NationStates Jolt Archive

With the reformists in power our film crews were given more freedom then ever to film and interview who ever we liked.
Over the course of the Month of April as soon as the Reforms were announced by the new leadership our Film crews applied to travel to Bulgislavia and film a documentary about life under Provoçe hard brand of communsim

It was an odd nation under Provoçe.
About grand lavish shows and parades, propaganda everywhere
The Bulgislavian regime under Provoçe was one of the most exotic regimes Europe had ever seen.

I'm your host Liam Hutton and during the month of April we interviews ordinary citizens on thier experiences UNDER PROVOÇE......

Part 1
The Grand Shows

Since Provoçe rise to power in 1962. Bulgioslavia was like any other warsaw pact nation. Propaganda was still widespread though it didnt extend into everything about life. That changed almost instantly with Provoçe's rise to power. At only 32 years of age Provoçe was one of the youngest communist leaders. He grew up during the repressive period immediatly after world war 2 or the "Great Patriotic Liberation War" as the Bulgislavian's call it.

Provoçe was always seen as a fiery young stalinist very full of zeal and enthusiasm. He immediatly wanted to create an atmosphere of revolutionary zeal upon coming to power. He first collected fotage of Mass parades from the other socialist countries he was mostly inspired by the grand shows North Korea often held and within a year Bulgislavia held its first ever
"Provoçe Games" which was a mass choreographed show invlving athletes, gymnasts, grand bands and an entire wall of the stadium holding up coloured cards to form pictures which they would flip over.

Lena Demico and her husban Anton were regularily conscripted for such parades. They performed in almost every parade ever held from 1984 to 1991.

"Not a month went by when there wasnt one of these shows" says Lena

"The Comrade President's Birthday, The Party Foundation day, May Day, Armed Forces Day...." says Anton

"We were pulled out of the factory a month in advance to practice. We were only required to hold up the coloured cards to form pictures" says Anton

"The conductors would should out a number and we had to hold up the right cards" says Lena

Provoçe tried to create his own brand of socialist culture, incorporating his cult of personality, his values, the party's values and the Soviet values as well as the traditional colours of red and yellow.

"The children would run in the middle of the stadium and stand in lines, then the coloured cards would turn over and form a picture and some words and then the children would sit down and they would form words and you could read it" says one of the shows cheographers, 64 yearold Iani Gurat who choreographed the Provoçe Games in 1986

From the years 1963 to 1975 the Provoçe Games were held in the "Stadium of the People" which was a small open roof stadium that could seat 40,000 people. After Provoçe's state visit to North Korea he experienced a grand show for himself and it inspired him even more to get bigger and better then the North Korean's. The Terevesti Earthquake in 1975 which flattened the city gave him the perfect opourtunity to rebuild a grand stadium to hold bigger and better Provoçe games.

The Provoçe Stadium was huge and could seat 100,000. It was constructed hastily and on completion another mass show was held.

"Sometimes on hot days we were given a glass of water but we had to practive at least 4 hours a day" says Lena.

The shows were not only restricted to the stadiums. Provoçe also loved viewing great choreographed peices from the Balcony of the Hall of the People overlooking Provoçe Square.
On the holidays thousands of people had to wear certain colours and stand in the square holding the cards for more displays and shows.

"We had to hold the cards above our head and then we had to kneel down then stand up, kneel down then stand up so it created a wave effect with the picture making it look like a wave or that it had a pulse" says Alin who participated in one of the Provoçe Square displays on one Provoçe Birthday celebration.

"Organizing these shows were always very complex" says Iani Gurat
"We needed at least 20,000 people to hold up the cards.... We would take people from the factories. Everyone was given anotice which stated the State could use them in the shows whenever needed and no one could refuse.... The public displays in Provoçe Square were much easier to organize, they involved less skill and so we transported a couple of thousand people from the countryside into the city in cattle trucks and housed them in Barracks. are aim was always to please the Comrade President" continues on Iani

http://images.encarta.msn.com/xrefmedia/sharemed/targets/video/T631916a.jsm (Picture of a Provoçe Birthday Celebration in Central Terevesti 1968)

http://alphistia.com/unitirana1.jpg (A picture of a "Sponatneous" demonstration in Timescu to the west of Bulgislavia to show support of the Comrade President in 1990)

...........................END OF PART 1.....................................

Part 2

The Cult of Provoçe

It seemed immediatly after coming to power Provoçe began to create a cult of personality about himself.

Within 2 months of being in power Portraits were placed everywhere showing Provoçe's face. Statues were erected of him in a heroic pose a year later.
By 1965 there wasnt a single public square that didnt contain a statue of Provoçe and his portraits hung on almost every building.

