Bulgaria has a proud cultural heritage that dates to early medieval times. During the Golden Age (A.D. 893-927) of the first and second Bulgarian kingdom, Bulgarian arts and letters dominated the Slavic world. Exposed to the flourishing culture of neighboring Byzantium, Bulgarians absorbed its influence, adapted it to their own Slavic culture and language, and then spread it among the less advanced Slavic peoples in the Balkans and to the north.

After the Turkish conquest in 1396, cultural development was retarded for several centuries until the drive for liberation in the nineteenth century rekindled its creative spark. In contrast to the Golden Age, however, when Bulgarian culture was widespread, modern artistic and intellectual expression tended to be provincial in both its audience and its content. After independence, although interest in cultural and intellectual matters was high, support for it was restricted to a minority in Sofia and in a few of the largest towns. The government made some contribution to the country's artistic development through small subsidies to institutions and government jobs for artists and intellectuals, but the subsidies were not always on the basis of merit.

Before World War II few people could made an adequate living through creative work alone, with the possible exception of members of the National Theater and Opera. The prestige of university professors, members of the Academy of Sciences, and the leading singers, artists, actors, and writers was high, but the financial rewards were hardly commensurate with their standing. Despite their prestige, Bulgarian writers and intellectuals have not enjoyed the same position of leadership and influence that has been traditional in other countries of Eastern Europe.

The communist government had promoted pride in the cultural heritage by restoring and preserving the country's medieval treasures and national revival masterpieces and by promoting traditional folk arts both in their own right and as inspiration to other forms of artistic expression. Considerable funds and efforts have been devoted to the promotion of new artistic and intellectual expression, which is seen as an important medium for the political and social education of the people. For this reason the leadership has tried to keep artistic and intellectual expression under control and to use it for its own purposes.Despite controls, artistic and intellectual life is active. Not all creative effort becomes public, and that which does not meet the prescribed criteria of style and content is known only by its creator and a few select friends; nevertheless, it is produced. Much of what passes the censor is of doubtful artistic quality, but works of considerable merit have appeared in all forms of artistic expression. Gifted artists and writers find ways to express their talent within the confines of government regulations.

THE ARTS AND SCIENCES UNDER COMMUNISM

Since 1944 artistic and intellectual expression have been subject to the cultural policy of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP—see Glossary), which has followed a relatively strict adherence to the concept of Socialist Realism as developed in the Soviet Union. Under this concept art, music, and literature are required to promote communist ideology and present an idealized picture of communist society. In order to impart the ideological message, artistic and intellectual expression must be understood by the common man and, therefore, can only take the form of straightforward representative statements.

During the period of de-Stalinization in the mid-1950s, cultural controls became less restrictive, and artistic and intellectual expression burst into new creativity and life. Although this outburst never reached the proportions it did in Poland and Hungary during the same period, the regime considered it a threat and reimposed strict controls in the late 1950s. At that time the government was preparing for a great push in economic development and, to further this goal, mobilized the cultural community into service as propagandists.

Another thaw in cultural restriction occurred in the early 1960s when several factions were struggling for control of the BKP. After Todor Zhivkov assumed firm control of the party, writers and artists were again required to serve the needs of the state until the fall of Nikita Khrushchev in the Soviet Union, and an attempted coup in Bulgaria forced Zhivkov to broaden his popular support by relaxing the BKP's control of national life.

This ebb and flow of restriction on artistic and intellectual expression continues and serves as a barometer for the political and economic climate in the country. At no time since the mid-1950s did cultural policy reach the degree of repression of the Stalinist period. The leadership in Bulgaria, as did those in other Eastern European countries, learned that repression was counterproductive. Instead, it adopted a subtler method of control through the publishers, art galleries, theater companies, and other outlets for creative expression, all of which are run by the state in conformity with the guidelines on cultural policy. Because a creative artist must communicate his ideas to an audience in order to achieve fulfillment, he tends to adapt his ideas and principles to what is acceptable to the available outlets for his work. Thus, self-censorship has replaced direct government control for the most part.

