Peasants in Power: Alexander Stamboliski and the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union, 1899-1923

Agrarianism has received relatively little attention from scholars interested in the modern history of Eastern Europe. Contending that an understanding of the agrarian constribution is necessary for an appraisal of the full dynamic of Eastern European politics, John D. Bell explors the history of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union, the strongest of the East European organizations.
Tracing the union’s career from its founding to its overthrow in 1923, the author discusses the reasons for its appearnce, its ideology and program, and its accomplishments and failure in both domestic and foreign policy. He concentrates in particular on the career of Alexander Stamboliski, who guided and inspired the BANU during its rise to power. This book is thus a comprehensive, objective biography of both a movement and a man.
John D. Bell is Associate Professor of History at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

Originally published in 1977.

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