Bulgaria had no Prague Spring, no Tender Revolution, no Solidarity movement, nor huge dissidents like Havel and Wałęsa. The main reasons are the psychology of the Bulgarian people and the repressions against the intellectual elite after the pro-Soviet coup d’etat on 9 September 1944.

The opposition against the totalitarian rule and dissidence became visible a bit before the fall of communism. Those were related not so much to the regime of Todor Zhivkov and its boundless power, but to the direct results from this rule which deprived the people from basic rights like the breathing of clean air and the drinking of pure water. Dissidence and Ekoglasnost turned into synonyms. That was the direction that the civic discontent went to. The start of the “Bulgarian spring” in 1989 was linked to the open criticism of Bulgarian intellectuals, regarding environmental issues. Here is what late actor Petar Slabakov said at a meeting:

“Dear fellow citizens, the state is the main polluter in this country. I see the cracking of the fear that existed until now. This is the first time that I see so many people gathered together in villages around Sofia and across the country. Nobody shall help us, but ourselves. We raised the issue on Kremikovtzi a year and a half ago. We know that each citizen of the Sofia field swallows 60 g of dust. I read here that you swallow 200 g each. The situation is similar across this whole state. Georgi Dimitrov said once that we should outrun the developed capitalist countries in economic terms within 15 – 20 years. We failed to do that. However, in terms of air pollution issues we left them literally breathing our smoke behind – they can never catch us up.”

The Ekoglasnost Political Club was established on 23 April 1990, Petar Slabakov’s birthday. It was the first authentic environmental party in Bulgaria, the heir to the Public Committee for Environmental Protection of Ruse from March 1988. There were 17 MPs of Ekoglasnost in the Grand National Assembly, elected on 10 July 1990 and 15 of those would sign the new Constitution in 1991.

The first chair of the party was the actor with that characteristic voice which could be hardly mistaken, who turned into the symbol and example for those that turned the fight for clean nature into a political cause – Petar Slabakov. Though he didn’t have the education of an actor, he had played in over 150 movies, with an unknown number of theatre appearances. His emblematic roles included the participation in Pleneno Yato, Shibil, Tsar i General, Vechni Vremena, Pokriv etc.

Being a face of the 1989 political change and one of the establishers of the Union of Democratic Forces, firmly defending his human principles, Petar Slabakov remained always in opposition. He was an MP that hated suits and ties, shiny shoes and demagogy. When the suits replaced the ideas at parliament, Slabakov stepped out of the political stage.

“Some people see my stance as too harsh. My stance has always been the same since the day I was born – I have always spoken my mind, never bending over to anyone. I don’t like seeing people’s dignity taken away, people humiliated… I vote against. My State Security file reads that I used to be an anarchist who didn’t recognize lots of things. I do think that a people, a state and a world can be all ruled without laws as well – with good relations and with a word of honor. When you say a word, it is heavier than the law.”

Fired, expelled from the communist party four times, Slabakov defended his principles till the end of his life. His numerous roles in life and onstage serve as an example of honor, dignity, love for freedom and honesty. The great actor passed away on 17 May 2009.

English version: Zhivko Stanchev