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TLIAD: Minchev's Bulgaria
- Thread starter BgKnight
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Excellent, thanks!
An ice cold gun pressed to his temple, Tsvetan Totomirov stood silent and stared forward. He used to be called the "Iron Soldier", and his steadfast, Spartan service continued to earn him that moniker. His silent demeanor and larger-than life stature kept him alive during the worst days of Minchev's rule, when the general staff quickly changed depending on who was Batko’s new favorite.
Tototmirov had remained outside of the political circles, refusing to even entertain the idea of participating in politics. This suited Minchev just fine, but also created its own problems. Batko had created a new political system in Bulgaria, all centered around him. So once his brief but disastrous reign ended, a power vacuum opened and only a few men could fill it. Totomirov refused to be that person even as all sorts of political players approached him, but he remained wary. Almost two months had passed since Minchev's death, and three high-ranking triumvirs had assumed power before being killed shortly thereafter.
The man pressing the gun against his head was Konstantin, the closest adviser to Minchev. He knew everything about the General, and thanks to being so close to him, he had risen from being a humble soldier to a full blown Colonel of the DS [State Security].
"General Totomirov. That was not a question." the young man said through his clenched teeth.
"You want me to assume power, with a gun pointed at my temple, Mr. Trenchev?" the General responded stonily.
"Yessir. You are the only one that can. Minchev was a smart man, but he promoted morons. The country is collapsing, riots are already erupting everywhere... Macedonia remains restless, we need someone to control all of this." Konstantin continued without even noticing the tone of the General
"You are the only one."
Tsvetan took a deep breath, his dark brown eyes boring holes into Konstantin, who at that moment understood why this man had reached his rank. Even with a gun pointed at his head, Totomirov’s ice-cold stare could make a man tremble. "What if I say no, Colonel?"
"I will have your family murdered." Konstantin responded quickly, automatically. He had used it many times before and he would use it again. Totomirov's tone or face didn't change, didn't even flinch.
"If you, or your men lay their nasty hands on my family. I am going to kill each and every one of your agents, pull your eyes out and feed your penis to the dogs." Konstantin fought to keep himself composed, belatedly realizing that he was in way over his head.
"Who do you think you are boy, you think I rose through the ranks of the Communist Party and the Military by being smiling and doing good things?" the general let that sink in. "I will take the helm of the country. But you better keep your DS boys in line."
***
The announcement on the radio came shortly after one of the largest protests in the capital. The police formed a cordon around the National Assembly, but unlike the previous protests they didn't rush into the crowd or beat them. The people were calling for resignation, yelling at the immovable, unflinching police officers.
General Totomirov came out of the building, dressed in a humble uniform, with no ranks on it. Next to him two large boys from the State Security stood, closely monitoring the crowd. The moment he showed up the crowed went wild, they barely knew him and they were boiling. Stones were thrown, yelling intensified, but the General remained calm and walked up to a specially set up microphone. His voice washed over the masses.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, you have suffered for too long. My name is Tsvetan Totmirov. I am a General of the Land Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria and I am here to tell you that I assumed power three days ago. The general staff of the Republic of Bulgaria has been arrested on charges of treason, and we will start preparations for elections. Bulgarians like you will be allowed to choose who will govern them, no longer will the Military, or the Communist Party, or any other organization decide for them."
The crowd was already cheering, screaming slogans like "freedom" and "victory". Unfortunately, they wouldn't know the chaos that was about to come. Shortly after Totomirov came to power, the elections were held. However, many groups of people who had gathered together with the idea to form a party found out that was next to impossible. A total of 2 parties participated in the first election of the Bulgarian Republic, all claiming some vague "reform", all populated by sons and daughters of the military men who had governed the country so far, all promising freedom. The gross manipulation of the public vote, the mock puppeteer parties, and the collapsing economy led to even more protests. Despite this, enough people believed the “Iron General” and his declared withdrawal from national politics.
