DEATH OF JOSIP BROZ TITO AND THE BULGARIAN FOREIGN POLICY

Abstract

The link between Tito’s illness and death, the events in Afghanistan and the Macedonian question is explored through newly declassified archival documents and memoir sources. In 1980, Belgrade and the world feared that Yugoslavia would descend into chaos after Tito’s death. The Soviet Union was expected to invade Yugoslavia after Afghanistan in order to reach the Adriatic coast before its NATO adversaries. Soviet troops would attack through Bulgarian territory, and Bulgaria would take advantage of the situation to settle the Macedonian question in its favour. “The Bulgarian threat” has served as one of the important instruments for preserving the internal cohesion of the nations of the federation.

Keywords

• todor zhivkov
• josip broz tito
• soviet–afghan war
• macedonian question
• bulgarian-yugoslav relations