Todor Zhivkov

SPEECH OF COMRADE TODOR ZHIVKOV AT THE MEETING OF THE POLITBURO OF THE CENTRAL CENTRAL CENTRAL PARTY WITH WORKERS OF THE CULTURAL FRONT, DELIVERED ON APRIL 15, 1963 Dear comrades, At the beginning of April, as Comrade Mitko Grigorov announced in his opening remarks, a meeting lasting several days was held at the Central Committee of the Party with a wide range of representatives of the creative intelligentsia and other workers of the ideological front - the leaderships of the creative unions, the bureaus of the party organizations at the creative unions, the editors-in-chief of the central daily newspapers, the editors-in-chief of newspapers and magazines on issues of literature and art, the leaderships of the ideological institutes, of cinema, theater, radio and television, the secretaries for propaganda and agitation of the district committees of the Party, the members of the ideological commission of the Central Committee of the Party and the Council of Ministers. The meeting held a frank discussion on the urgent issues that concern our cultural community, and discussed in detail the work of the creative unions to implement the party decisions, and in particular the decisions of the Eighth Party Congress in the field of literature and art. The meeting of the Central Committee of the Party once again unequivocally confirmed that the vast majority of our creative intelligentsia correctly understands the role and tasks of the ideological front at the current stage in the development of our country and tirelessly and consistently implements the policy of our Party after the April Plenum of the Central Committee and the decisions of the Eighth Congress of the Bulgarian Communist Party. What comments could arise in connection with this meeting of ours?

Comrades, At our current meeting in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Union of Bulgarian Writers, we started an argument with the Chairman of the Committee on Culture and Art, Dr. Petar Vutov. I asked him to give me the floor later, so that I could prepare accordingly and get into tune, so to speak. But he told me: "It is not possible, Comrade Zhivkov, because the Chairman of the Union of Bulgarian Writers, Dr. Kamen Kalchev, will also speak, and other comrades will speak, and there will also be a literary program." It seems, as I understood from Dr. Vutov's information, that today's meeting will be more difficult than your solemn meeting last night. (Merry cheering. Applause). The second issue of our argument with Dr. Vutov concerns whether I should just raise a toast or deliver a speech. I do not know why Dr. Vutov, by giving me the floor, limits me and suggests that I raise a toast. I could not imagine how you, the writers, would exist if you did not write, and how we, the political and state figures, would exist if we did not deliver speeches. After all, that is how we earn our living. (Merry cheering. Applause). Dear writers, Dear comrades, Distinguished guests, I am fulfilling a pleasant assignment from the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, the people's government and my comrades - members of the Politburo and secretaries of the Central Committee of the party, who are present at this meeting. I greet you most cordially, warmly fatherly - I mean the party, friendly - I mean our comradeship and ties, on the occasion of the glorious 50th anniversary of the Union of Bulgarian Writers. (Prolonged applause).

The successes we have achieved over the past quarter century in building the economic power of Bulgaria do not make us happy in themselves. The Bulgarian Communist Party has always placed and places man above all else; caring for man has always been and is its primary concern. There are many dimensions that characterize the increase in the standard of living of our people. Let us take, for example, the real income per capita. In the period 1953-1968 alone, it increased from 341 leva to 933 leva (at 1952 prices), or nearly three times. The line of gradual wage increases and reductions in the prices of consumer goods is consistently being pursued in our country, an expression of which is the decree of the Central Committee of the Party and the Council of Ministers for further raising the standard of living of the people, published a few days ago.