In reality, the country continued to be governed by the same people. The promised reforms turned out to be a ploy to use the political power of these forces for personal economic gain. The economy had remained mostly nationalized up until now, so by 1994-'95, it was on the verge of total failure. The government was led by the Party of Progress, a vaguely left-wing party led by young Georgi Parvanov. Parvanov was as historian and former Communist Party member, but was also a member of the State Security apparatus like almost all party leaders were.
Parvanov initiated a privatization program, privatizing giant state companies to the clique of party cadres of the two political forces in Bulgaria and between the commanding staff of the Bulgarian military. This lead to a series of bankruptcies of massive state-run companies that had barely functioned so far. That, in turn, put thousands out of work and led to rampant hyperinflation, which sparked even more protests.
The only success the government managed to reap was the end of the grueling war in Macedonia. The West was presented with a fait accomplit -- Macedonia was mostly “pacified” outside of a few radical groups hiding in the mountains. A treaty was signed amidst the rubble of Skopje, wherein Serbia, Albania and Greece, all players with stakes in Macedonia, agreed to respect the new boundaries of the Republic of Bulgaria. The ethnic cleansing, grim as it was, was swept under the rug. The West was already deeply involved in containing the Serbs in Bosnia, fighting a war that had transcended the boundaries of ethnic cleansing and into full blown genocide.
Later, a Serbian politician would declare "we are the only losers out of this war", and he would be absolutely right.
***
"Your majesty." the man bowed. Simeon II Sakskoburggotski, one-time Tsar of the Bulgarians, smiled and waved him up.
"Don't bow to me young man" he answered in impeccable Spanish, one of the five languages he spoke "I am not a Tsar, my father was. I still hold the
claim to the throne, but I will sit on it only if the people want me to. It is all in God's hands."
"Yes your majesty." his assistant said as he smiled "Your luggage is prepared, our flight is booked. A chartered jet will take you directly to Sofia this Monday. "
Simeon's smile grew wider.
Tototmirov had remained outside of the political circles, refusing to even entertain the idea of participating in politics. This suited Minchev just fine, but also created its own problems. Batko had created a new political system in Bulgaria, all centered around him. So once his brief but disastrous reign ended, a power vacuum opened and only a few men could fill it. Totomirov refused to be that person even as all sorts of political players approached him, but he remained wary. Almost two months had passed since Minchev's death, and three high-ranking triumvirs had assumed power before being killed shortly thereafter.
The man pressing the gun against his head was Konstantin, the closest adviser to Minchev. He knew everything about the General, and thanks to being so close to him, he had risen from being a humble soldier to a full blown Colonel of the DS [State Security].
"General Totomirov. That was not a question." the young man said through his clenched teeth.
"You want me to assume power, with a gun pointed at my temple, Mr. Trenchev?" the General responded stonily.
"Yessir. You are the only one that can. Minchev was a smart man, but he promoted morons. The country is collapsing, riots are already erupting everywhere... Macedonia remains restless, we need someone to control all of this." Konstantin continued without even noticing the tone of the General
"You are the only one."
Tsvetan took a deep breath, his dark brown eyes boring holes into Konstantin, who at that moment understood why this man had reached his rank. Even with a gun pointed at his head, Totomirov’s ice-cold stare could make a man tremble. "What if I say no, Colonel?"
"I will have your family murdered." Konstantin responded quickly, automatically. He had used it many times before and he would use it again. Totomirov's tone or face didn't change, didn't even flinch.
"If you, or your men lay their nasty hands on my family. I am going to kill each and every one of your agents, pull your eyes out and feed your penis to the dogs." Konstantin fought to keep himself composed, belatedly realizing that he was in way over his head.
"Who do you think you are boy, you think I rose through the ranks of the Communist Party and the Military by being smiling and doing good things?" the general let that sink in. "I will take the helm of the country. But you better keep your DS boys in line."
***
The announcement on the radio came shortly after one of the largest protests in the capital. The police formed a cordon around the National Assembly, but unlike the previous protests they didn't rush into the crowd or beat them. The people were calling for resignation, yelling at the immovable, unflinching police officers.
