daily life hold
families together, and the traditional sense of family loyalty also
seems to survive. Members of such extended families assist each other in
finding employment, in gaining admission to special schools, or in
obtaining scarce items of food or clothing.

SOCIAL STRATIFICATION

Before World War II Bulgaria had a basically egalitarian peasant society
with a simple social structure. A rural-urban division was more
significant than class distinctions, which were just beginning to
emerge. The Bulgarian nobility of the Middle Ages had been destroyed
under Turkish rule and was not restored with the return to monarchy; the
small middle class of merchants, industrialists, bureaucrats, and
professionals had come into existence since independence in 1878 and
lacked tradition; an urban working class was just emerging. Few
Bulgarians were more than one or two generations removed from their
peasant ancestors, which gave most people a common background.

The rural-urban differentiation was socially significant in that it
formed what amounted to two social systems with differing values,
controls, and institutions. The rural society focused on the family and
the community; its outlook was parochial. The urban society focused on
commerce, industry, and government; its outlook was national and often
international, and it was subject to continuous influences from abroad.
The two systems, however, were closely interrelated because most urban
dwellers had their roots in the village and because both the economy and
the government depended heavily on the peasant as a supporter and as a
client.

The narrower focus of rural society provided few opportunities for
choice, and custom over the years set a pattern that was accepted as a
matter of course. Social standing depended to a large extent on how well
an individual performed within the established pattern, and the
gradations were very slight. The wider focus of urban society, on the
other hand, offered far greater opportunity for choice and freedom of
action. This made for greater differentiation between individuals than
was possible in the village.

The greater freedom and the opportunity for economic and social
advancement offered by the urban society were most noticeable in the
social contrast between the urban worker and his peasant relatives.
Although most workers had a very low standard of living, they considered
themselves emancipated from the restrictions of rural