the victory of socialism nor its death. It is up to us to choose whether to go down in history as the gravediggers of humankind's highest ideal of socialism or to remain its custodians who will guard and regenerate it.
Each and every one of us must make our choice!
We hope and believe that there are enough brave men of integrity at the Central Committee who will understand our concerns and unite so that together we will take the road to renewal before it is too late. We appeal to you to take up a critical stand to the work of such activists as Todor Zhivkov, Valko Chervenkov, Mitko Grigorov, Boris Velchev, Georgi Tsankov, and all those responsible for the grave situation of the country and Party.
Your efforts will be supported by all good people who constitute the overwhelming majority of communists and the people.
Your inaction today will turn to a historical treason tomorrow, a betrayal of everything you cherish, we cherish, to everything we believe in.
Sofia, 1 June 1960. Signed by:
- N. Kufardjiev
- V. Dashin
- G. Milev
- B. Varon
- Ch. Prodanov
- I. Gatev
- Iv. Dionisiev
Long overdue confessions
Kufardjiev's group, set up in 1956, wrote in 1960 an open letter to the members of the Bulgarian Communist Party. The letter strongly criticizes a number of distortions of the existing political system, such as the establishment of state ownership, centralized planning, lack of incentive for work, etc. Yes, all this is true! Those were grave flaws that stick out like an open sore of the system… As for the personal dramas and punishments imposed, we are to blame indeed and bear the responsibility. By admitting it we can by no means alleviate the suffering of our comrades but at least we can ease our own conscience. The least we can do is admit the guilt.Todor Zhivkov, from his Memoirs, Abagar Publishing House, 1997, Sofia
On 1 June 1960, four years after the April plenum and eight full years before the Prague Spring, seven party members and antifascists addressed a letter to the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party. According to the "Seven", the present-day model in Bulgaria was one of "bureaucratic state socialism". Each and every word and sentence in this letter rang true and matched actual facts. The letter sought to glimpse into the future and map out the road to renewal, while all was not yet lost. Back in those times, it took a lot of courage to voice such a grave warning, and even more than that: the letter showed clarity of vision, no prejudices, no self-delusions, deep foresight, and moral integrity. What followed were extremely harsh reprisals against the "Seven" although their goals were democratic.Niko Yakhiel (1919–2001), Bulgarian sociologist and politician, from Todor Zhivkov and Personal Power, M-8M Publishing House, Sofia