While a student in the academy, he founded a clandestine avant-garde theatre group, which led to severe conflicts with censorship in Communist Bulgaria.

Her life remains uniquely controversial and colourful in the history of Communist Bulgaria and that of the Soviet Bloc.

Her grandfather drilled out the legs of his examining table so he could get hundreds of coins out of the newly Communist Bulgaria.

For his contribution to the cinema Dimov was awarded the title People's artist (very popular in Communist Bulgaria).

He later became Prime Minister of postwar Communist Bulgaria.

After all, as she is repeatedly told, an electronics plant that once provided state-of-the-art components to Communist Bulgaria has been closed with the loss of almost 8,000 jobs.

As in other Eastern Bloc states, Communist Bulgaria operated a network of forced labour camps between 1944 and 1989, with particular intensity until 1962.

Mr Borisov is a black belt and former coach of the national karate team, who began his career as a fireman in Communist Bulgaria.

Between 1975 and 1978 Markov worked on his In Absentia Reports analysis of life in Communist Bulgaria.

The gulf between ruler and ruled in Communist Bulgaria appeared awesome.