The U.S.-supported Radio Free Europe’s Bulgarian Broadcasting around the collapse of Communism and the end of the Cold War

• In Event: Bulgaria and the Russo-Ukraine War

Abstract

This article explores the American-supported Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and its Bulgarian Broadcasting Department, aimed at Communist Bulgaria around the end of the Cold War during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Bulgaria's unique position as arguably among the most steadfast allies of the Soviet Union, makes it an especially compelling subject for understanding some of the internal methodology behind US information initiatives aimed at penetrating a loyal Soviet satellite state. The cited research examines and evaluates the snapshots of Bulgarian public opinion throughout the 1980s and early 1990s based on the RFE/RL Research Institute’s Media and Opinion Research Department which worked together with the Bulgarian Broadcasting Department.

Author

• Kristian Kafozov, New York U