From a material standpoint, the life of a creative artist in contemporary Bulgaria is far more secure than that of his counterpart in a capitalist country. Creative expression is seen as a social function; therefore, society owes the creative artist an assured livelihood. This is provided either through regular salaries from publishing houses, academies of music or art, or other agencies that employ artists or through stipends paid to creative artists who do not have a regular salary to depend on. Free or low-cost room and board are also available to creative artists and their families at special artists' colonies or retreats operated by professional unions in the creative arts and by government agencies for the promotion of the arts and sciences. Under this system, however, the artist is under constant pressure to produce in order to justify his salary or stipend.

In order to qualify for any of the material advantages, in fact, in order to function as a professional artist or scholar, an individual must be a member of the appropriate professional union. The unions are, for the most part, an arm of the BKP and another instrument for enforcing cultural policy (see ch. 9). Only the Writers' Union has demonstrated a certain degree of independence based on the recognized power of the written word. As recently as December 1972 the union again resisted integration into the Committee on Art and Culture, a supradepartmental government agency having a wide range of authority in the cultural sphere. The Writers' Union is the only professional union in the arts that has not been integrated into the committee.

The principal aim of cultural policy since 1944 has been to popularize the arts and sciences by making them accessible to all segments of the population and to utilize those mediums for the promotion of communist values. Popularization of the arts has been accomplished by greatly expanding the facilities that present the arts to the public and by supporting these facilities with state funds. Many new orchestras, theater companies, publishers, and art galleries have come into existence since World War II. Touring exhibits and road companies take the arts into small towns and villages. Radio and television have been extensively utilized to promote the arts and learning. Through state support, the prices of books and admission tickets have been kept extremely low in order to bring them within the reach of as many persons as possible. The traditional library clubs have been reinforced by a network of "houses of culture," which serve as cultural centers in villages and in urban neighborhoods.

LITERATURE

The origins of Bulgarian literature date back to A.D. 855 when the Greek priests Cyril and Methodius designed an alphabet—Cyrillic—suitable for the Slavic languages in order to facilitate the Christianization of the Slavs (see ch. 2). At first the alphabet was used to translate the Bible and other Christian religious texts, but in the Golden Age of the First Bulgarian Kingdom several original religious and secular tests were written by Bulgarians in their own language. In the late Middle Ages a substantial literature in Bulgarian was created. Although the authors were all churchmen, much of the literature was secular. A whole body of apocryphal literature—so-called heretical tales and legends—came into being at that time.

During five centuries of Turkish rule, no literature was produced except the orally transmitted folksongs and ballads. Not until the second half of the eighteenth century, when Turkish rule began to degenerate, did Bulgarian literature revive itself as part of the awakening national consciousness of the people. The first book to appear was Father Paisi's Slav-Bulgarian History, a highly nationalistic book published in 1762 that played a major role in the struggle for liberation. During the first half of the nineteenth century, several Bulgarian texts were published in neighboring countries. These were extremely influential in developing the modern Bulgarian language as their publication coincided with the establishment of schools and the spread of education among the Bulgarian people. A number of periodicals were also started by Bulgarians abroad, but most of them were irregular and short lived. Of considerable significance, however, was the collection and publication, first in periodicals and later in book form, of the folksongs and ballads that had kept alive the language and culture of the Bulgarians during the five centuries of Turkish rule. Much of the interest in folk literature came from outside the country from other Slavs in Serbia, Croatia, Czechoslovakia, and Russia, who were going through their own national awakening and had a kindred feeling for the Bulgarians.

The early modern literature was nationalistic and didactic. Its authors were educators involved in the spread of education and in the modernization of the language and revolutionaries fighting for an independent Bulgaria. Modernization and social reform were other strong currents permeating the literature of that time and later. Such poets as Petko Slaveikov, Lyuben Karavelov, and Khristo Botev were strongly influenced by the Russian social reformers and revolutionaries of the second half of the nineteenth century. Botev was the most outstanding poet of this era. His short, intense, and fiery poems continue to arouse patriotic feelings of Bulgarians everywhere. Botev's revolutionary fervor and heroism have been identified by the present-day regime with its own revolutionary movement, and he has been accorded great honor.

In the postindependence period the dominant literary figure was Ivan Vazov, whose influence on subsequent generations of writers has been tremendous. Known as the national poet and father of modern Bulgarian literature, Vazov was primarily a writer and not a crusader or revolutionary as were his predecessors. He was steeped in the great literature of Europe and Russia and used the Bulgarian setting and traditions to write about universal ideas. Vazov's greatest novel, Under the Yoke, describing Bulgarian life under the Turks, has been widely translated.

Vazov and his contemporaries Yordan Yovkov and Pencho Slaveikov (son of Petko Slaveikov) sought to direct Bulgarian literature away from its confines of national politics and reform into a more general artistic and philosophical outlook. They were joined in this effort by the somewhat younger Elin Pelin, whose stories have also been widely translated. Although these writers continued to draw much of their inspiration from native scenery, folk themes, and village life, they were writers of universal quality and appeal.

Later, rival literary groups, each with its journal, laid the basis for marked development in poetry, the short story, and the novel between the two world wars. No outstanding literary figure emerged, but writers continued to experiment with a variety of themes and forms.

Realism had always been a strong theme in Bulgarian literature, and in the decade after 1944 the Communists sought to utilize this tradition in imposing Soviet-style Socialist Realism as the desired form of expression. Writers who conformed to the prescribed style were generously rewarded with stipends and special privileges that encouraged a volume of writing heretofore unknown. The novel became the main literary form as it lends itself particularly well to the prerequisites of the prescribed literary style. Nikola Vaptsarov and Khristo Smyrnenski have been singled out by the government as outstanding writers in the style of Socialist Realism.

Most of the literature produced in the late 1940s and early 1950s has been classed at best as mediocre, even by Bulgarians themselves. Several works of that period, however, have been recognized as outstanding. The most acclaimed of these has been Dimitur Dimov's Tobacco, dealing with the revolutionary movement among tobacco workers before and during World War II. The novel was strongly condemned when first published in 1951 but, after the relaxation of cultural controls in the mid-1950s, it was hailed as the best novel since Vazov's Under the Yoke.

Dissatisfaction of the writers with the restrictions imposed on them and discontent of the public with the monotony and lack of literary quality of contemporary writing became evident in the mid-1950s. These feelings broke into the open when a mild form of de-Stalinization was put into effect in 1956 (see ch. 9). Although the so-called writers' revolt never reached the proportions of those in Poland or Hungary, it did bring about a short period of relative freedom in literary expression and a number of outstanding literary works that aroused a great controversy. Foremost among these was Emil Manov's An Unauthentic Case, which describes interparty conflict. Todor Genov's play Fear also received high praise for its treatment of the corruption by power of a once idealistic Communist.

The leaders of the writers' revolt, with one exception, were all loyal Communists who had become disillusioned with what they saw as the hypocrisy and dishonesty of the leadership, which they felt was leading the people into moral bankruptcy. Their main forum was a new periodical, Plamuk, edited by Manov, foremost of the rebels. The main demand of the rebels was that an artist should be free to choose his themes and methods of presentation provided he remain loyal to communist ideology.

When the exposure in literature of the spiritual decline of individual Communists and of communist ideals became too embarrassing to the leadership, tighter restrictions were reimposed in the late 1950s. The literature of the early 1960s has been termed cathartic. By writing about long-suppressed thoughts and emotions, writers attempted to purge themselves of guilt for the sins of the system that they had supported. The poetry, which was very popular with the young, had a ring of disillusionment and pessimism.

