BRIBERY AS A METHOD OF FOREIGN OFFICE’S BULGARIAN POLICY (JANUARY – SEPTEMBER 1915)

Abstract

The article is concentrated on the problem of environment where British diplomats were working, and reasons for which they used or did not used the bribery in the secret diplomacy. In order to shed light on them, the discovery is showing activities on the diplomatic front (the question of the territorial compansations, the Macedonian question) and on the theatres of combat operations (the Eastern front, the Dardasnelles operation), and also the priorities of foreign policy of the Bulgarian leadership. The research shows that at the beginning of the year British diplomacy in Bulgaria remained undefined; in the March-May the British side was sure that effects of Dardanelles operation are enough to force Bulgaria to propose cooperation by herself. Only in July-September after military and diplomatic defeats the Foreign Office intensified in bribery and attempt to outrun Central Powers in this regard. Using bribery by London in Bulgarian diplomacy is compared with activity of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian diplomats spent more attention to the financing pro-Russian press and clubs, which anyway was insufficient. At the same time, British diplomats always raised the issue of bribery for politicians not for press. The «declosiers affair» was an important episode in bribing Bulgaria. It was an operation for buying Bulgarian harvest. The Great Britain took part in it. The operation did not produced necessary results and did not sway Bulgaria on Entente’s side. Finally, the Great Britain did not benefit from bribery in Bulgaria. In contrast, the Central Powers managed to bribe Bulgarian press, politicians and government and to bite Entente’s propositions in buying the harvest.