General Totomirov came out of the building, dressed in a humble uniform, with no ranks on it. Next to him two large boys from the State Security stood, closely monitoring the crowd. The moment he showed up the crowed went wild, they barely knew him and they were boiling. Stones were thrown, yelling intensified, but the General remained calm and walked up to a specially set up microphone. His voice washed over the masses.
"Ladies and Gentlemen, you have suffered for too long. My name is Tsvetan Totmirov. I am a General of the Land Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria and I am here to tell you that I assumed power three days ago. The general staff of the Republic of Bulgaria has been arrested on charges of treason, and we will start preparations for elections. Bulgarians like you will be allowed to choose who will govern them, no longer will the Military, or the Communist Party, or any other organization decide for them."
The crowd was already cheering, screaming slogans like "freedom" and "victory". Unfortunately, they wouldn't know the chaos that was about to come. Shortly after Totomirov came to power, the elections were held. However, many groups of people who had gathered together with the idea to form a party found out that was next to impossible. A total of 2 parties participated in the first election of the Bulgarian Republic, all claiming some vague "reform", all populated by sons and daughters of the military men who had governed the country so far, all promising freedom. The gross manipulation of the public vote, the mock puppeteer parties, and the collapsing economy led to even more protests. Despite this, enough people believed the “Iron General” and his declared withdrawal from national politics.
In reality, the country continued to be governed by the same people. The promised reforms turned out to be a ploy to use the political power of these forces for personal economic gain. The economy had remained mostly nationalized up until now, so by 1994-'95, it was on the verge of total failure. The government was led by the Party of Progress, a vaguely left-wing party led by young Georgi Parvanov. Parvanov was as historian and former Communist Party member, but was also a member of the State Security apparatus like almost all party leaders were.
Parvanov initiated a privatization program, privatizing giant state companies to the clique of party cadres of the two political forces in Bulgaria and between the commanding staff of the Bulgarian military. This lead to a series of bankruptcies of massive state-run companies that had barely functioned so far. That, in turn, put thousands out of work and led to rampant hyperinflation, which sparked even more protests.
The only success the government managed to reap was the end of the grueling war in Macedonia. The West was presented with a fait accomplit -- Macedonia was mostly “pacified” outside of a few radical groups hiding in the mountains. A treaty was signed amidst the rubble of Skopje, wherein Serbia, Albania and Greece, all players with stakes in Macedonia, agreed to respect the new boundaries of the Republic of Bulgaria. The ethnic cleansing, grim as it was, was swept under the rug. The West was already deeply involved in containing the Serbs in Bosnia, fighting a war that had transcended the boundaries of ethnic cleansing and into full blown genocide.
Later, a Serbian politician would declare "we are the only losers out of this war", and he would be absolutely right.
***
"Your majesty." the man bowed. Simeon II Sakskoburggotski, one-time Tsar of the Bulgarians, smiled and waved him up.
"Don't bow to me young man" he answered in impeccable Spanish, one of the five languages he spoke "I am not a Tsar, my father was. I still hold the
claim to the throne, but I will sit on it only if the people want me to. It is all in God's hands."
"Yes your majesty." his assistant said as he smiled "Your luggage is prepared, our flight is booked. A chartered jet will take you directly to Sofia this Monday. "
Simeon's smile grew wider.
Its what you get when you throw what is basically an untrained boy in the lead of the State Security apparatus. All the legacy of Minchev.
I don't think Bulgaria has grown particularly larger, has it(Macedonia's a pretty small country)? And is Bulgaria also preparing to redeclare a Kingdom?
Well, Macedonia is particularly small and it has about two million of a population tops. Now if you add ethnic cleansing for those that call themselves Macedonian and massive Bulgarization, you can probably end up with like a million and a half additional population. That, of course, is offset by a massive Bulgarian emigration following the war and the loss of the Turkish population which was thrown out in the 80s and never returned TTL.
