Word: bulgarias
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After its first free elections last June, Bulgaria became the only East European country to allow the Communist Party -- renamed the Bulgarian Socialist Party -- to retain power. But Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov's inability to alleviate chronic fuel and food shortages sparked weeks of street demonstrations. Last week after a four-day strike that paralyzed much of the country, Lukanov resigned. Appearing on television, he blamed the opposition for blocking his efforts toward reform, adding that it was "pointless" to * continue as Prime Minister. In Sofia demonstrators greeted the news with dancing and champagne...
Meanwhile Bulgarians were getting an earful from Todor Zhivkov, the former Communist who ruled Bulgaria for 35 years before he was ousted last year. In interviews with the the New York Times and the German news agency D.P.A., Zhivkov, who is facing corruption and embezzlement charges and lives near Sofia under house arrest, renounced his Communist past and denied any responsibility for crimes committed under his rule. "If I had to do it over again, I would not even be a Communist, and if Lenin were alive today, he would say the same thing," said Zhivkov, who suggested that Bulgaria...
...prices and curtailed world markets at the very moment when the Soviet Union, still the East Europeans' major trading partner, has cut back sharply on oil deliveries to its former allies and reduced its purchases of their goods. In Hungary angry motorists have blockaded roads and bridges; in Bulgaria the government has been forced to order sharp cuts in the power supply. The oil crisis has made it impossible to shut down Soviet-built nuclear reactors in Bulgaria and Czechoslovakia that Western experts consider unsafe. "The gulf crisis couldn't have come at a worse time for Eastern Europe," says...
...region's most immediate problems is a level of indebtedness to the West far beyond the ability of most countries to repay. Bankrupt Bulgaria has simply stopped paying interest and capital on its $10.8 billion debt, while Poland, with $41 billion, and Hungary, with $21 billion, have been forced to reschedule or restructure their debts. The shock of full-speed-ahead economic reform in Poland has lowered real incomes by as much as 40% this year; thus there is particular resentment at the debt incurred during the communist years. These nations want more forgiveness from the West. "At this stage...
When angry Hungarian taxi drivers and truckers blocked roads after a gasoline price rise of 65%, the government backed off: the increase was halved, and officials agreed to consult with unions and other parties on price hikes. Similar protests have erupted in Bulgaria, where electricity is rationed as much as 12 hours a day and store shelves are barer than they were before the collapse of communism. There are even long lines for candles. Two weeks ago, the government announced a 100-day crash program aimed at reviving the crippled economy; the scheme includes some price liberalization and partial convertibility...