n
countries aligned with the Soviet Union, Bulgaria was considered to be
the most rigidly loyal of all former Soviet satellites. Shortly after
the death of Dimitrov, the top position of leadership was secured by
Vulko Chervenkov who, over the next few years, earned a reputation as
Bulgaria's version of Stalin. After Stalin died, Chervenkov's power base
eroded to the point that he was forced to give up the top party post in
favor of Zhivkov; Chervenkov retained the top position in the
government, however, and remained on the scene as an opposing locus of
political power. The intraparty factional strife that ensued lasted into
the 1960s, but Zhivkov, who had established a close relationship with
Soviet party leader Nikita Khrushchev, eventually overcame the
opposition and stabilized his regime. Zhivkov also managed to establish
close relations with the Soviet leaders who ousted Khrushchev and has
apparently maintained good rapport with Leonid Brezhnev, the general
secretary of the Soviet party.

The BKP in 1973 was structured very much like the Communist Party of the
Soviet Union. The structure is pyramidal in form, the general membership
making up the base and the office of first secretary occupying the apex.
Between the two extremes the most important bodies from bottom to top
are the Party Congress, the Central Committee, the Secretariat, and the
Politburo. The Party Congress is a large gathering of delegates,
representing the rank and file, that meets every five years,
theoretically, to make party policy, amend party statutes if necessary,
and determine the party program for the ensuing five-year period.
Actually the congress is a large, unwieldy body (over 1,500 delegates at
the 1971 congress), which meets to demonstrate solidarity rather than to
make policy. The congress, by party statute, elects the Central
Committee, which is a permanently sitting body that acts in the name of
the congress during the long intervals when the larger body is not in
session. The so-called election of the Central Committee is, in fact, a
ratification of preselected members. The same holds true for the
election of the Politburo and the Secretariat by the Central
Committee--in effect, the Politburo has already determined its own
membership and that of the Secretariat, and the election process by the
Central Committee is unanimous confirmation rather than election,
making the Politburo a self-perpetuating body.

The Politburo for policy