The Party Seat is part of the new Stalinist center of the capital, built on the site of the old commercial center damaged by the war. The idea is to concentrate the institutions of communist power there - a symbol of its new face.
The decision was made at the end of 1945, and the project was designed by Bulgarian architects, but at the insistence of the Politburo, its final appearance was imposed by a Soviet architect. Construction took place between 1950 and 1953, at the height of the Stalinization of the Bulgarian state. Repression against dissenters was harsh and indiscriminate, but among various strata of Bulgarian society there was still hope that with the help of Western powers Bulgaria could return to a democratic path of development. The persecution of the "former people" (the urban elites and state officials of interwar Bulgaria), the activists of the VMRO and the violent seizure of land from peasants sparked armed resistance in various regions of Bulgaria, known as the Gorian movement. Its uncoordinated and regional nature doomed it to failure against the well-organized communist militia and internal troops.
The construction of the Party House in the center of Sofia during those years became a symbol of the erased "old," the crushed resistance, and the unshakable power of the BCP. Similarly, the end of one-party communist rule in 1989-1990 was marked by the removal of the huge five-pointed star from the Party House's flagpole. In an attempt to erase the crimes committed by the regime, on August 26, 1990, the Party House was set on fire, burning many documents from the BCP archives. There are suspicions that the fire was organized by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and the State Security (DS) in order to quell civil protests and force the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) into political compromises. Today, the building is used by the National Assembly, and fewer and fewer people remember its totalitarian history, while the five-pointed star lies in the courtyard of the Museum of Socialist Art.
Lenin Monument
Lenin Square (now St. Nedelya Square)
The Lenin Monument in Sofia, located near the site of the current statue of Saint Sofia opposite the former Party House building, is a symbol of communist rule, the ideology of the Bulgarian Communist Party, and the leading role of the USSR. It was dismantled in 1990 on the pretext that it was obstructing the construction of the new metro.
Archive State Agency
5 Moskovska Street
During communism, the building that now houses the Archive State Agency was home to the Sofia Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and its basements served as interrogation cells for the sinister State Security. Among the people of Sofia, they were known as "dušekubki" (soul crushers).
In the late 1950s, young people were detained here and declared hooligans because they listened to or danced to rock and roll, wore tight pants, or were children of repressed people. 5 Moskovska Street became a symbol of the communist regime's arbitrariness towards its "enemies" and ordinary citizens, mentioned in the songs of Georgi Minchev, a famous Bulgarian musician and composer.
Those detained were often subjected to humiliation and severe beatings—for example, they were forced to take off their tight pants without removing their shoes. Since this was impossible, they were beaten with a whip on their feet. To be released, they had to rub their swollen feet on the cold cement until the swelling went down. If they failed, they were beaten again.
From here, some of the arrested were sent straight to the camps – first to Belene, and later to Lovech.
One of the projects for a museum of the history of communism envisages the use of the cells in the basement.
Statue of the Republic and Georgi Dimitrov Mausoleum
Knyaz Alexander I Boulevard
In September 1946, in connection with the referendum that established the People's Republic and abolished the monarchy, a plaster statue of the Republic - a woman with a sword and a flowing cloak - was hastily erected in front of the royal palace. It was destroyed in 1948, after the need for agitation of the population had been exhausted.
After the death of Georgi Dimitrov, leader of the Communist Party, an emigrant to the Soviet Union and Stalin's protégé, on July 2, 1949, a mausoleum was built in the same place in six days, where his embalmed body was placed, similar to Lenin's mausoleum in Moscow. Transformed into a sacred place of communist mythology, the mausoleum was a mandatory destination for school trips, a place of worship and political indoctrination (education). From its podium, the party leadership greeted the people during mandatory holiday demonstrations. Not showing grief in front of Georgi Dimitrov's mausoleum could be seen as a form of resistance against the regime.
The mausoleum was emptied in 1990 and the mummified body was buried. In 1999, it was demolished - also in 6 days. For generations of Bulgarians, the mausoleum was a symbol of the cult of personality and uncritical praise of communist ideology and the state. Today, the empty space is used for temporary exhibitions and urban art. One of the projects for a museum of the history of communism envisages the use of the mausoleum's basement.
City of Truth
Knyaz Alexander I Square
The square between the Party House and the mausoleum became a symbol of democratic change: in 1989, citizens took to the square with the slogan "45 years of [one-party] rule is enough!" to defend their freedom. Suspicions that the first democratic elections on June 10, 1990, were rigged sparked a wave of civil disobedience. Students occupied Sofia University. On June 14, a video recording of Petar Mladenov from December 14, 1989, was broadcast, in which he said: "It would be best if the tanks came." This was a painful reminder of the threat of repression, and the students demanded his resignation as president. On July 4, the "City of Truth" tent camp is set up in front of the presidency.
