Valko Velyov Chervenkov
[Bulgaria: Stalinism and de-Stalinization](_blank)
Encyclopædia Britannica Online () (6 September 1900 – 21 October 1980) was a
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
communist
Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...
politician. He served as leader of the
Communist Party between 1949 and 1954, and
Prime Minister
A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
between 1950 and 1956.
His rule was marked by the consolidation of the
Stalinist model, rapid industrialisation, collectivisation and large-scale persecution of political opponents.
Stalin's death in 1953 had repercussions for his regime in Bulgaria. In 1954, Chervenkov accepted the Soviet model of collective leadership and handed over his post as party leader to
Todor Zhivkov
Todor Hristov Zhivkov ( ; 7 September 1911 – 5 August 1998) was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian communist statesman who served as the ''de facto'' leader of the People's Republic of Bulgaria (PRB) from 1954 until 1989 as General Secretary of the Cen ...
. The government also released a large number of political prisoners and directed its economic policy towards improving living standards rather than accelerating industrialization.
Biography
Early life and career in the Soviet Union
Chervenkov was born in
Zlatitsa, Bulgaria in to a peasant family. He became a member of the Communist Party in 1919 and participated in communist youth group activities and newspaper editing. He took part in the failed 1923
September Uprising
The September Uprising (, ''Septemvriysko vastanie''), also called the September Riots (Септемврийски бунтове),Голяма енциклопедия България, том 10, Главен редактор акад. Вас ...
and was sentenced to death, but was allowed to emigrate to the Soviet Union.
[The Smelting of Bulgaria's Stalin](_blank)
''The Sofia Echo'', 19 June 2003
In 1925, Chervenkov fled to the
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. He attended the
International Lenin School in
Moscow
Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...
and eventually became its director. He became a supporter of the governing style of
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...
and was known for his high wit and knowledge of
Marxism–Leninism
Marxism–Leninism () is a communist ideology that became the largest faction of the History of communism, communist movement in the world in the years following the October Revolution. It was the predominant ideology of most communist gov ...
.
He was recruited as an agent in the
NKVD
The People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (, ), abbreviated as NKVD (; ), was the interior ministry and secret police of the Soviet Union from 1934 to 1946. The agency was formed to succeed the Joint State Political Directorate (OGPU) se ...
under the alias "Spartak". In 1941, Chervenkov became the director of a radio station which sent anti-
nazi
Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...
and pro-communist messages to the Bulgarian nation.
In Bulgaria

In 1944, Chervenkov returned to Bulgaria on a mission for his brother-in-law,
Georgi Dimitrov
Georgi Dimitrov Mihaylov (; ) also known as Georgiy Mihaylovich Dimitrov (; 18 June 1882 – 2 July 1949), was a Bulgarian communist politician who served as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party from 1933 t ...
. Chervenkov became a member of the government which took office soon after the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
in 1945 which quickly came to be controlled by Communists. He became minister of culture in 1947, and became deputy prime minister in 1949. Shortly afterwards, Bulgarian leader
Georgi Dimitrov
Georgi Dimitrov Mihaylov (; ) also known as Georgiy Mihaylovich Dimitrov (; 18 June 1882 – 2 July 1949), was a Bulgarian communist politician who served as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party from 1933 t ...
died and Bulgaria temporarily adopted a model of collective leadership. Chervenkov succeeded Dimitrov as general secretary of the party, and
Vasil Kolarov
Vasil Petrov Kolarov (; 16 July 1877 – 23 January 1950) was a Bulgarian communist political leader and leading functionary in the Communist International (Comintern).
Biography Early years
Kolarov was born in Şumnu, Ottoman Empire (now Shum ...
took Dimitrov's other post of prime minister. This only lasted a year before Kolarov died in 1950. At that time, Chervenkov became prime minister as well and once again combined the two most powerful posts in Bulgaria, with full Soviet approval.
Chervenkov's policies closely resembled those of the Soviet Union at the time, which earned him the nickname "Little Stalin".
His rule featured harsh repression of all deviation from the party line, arbitrary suppression of culture and the arts along the lines of
Socialist realism, and an isolationist foreign policy. He also became the object of a
personality cult. In 1950, a collectivization campaign was launched. By early 1951, Chervenkov had expelled one in five party members, including many high officials, in his campaign for complete party discipline. Out of 460,000 members, 100,000 were expelled from the party by 1953. Although Chervenkov's personality cult model was similar to that of Stalin - various places were named after him like the
Medical University
A medical school is a tertiary educational institution, professional school, or forms a part of such an institution, that teaches medicine, and awards a professional degree for physicians. Such medical degrees include the Bachelor of Medicine, ...
in
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
and one of the city's districts. He personally accepted it only as a necessity of the current political situation and strongly opposed any extremities.
By 1953, Bulgaria had cut ties with the West and 90% of its exports and imports involved Soviet partnership. Chervenkov's cabinet used intimidation and supply discrimination to increase collectivization rates. Between 1950 and 1953, state-owned arable land increased from 12% to 61%. Despite these collectivization efforts, the 1949–1953 Five-Year Plan failed to achieve its target, marking −0.9% growth in agriculture for the period, although at the same time industry marked a 20.7% growth, while total economic growth amounted to 8.4%. Under his presidency the
1953 tobacco workers' strike in Plovdiv was violently suppressed.

Even before the death of Stalin, Chervenkov had already begun moving away from the Stalinist line.
The official approval of
Dimitar Dimov's novel ''Tobacco'' marked a slight loosening of Party control over cultural activities. In 1953, formal relations with Greece and Yugoslavia were re-established, some political amnesties were granted, and planners discussed increasing production of consumer goods and reducing the prices of commodities. After 1953 Chervenkov was in an insecure position, and made several steps in order to gain political support – he gave up his leadership of the Party in 1954, reduced Soviet intervention in Bulgarian economic and political life, reduced the pace of collectivisation and released some 10,000 political prisoners by 1955.
In April 1956, following Khrushchev's de-Stalinisation, the Bulgarian Communist Party denounced Stalinism (and implicitly, Chervenkov's
authoritarianism
Authoritarianism is a political system characterized by the rejection of political plurality, the use of strong central power to preserve the political ''status quo'', and reductions in democracy, separation of powers, civil liberties, and ...
). He resigned the same year.
In 1961, he was banned from
Politburo
A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...
. In 1962, Chervenkov was expelled from the communist party for "anti-party activities", although his membership was renewed in 1969 by a suggestion from
Zhivkov in the context of the Soviet crushing of the
Prague Spring
The Prague Spring (; ) was a period of liberalization, political liberalization and mass protest in
the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. It began on 5 January 1968, when reformist Alexander Dubček was elected Secretary (title), First Secre ...
.
Chervenkov died in 1980 in Sofia. The communist party did not inform immediately about his death and forbade huge groups of mourners, fearing that such a ceremony may evolve into a protest against the Zhivkov rule.
Personal life
In 1926 Chervenkov married Georgi Dimitrov's youngest sister, Elena. They had two children – Irina (1931–2014) and Vladimir (1935–1965).
Honours and awards
*
Order of Lenin
The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...
, four times (including 1967 and 1980)
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chervenkov, Vulko
1900 births
1980 deaths
People from Zlatitsa
Bulgarian Communist Party politicians
Bulgarian communists
Stalinism
Anti-revisionists
Politicide perpetrators
Prime ministers of Bulgaria
Deputy prime ministers of Bulgaria
Government ministers of Bulgaria
Bulgarian expatriates in the Soviet Union
Bulgarian Comintern people
20th-century Bulgarian politicians
International Lenin School alumni
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Bulgarian anti-fascists