As for the declaration of the Tsardom, its possible. Of course, that needs a very specific set of circumstances. Also in keeping with the spirit of this, whatever happens next won't exactly be happiness and sunshine.
Since this is a TLIAD and the day is just about over, this will probably be my last post. I will probably post again, cause I have a sort of a rundown of Bulgaria post changes, but that's about it.
Thanks for the positive feedback everyone.
The sounds of the crowds were deafening, Walter, a young Deutsche Welle corespondent was sent here to cover the massive protests that had engulfed the Bulgarian capital. A year into the promised reforms, the true extent of the lies that were inflicted on the Bulgarian people were slowly becoming apparent. The nascent oligarchs, former Military brass or Communist Party members were doing their damnedest to contain the forces that had been unleashed upon the country. The anger and the hatred that was now boiling over had been built up over more then 6 years of failed expeditions, death and promises that were never fulfilled, and it was now a force of nature. Up to this point, there was nobody to serve as a unifying force for this public anger, the varied voices were competing and no real agreement could be reached on how to move forward.
Until today. The uniting figure finally appeared, in the midst of the largest protests to ever rock the country, the television networks spread the news that "Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski" will arrive in Sofia under the invitation of Prime Minister Georgi Parvanov. At first, the ruling parties considered that his majesty's arrival will focus the attention of the public elsewhere, but once they realized that the people were not only focusing on Simeon, they were hoping for him to be the political savior the country needed, the media started downplaying his arrival, either ignoring it, or in the few interviews where discussions of him were allowed, talking about him as "Citizen Sakskoburggotski", saying "We are a republic now and he is just another citizen". But that had the exact opposite effect, increasing his popularity to an extent where almost half a million people rallied along the path of the royal limousine.
Walter was on that path, he started with amazement at the giant crowds, and as the recording begun, his voice, barely heard over the thunderous voices of the crowd would record one of the most curious events in Bulgarian political history. As the limousine closed he announced
"And here he is, His Majesty, Simeon II of Bulgaria. I don't know if you can hear me over the voices of the crowd." as the car neared this section, the voices of the people thundered even louder. They were yelling, nay screaming "We want our Tsar!". Simeon, tall, bald and already looking tired from the flight, nevertheless stood tall and waved, touching hands, taking flowers and gifts form the people and railing the crowd even more. The people were hopeful, the Tsar had a knot inside his stomach, he wasn't afraid of the people, they were behind him. He was about a bigger threat.
***
A large group of giant Spaniards, the guards of His Majesty, all former Spanish soldiers and expert hired muscle, walked calmly into the room. They examined it thoroughly and opened the door for Simeon. Before his majesty sat a group of people, all from the leading parties of Bulgaria, they looked at him with open contempt, away from praying eyes. Of course, Simeon didn't let his discontent show, he kept his cool composure.
A short shake of hands later he was sitting in-front of these people. Parvanov started first
"Lets get to the point. We all know who we are. What do you want?" he started, his voice was harsh but calm, he was ready to offer a lot to Simeon to keep him away from politics.
"Nothing. I don't intent on entering the Bulgarian political system as it stands." Simeon said, his face not changing. The political leaders all turned towards each other, and then back to him, their faces changed slowly. Now far more jovial Parvanov continued
"I guess you only want your father's property, right? Tsar Boris' lands and his manor. I can arrange that." Simeon stared at him with bemusement, and stood up
"No. I don't need anything. Was that all?" even though he was still in the process of learning Bulgarian, his voice was smooth and he generally didn't let it show that he was having a hard time speaking the language.
"Uh.." Parvanov was confused but stood up either way ".. yes.. you are going to make an announcement of course, right?"
"Absolutely."
***
The microphones were all pointed at Simeon, his face was calm, he was surrounded by his Spanish bodyguards and he was certain in himself. He knew what needed to be done.
"Citizens! People!" he started, almost fumbling the word for people in Bulgarian. After his arrival, Bulgarian media had talked about him non-stop, of course heavily biased and dominated by the government, they had quickly changed tone again, after the "deal" with the political parties. So his flawed Bulgarian was seen as a quirk, a fun thing that endeared him even more to the people.
