Todorova M. The Lost World of Socialists at Europe’s Margins: Imagining Utopia, 1870s – 1920s. London; New York: Bloomsbury, 2020. 384 p. ISBN 978-1-3501-5033-1

Abstract

This monograph by Maria Todorova discusses the establishment and mutual acceptance of the international socialist movement in Bulgarian social democracy. The main features of the socialist movement in Bulgaria are highlighted and the penetration of socialist ideas into the socio-political environment of the country is presented. The attitude of the Bulgarian socialists to the national question and the issues of war and peace during the Balkan Wars and the First World War are considered. Bulgarian socialists are presented as consistent internationalists and pacifists who did not change their positions even under the influence of the outbreak of the First World War. The problem of the imitativeness of Bulgarian socialism is analyzed as an integral part of the issue of Russian or Western European influence upon Bulgaria. Despite the fact that Todorova does not deny the prevalence and cultural influence of the ideas of Russian populism in Bulgaria, she comes to the conclusion that both Western European and national historiography tend to exaggerate the Russian influence on the formation of the Bulgarian socialist tradition. Features of the two political generations identified by Todorova that operated in Bulgaria during the period under consideration are presented and the typical places of education of Bulgarian socialists are revealed. Analyzing a large volume of historical sources, the author uses the biographical method to acquaint readers with numerous socialists forgotten or bypassed by the national communist historiography. Considering the individual experience of socialists, Todorova demonstrates the various paths that led people to this political camp. Attention is paid to the women's socialist movement in Bulgaria and the history of women's participation in the social and political life of the country.