The government leadership did not approve of this literature any more than it did of the literature exposing faults in the system. Rather than repress the writers as it had done before, the regime used subtle pressures to guide writers into acceptable subjects. What followed was a wave of naturalistic poetry and novels dealing with purely human problems.

THEATER

A dramatic tradition was developed as part of the National Revival. Plays intended to arouse the people's national consciousness were written by Bulgarian authors and staged by students and teachers at library clubs in several cities (see ch. 11). After independence in 1878 the National Theater was formed in Sofia, but for several decades it depended heavily on foreign plays and foreign theatrical talent. By the start of World War II, however, government subsidies had helped to develop it to a point where it compared favorably with national theaters elsewhere in Europe.

The present-day government has heavily supported the theater as a "mass school for the all-round ideological, ethical and aesthetical education of the people." An extensive repertoire of Bulgarian plays conforming to the demands of Socialist Realism and to the prescribed content and interpretation has been built up. It is performed by some forty-six theatrical companies throughout the country. Classics by William Shakespeare, Johann von Schiller, Henrik Ibsen, Anton Chekhov, and others are also performed regularly, as are selected contemporary plays by playwrights from all over the world. Unlike elsewhere in Eastern Europe, there has been no experimental or avant-garde theater in Bulgaria.

The presentations of the Satirical Theater in Sofia are the most daring and innovative theatrical presentations available to the public. Although their humor is often biting, their theatrical style seems rather ordinary and traditional to a Western theatergoer. The Satirical Theater is, nevertheless, the most popular theater in the country; tickets for its performances are sold out weeks in advance. In addition to satirical reviews, the theater presents classical satires by Bertolt Brecht, Nikolai Gogol, Vladimir Mayakovsky, and others. On the assumption that "people who laugh think no evil," which is an old Bulgarian proverb, the authorities have tolerated greater outspokenness on the part of Satirical Theater productions than in the more serious forms of artistic and creative expression.

FILMS

As a medium of artistic and intellectual expression, Bulgarian films have lagged behind those produced in other Eastern European countries. They have received little recognition in the West, where they are generally considered old-fashioned in story line interpretation as well as in technical approach. Several attempts at imitation of the surrealism of Alain Resnais and Louis Bunuel or of some of the other contemporary Western cinematic directors, have proved failures in the eyes of the critics at home and abroad.

In common with other communist filmmakers, those in Bulgaria have concentrated for years on the suffering of the people under Nazi oppression during World War II. Most of these films about war and resistance have a propaganda purpose that outweighs any efforts toward artistic or technical excellence. Since the late 1960s most feature films have focused on contemporary life and its problems. It is these films that have shown some experimentation in contemporary cinematic techniques on the part of Bulgarian directors.

Animated cartoon shorts have been better received by Western critics and audiences than have feature films. Those designed and directed by Ivan Andonov, who is also one of Bulgaria's leading actors, have been acclaimed as outstanding.

MUSIC

Bulgaria is best known in the world of music for several renowned opera singers it has produced in the twentieth century. The bassos Boris Khristov and Nikolai Ghiaurov, in particular, rank among the great singers of all time. A number of other singers are known on opera stages in Europe and the Soviet Union. The country's five opera companies provide a good training ground for young singers. The opera repertoire relies heavily on the classics and on contemporary compositions of non-Bulgarian origin; there are few Bulgarian operas. Nevertheless, opera is an extremely popular form of musical entertainment, particularly among the intelligentsia.

The interest in and love of opera among Bulgarians probably has its roots in Eastern Orthodox Church music, which abounds in both the vocal and dramatic elements characteristic of opera. Bulgarian clerics made considerable contribution to the development of this music during the Middle Ages through the introduction of certain rhythmic and structural qualities that give orthodox ecclesiastical music its characteristic form.

The most typical form of musical expression through the ages has been folk music. Through folksongs the Bulgarian language and cultural heritage were kept alive during the centuries of Turkish rule. Turkish influence is evident, however, in the musical quality of Bulgarian folksongs, which are noticeably Middle Eastern in feeling. Although there are many gay dances and happy songs in the folk repertoire, an important segment of folk music has a sad, plaintive quality and sings of the hardships and grief of daily life.