"Before Provoçe we had TV programs from Russia that was all we had on TV but when Provoçe came to power it changed. We were only allowed 2 hours of TV a day and it only contained footage of Provoçe" says Milla Rianu a Terevesti citizen

Before 1976 all stories and information on Provoçe was just exaggerated but after 1976 all stories were pure fiction

an extract from a poem about Provoçe in 1983

His voice is tremendous commanding the skies
Thunder and lighteneing these are no lies
It can be heard all over the land
Bulgislavia is blessed with the wave of his hand

Another extract from a poem written in 1993 in honor of his birthday said

....On this day Bulgislavia gave birth
To a man without equal on this earth....

"You couldnt simply just say Provoçe. We always had to adress him as 'Comrade President Provoçe'" recalls Iani Gurat

In 1964 the "Palace of Provoçe" was created it was a museum dedicated to all the gifts Provoçe had recieved by other foriegn leaders. They were stored here for normal Bulgislavians to see how much "Their dear Comrade President was loved by the world"

"Some of the treasure were so bizare. We had light fittings from Buckingham palace and golden door handles from other foriegn hotels" says Museum director Nicu Metronescu

Its true that if Provoçe didnt recieve any gifts from his hosts his staff would steel anything from their hotel room to show for his state visit to another country.

Romescu the dictator of Lerasia once said of Provoçe after one state visit
"The next time he comes back make sure everything is bolted and tied down in the room"

Provoçe was seen as almost godlike that could make no mistakes despite the fact Bulgislavia was a rundown country and one of the poorest in Europe and the poorest in the Warsaw Pact. Living standards began to crumble rapidly in the 80's and food rationing was initiated in 1983 and power outages were a common occurance and still are in Bulgislavia

"Provoçe was a very short man, he had a double chin and as he got older had many wrinkles but not one peice of state footage ever showed these faults" says personal film director to Provoçe, Ion Ilescu

All footage had to be edited over and over again to show Provoçe in a positive way. All photographs had Provoçe's wrinkles removed to make him appear age less. Camera's filmed him on an angle to make him look tall and dominaring and when with a large group of people the shortest people were found to stand next to him.

On one occasion Provoçe had to inspect the harvest. Hundreds of people were organized to wait for Provoçe to arrive. All of the harvests produce were set up in stalls. There were meats, breads, cheeses, everything was set up to show Provoçe and the country how "prosperous" the country was.
But the hours began to pass the Provoçe didnt show up on time and the cheese and meats began to go off and smell in the heat of the day.

The Organizers were very worried so they ordered people to begin making fake food. They made new cheese from Polystyrene. The meat was made from painting wood to look like the meats and finally when Provoçe arrived he didnt notice the difference.....

.......................END OF PART 2............................

Part 3

The Economic Crisis

At the end of the 2nd world war Bulgislavia was war ravaged. Communist rebels had been waging a war against the Pro Nazi government that was installed by the Germans in 1941.
By the 1960's Bulgislavia was still an extremely underdeveloped nation.
Provoçe wanted to change this and make Bulgislavia a rich country.
He began a program to industrialize the country. He herded people into newly built factories with extreme disregard for the people and thier wants and needs.

The program worked to an extent and the 60's saw this little corner of europe a little less underdeveloped.

The economy was still growing slightly in the 70's but Bulgislavia was hit with a massive natural disaster and that was the Terevesti Earthquake which flattened the city. This cost million and hundreds died. Despite the earthquake the economy bounced back after the earthquake.

By 1979 it began to experience problems shortages of everything were becomming common and by the end of 1979 the government declared that 2 hours would be "Power Free" in which it was illegal to use electricity to help conserve power.

By 1981 the economy began to shrink. Showers were now always cold and power rationing was in place. Food rationing was put in place in 1983 and the shortages wer even more severe.

Production figures were so exaggerated no one took them seriously. a common joke at the time was
"Comrade I'm trying to find a good book do you know any?"
"What sort of book are you looking for comrade?"
"I like fiction and fantasy"
"Read this years production figures, Comrade"

The economy took its biggest drop ever in 1989. When the warsaw pact was collapsing all around Bulgislavia it lost more then just some friends and Allies it also lost Millions of dollars and aide aggrements with the former communist regimes. However Bulgislavia manages to survives only just

In 1992 the USSR no longer existed which was Bulgislavia's biggest aide donor and it resulted in Bulgislavia's most disasterous famine in which up to 80,000 people died from the years of late 1992 to 1998.

the roads were always empty not a single privatly owned vehicle was on the street unless you were a powerful party member. The only people in Bulgislavia living in luxury were the highest ranking party members. Provoçe owned many villa's and had imported foodstuffs and lavish banquets and feasts all the time and to rub it in his peoples faces the footage was shown on state TV.

After 2001 the west became increasinly critical of the isolated stalinist regime. there was no USSR to back the small country up. Bulgislavia was entirely on its own. The economy slowly began to grow at a snails pace after the famine though real living standards never really improved.....

.......................END OF PART 3........................

Part 4

Provoçe and the outside world

Provoçe maintained good relations with a lot of third world nations and other communist states.
Distant enought from Moscow not to appear to much like a slave state and gain friends on all sides but close enough to get the aide and special favouring.

Provoçe took over a government that was set to break with the USSR and align with Mao's china but Provoçe's predisessor died in a mysterious "Plane Accident" while flying in soviet air space in the caucus region.

Provoçe's closest allies were Ceausescu's Romania, Romescu's Lerasia, The North Koreans, Russians and some other hardline states.

Provoçe loved state visits. It was a where he felt most comfortable amoungst foriegn crowds that cheered at his every move and word. where he would be captured on camera, presented with medals, honors and gifts from his foriegn hosts. It was where he felt at his most powerful and so he was quite a well travelled leader.

"His trips had to be planned months in advance, His 1972 trip to North Korea took 6 months of planning and his 1985 trip to Lerasia took 8 months but it was stated they would go on a state visit to that country in 1982" says his Travel Director Nikita Mescov

Provoçe recieved aide from a large number of countries. He did his best to maintain good relations with Mao and becuase of this Mao was very gernerous in his giving of aide. He recieved aide from East Germany and other warsaw pact nations, the Soviets. and from the west Bulgislavia recieved aide from the UK, France and Italy and Canada.

By the 80's aide was beginning to drop. The economies of the warsaw pact were beginning to decline and so they didnt want to give away to much aide. Provoçe was against Gorbachev's reforms and so the soviets dropped their aide. Mao was dead and the new moderate government had no time for Provoçe and the western nations were beginning to see Provoçe for what he really was. Aide dropped 49% in the 80's and aide was cut completely to the country when all its allies collapsed by the end of 1991.

International relations were at its worse in the 90's and new mellenium.
Provoçe lost another important ally in April of 2007 and that was the tyrant of Lerasia Romescu

(OOC: Anybody who rp'd in the Lerasian Revolution post in April last year will remember Romescu and Lerasia)

"Provoçe would of loved to have travelled more but the political climate in the 90's and new millenium didnt allow for it" says Nikita Mescov

.............................END OF PART 4..................................

Part 5

Provoçe's Lifestyle

Provoçe lived like royalty living in lavish palatial homes and luxurious country villa's.

He had his own personal servents, cooks, and a number of other guards and staff.

He owner over 19 houses, villas, town houses and palaces around the country. In his entire life 1 of them he had never even been in and 3 others he had only ever stayed in once.

He held banquets and large feats with luxurious imported food stuffs and other delecacies from around the world. He was also quite a drinker of many fine wines.

He only wanted the best of everything. He sent his personal cook abroad to study and learn how to cook some local delecasies and exotic foods.

Provoçe after 1962 never drove for himself ever again. he always had personal drivers and his favourite mode of transport was in the presidential Limo and BMW's and other luxury western imported vehicles. He had a private helicopter too and a small jet to travel to other nations.

Clothing wise. Provoçe never really cared what he was dressed in though he was commonly seen in faded blue plain coat, workers hat and faded blue longs. Sometimes and on special occasions he would wear flash suits

Provoçe also liked had massive collections of many thing.

He had a fascination with monuments and architechture in many other countries infact when he travelled to other countries he often brought with him architects that could look at local landmarks so they can make models and take them back to Bulgislavia to collect in Provoçe's museum and also to possable mimic and build in Bulgislavia on a more grand scale.

He has built a replica of the Arc de Triumph, Romania's house of the people and other landmarks from around the world.

Among other things he collects is also massive stocks of footage from Mass parades and communist propaganda.
He also collects some artwork which would normally be banned in the country.

..............................END OF PART 5..............................................

Part 6

Dealing with Dissent

Bulgislavia was one of the most straight jacket societies in Europe and one of the tougest systems in the Warsaw pact.

Bulgislavia was always one of the Hardest systems even when the communists first came to power in 1946. The Cigouriva had been stomping out all opposition to the party ever since 1946 but by 1970 the Cigouriva had been transformed from a leading structure under the control of the party to Provoçe's personnel army.

Almost every citizen was affected by the Cigouriva at some point in thier lives. Anybody could be an informer for Cigouriva.

In 1972 Bulgislavia was estimated to have over 8,000 political prisoners which was one of the highest in eastern europe.
To help get the figures down to please the outside world Provoçe then had political prisoners stitched up for false crimes so that would class them from Political criminal to regular criminal.

