Идеите на 19 май и заветите на Българското възраждане
The Ideology of the 19 May [1934] Regime and the Legacy of the Bulgarian National Revival

Summary/Abstract: The article examines the various usages of the idea of “National Revival” in Bulgaria during the interwar period and especially after the coup d'etat of 19 May 1934. During the interwar period, radical nationalist (including fascist) milieus in Bulgaria advocated the need for radical “renewal” and “revival” of the nation and of the state; they were primarily concerned with the “deep crisis” and “decline” of the Bulgarian state and society. This phenomenon is very similar to the calls for “national regeneration” and “national rebirth” by the radical nationalist movements in leading European countries and bears numerous similarities with the discourses of “regeneration of the Italian nation” or “German revival”. However, in the Bulgarian case the calls for “renewal” and “revival” intertwined with the established idealized vision of the Bulgarian national revival of the 18th-19th century. The National Revival of the previous century illustrated a perfect example of an almost miraculous upsurge after a long period of profound and complete decline. Thus, the calls for “National Revival” were adopted by conservative nationalist intellectuals and politicians as well, who transformed them into calls for return to the ideals and to the legacy of the National Revival of the previous century and propagated the slogan “Back to the Revival”. In turn, this discource left visible traces in the popular perceptions of the Bulgarian National Revival of the 18th - 19th century. This one is seen as a period of complete national unity in every regard (in political, social and especially territorial terms), as a time when individual interests were subordinated to the interests of the national community, as a process of gradual advance and organic development of the nation, which relies only on its own powers.

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