Bulgarian concert music is not well known outside the country. It is, however, regularly performed by Bulgarian orchestras and has found its way into the repertoire of orchestras in the Soviet Union and other communist countries. Outstanding among contemporary composers is Pancho Vladigerov, whose compositions were well received both before and after the Communists came to power.

In the early 1970s the Bulgarian press noted a growing interest in popular music among the youth. Dance bands and popular ensembles proliferated in the high schools and youth clubs. Although the press praised this interest in music as constructive, it decried the kind of music that found most popularity. Instead of heroic "mass songs" of Bulgarian composers, the youth showed interest only in Western popular music.

FOLK ARTS

A rich legacy of folk arts was developed before and during the five centuries of Turkish rule. On Sundays and festival days and at the end of ordinary workdays, young and old in the villages would gather to dance the intricate steps of the horo (a circular group dance) and to sing about young love, brave men, Turkish oppression, or mythical beasts with strange features. Flutes, bagpipes, and simple stringed instruments accompanied the songs and dances.

History and tradition were passed on from generation to generation through legends, ballads, proverbs, and cautionary tales. This folklore has formed the basis of much of Bulgarian literature and art since independence from the Turks.

Other forms of folk arts were woodcarving, highly colored embroidery, rug weaving, and icon painting. Although distinct in their regional variations, the traditional costumes of Bulgarian peasants are simple and drab when compared to those of other parts of Europe. Because any wealth or material possessions were subject to Turkish confiscation, Bulgarian peasants strove to present an image of poverty through simple dress and housing.

In common with other Eastern European governments, the Bulgarian government has striven to support and promote the traditional folk arts as part of the cultural heritage of the people. Artisan co-*operatives produce carved woodenware, rugs, weavings, embroideries, and traditional musical instruments for sale in government shops. Numerous folk dance groups give performances at local tourist centers and abroad. The various folk arts have been free from restriction even during periods of strict cultural controls; therefore, they have afforded the best outlet for individual creativity of the serious artists as well as the folk artists.

PAINTING AND SCULPTURE

The golden age of Bulgarian art was, without doubt, the Middle Ages. No art since that time has matched the magnificence and quality of the icons and frescoes that adorn the churches and monasteries constructed during that period. Some of the best and most prized examples of Byzantine painting are found in the Boyana Church near Sofia, in the Zemen Monastery in the mountains along the Yugoslav border, and in several other small village churches. A masterpiece of early Bulgarian art is the icon of Saint Theodor of Plateina near Preslav; it was made of colored faience in the tenth century. True to the Byzantine style, medieval Bulgarian art used muted colors, mostly the earthy tones of yellows and browns, to depict somber saints and other religious figures.

Some of the Bulgarian painters developed a special style known as the Turnovo School of art. In addition to decorating churches and monasteries, Turnovo School artists also painted miniatures to illustrate chronicles and religious texts. Several of these are preserved in major European museums.

Woodcarving, silversmithing, goldsmithing, and other crafts also reached a high level of artistry in medieval Bulgaria. Human and animal figures were common motifs in carved wooden doors and other architectural features.

Medieval creativity came to an abrupt halt with the Turkish invasion, which not only prevented new artistic expression but also destroyed and damaged much of the existing art. Not until the National Revival of the nineteenth century did Bulgarian artists again begin to express their creativity in painting and sculpture.

Modern Bulgarian art had its beginning in the national awakening and the struggle for independence of the late eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries. As in literature, National Revival art found its themes in the beauty of the countryside, the charm of old customs, traditional folktales, and the heroic deeds of brave men. Stylistic inspiration came from peasant art and ancient Bulgarian religious art. Most significant among revival artists were Nikola Pavlovich and Vladislav Dospevaki, the former for his introduction of Western-style realism and the latter for his modernization of church art. As a whole, however, National Revival art is more significant for its historic role than for its artistic merit.