"They raided my house after I wrote an article on Provoçe's cult of personality. When the Cigouriva took me in for interrogation they said they found Illegal drugs in my house which was a lie but they had planted it so they couldnt class me as a 'Political Prisoner'" says Yana Tresç

Bulgislavia was an extremely oppressive nation. In the 1986 Albania, Romania and Bulgislavia were ranked to have the worst standard of living and worst cases of human rights violations.

It was not only citizens that could get into trouble but everyone could face imprisonment. Party members, informers, soldiers, anyone
In 1967 the Bulgislavian Workers party had a vote to elect a General Secretary it ended with 100% of the vote officially but unofficially 3 party members choose not to re-elect Provoçe

This was the last election the Bulgislavian Workers Party held and Provoçe held the position of President and General Secretary for the rest of his life.
1 of the Party members mysteriously dissapeared and was never seen again. The other was arrested on suspision of being a spy for the west and the other volunteraly resigned from the party and spent the rest of his life in fear where he defected in 2003.

Up until Provoçe's death he kept a Bulgislavia one of the most oppressive nations in the world and the people had one of the worst standard of living in the world. some western news papers even said
"Bulgislavia is too strange and backwards to be classed as European"
and
"The only difference between Provoçe and the Kim's is that one lives in Bulgislavia the other in North Korea"

......................END OF PART 6..........................

Part 7

City Design

Before Provoçe rise to power Bulgislavia had some very old, unique, ancient architecture. It was very eleborate. Then world war two did serious damage to the city. Some of the architecture survived but the ruble was replaced with some souless apartment blocks.

During Provoçe's state visit to North Korea in the early 70's Provoçe was inspired by the homogenous structure of the city. Wide avenues and boulavards in a symetrical pattern. the Identical apartments lining up along the wide boulavards. Provoçe wanted to make all Bulgislavian cities more homogenous like the North Koreans did.

In 1974 plans were underway to begin demolishing parts of Terevesti for the new developements. But in 1975 a massive earthquake flattened the city giving Provoçe the perfect oppourtunity to rebuild the city from scratch.

The roads were all to be at least 4 lanes to be wide (This would also help in getting refugees out of the city and transporting tanks and the army with little interuption in the event of any war) The apartments were all to be almost identical. souless white blocks with the same layouts.

By 1980 Terevesti was completely transformed into a completely homogenous city.

"Provoçe wanted always to do better then the North Koreans. If you stand on the Balcony of the Hall of the Party you can look straight down the middle of the city down the 8 lane Workers Party Victory Boulavard and the city is perfectly split, its very North Korean" says chief Bulgislavian architect Vasily Berisha "He wanted perfection. the city had to be perfect, so symetrical that putting a giant mirror down the Workers Party Victory Boulavard would create the exact same image as if you didnt place a mirror there. That was how peticular he war" continue Vasily

The Only buildings that were to have a soul of thier own were the copies and replica's of famous land marks from around the world.
Other then Terevesti Provoçe said that his two most favourite cities in the world were Bucharest and Pyongyang.

During the reconstruction of Terevesti Provoçe even had North Korean architects brought into the country.

"Walking around Terevesti was always such a shock. It was so sterile!" recalls John Walker who was an English aide worker during the famine in the 90's

............................END OF PART 7..............................

Side Notes

Leseçearno is the Cigouriva HQ in Terevesti

But on May 1st 2007 while still under Provoçe that number was 580
as of May 1st 2008 Bulgislavia had 150 Political Prisoners

The number of people Executed in Bulgislavia last year was at 17.

The last person executed in Bulgislavia was in April 20th. this year 4 people have already been executed.

Execution is always by Fireing squad

Cigouriva does permit the use of torture against people they detain and interrogate and have used Torture since 1946

Regular Police are also permitted to use torture on people they detain and are allowed to use it in interogations

Popular methods of torture used by Police and Cigouriva in order of popularity

#1 the use of large metal heating irons used to burn and fry people's skin

#2 Electric shock torture

#3 Sleep deprivation

#4 regular beatings and bashing's

#5 Depriving people of food and water while holding them in isolation for days

Since the Bulgislavian Hardliner coup in May 9th that toppled the reformist government of Alia Prekov and brought to power the stalinist tyrant of Ion Milencu and his Wife and other members of his family the Bulgislavian regime has enerted its most harshest phase

Everything mentioned in this documentary under Provoçe's Bulgislavia is extremely exagerated under the Milencu's

The Grand shows are more lavish and expensive, the cult of personality has extened to the entire Milencu Family, the city design of sterility and conformity is not just confined to Terevesti and Creçea but its now to be spread to other Bulgislavian cities.
The economy is shrinking with crumbling living standards (despite what Bulgislavian media tells its people) while the Milencu's live in absolute luxury living in Provoçe's old villa's

...................................................................................................