37 years since the start of the so-called “Great Exodus” of Bulgaria’s Turks

Today marks 37 years since the start of the so-called “Great Exodus,” the mass departure of ethnic Turks from Bulgaria in 1989 during the final months of communist rule.

On May 29, 1989, Bulgaria’s communist leader Todor Zhivkov called on Turkey to open its borders to Bulgarian citizens in a televised and radio address.

Five days later, nearly 360,000 ethnic Turks began leaving Bulgaria, most of them from the Kardzhali region. The population of the Eastern Rhodopes subsequently fell by nearly half, correspondent Valya Apostolova reports.

The events followed the so-called “Revival Process” launched in 1984, under which authorities forced ethnic Turks to adopt Slavic names and restricted the use of the Turkish language and traditional dress.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova