“Revival process” is the euphemism coined by the Bulgarian communist regime for the forced assimilation campaign (1984-1989) against the Turkish minority in the country. This somber, large-scale episode of social engineering has produced deep and complex sequels in the collective memory and in the society. It has been approached from different points of view but still a number of grey zones remain.
The book explores the decision-making process and the events through their economic dimensions. It structures and calibrates the different prices paid for this paranoiac endeavor. In a broader perspective, the monograph outlines the key catalytic role of the climax of the “Revival process” (the exodus of more than 300 000 ethnic Turks during the summer of 1989) in the Big Bang that led to the collapse of communism in Bulgaria. The generated macroeconomic and monetary shocks, together with the widespread spontaneous proliferation of forex, labor and commodities’ grey markets definitively undermined the planning machine and disrupted the existing economic tissue. Meanwhile, in an effort to face the emergency and to preserve its power, the regime activated panoply of most retrograde tools proper to “War Communism”. This mix of rudimentary proto-capitalism and fading socialism molded in many respects the economic culture of the ensuing Transition in Bulgaria.
The book is based on factual evidence drawn from a great variety of archives and statistical sources, many of them untouched till now.