България 1985–1991 г. – от най-верен съветски сателит при Тодор Живков до обръщане към запада и начало на демокрацията
Bulgaria 1985–1991 – the most loyal Soviet “satellite” under Todor Zhivkov turning to the West and the onset of democracy

Summary/Abstract: The article presents one of the most turbulent periods of post-war Bulgarian- Soviet relations – from the beginning of the Soviet “perestroika” in the spring of 1985 and the subsequent Bulgarian “reconstruction” to the collapse of the Soviet type of state socialism first in Bulgaria after November 10, 1989 and then in the Soviet Union at the end of 1991. This six-year period completely alters the relations between the two countries, which are at first the closest allies in the Eastern Bloc, and at the end are two countries drawing apart politically and geopolitically, full of mutual claims and disappointments. The study seeks to find the reasons for this sharp turnaround by analysing the documents of the Bulgarian Communist Party about the Bulgarian perspective and the reports of the Soviet embassy and documents from the Russian archives about the Soviet position regarding the situation in Bulgaria. The conclusions are focused on today’s relations between democratic Bulgaria and the Russian Federation which develop in the conditions of contradiction between the new political realities and the historical tradition.

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