Socialist Moravska

This era starts in 1944 and ends with the dissolution of the state in 1990. A single party ruled the state for most of the period. The state owned the industry and planned the economy. The article describes the system as it stood in 1976.

The turn [edit]

The Soviet army reaches the Danube in September 1944. A coalition of parties takes power in October. The coalition is chaired by Ivan Vodenov and includes the Communist party and the old Agrarian party.

The coalition lasts 3 years. The Communist party takes the police and the radio in 1945. It takes the courts in 1946. The coalition ends in 1947.

The People's Republic is declared in 1947. Vodenov becomes the first prime minister. A new constitution follows in 1948.

The party [edit]

The ruling party is the Supreme Worker-Maritime Party (SWMP). The name joins two bases of power. The worker is the smelter and the shipyard. The maritime worker is the sailor.

The party controls four things.

1. The plan and the budget.
2. The appointments to every office.
3. The press, the radio, and the cinema.
4. The port pass and the travel document.

The party has 118,000 members in 1976. That is 4 percent of the population. See Political System.

Nationalisation [edit]

The state takes the copper plants and the fleet in 1949. It pays no compensation. The old owners lose the plant and keep the house.

The state also takes the port councils. The council building becomes the party committee. The pier fee becomes a state tax.

COMECON [edit]

Moravska joins COMECON in 1948. The state accepts a division of labour. Moravska makes copper, cable, canned food, and small ships. The Soviet Union makes oil, tractors, and heavy machines.

The arrangement gives Moravska a sure market. It also fixes the price. See Trade and Comecon.

The canal [edit]

The state dredges the Tri Limana lagoons from 1958. The Industrial Canal opens in 1961. A barge now sails from the Danube to Medenik. The canal cuts the copper transport cost by 31 percent.

The canal kills the northern lagoon. See Natural Resources.

Health and welfare [edit]

The physician Elena Sapunova becomes minister of health in 1952. She builds a clinic in every commune and a vaccination team in every district. Tuberculosis deaths fall by 38 percent between 1952 and 1965. The school meal programme is never fully funded.

De-Stalinisation [edit]

The party releases political prisoners in 1956. The release follows a change in Moscow. About 4,300 people return home.

The release does not change the system. The party keeps the plan, the police, and the port pass. It stops the mass arrests.

The loyal bargain [edit]

The party needs the sailors. A merchant captain can travel outside the bloc. The party cannot replace a captain quickly.

The bargain is simple. The captain keeps his travel pass and his pay. He reports to the party office after each trip. He does not speak to a foreign journalist.

This bargain creates Merchant Marine Caste.

Czechoslovakia [edit]

A Moravskan transport unit enters Czechoslovakia in 1968. The unit carries fuel and food. The state calls the action "internationalist help".

The action costs the state its reputation with the young. See Generational Tension.

The constitution of 1971 [edit]

A new constitution names the party as "the leading force of the state and the society". The constitution also names the fleet as "the sea gate of the alliance".

The year 1976 [edit]

The state has 2.94 million people. The sixth five-year plan has just started. The copper price is low. The resorts are full. The young listen to Western radio.

The end [edit]

The party gives up its leading role in January 1990. Port and mine strikes have already broken the plan. The coast and the interior form separate assemblies. On 14 December 1990 the transitional National Assembly dissolves the state.

The territory becomes part of Bulgaria. The party dissolves itself in 1991. See Balkan breakup.