"I was in a meeting with your political leaders. All of them. Leaders of parties and people who claimed to represent you. They are all liars. They wished to bribe me with lands, they wished to bride me to stay out of politics and to renounce my claim on the throne." in the silence that followed, you could hear a pin drop. Parvanov, who was watching the speech from his office in the National Assembly jumped from his chair. "What is he doing!" he yelled to the nearest guard.
"I am here to fight for the freedom of my people, as you are still not free." The silence turned into a low hum "I am hereby declaring that I am affirming my claim on the throne of my father, and his father. The Tsardom will be restored." he said it calmly, he said it with a security in his voice and the crowd exploded.
***
Totomirov's phone rang, he could hear Konstantin on the other side, the young man was hysterical.
"Where are you?!" the Colonel yelled, Totomirov smiled to himself as he sat back in his chair. The old plastic phone was now practically a relic, one of those communist issued phones, with buttons, they were a large hit with the party apparatus. It also had a secure line with the parliment building.
"Can you not hear me?!"
"Oh I hear you alright." the General resounded in calm tone. His TV was on and he was watching the live footage of the crowds rushing into the National Assembly, the same building where Konstantin was currently in. "I am not moving." the General finished with a sense of satisfaction. "I didn't want any part of this, you and your morons in the DS dragged me into it. The military was never fit to lead. Its about time we clear house and young boy, you will be the first victim of it. You put me in charge of the Military and later the country, believing that I won't want to do anything, and you were right, I don't. Good luck containing the crowds you created. He has them now."
"How dare..." he heard but before Konstantin can finish, Totomirov spoke up
"I serve his Majesty. He will probably have me executed,like all the other traitors that command the military, but you know what? WE all deserve it. Good night boy." the General slammed the phone, then he disconnected it from the cable. He walked up to the cabinet and got a bottle of the finest Rakia available. He would spend the night warming his insides with the beautiful liquid, with his family sleeping in sound and safe in the same house. Outside, a short drive down the highway to the capital, a Monarchy was being restored.
Thanks for the positive feedback everyone.
The sounds of the crowds were deafening, Walter, a young Deutsche Welle corespondent was sent here to cover the massive protests that had engulfed the Bulgarian capital. A year into the promised reforms, the true extent of the lies that were inflicted on the Bulgarian people were slowly becoming apparent. The nascent oligarchs, former Military brass or Communist Party members were doing their damnedest to contain the forces that had been unleashed upon the country. The anger and the hatred that was now boiling over had been built up over more then 6 years of failed expeditions, death and promises that were never fulfilled, and it was now a force of nature. Up to this point, there was nobody to serve as a unifying force for this public anger, the varied voices were competing and no real agreement could be reached on how to move forward.
Until today. The uniting figure finally appeared, in the midst of the largest protests to ever rock the country, the television networks spread the news that "Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski" will arrive in Sofia under the invitation of Prime Minister Georgi Parvanov. At first, the ruling parties considered that his majesty's arrival will focus the attention of the public elsewhere, but once they realized that the people were not only focusing on Simeon, they were hoping for him to be the political savior the country needed, the media started downplaying his arrival, either ignoring it, or in the few interviews where discussions of him were allowed, talking about him as "Citizen Sakskoburggotski", saying "We are a republic now and he is just another citizen". But that had the exact opposite effect, increasing his popularity to an extent where almost half a million people rallied along the path of the royal limousine.
Walter was on that path, he started with amazement at the giant crowds, and as the recording begun, his voice, barely heard over the thunderous voices of the crowd would record one of the most curious events in Bulgarian political history. As the limousine closed he announced
"And here he is, His Majesty, Simeon II of Bulgaria. I don't know if you can hear me over the voices of the crowd." as the car neared this section, the voices of the people thundered even louder. They were yelling, nay screaming "We want our Tsar!". Simeon, tall, bald and already looking tired from the flight, nevertheless stood tall and waved, touching hands, taking flowers and gifts form the people and railing the crowd even more. The people were hopeful, the Tsar had a knot inside his stomach, he wasn't afraid of the people, they were behind him. He was about a bigger threat.
***
A large group of giant Spaniards, the guards of His Majesty, all former Spanish soldiers and expert hired muscle, walked calmly into the room. They examined it thoroughly and opened the door for Simeon. Before his majesty sat a group of people, all from the leading parties of Bulgaria, they looked at him with open contempt, away from praying eyes. Of course, Simeon didn't let his discontent show, he kept his cool composure.
A short shake of hands later he was sitting in-front of these people. Parvanov started first
"Lets get to the point. We all know who we are. What do you want?" he started, his voice was harsh but calm, he was ready to offer a lot to Simeon to keep him away from politics.
"Nothing. I don't intent on entering the Bulgarian political system as it stands." Simeon said, his face not changing. The political leaders all turned towards each other, and then back to him, their faces changed slowly. Now far more jovial Parvanov continued
"I guess you only want your father's property, right? Tsar Boris' lands and his manor. I can arrange that." Simeon stared at him with bemusement, and stood up
"No. I don't need anything. Was that all?" even though he was still in the process of learning Bulgarian, his voice was smooth and he generally didn't let it show that he was having a hard time speaking the language.
"Uh.." Parvanov was confused but stood up either way ".. yes.. you are going to make an announcement of course, right?"
"Absolutely."
***
The microphones were all pointed at Simeon, his face was calm, he was surrounded by his Spanish bodyguards and he was certain in himself. He knew what needed to be done.
"Citizens! People!" he started, almost fumbling the word for people in Bulgarian. After his arrival, Bulgarian media had talked about him non-stop, of course heavily biased and dominated by the government, they had quickly changed tone again, after the "deal" with the political parties. So his flawed Bulgarian was seen as a quirk, a fun thing that endeared him even more to the people.
"I was in a meeting with your political leaders. All of them. Leaders of parties and people who claimed to represent you. They are all liars. They wished to bribe me with lands, they wished to bride me to stay out of politics and to renounce my claim on the throne." in the silence that followed, you could hear a pin drop. Parvanov, who was watching the speech from his office in the National Assembly jumped from his chair. "What is he doing!" he yelled to the nearest guard.
"I am here to fight for the freedom of my people, as you are still not free." The silence turned into a low hum "I am hereby declaring that I am affirming my claim on the throne of my father, and his father. The Tsardom will be restored." he said it calmly, he said it with a security in his voice and the crowd exploded.
***
Totomirov's phone rang, he could hear Konstantin on the other side, the young man was hysterical.
"Where are you?!" the Colonel yelled, Totomirov smiled to himself as he sat back in his chair. The old plastic phone was now practically a relic, one of those communist issued phones, with buttons, they were a large hit with the party apparatus. It also had a secure line with the parliment building.
"Can you not hear me?!"
"Oh I hear you alright." the General resounded in calm tone. His TV was on and he was watching the live footage of the crowds rushing into the National Assembly, the same building where Konstantin was currently in. "I am not moving." the General finished with a sense of satisfaction. "I didn't want any part of this, you and your morons in the DS dragged me into it. The military was never fit to lead. Its about time we clear house and young boy, you will be the first victim of it. You put me in charge of the Military and later the country, believing that I won't want to do anything, and you were right, I don't. Good luck containing the crowds you created. He has them now."
"How dare..." he heard but before Konstantin can finish, Totomirov spoke up
"I serve his Majesty. He will probably have me executed,like all the other traitors that command the military, but you know what? WE all deserve it. Good night boy." the General slammed the phone, then he disconnected it from the cable. He walked up to the cabinet and got a bottle of the finest Rakia available. He would spend the night warming his insides with the beautiful liquid, with his family sleeping in sound and safe in the same house. Outside, a short drive down the highway to the capital, a Monarchy was being restored.