In the early years of independence, the simplicity of National Revival art gave way to an academic style and to impressionism. Best known in that period was Ivan Murkvichka, a Bohemian by birth, whose most appreciated paintings dealt with peasant life. He founded the Academy of Fine Arts in Sofia and organized the first Bulgarian art exhibit.

After World War I Vladimir Dimitrov, known as The Master, sought to free Bulgarian painting from the influence of ethnography and literature, although he too drew upon village motifs. Mainly a painter of people—in individual portraits or in group compositions—he concentrated on themes of family life and peasant work. Since World War II Dimitrov has been hailed as a great revolutionary humanist whose stylized epic and lyrical works depict the greatness of the people and of their suffering.

In addition to Dimitrov, the interwar period saw the formation of a group of young painters, led by Ivan Milev, who broke away from routine academic composition and advocated the combination of national with modernistic elements. At this time also, Alexander Bozhinov developed cartoon caricature as an art form to be used as a political weapon.

Contemporary art has been guided by the strictures of Socialist Realism as interpreted at different times. Because national or peasant art is always acceptable under these restrictions, artists have used it as an avenue for greater freedom of expression. The influence of peasant icons, for instance, can be seen in the work of many contemporary artists. Peasant motifs, such as the fruits of the earth, are also evident in much of the work. The art most acceptable to the leadership, however, has been the kind of realism that Westerners associate with communist art. Typical of this style is Ilia Petrov's Partisan Song, a monumental canvas depicting a group of partisans triumphantly singing after a victory over fascists. Petrov has consistently received official praise for his work, which is seen as "national in form and socialist in content."

Under the influence of Zhivkov's more liberal cultural policy in the 1960s, artists began to show greater variation and creativity in style while retaining the acceptable subject matter for their work. Many experimented with abstracts and other avant-garde forms, but these works were never selected for public showing or purchase by the museums and other state agencies, which are the only significant patrons. The artist, therefore, is usually forced to divide his efforts between those works that will earn a living and those that will give vent to his creative urge.

Although nonrepresentational art is not publicly exhibited, a considerable degree of abstraction became acceptable in the late 1960s. According to observers who have had contact with Bulgarian artists, the public had grown bored with the prescribed style and content of artistic production, and the government could no longer effectively enforce the restrictions. Added to the difficulties of enforcement was the increasing exposure of Bulgarians through tourism to the great variety of contemporary art produced in Western Europe and in some of the other communist countries. The most abstract and avant-garde painter in Bulgaria is Genko Genkov, some of whose paintings hang in the National Gallery in Sofia.

Graphic artists have been allowed the greatest freedom for abstraction. By its very nature, graphic art tends to be abstract and stylized. Graphic artists such as Maria Nedkova have succeeded in producing works that are highly regarded both by the government and by the avant-garde intelligentsia. Many graphic artists go back to Bulgarian medieval art for inspiration in theme and style. Pencho Koulekov, for instance, who is highly regarded in Bulgaria, uses the primitive two-dimensional perspective, the simplification of forms, the highlighting of the essential, and the omission of all detail that was characteristic of early miniaturists and icon painters.

Until the time of independence, sculpture was represented almost exclusively by decorative wood carvings. With the introduction of Western influences, several artists turned to the use of stone. Few Bulgarian sculptors achieved international fame, however, although the work of some professors of fine arts in Sofia were becoming known outside the country. Among them was the noted woodcut artist, Vasil Zakhariev, and a former director of the Academy of Fine Arts, Ivan Lasarov.

The three-dimensional nature of sculpture and the classic Greek tradition of literal representation have made it difficult for contemporary sculptors to break away from the realistic representational requirements of the regime. Only sculptures designed for children's playgrounds and parks are allowed a degree of abstraction characteristic of art created by children themselves. Observers have commented that works considered highly modern in Bulgaria are completely traditional and representational to the Western eye.

