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The Bulgarian revolutionary Georgi Dimitrov, whose trilingual diary is between 1,500 and 2,000 typescript pages in length, was the head of the Comintern from 1936 through its dissolution in 1943, secretary general of the Bulgarian Communist Party from 1945 to 1949, and prime minister of Bulgaria from 1946 to 1949. Dimitrov kept his diary in the language of his principal residence at the time. The period 1933-1935 is in German (Dimitrov gained international fame as the principal defendant in the Leipzig Fire Trial in 1933); 1936-1944 is in Russian; 1945-1949 is in Bulgarian. Dimitrov recorded the important events and meetings of each day, including his conversations with Stalin. The diary described Dimitrov's tumultuous career and revealed much about the inner working of the international Communist organizations, the opinions and actions of the Soviet leadership, and the Soviet Union’s role in shaping the postwar Eastern Europe. Dimitrov provides transcriptions of letters from Stalin, as well as diplomatic cables, letters and memoranda from other Communist Party leaders, notably Mao Zedong and Marshal Tito. Editor: Ivo Banac, Yale University Principal Archive: All editing is based on Dimitrov’s original manuscript owned by Dimitrov’s son, Boiko Dimitrov. RGASPI possesses a microfilm of the diaries, as well as secondary documents necessary for annotation and commentary. |
The Diary of Georgi Dimitrov, 1933-1949. (2003)