The strikers' demands included a public trial for Todor Zhivkov, written guarantees from political forces to end the national catastrophe, as well as the removal of the five-pointed star from the Party House and the burial of the mummy from the mausoleum as an end to the cult of personality surrounding Georgi Dimitrov. At the same time, the old regime tried to cover up the crimes it had committed: on August 26, 1990, the Party House was set on fire, many documents from the BCP archives were burned, and the "City of Truth" was dispersed - there are suspicions that the fire was organized by the BSP and the DS in order to quell the civil protest and force the Union of Democratic Forces (SDS) was forced into political compromises.
Garden "Crystal"
between Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard, G. S. Rakovski Street, and 6th September Street
In 1987, mass protests broke out in Ruse against air pollution from the chemical plant in the Romanian city of Giurgiu, on the other side of the Danube. Citizens wore masks, and mothers with strollers took to the front lines. None of them sought a political career or publicity. These protests marked the beginning of the Ekoglasnost movement, which was later established in Sofia, at the House of Cinema. These protests led to the creation of the Public Committee for the Environmental Protection of Ruse in 1988 at the House of Cinema (the so-called “Ruse Committee”). A year later, “Ekoglasnost” was also founded.
On October 14, 1989, Ekoglasnost began collecting signatures in the Crystal Garden against new hydroelectric construction in Rila and urban pollution. By the 1980s, the place had already established itself as a hub of youth culture. A few days later, on October 26, the police dispersed the crowd with beatings and arrests of about 20 activists. A woman's shoe was left on the ground, remembered by the people of Sofia as "Sofia's Cinderella," a symbol of civic courage at the end of the regime.
St. Alexander Nevsky Square
At the end of 1984, the communist regime launched a large-scale campaign for the forced assimilation of Turks and Muslims under the shameful name of the Revival Process. Within two months, the names of 822,588 people were forcibly changed. In May 1989, Turks and Muslims took to the streets in peaceful protests, which went down in history as the May Events. They were brutally dispersed by the militia, leaving people dead and injured. On May 29, 1989, Todor Zhivkov announced the opening of the border with Turkey, which led to a mass exodus, cynically called the Great Excursion. By the end of August 1989, 309,592 people had left the country before Turkey closed the border. Bulgaria fell into even greater international isolation, and the issue of human rights became a central issue for the opposition and public opinion. After the changes at the top of the BCP on November 10, 1989, the Turks and Muslims in Bulgaria raised an even stronger civic voice and, with their presence in the square in front of the National Assembly on December 29, 1989, forced the BCP to give them back their names.
National Assembly
On May 29, 1947, the leader of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union (BZNS) and the united opposition, Nikola Petkov, rejected the Communist Party's draft of a new constitution because it did not guarantee the rights and freedoms of citizens.
Until then, the BZNS had been part of the Fatherland Front, but the increasingly open and brutal actions of the Communist Party against all its opponents left no room for compromise. Until then, the BZNS had been part of the Fatherland Front, but the increasingly open and brutal actions of the Communist Party against any of its opponents left no doubt that a totalitarian regime based on the Soviet model was being imposed. Nikola Petkov declared: "Only a constitution based on political and economic freedom and equality of rights will create the pure and holy republic of the greatest idealist, Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski.
"The trial of Nikola Petkov and the legal opposition was prepared for nearly a year. On June 5, 1947, the National Assembly received a request from the prosecutor to lift his immunity. Prime Minister Georgi Dimitrov threatened him: "This may be your last chance to speak. These are your last words here." Petkov replied: "And my last words as a human being will be: long live freedom!" He was arrested in the hall of the National Assembly by armed militiamen.
As part of the measures to eliminate the opposition and clear the way for one-party rule, the BZNS was banned.
On December 14, 1989, the National Assembly postponed the vote on removing Article 1 of the Constitution on the leading role of the Bulgarian Communist Party, and thousands of people, mainly students, formed a human chain around the parliament building. Tension mounted and the crowd was ready to attack the National Assembly building, but the leaders of the Union of Democratic Forces (a coalition of opposition parties) called on the protesters to disperse peacefully.
Booed, the then head of state Petar Mladenov, one of the leaders of the self-proclaimed internal party opposition to Todor Zhivkov (former foreign minister), says: "It is best for the tanks to come." This phrase became a symbol of the communist leadership's inability to think according to the rules of democracy and the non-violent exercise of power. After intense public pressure and protests, these words led to the resignation of Petar Mladenov as president in the summer of 1990.
Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski"
Starting point - rectorate, stairs
In the language of the generations that lived through communism, there are words with special meaning. One of them is "9th," which refers to the coup d'état of September 9, 1944. This event marked the arrival of communist rule in Bulgaria just days after the Soviet army occupied the country. Although power was formally taken by a broad coalition of anti-fascist parties called the Fatherland Front (OF), the Communist Party gained complete control over the police, the special services, and the judiciary.
"9-th" was followed by the so-called People's Court. This was an extraordinary court, in violation of the constitution in force, which became an instrument for imposing communist rule through the mass liquidation of its opponents. It remains in our contemporary history as the most massive manifestation of political violence. Over 28,000 people were arrested, over 9,000 were convicted, 2,730 were shot, and another 1,300 received prison sentences. Over 28,000 people were arrested, over 9,000 were convicted, 2,730 were shot, and another 1,300 received life sentences. The consequences extended to their loved ones and families for generations to come.
From December 20, 1944, to February 1, 1945, the Second Supreme Court convened in the auditorium of Sofia University. The defendants were members of the XXV Ordinary National Assembly (1940–1944), some of whom had already passed away. On February 1, the court handed down 67 death sentences, out of the 25 requested, which were carried out that same night, along with those of the regents, ministers, and royal advisors from the First Supreme Court. Among those sentenced to death was Dr. Nikola Minkov, a defender of the Jews, while Dimitar Peshev, former chairman of the National Assembly, known as the savior of the Bulgarian Jews, received 15 years in prison. It was not until 2011 that February 1 was designated as a day of remembrance and gratitude to the victims of communism.
Sofia University also has a rich political history. From December 20, 1944, to February 1, 1945, the Second Supreme Court of the People's Court held its sessions here, which remains the most massive manifestation of political violence in our contemporary history, then almost 45 years later, the same university, its teachers, and students became one of the main centers of opposition to the regime. On November 3, 1988, the Club for Support of Glasnost and Perestroika was established here, becoming a key platform for discussion and action before the fall of the regime. Student protests, occupations, and strikes were the driving force behind political change in the decade after 1989.
Monument to the Soviet Army
19-33 Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd.
The Monument to the Soviet Army in Sofia, known among Sofians as MORA (Monument of the Occupying Red Army), was erected in 1954, ten years after the coup d'état of September 9, 1944. It is one of the most significant propaganda monuments of the communist regime and is intended to remind Bulgarians who is the guarantor of power.
One of the authors of the monument, sculptor Lyubomir Dalchev, later wrote in exile: "As soon as they came to power, the communist leaders hastened to express their great gratitude and even greater servility and flattery to the usurper for the power and support he had given them... And now, is it right that these monuments still stand on our Bulgarian soil – monuments to slavery and cruelty, to injustice and humiliation, to fear and suspicion. No nation would allow and accept such an insult – to tolerate monuments glorifying their oppressors. And nowhere in the world is there such an absurdity as the one the communists want to impose on us."
Since 2011, the monument has been the site of artistic actions critical of the Soviet Union and Russia, making it a symbol of rethinking historical heritage. It was dismantled in 2024, and the inscription: "To the Soviet Army, liberator - from the grateful Bulgarian people" was finally removed. Public discussions about its future and meaning continue. A similar fate, but in earlier times, befell the statue of Stalin at the entrance to Borisova Garden, which was blown up in 1953 by the daring anarchist Georgi Konstantinov.
Eagles' Bridge Square
On November 10, 1989, Todor Zhivkov was forced to resign as chairman of the State Council and leader of the Bulgarian Communist Party. This took place in the hall of the National Historical Museum, which remains intact to this day. However, the museum lacks a narrative about the communist regime and the history of the place. On June 7, 1990, shortly before the first free elections in Bulgaria, an opposition protest was held at Eagles' Bridge, which is said to have been attended by nearly 1 million people.
Union of Bulgarian Writers
5 Angel Kanchev Street
The communist regime spares no expense to defend its one-party rule. Artists, intellectuals, and "engineers of the human soul" are generously rewarded if their works glorify communist ideology and the state. Dissent arose within the ranks of creative communities such as the Union of Bulgarian Writers. More daring artists raised their voices and criticized the communist system, but few dared to criticize or sank into silence so as not to serve the regime. Radoy Ralin criticised the authorities with his sharp satire as early as the 1950s, but was repeatedly censored after his play "I Was Him" was banned in 1969. Georgi Markov decided to leave the country. In 1978 the State Security killed him in London because of his critical analysis of socialist reality in his "Absent Reports on Bulgaria." Valeri Petrov remained in Bulgaria and sympathized with the socialist idea, but through his delicate poetry in the 1970s and 1980s, he did not remain uncritical of the regime.
