November 17, 1912 — Bulgaria Attempts Aerial Photography in the First Balkan War
On November 17, 1912, flying officer Radul Milkov and a British photographer made an early attempt to photograph Ottoman military positions from the air during the First Balkan War. The flight took place only weeks after Bulgaria had begun using aircraft in wartime, making it part of a remarkable period of experimentation in military aviation. The mission was flown with an Albatros aircraft, and its purpose was practical: to observe and document enemy installations from above. Even if the technology was still fragile and new, the attempt showed how quickly Bulgaria’s armed forces were adapting modern methods during the Balkan Wars. It also places Bulgaria among the early users of aerial reconnaissance, at a moment when aviation was still closer to daring improvisation than routine military practice.
November 17, 1989 — Parliament Removes Todor Zhivkov as State Council Chairman
On November 17, 1989, Bulgaria’s National Assembly released Todor Zhivkov from his post as Chairman of the State Council and elected Petar Mladenov in his place. The decision followed Zhivkov’s removal as Bulgarian Communist Party leader on November 10, but this parliamentary act formally stripped him of the country’s highest state office. It was one of the clearest institutional signals that Bulgaria’s long socialist-era leadership was collapsing. The change came amid widening public pressure, reform demands, and the broader political transformations sweeping Eastern Europe in 1989. While it did not immediately create a democratic system, it opened the way for rapid constitutional and political changes, including the legalization of opposition politics and the transition away from one-party rule.
Continue with November 16 or November 18. For more stories and places, explore Bulgaria From Above and the guides in our Bulgaria category on Bronicable.
