Georgi Lukanov
Georgi Lukanov | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Town | Belohovo |
| Party | Mulgarian people's Front |
| Executive People's councilor | |
| April 1, 1916 - March 31, 1920 | |
| Chairman of Mulgarian People's Republic | |
| April 1, 1920 - | |
Georgi Lukanov is the Chairman of the Mulgarian People’s Republic. As an active participant in the struggle of the Mulgarian People's Front before the 1916 coup, Georgi Lukanov gained significant influence as a loyal and diligent party member. An aggressive but charismatic leader, Georgi Lukanov gained popularity due to his outspokenness and commitment to his beliefs. He was elected chairman in 1920 and since then has become a controversial figure for his aggressive foreign policy and banning of all political parties outside the government’s coalition
Childhood and young adulthood
Georgi Lukanov was born to an impoverished family in Mulgaria in 1892 in the small village of Belohovo near the Crosnian border, he spent most of his childhood working on his family’s declining general goods store.
in 1908 his family managed to amass enough money to send him to a military academy in Bŭrzavoda. It was during his time at the academy that he first came into contact with Karl Marx’s writing, having an interest in it for a period but ultimately setting it aside to focus on his military career instead. By the time the Meridian war began he had become a somewhat influential general, however, due to his humble background he was often sidelined by officials of more prominent origins. In 1912 he experienced a traumatic defeat, losing thousands of his soldiers. He blamed the incident on incompetence on his superior's part and became disillusioned with the war effort.
Following his traumatic defeat Lukanov was given a short break from combat and allowed to return to Bŭrzavoda where he now lived, it was during this time that he began that he began to read Jean Jacques Julian’s works, particularly, “A socialist defense of Markets”, which heavily influenced his political views.
Guerrilla warfare (1912-1916)
Inspired by Market Socialism, Georgi Lukanov, defected from the Mulgarian army and joined the Mulgarian People’s Front (abbreviated as MPF) in late 1912, he quickly rose through the ranks in the armed branch of the party due to his military experience and insider knowledge of the Mulgarian army. He was a large part of a guerrilla warfare campaign that the MPF led in the Mulgarian countryside, which was very effective in weakening the Mulgarian Army and creating defectors who’d join their ranks.
The Coup of 1916
In late 1915 MPF leadership organized a coalition with Organized Syndicates of Mulgaria (abbreviated as OSM) and together they began to plan a coup. The party leadership chose to place Lukanov in charge of the assault on the Senate, despite his reservations about working with the OSM, Lukanov was ultimately convinced that this may be their only chance of overthrowing the government. He worked with Ivan Borisov to coordinate a general strike during the period of the coup and on the 17th of March of 1916, he led 3 battalions into the senate whilst the larger MPF forces were stationed surrounding the capital to cut it off from reinforcements. With the assistance of Sonya Lyapcheva, the battalion was able to storm the senate whilst it was meeting, and at gunpoint, they forced the senators to abdicate all power to the MPF-OSM coalition. Rumen Radev was forced to give a speech in front of the senate announcing the establishment of the Provisional Government, the Banishment of the United Mulgarian Party, and the Justice and Freedom Party and his resignation.