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Fragmentation of the People's Bloc coalition and the threat posed by the
Balkan Entente led Zveno and various military factions to stage a right-wing
coup [May 1934]. Under the leadership of Colonel Damian Velchev and Kimon
Georgiev, the new prime minister, the new government began taking dictatorial
measures. The government also took immediate steps to improve relations with
Yugoslavia and made overtures to Britain and France. Diplomatic relations
resumed with the Soviet Union in 1934, despite a marked increase in internal
repression of communists and suspected communists. A concerted drive by the
Bulgarian military against IMRO permanently reduced the power of that
organization, which by 1934 had exhausted most of its support in Bulgarian
society. The fact that sponsorship of Balkan terrorism finally ceased to hinder
Bulgarian foreign policy was the single lasting contribution of the
Velchev-Georgiev government.
...Zveno--a small coalition with connections to most of the major Bulgarian
parties and to fascist Italy. The main goal of Zveno was to consolidate and
reform existing political institutions so that state power could be exerted
directly to promote economic growth. After 1931 Zveno used the economic crisis
to instill this idea in the Bulgarian political system.
...the Macedonian situation in the early 1930s blocked further attempts to
heal Balkan disputes. Four Balkan conferences were held to address the
Macedonian problem; but Bulgaria, fearing IMRO reprisals, steadfastly refused to
drop territorial demands in Macedonia or quell Macedonian terrorist activities
in the region. Such activities had continued under all Bulgaria's postwar
governments, but the People's Bloc was especially inept in controlling them. The
situation eventually led to the Balkan Entente of 1934, by which Yugoslavia,
Greece, Turkey, and Romania pledged to honor existing borders in the Balkans.
For Bulgaria the isolation inflicted by this pact was a serious diplomatic
setback in southeastern Europe.
...In 1931 the new government coalition, the People's Bloc...
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