The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-05-09
STAINS
COLONIES
By WILLIAM L. RYAN
APP Foreign News Analyst

PanchevSky?
There's a lot of guessing about
who is the real boss of the Com
munists in Bulgaria. But the Bull
garian people don't guess. They
know there is only one boss, and
his name is Stain.
In Bulgaria, most Sovietized Of
all the captive countries of Eu-
rope, the Premier acts like a vest
pocket edition of the dictator in
Moscow. but Premier Vulko
Chervenkov must be uneasy.
Like Stain, the sticky little
Cher venkov lets the whole popula-
ton know when he ventures out
OF doors. Just like the Kremlin
escorts, The heavily armed, bullet
proof cars which escort the Bull
garian Premier open their sirens
and careen down the highway at
breakneck speed.
The premier himself rides in
Soviet ITO, Moscow aversion of
the Packard. The escort cars are
PackardS, one old, the others
somewhat newer. All are crammed
with bodyguards.
When the motorcade wheels out
of the Villa Balbanov, where Cher ,
venkov lives in luxury, and
screams down the Boulevard Rus
ko, all traffic comes to a stop
just as it does when Stains car
leaves the Kremlin. The route is
lined by forest of heavily armed
sentries at military posts. Cherven-
kov is on his way.
lie may be on his way out.
AS in other captive countries,
there is a struggle going on at the
Top in Bulgaria. Many European
sources express belief that Cher
venkov, 50-year-old professional
Communist with Moscow training,
is simply a figurehead. The power
behind the scenes, they say, is
Georgi Chankov, a deputy prime
minister-and behind him. the Rus
slams.
Chervenkov, rough-and-tumble
Communist veteran of many jails
since he joined the party in 1919
as a youngster, is related by mar
riage to the late Georgi Dimitrov,
the old BolShevik Bulgarian Pre-
mier who went to Moscow for a
cure" and never returned.
Today, Dimitrov's followers are
dropping by the wayside, one by
one. Another show trial may not
be far off. Recently there has been
a severe purge of Cabinet func-
tionaries and high officials, includ-
ing Boris Taskov, president Of the
State Reserves Department which
stocks strategic materials; Kyril
Dramaliev, Dimitrov Commu-
MIST intellectual in the same de-
partment, and Prof. Sava Ganov-
ski, Dimitrov man who headed
the Science and Culture Division
OF the Cabinet.
Chankov may be behind this or
possibly the man behind it all is
Peter PanchevSky, MoScow's vice
roy who, as defense minister. runs
the Bulgarian Army. He is a So !
Wet general.
In his respect, it is significant |
that TaSkov was fired shortly aft |
or he dared criticize Vice Premier
Ivan Mikhailov, who is the eyes !
OF Moscow in Sofia, even super |
viSlng Chervenkov. Mikhailoy, too.
was a Soviet general.
All the old intelligentsia of the
party is being weeded out. This
means the Dimitrov people. They
are disappearing in favor of the
Soviet fanatics.
The opposition parties in Bull
garia long ago we're stamped out. |
after Nikola tetkov, the Peasant
Party leader, was hanged in ls47
on a charge of anti-state activity. |
Nor is there any religious voice |
heard save that of the priests Of |
the dominated Orthodox Church. !
Three years ago. 10 the accom-. |
panlment of outraged cries of |
anger from the Western world |
Bulgaria's Communists tried and |
condemned to- prison the leading |
Protestant clergy of the country.
While Moscow tightens the |
screws, the Bulgarian people find |
themselves worse off every day. |
Their economy is completely ruled |
by the Soviet Union. The Conmu- |
INST Central Committee dictates 10
the peasants on such matters as
depth Of blowing. means of breed
ing cattle, methods and time OF
sowing and harvesting.
Farmers wheat in that aericui.
tural country is seized by the gov.
eminent at low prices. Bread IS a
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