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Polina Spartyanova

Today Bulgaria celebrates 25 years since the collapse of the totalitarian Communist regime. The Plenum of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party that was held on 10 November 1989 dismissed party General Secretary Todor Zhivkov after 33 years of monocracy. This was the beginning of political changes in Bulgaria and the transition to parliamentary democracy and market economy. On this occasion, we met with Jordan Karaivanov who started collecting socialist objects of historical value after 10 November. He graduated from a secondary technical school in the field of internal combustion engines and he is currently working as a technician-engineer at "Geoplanproekt" company in Sofia.
     What has democracy brought to you over the past 25 years?
     We all rejoiced when democracy came, but did not know what was awaiting us, so we thought that we would be better off. Democracy like Socialism has its positive and negative sides, but the two are not comparable. Public transport, electricity and heating were much cheaper at that time compared to the present day but there were restrictions to travelling abroad and one had to wait 15 years to buy a car. Now there are no such restrictions and everything is available, but the majority of people cannot afford it.
     Do you feel nostalgia for socialism and why?
     I think I do. Now my condition in financial terms is much better but I do not think that my life has significantly improved since then. Peace, which for me is the most important thing, is gone. Currently there is no certainty for your life tomorrow, namely that you will work where you are working today. You constantly meet poor and unemployed people. There were people digging in the garbage at that time as well, but as gymnastics coach of "our golden girls" Neshka Robeva said, "Now they are queuing to dig in the garbage." There had never been such poverty under socialism, there was work for all and even a shortage of workforce.
     What was there in socialism that today's democracy lacks the most?
     Employment of the population is the most important thing because all evils are due to its absence. If everyone works and is busy in some way, this ignorance will not be around us. People are constantly stealing. Do you think there is a village house that has not been robbed? Is there a flat in the city that has not been robbed? There was no such a thing during socialism... I will give you just one example: what Todor Zhivkov built, they are even unable to paint it at present.
     You have an impressive collection of objects from the time of the People's Republic of Bulgaria. When did you start to collect them and what prompted you to take up this hobby?
     I started to collect them after 10 November. Basically I am a collector and I love to collect old things, but then I saw some people, smarter than me, starting to collect communist symbols and it became fashionable at some point. I have been collecting and buying things for my collection for 25 years and this is my biggest weakness - the relics of socialism. During socialism, for example, we collected stuff from the time of King Boris III ...

     What is the content of your collection?
     I have many street plates that indicate significant events and names from the time of communism, such as "23 September" street, "Partisan" and "Partisan Fight" streets - these things will not be seen any longer. I collect valuable papers issued after 9 September, magazines, biographies and books by Todor Zhivkov, LPs with ideological songs. I have recently bought a 1958 wall calendar with the image of Georgi Dimitrov, issued by the Bulgarian Communist Party. I also collect medals - perhaps no communist medal is missing in my collection, with the exception of "Hero of Bulgaria."
     Which item in your collection do you value most? Why do you find it so valuable?
     This is a carpet with the image of Georgi Dimitrov, which was woven in Sliven. It is in brown colours and when you look at it on the wall, it is as if he will talk to you. Its workmanship is of very high quality.
     How do you fill up your collection at present? Do you still find unfamiliar items?
     It is very difficult. I go to markets, sometimes in the countryside; I find things through friends and acquaintances. These symbolisms of socialism are gone, they disappear every day, only the monuments in the smaller settlements have remained. Now you can see "9 September" or "Partisan Fight" streets nowhere and I look for them and buy them without commenting on the price because it is very expensive in this market.
     Do you know many avid collectors like you in this area?
     Yes, recently I met in Varna a collector who is more enthusiastic than I am, he collects even cars from the time of socialism. I saw him on TV and called him and he said we could trade some things because I have a lot of duplicates. In Sofia, there is a pizzeria, which is entirely arranged in the style of Sots Art.

     Have you been to the Museum of Socialist Art in Sofia? What do you think of it?
     Yes, but for me this is just the time that I lived in. I do not understand why Bulgarians are willing to destroy the monument of the Soviet Army in Sofia, for example, bearing in mind the fact that there are such well maintained monuments in Europe. For me it is nonsense now to deny and destroy everything. What will you, young people, know about the recent past? This is history and it cannot be just obliterated. The younger generation needs to see socialism both from the good and from the bad side. I love history, so I keep and collect these things.
     What do you think needs to change in the government of the Republic of Bulgaria over the next 25 years?
     The first most important thing is to find jobs for this nation. I think Bulgaria is a country with a very rich minority and a very poor majority. Unfortunately, nothing can be done, the spirit is out of the bottle and there is no turning back.