18 Facts About Valko Chervenkov

Valko Velyov Chervenkov was a Bulgarian communist politician.

Valko Chervenkov served as leader of the Communist Party between 1949 and 1954, and Prime Minister between 1950 and 1956.

Valko Chervenkov's rule was marked by the consolidation of the Stalinist model, rapid industrialisation, collectivisation and large-scale persecution of political opponents.

In 1954, Chervenkov accepted the Soviet model of collective leadership and handed over his post as party leader to Todor Zhivkov.

Valko Chervenkov was born in Zlatitsa, Bulgaria in to a peasant family.

Valko Chervenkov became a member of the Communist Party in 1919 and participated in communist youth group activities and newspaper editing.

Valko Chervenkov took part in the failed 1923 September Uprising and was sentenced to death, but was allowed to emigrate to the Soviet Union.

Valko Chervenkov attended the Marx-Lenin school in Moscow and eventually became its director.

Valko Chervenkov was recruited as an agent in the NKVD under the alias "Spartak".

In 1941, Valko Chervenkov became the director of a radio station which sent anti-nazi and pro-communist messages to the Bulgarian nation.

In 1944, Valko Chervenkov returned to Bulgaria on a mission for his brother-in-law, Georgi Dimitrov.

Valko Chervenkov became a member of the government which took office soon after the end of World War II in 1945 which quickly came to be controlled by Communists.

Valko Chervenkov became minister of culture in 1947, and became deputy prime minister in 1949.

Valko Chervenkov succeeded Dimitrov as general secretary of the party, and Vasil Kolarov took Dimitrov's other post of prime minister.

At that time, Valko Chervenkov became prime minister as well, combining the two most powerful posts in Bulgaria in his hands with full Soviet approval.

Valko Chervenkov personally accepted it only as a necessity of the current political situation and strongly opposed any extremities.

Valko Chervenkov's cabinet used intimidation and supply discrimination to increase collectivization rates.

In 1962, Valko Chervenkov was expelled from the communist party for "anti-party activities", although his membership was renewed in 1969 by a suggestion from Zhivkov in the context of the Soviet crushing of the Prague Spring.