Whoops. I did mean the west yeah. Nice catch.
Thank y'all for your support gentlemen.
Y'all asked for it so here is a post TL overview of some more important places.
Simeon's Bulgaria [Overview of the Balkans Post-Minchev's Bulgaria]
Some maps before I get started to give you an idea on what the situation is:
Albanians outside of Albania - Albanian population OTL. ITTL, Albania controls almost all of these areas, with the exception of the lands close to Skopje
Hrvatska - Map of Greater Croatia, most of the territories shown here are in control of Croatia TTL with the notable exception Mostar in the south.
Bulgarlandia - Bulgaria + Macedonia. ITTL Bulgaria's borders are close to that, except the north-western region which was noted previously to be in the hands of Albania.
All of this is circa 2000, I haven't gotten further.
Now, the rundown, starting with Bulgaria:
After Simeon led the crowds, Bulgaria's political system was in chaos and turmoil, a hastily arranged referendum lead to the formation of the Tsardom, as a constitutional monarchy. Unlike most constitutional monarchies, the monarch's right of veto was not nerfed and he was allowed to apply it decisively. Still, Simeon himself was given limited political power. This didn't stop him however, following the first election, a varied group of parties entered parliament, but a group of intellectuals and liberals that had organized around the Tsar, calling themselves the Movement of Simeon II won the elections decisively, securing 130 seats from the 240 seat parliament. This allowed the Tsar, through the party, to push the reforms he was aiming to push.
His initial action was to arrange a currency board, pegging the Lev to the Deutsche Mark, stabilizing the runaway hyperinflation and bringing the Lev down to a 2:1 exchange rate with the Mark. This helps the economy turn around. Another of the big successes his party manages to achieve is break the monopoly of various companies that were previously state owned and were privatized to the nascent oligarchs.
Unfortunately, not everything is a success when it came to the economy. Under Simeon's reign, the heavy industrial sector and manufacturing in Bulgaria finally collapsed, starved form a lack of resources the industry had been dragging itself for 6 years. With the relative isolation they had all but closed and their final death came when Simeon, in his fight with the Oligarchs of the country forced a shutdown of the unproductive plants ran by former Communist Party bosses but still supported by the state budget. It however meant that thousands of skilled laborers lost work, those that didn't migrate joined the ranks of the hungry and starved. His reduction of the Bulgarian military added to that and increased the percentage of unemployed in Bulgaria and the attempted program for re-education of the work force was largely a failure.
Light industry registered little to no growth, but on the other hand agriculture did expand. Especially with the long delayed return of the Muslim and Turk Bulgarian community in Turkey, which saw an uptake in the production of tobacco and a growth in the agricultural sector all across the board. Bread production from Dobruja tripled.
Another of the sectors that saw growth was tourism, with Ohrid under Bulgarian control, it was prioritized for repairs in Macedonia, allowing the region to turn in a profit. Along with the black sea coast and the mountain resort of Bansko and the surrounding region, the trickle of western tourists turned into a flood, wishing to "explore" the virgin beaches and tourist spots untouched by the general commercialization of the tourist spots in the west.
However, one of the biggest holes and the largest problems Simeon faced was Macedonia. At the start of Simeon's rule, the files of State Security, from the invasion were declassified. As the Tsar did his best to destroy the organization, Colonels, Generals and higher-ups were sent to the Hague in highly publicized trials that lasted years. As evidence mounted and the Bulgarian crimes became known to the world, international opinion shifted, forcing Simeon to conduct a series of unpopular moves both back home and abroad. He acknowledged the blame of the Bulgarian state, something not well received at home, in respect for those that suffered, his official title was changed to Tsar of Bulgarians and Macedonians and he increasingly gave more autonomy to Macedonia, as well as conducting a series of referendi in the area. Unfortunately, the ethnic cleansing conducted in the region was effective and most of the population rejected fullheartedly any notion of remaining outside of Bulgarian borders. Thanks to the active settlements of nationalist Bulgarians during the administration of the Generals, Macedonia also turned into a hotbed of resistance against Simeon, successively electing ultra-nationalist representatives inside the Bulgarian Parliament and dragging the public discourse further and further right. Macedonia also served as a giant money sink, as the Bulgarian government spent billions in both paying off reparations to the families of the victims of the purges and those Macedonians still alive to claim benefits. (With considerable corruption, as a lot of people forged documents to get benefits)
As time wore on, the NSMII party, slowly lost its dominance over politics and with that it found itself increasingly pushed over by other parties. Namely, the Liberal wing of the party split up into its own group, away from the influence of the Tsar, the Liberal Party while a leading force in Parliament after the NSMII was unable to form a government, forcing it into a broad coalition with two other left-wing parties, including the Far-Left September Coalition.
