A report on the founding congress of the Bulgarian Communist Party, headed by the pioneer of Marxism in that country, Dimitar Blagoev. The Party would quickly become among the largest an most influential in the Comintern before its decimation in white reaction.

‘Tesnlaki–the Bulgarian Communist Party’ by Detcheff from Communist International. Vol. 1 No. 4. August, 1919.

On the 25th of June the 22nd Congress took place of the Bulgarian Social Democratic Labour Party (Tesniaks), now a Communist Party which has definitely taken up the position of die 3rd Communist International.

Eight hundred delegates were present at the congress, each delegate representing 150 members: consequently, on the 25th of June, the Party counted more than 40 thousand members. The Congress took place in the big theatre ‘Corona’, the presence of over 4 thousand visitors. The Congress was opened by the oldest member of the Party, the under and chairman of the Central Committee, Comrade Blagoeff, who is known to Bulgarian Communists by the name of grandfather. He spoke with confidence the power of the Bulgarian Proletariat and peasantry, of the victory of World Revolution. At his proposal, the Congress stood up and sang the International and in honour of those Russian, German and Hungarian heroes who have fallen in the turbulence of world Revolution in struggle for Communism.

I must confess that I who have lived for 7 or 8 years in Bulgaria and have taken part, since the very beginning of the Russian Revolution, in the many Conferences of the Party and Soviets would never have believed that I was situated in a country occupied by the victorious troops of international reaction. Delegates of the Serbian Communist Party, Turkish socialists, Macedonian and Dobruga socialist organizations, as well as Bulgarian groups of the Russian Communist Party who had arrived from Russia were also present at the congress. The following letter of welcome was brought by the Bulgarian deputies from Russia:

“Comrades delegates aid workers! In the name of the Bulgarian section of the Russian Communist Party I am authorized to congratulate you upon the 22nd Congress of the Bulgarian social-democratic Labour Party. We hope that henceforth it will be renamed the Communist Party. In view of the fact that the members of the section are also members of the Russian Communist Party, allow us to congratulate you in the name of the Russian Communist Party”.

The reading of this letter was interrupted by applause and cries of Long Live the mother Russian Communist Partys

After this the Delegate proceeded:

“Comrades delegates, in the resolutions which you will pass at this congress, go resolutely forward along the path already marked out by the Russian Revolution! Be sure of the fraternal aid of the Russian working people in your struggle against the bourgeoisies.”

The stage of the theatre was decorated by all possible kinds of mottoes of World Revolution and portraits of its leaders: Comrade Lenin, Trotzky, Liebknecht, Rosa Luxembourg, Rakofsky and others.

800 delegates! 4,000 guests! What an unprecedented political phenomenon, not only in the history of the Party, but of all other Parties of small Bulgaria, which counts in all a population of not more than four and a half millions! The Party which in 1914 had not more than 3,000 members, in 1919 is an imposing army of 40 thousand members. In his report Comrade Kolaroff spoke of the influence which the Party of Tesniaks has amongst the Bulgarian working classes:

“Under the flag and mottoes of our Party, under the Red Flag of the Proletarian Party, there demonstrated on the 1st of May, along the streets of Bulgarian towns and villages more than 300,000 workers peasants and poor towns folk”.

Up to this time the Bulgarian bourgeoisie which had paid no attention to our Proletarian Party which up to quite recently had been only a small one, this time suddenly changed its attitude. Now, in the person of the National and Democratic Parties, the bourgeoisie became afraid of their Bolsheviks, united with the remaining Bourgeoisie and petty bourgeois parties and carried on a desperate struggle. Whatever our bourgeoisie might do, however, a withered tree brings forth no fruit, and the Proletariat did not become alarmed. The Bulgarian bourgeoisie is doomed to destruction. Neither will any other enemies of the Proletariat, the armies of the Entente which occupy Bulgarian territory, be able to help or save it. The Bulgarian bourgeoisie states quite openly that it is impotent: the following, for instance, are the words uttered by the Minister of the Interior, Moumanoff:

“Nobody is in a position to restore order in the country and no interior force is capable of compelling the unbridled people of Bulgaria to submit itself to orders and regulations of authority.”

Besides this, the statements of financiers speak quite plainly of this: “without borrowing from foreign capital, we are unable to do anything.” And this is what the Assistant Director of Food supplies, Lieutenant Colonel Nikolaeff, had to say when a delegation of hungry workers and towns people came to him:

“I can do nothing at all. There is no bread. Tell the hungry people that they alone can feed themselves, that all it is necessary to do is to hang no less than 100 millonaire speculators for them to have all they wants.”

In reply to this, the working classes stated through the mouth of its leader, Comrade Kolaroff, on the 25th of June at the Congress:

“with that case, transfer power into the hands of the organized working classes; standing beneath the standard of the Communist Party, we declare that only our Party of organized workers and peasants is capable of feeding the hungry people and guarantee it all the good things of life. Only the dictatorship of the Proletariat, and of the poor peasantry, realized through the Workers Peasants Soviet Power, can save the country from foreign exploitation and further ruinous consequences of disorganisation. Only the dictatorship of the labouring majority can compel everybody to submit to the orders and regulations passed for the benefit of the whole nation, and not a mere handful of robbers, capitalists and ambitious reactionary generals. But woe to you, if you do not voluntarily agree to this, for we will not fear the bayonets of a compromising Imperialism upon which you lean. The Proletariat the whole World is with us and the hours not distant when the vanguard of World-wide social revolution–the victorious red army–will arrive at the shores of the Danube.

“Long Live the Russian, Ukrainian, Hungarian Red Armies, bringing place and order to all working classes of Humanity! Long live the Third Intentional! Long live the leaders of world wide labouring poor! We shall be victorious!”

DETCHEFF.

The ECCI published the magazine ‘Communist International’ edited by Zinoviev and Karl Radek from 1919 until 1926 irregularly in German, French, Russian, and English. Restarting in 1927 until 1934. Unlike, Inprecorr, CI contained long-form articles by the leading figures of the International as well as proceedings, statements, and notices of the Comintern. No complete run of Communist International is available in English. Both were largely published outside of Soviet territory, with Communist International printed in London, to facilitate distribution and both were major contributors to the Communist press in the U.S. Communist International and Inprecorr are an invaluable English-language source on the history of the Communist International and its sections.

PDF of full issue: https://www.marxists.org/history/international/comintern/ci/old_series/v01-n04-aug-1919-CI-grn-goog-r3.pdf