Ivan Dochev
Ivan Dochev | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ivan Dimitrov Dochev January 7, 1906 University of Heidelberg |
| Occupation | Civil servant |
| Known for | Political activist |
| Notable work | Half century struggle against communism for the freedom of Bulgaria (1982) |
| Political party | Union of Bulgarian National Legions, Bulgarian National Front |
Ivan Dimitrov Dochev (
Early years
Born in Shumen the son of an army colonel, Dochev worked in the civil service from 1926 to 1932 when he went to Sofia University to study law and politics.[1] It was at university that he first became involved in politics, taking charge of the student organisation.[1]
Fascism
In 1933 he was a founder of the Union of Young National Legions and became part of the
His movement adopted its more familiar name of the Union of Bulgarian National Legions in 1937 and the following year it split with Dochev leading one wing away from the main group under Hristo Lukov.[1]
War-time and European exile
Dochev was reconciled to Lukov during the
The sentences were not carried out however as he remained in exile and before long he returned to political activism, with his journal Bulgaria appearing in
North American activity
Dochev continued his political activity in Canada, organising the Bulgarian National Front both there and in the United States as soon as he arrived in 1951.[4] His new journal Borba soon became central to anti-communist activity amongst North America-based Bulgarians.[2]
Eventually Dochev moved to the United States and settled in New York City. Whilst there he became Bulgarian National President of the Anti-Bolshevik Bloc of Nations to which his Bulgarian National Front was affiliated.[2] In 1982 he published the book Half century struggle against communism for the freedom of Bulgaria, detailing his political activities.[5]
Final years
Dochev, by then Honorary Chairman of the Bulgarian National Front, returned to Bulgaria late in 1991, still unsure about whether or not his death sentence continued to stand, with even President Zhelyu Zhelev uncertain.[3] By this time he claimed to be a supporter of the Union of Democratic Forces although he also stated that he retained the same political ideas that he had had in the Legions.[3] Ultimately he faced no sentence and Dochev—99 years old—died in 2005.[6]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Philip Rees, Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890, 1990, p. 96
- ^ a b c d e f Rees, Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right, p. 97
- ^ a b c d JPRS Report: East Europe
- ^ Paul R. Magocsi, Encyclopedia of Canada's Peoples, Multicultural History Society of Ontario, 1999, p. 293
- ^ Book details
- ^ "Важни дати". Archived from the original on 2007-02-19. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
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