ARCHITECTURE

The architectural tradition of Bulgaria is formed on ancient Thracian, Greek, and Roman architecture of which examples survive in several parts of the country. Three periods stand out in the development of distinct architectural styles over the ages. The first period was the Middle Ages, when Bulgarian and other architects constructed some of the great examples of early Byzantine architecture in territories that constituted the First Bulgarian Kingdom (see ch. 2). Many of these monuments are no longer within the boundaries of Bulgaria—notably the churches and monastery in the Lake Ohrid region of Yugoslavia—and others were destroyed during the centuries of Turkish rule. Among those that have survived within the confines of the country are some of the best examples of artistic expression and technology of the Byzantine period. These are a source of great pride for Bulgarians, who consider them part of their contribution to world culture.

The next period of outstanding architectural development was the National Revival period of the late eighteenth century and the nineteenth century. Flourishing commerce gave new life to such towns as Plovdiv and Turnovo and created new urban centers in which affluent merchants and artisans built homes and public buildings in a richly ornamented style that came to be known as the National Revival style. These two-story structures made extensive use of stone and wood, the latter usually elaborately carved. The interiors were light and spacious. In addition to carved doors, ceilings, and built-in sideboards, the interiors were often decorated with wall paintings. Typical of National Revival architecture is the Rila Monastery; its interior walls are covered with frescoes, and its interior and exterior abound in carved wooden structural members and decorative details. The monastery, like other National Revival structures, reflects the Byzantine influence in the many large arched windows, arched ceilings, and arcades.

The third period of distinguished architectural development is the contemporary one. Industrial growth since World War II and a rapidly growing tourist industry since the mid-1950s have called for large-scale construction of needed facilities. New resort towns arose on the Black Sea; industrial new towns grew in other locations; and hotels, apartment complexes, and public buildings were needed throughout the country. Although much of the architecture imitates the colossal style of Stalinist work, some of it is of high artistic quality and imagination. The Balkantourist Hotel in Turnovo and several hotels in Black Sea resorts are often singled out as outstanding examples of modern architecture; they combine traditional features with modern materials and techniques and blend them into a design that fits into the natural surroundings.

Several young architects have achieved international reputations by winning major design competitions in different parts of the world. Winning designs have included plans for the development of the city center of Closure, in the Federal Republic of Germany (West Germany), and the city center of Tunis, and the redesigning of the Civic Center Plaza in San Francisco. Since the 1960s the most talented young architects have been spending some time in Western Europe to expand their knowledge and experience.

SCHOLARSHIP AND SCIENCE

Isolated for five centuries from the main currents of intellectual and scientific developments abroad and denied the education required to undertake any scholarly or scientific activity of their own, the Bulgarian people do not have a long tradition of scholarship and science. Some intellectual activity did take place in the isolated mountain monasteries, and it eventually inspired the National Revival. Because of this isolation, however, the focus of the intellectual activity was parochial.

The Academy of Sciences was founded in 1869 as part of the National Revival movement and has served, together with the University of Sofia, as the rallying point of intellectuals and scholars. After World War II the Academy of Sciences was expanded by the incorporation of several independent research institutions. Its membership was also vastly increased with the admission of individuals whose loyalty to the new government would assure the proper slant to their scholarly work. The Academy of Agricultural Sciences was founded in 1961 to provide the scientific know-how that would expand the output of collectivized agriculture. The two academies coordinate and supervise all research and scholarly activity undertaken in the country.

Emphasis in all scholarly and scientific activity has been on matters directly applicable to industrial and agricultural development. Work in the social sciences has been directed at the government's efforts to transform Bulgaria into a socialist state. The work of scientists and scholars must conform to the various theories and formulas developed by Soviet scholars and must not dispute or contradict the basic precepts of Marxism-Leninism as interpreted by the Bulgarian leadership. In the early 1970s scholarly activity in Bulgaria had not yet attained the freedom of thought and expression that has been evident in Poland and Hungary.