Person

Todor Zhivkov

1911–1998 · 20th century

Todor Zhivkov was the communist leader of Bulgaria for 35 years, first secretary of the Bulgarian Communist Party from 1954 to 1989 and head of state from 1971. He kept Bulgaria the most loyal Soviet ally in Eastern Europe, oversaw rapid industrialisation and in the 1980s led a forced assimilation campaign against the country's Turkish minority. He was ousted by reformers in his own party on 10 November 1989.

Todor Zhivkov
Image: Extracted by Fredy.00 · CC BY-SA 3.0 cz · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 state histories

People's Republic of BulgariaBulgaria

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Todor Zhivkov. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/todor-zhivkov
MLA
“Todor Zhivkov.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/todor-zhivkov. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Todor Zhivkov.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/todor-zhivkov.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Todor Zhivkov’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/todor-zhivkov (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