Current Intelligence Weekly Summary

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Approved for Release: 2026/03/06 C03176167
CURRENT INTELLIGENCE WEEKLY SUMMARY
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ETALZNIETS REMOVED FRQM BULGARIAN CABINET
At its first meeting on
l5 and 16 March, the newly elect-
ed Bulgarian National Assembly
approved changes in the Council
of Ministers which represent
another victory for the pro-
Khrushchev leadership of party
First Secretary Todor Zhivkov
over therpowerful Stalinist seg-
ment in the party afid govern-
ment. With his control now more
solidly assured, Zhivkov stands
a better chance to avert a Stal-
inist challenge at the next par-
ty congress, scheduled to begin
in late August.
The most important change
was the ouster of Georgi Tsankov
as minister of interior, a move
which probably portends his ous-
ter also from the party polit- y
buro. A powerful and feared in-
dividual who had held his min-
isterial post since 1951, Tsankov
was perhaps the most hard-line
Stalinist in Bulgaria after ex-
party boss Vulko Chervenkov,
who was dropped from the polit- .
buro last November at the onset
of the new de-Stalinization
campaign.
The next most important
change was the removal of Gen.
Ivan Mikhailov as minister of
defense. Mikhailov, who is at
retirement age, saw service in ,
the Soviet Army in World War II
and had been Bulgarian defense
minister since 1958. His role
in the factional problems of
the Bulgarian leadership is not
clear
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Tsankov was appointed, and
Mikhailov reappointed, deputy
chairmen of the Council of Minis-
ters--less influential positions
than ministerial posts--whereas
Chervenkov was removed even from
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this post last December. This
suggests that Tsankov and Mikhai-
lov will not be included in the
propaganda drive against Cherven-
kov and the Stalinist influences
in Bulgaria. 1
The regime appointed as
Tsankov's successor Diko Dikov,
a former deputy defense minister
and most recently the head of a
party central committee depart--I
ment, thus bypassing the Ministry
of Interior. Deputy defense
minister Dobri Dzhurov, was named
to replace Mikhailov. There were
la number of other ministerial
changes and appointments which
probably have political overtones
as well as being moves to im-
prove administration.’ .
Even though he probably has
weakened the Stalinists by de-
moting Chervenkov, Tsankov, and
members of the lower party ap-
paratus, Zhivkov still faces
major problems in trying to erad-
icate Stalinist influence. A
large part of the membership of
the party organization--built up
under Chervenkov--remains ori-
ented toward policies enunciated
under him and now labeled Stalin-
ist. Regime theoretical journals,
moreover, have reported that at
the November central committee
meeting Chervenkov did not re-
cant his "erroneous" views.
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Because he,cannot purge
all suspected Stalinists from
public life without crippling
the party and government appara-
tus, Zhivkov at present is re-‘
lying mainly on propaganda in
an attempt to discredit Cherven-
kov and his policies. According
to recent reports, however, party
members are not being dissuaded,
and the people profess to see
35 Mar 62 r
WEEKLY REVIEW Page 19 of 22
Approved for Release: 2026/03/06 C03176167