The Bulgarian National Front ( Bulgarian:Български Национален Фронт (''Bulgarski natsionalen front'') or BNF) is an

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

political movement active amongst emigrant

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n populations. The group, which is active in a number of countries but not in Bulgaria itself, has been characterised as

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

and a continuation of earlier

fascist Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural soci ...

movements. Russ Bellant, ''Old Nazis, the New Right, and the Republican Party'',

South End Press South End Press was a non-profit book publisher run on a model of participatory economics. It was founded in 1977 in Boston's South End. It published books written by political activists, notably Arundhati Roy, Noam Chomsky, bell hooks, Win ...

, 1991, p. 7

Organisation

The BNF was formed in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in 1947 by Bulgarians living in exile in the city under the leadership of Ivan Dochev.Paul R. Magocsi, ''Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples'', University of Toronto Press, 1999, p. 292 The group's stated aim was to oppose

communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...

in Bulgaria and influence western opinion against the communist regime, whilst also seeking to build up activism amongst émigrés.Magocsi, ''Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples'', p. 293 The group's membership was mostly made up of former members of the Union of Bulgarian National Legions, many of whom had collaborated with

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

. Before long the BNF had established branches in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

and

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as well as Dochev's base of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Their main journal was ''Svoboda'', a multilingual publication which first appeared in Germany in 1959 before moving to Canada in 1970. Bulgarian historian Spas T. Raikin was a member and served as editor for their journal 'Borba' (struggle).

North American activities

The group was associated with the Republican Heritage Groups Council, a formalised development of the "Ethnic Division" of the Republican Party that was established in 1969. The Bulgarian National Committee, a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

émigré group, warned against allowing the BNF to be involved in this group, denouncing them as fascist although

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's administration did not move against them and the BNF's Radi Slavoff served as executive director of the Council. In 1984 Dochev stepped aside as leader in favour of George Paprikoff and under Paprikoff the BNF became more involved in Republican Party politics, campaigning for

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and writing in support of him in their journal ''Borba''. The BNF was also a member of the Coalition for Peace Through Strength (CPTS), an ad hoc lobby group of the American Security Council opposed to

nuclear disarmament Nuclear disarmament is the act of reducing or eliminating nuclear weapons. Its end state can also be a nuclear-weapons-free world, in which nuclear weapons are completely eliminated. The term ''denuclearization'' is also used to describe the pro ...

as well as the World Anti-Communist League. In Canada the BNF gained attention for the protests it held in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1971 against a visit by

Alexei Kosygin Alexei Nikolayevich Kosygin (–18 December 1980) was a Soviet people, Soviet statesman during the Cold War. He served as the Premier of the Soviet Union from 1964 to 1980 and, alongside General Secretary Leonid Brezhnev, was one of its most ...

, a rally held in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

in 1976 and annual masses held on 9 September, the date of the establishment of the

People's Republic of Bulgaria The People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB; , NRB; ) was the official name of Bulgaria when it was a socialist republic from 1946 to 1990, ruled by the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP; ) together with its coalition partner, the Bulgarian Agraria ...

, to commemorate Bulgarian war dead.

Post-communism

Following the collapse of communism in Bulgaria the BNF became active in their homeland again, largely in support of the Union of Democratic Forces. As an overseas based organisation the BNF is still active from its base in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Splinter group

A separate group using the same name and led by former BNF activist Nikola Altunkov established itself as a

far right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and Nativism (politics), nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on ...

Bulgarian political party in 1994. Closely linked to Bulgaria's version of the

Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; ; ), was a secret revolutionary society founded in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Founded in 1893 in Salonica, it initia ...

this new BNF, which frequently publishes works in praise of the Union of Bulgarian National Legions and other extremist groups of that era, has found little political support with its vote share in the 2001 election being barely negligible.

Cas Mudde Cas Mudde (born 3 June 1967) is a Dutch political science, political scientist who focuses on Extremism, political extremism and populism in Europe and the United States. His research includes the areas of political parties, extremism, democracy, ...

, ''Racist extremism in Central and Eastern Europe'', Routledge, 2005, p. 9

References

{{Authority control Anti-communist organizations in Germany Anti-communist organizations in the United States Bulgarian defectors Bulgarian nationalism Far-right organizations in the United States Foreign policy political advocacy groups in the United States Political advocacy groups in Canada Political advocacy groups in Germany Politics of Bulgaria Republican Party (United States) organizations Bulgaria–United States relations