Since 1944 artistic and intellectual expression have been subject to the cultural policy of the Bulgarian Communist Party (BKP--see Glossary), which has followed a relatively strict adherence to the concept of Socialist Realism as developed in the Soviet Union. Under this concept art, music, and literature are required to promote communist ideology and present an idealized picture of communist society. In order to impart the ideological message, artistic and intellectual expression must be understood by the common man and, therefore, can only take the form of straightforward representative statements.
During the period of de-Stalinization in the mid-1950s, cultural controls became less restrictive, and artistic and intellectual expression burst into new creativity and life. Although this outburst never reached the proportions it did in Poland and Hungary during the same period, the regime considered it a threat and reimposed strict controls in the late 1950s. At that time the government was preparing for a great push in economic development and, to further this goal, mobilized the cultural community into service as propagandists.
Another thaw in cultural restriction occurred in the early 1960s when several factions were struggling for control of the BKP. After Todor Zhivkov assumed firm control of the party, writers and artists were again required to serve the needs of the state until the fall of Nikita Khrushchev in the Soviet Union, and an attempted coup in Bulgaria forced Zhivkov to broaden his popular support by relaxing the BKP's control of national life.
This ebb and flow of restriction on artistic and intellectual expression continues and serves as a barometer for the political and economic climate in the country. At no time since the mid-1950s did cultural policy reach the degree of repression of the Stalinist period. The leadership in Bulgaria, as did those in other Eastern European countries, learned that repression was counterproductive. Instead, it adopted a subtler method of control through the publishers, art galleries, theater companies, and other outlets for creative expression, all of which are run by the state in conformity with the guidelines on cultural policy. Because a creative artist must communicate his ideas to an audience in order to achieve fulfillment, he tends to adapt his ideas and principles to what is acceptable to the available outlets for his work. Thus, self-censorship has replaced direct government control for the most part.