European integration of Bulgaria and the rest of the Balkans has been slowed down considerably, with Europe weary of expanding too quickly into the Balkans after the bloodbath there and instead choosing to consolidate its eastern expansion into Poland and the Baltics, prioritizing a deeper political union rather then a wider one.
Now, Bulgaria enters the 21st century, while its beach resorts are booming and its economy is seeing considerable growth, it is very much a nation with a scarred national consciousness, as everyone realizes that the growth has been built on the coffins of children and piles of bones. Simeon himself is growing tired and despite his best efforts is loosing control over the country. As the initial years of his reign had worn him out, he is increasingly less seen in public and participates less and less in the often tremulous Bulgarian politics. He wished to be a savior, but he is increasingly convinced that his nation is beyond rescue.
The royal institution is in question, as both sides of the political spectrum see Simeon as a failure. The Right wing sees him as a traitor, while the left wing sees him as an opportunist pseudo-dictator (which lets face it, he is).
Yugoslavia in general:
Albania came out as the net-winner of the wars in Yugoslavia. It never actively participated (officially) in the conflict, but following the treaty of Skopje it expanded its territory almost two-fold.
After the cleansing of the north western regions of Macedonia was complete, the territory officially joined Albania and found itself contributing massively to Serbia's own demise. As the Serbs believed that their flank was secure, they had re-deployed most of their troops far north in fighting the Croatians and Bosnians. While initially this led to some massive victories, their luck quickly changed. Very much war weary and at the same time under the victory disease, the Serbian death squads turned the ethnic cleansing of the region into a full blown genocide. After news of the events reached enough people in the west the backlash was deafening. In the meanwhile, Albanian squads would enter into Kosovo and the rest of the region that has a large Albanian population and instigate what was essentially a guerrilla war. That, plus the Macedonian squads pushed out of Macedonia led to instability in the Serbian flank and forced the Serbs to withdraw more and more troops from the front to put down the heavy resistance. Quickly enough, the world turned against Serbia and eventually a NATO intervention was announced. Croatia, having achieved its war-goals was the first country to withdraw from the fighting, signing a peace treaty with Bosnia first (under NATO supervision and direction) and later with Serbia. Following the war, Bosnia gained most of the territories it sought, Serbia was crushed with Albania absorbing Kosovo after the Serbs' front there collapsed under the weight of a combined attack from all sides (except the Bulgarian border).
Some of the major international implications that come out of all of this are a EU that undergoes a deepening of the political unification and is thus way stronger way earlier and doesn't expand into the Balkans, only expanding east before freezing entries.
Another one is, with NATO not expanding rapidly in the east, while the EU does, Russia doesn't feel boxed in as a specifically anti-Russian alliance which is NATO doesn't actively trot on their borders. Which makes Russia a tad bit more pacifistic then OTL.
There are probably far more then this, but that's all off the top of my head right now.
TheMannis
Banned
I wonder what happened with the Bulgarian sports, did they reached the 1/2 finals of the World Cup? Is the influx of Macedonia created improvement in the sport...maybe derbies between Vardar Skopie and CSKA/Levski?
The basketball team will definitely be stronger off the top of my head.
The basketball team will definitely be stronger off the top of my head.