As the Stamboliiski regime continues implementing its political program at home and abroad, opposition steadily grows in both places.

Major Characters in this Episode:

Prime Minister Alexander Stamboliiski

Pyotr Wrangel

King Alexander of Greece

Timeline for this episode:

• 1920 Sep 12th - The Military Union protests the personnel policies of the Agrarians in the army.

• 1920 Sep 29th - After a faction of the broad socialists joined the communists, the two party’s trade unions join forces under the communists.

• 1920 Oct 5 - 1921 Jan 14th - Stamboliiski travels to London, Paris, Brussels, Prague, Warsaw, and Bucharest. His arguments are met with sympathy but the Entente is not willing to cooperate. He also begins laying the groundwork for the establishment of a Green International.

• 1920, Oct 6th - A law is passed to construct small dams and irrigation canals to intensify agriculture. This also begins the mass electrification of villages.

• 1920, Mid Oct - Greece, Romania, and Yugoslavia demand Bulgaria hand over hundreds of people to be tried for war crimes. Bulgaria refuses, citing Germany doing the same. The Entente ultimately supports Bulgaria’s refusal.

• 1920, Oct 12th - An armistice is signed ending the Russo-Polish War.

• 1920, Oct 17-20th - The Second Great Macedonian Council is held in Sofia. It argues for a fully independent Macedonian state, though there’s internal disagreements over this.

• 1920, Oct 20th - The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes votes to become a constitutional monarchy under the Serbian Karađorđević dynasty.

• 1920, Oct 25th - King Alexander of Greece dies from a monkey bite.

• 1920 Nov 6th - Serbian troops occupy the 1,555 km2 of territory along the border. The National Assembly suspends its meetings in protest and declared three national days of mourning.

• 1920, Nov 13th - A law on the resettlement of refugees is passed, allowing for cash benefits, land (50 decares of flat land or 120 in mountains), free timber, and low-interest loans.

• 1920, Nov 15th - The first general assembly of the League of Nations is held.

• 1920, Nov 16th - A law establishing the gendarmes is passed.

• 1920, Nov 27-29th - Four liberal parties unite to form the National Liberal Party.

• 1920, Nov - The National Assembly transfers control of the armed forces from the Tsar to the civilian government. The Minister of War, typically a member of the army, was also a civilian in the Agrarian government.

• 1920, Nov - Pyotr Wrangel’s White army is defeated and forced to retreat to Crimea.

• 1920, Dec 5th - The Conservative Party and the Progressive-Liberal Party unite to become the United Conservative-Progressive Party. They largely represent big business, banks, and other large commercial enterprises.

• 1920, Dec 10th - After his defeat in Crimea, the White Russian general Pyotr Wrangel and his remaining forces evacuate. The Soviet Union issues a diplomatic note to Bulgaria not to take them in. Under Entente pressure, Bulgaria agrees and the White Forces travel to Constantinople and then to Yugoslavia.

• 1920, Dec 16th - Bulgaria is accepted as a member of the League of Nations.

• 1920, Mid Dec - Yugoslavia terminates all rail links between them in Bulgaria. They will be renewed in about a month after intense Entente pressure.

• 1921 Jan 11th - Tsar Ferdinand successfully gets the German government to pay him the money it owed him for the alliance in WWI.

Sources used in this episode:

• История на България в Дати by Vasil Katsunov, Plamen Mitev, Valeri Kolev, Evgenia Kalinova, and Iskra Baeva

• Crown of Thorns: The Reign of King Boris III of Bulgaria 1918-1943 by Stephane Groueff

• Aleksandur Stamboliiski by R.J. Crampton

• Peasants in Power by John D. Bell