Dochev, Ivan

Born in the family of a colonel in the Bulgarian army. Graduated from the Law Faculty of Sofia University . He was a member of the nationalist organization Rodna Zashchita . In 1929 , during the split of the organization, its radical wing led it, on the basis of which a youth association of future national legions was created ^[1] . He headed the right-wing nationalist organization of studying youth Nationalia student union . Edited editions of the Break , Ideas and deeds .

In 1932, Ivan Dochev became one of the founders of the far-right Union of Bulgarian National Legions . The organization stood on the positions of nationalism and anti-communism , evolved under the influence of Italian fascism and German national socialism . The program appeared corporatist attitudes and anti-Semitism .

In 1934, Ivan Dochev, along with Nikolai Zhekov, visited the Third Reich and was adopted by Hitler . The Nazi Fuhrer approved the idea of ​​uniting all the Bulgarians in a single state, which meant territorial seizures in the Balkans. However, according to the internal situation in Bulgaria, there was no mutual understanding, since Hitler did not support the plans of the Bulgarian legionaries to overthrow Tsar Boris III (Berlin did not rely on ideological like-minded people, but on the monarchy that controls the situation) ^[2] .

In 1938 , Dochev’s radical group separated from the legionary leadership led by General Lukov . The activity of the Dochevsky legionnaires caused discontent of the authorities. Dochev headed the Agricultural Union - a trade union of individual peasants up to a million people. He spoke under the slogans "Earth - to all!", "Collective management", etc. ^[3] Dochev was repeatedly detained by the police, was considered "dangerous to order and tranquility" ^[4] .

In 1940 - 1943, Ivan Dochev was a kmet ( mayor ) of the cities of Kalofer and Silistra . In Kalofer, he is known for the construction of a meteorological station; in Silistra, he is remembered for his active industrial and social policies, housing construction, expansion of the port, and the introduction of tight control over trade.

During the Second World War, Dochev again entered into an alliance with Lukov and took a similar pro-German position. In 1944, Ivan Dochev became part of the government of Alexander Tsankov, based in Vienna, and supported Germany to the end.

September 6, 1944 Dochev with his wife Maria (nee Selvelieva) and closest associate George Paprikov fled from Bulgaria to Austria ^[5] .

German beginning

After the war, three death sentences were imposed on Dochev in the NRB ^[6] . In the dossier of the communist state security of the NRB, he was listed under the pseudonyms Docho and Fuhrert . Among the accusations was the sending of Jews to Nazi extermination camps. Dochev himself categorically denied this and stated that under his leadership the Legions did a lot to protect the Jews from the Nazis ^[7] .

In 1945, Ivan Dochev initially settled in Salzburg and resumed political activity. Then he moved to Germany. In 1947, on his initiative, the Bulgarian National Front ( BPF ) was created - the main organization of the Bulgarian anti-communist emigration.

In 1948, Dochev was awarded a doctorate in economics at the University of Heidelberg .

Difficulties in obtaining West German citizenship forced Dochev to move to Canada in 1951 , and from there to the United States .

American sequel

The Bulgarian National Front joined the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Peoples and the World Anti-Communist League (subsequently, Dochev left the ABN leadership due to disagreements with Yaroslav Stetsko ). Conservative circles of Bulgarian emigration warned Americans against contacts with the " fascist " organization of Dochev, but the Belarusian Popular Front established cooperation relations with the extreme right wing of the Republican Party and the Heritage Foundation .

Ivan Dochev was a prominent figure in international anti-communist emigration. Around the Belarusian Popular Front, the magazines Freedom and Borb, the Bulgarian radical anti-communists consolidated, especially in North America. In 1959, a conflict with a group of Hristo Statev ^[8] led to a temporary split of the Belarusian Popular Front into independent Bulgarian national front - Borba (Dochev) and Bulgarian national front - Freedom (Statev) ^[9] . However, as a result, the structure of the BPF as a whole was retained by Dochev’s associates.

In 1981, the 75-year-old Dochev lost the chairmanship of the Belarusian Popular Front to Georgy Paprikov . Since 1984, the chairman of the Belarusian Popular Front is Alexander Dervodelsky . At the same time, Ivan Dochev remained the undisputed political leader of the Belarusian Popular Front until his death in 2005 .

In 1982, Dochev published in New York the book Half Century Struggle Against Communism for the Freedom of Bulgaria - “Half a Century of the Fight Against Communism for the Freedom of Bulgaria” ^[10] .

According to some reports, in the USA, Dochev escaped the assassination attempt prepared by the communist state security of the NRB ^[11] .

The political positions of Ivan Dochev as a whole remained ultra-right and were based on the ideology of the Legions. At the same time, Dochev evolved noticeably in a general democratic direction. In his speeches, he emphasized the overthrow of the dictatorship of the BKP and the restoration of the Tarnovo Constitution , which guaranteed civil and political freedoms.

In 1991 , after the fall of the communist regime, 85-year-old Ivan Dochev returned to his homeland. He took an active part in Bulgarian politics.

All my life I fought against communism for the freedom of Bulgaria. Today, when the Bulgarian people rebelled against communism, my place is with him.
Ivan Dochev ^[12]

He was the honorary chairman of the Bulgarian National Front. He supported the Union of Democratic Forces , President Zhelyu Zhelev , then Simeon II and his National Movement .

In the economy, Dochev advocated maximum stimulation of small business, especially in rural areas, while appealing to the production traditions of Bulgaria. In this, he saw the key to solving social problems, in particular, overcoming unemployment. At the same time, in the field of education, Dochev was a supporter of the state system, which would train technical specialists, and not a large number of unemployed "historians, philosophers, writers, becoming waiters or sellers." He paid special attention to youth policy, recalling the experience of the Bulgarian legions involving “young idealists”.

In the field of national relations, Ivan Dochev pointed to a well-known example of the United States, where democracy is firmly connected to civic nationalism. He emphasized his location in the Turkish community of Bulgaria . He categorically rejected the allegations of anti-Semitism, attributing them to "communist propaganda."

Ideologically, Dochev emphasized his commitment to former views and legionary traditions. But in practical politics he spoke from the standpoint of national democracy . Extreme nationalists criticized Dochev for speaking out against the creation of a fascist party, for his connection with the "Jewish lobby that surrounded Simeon" ^[13] .

Ivan Dochev died in his hometown before he lived for at least 8 months before his 100th birthday.