September 7 connects a peaceful territorial settlement from 1940 with the killing of one of Bulgaria’s best-known dissident writers.
September 7, 1940 — The Treaty of Craiova Returns Southern Dobruja
Bulgaria and Romania signed the Treaty of Craiova, through which Southern Dobruja was peacefully returned to Bulgaria. Supported by the major European powers, the agreement addressed a territorial dispute linked to the consequences of the Balkan Wars.
The return of the region was followed by a peaceful population exchange. The news was warmly welcomed in Bulgaria because the agreement restored Bulgarian control over Southern Dobruja without a military clash. For the country, it became an important moment in the history of twentieth-century territorial change.
September 7, 1978 — The Killing of Georgi Markov in London
On the same date in London, Bulgarian writer and dissident Georgi Markov was poisoned on Waterloo Bridge. The attack was attributed to an agent of the Bulgarian secret services who used a modified umbrella—an alleged weapon remembered publicly as the “Bulgarian umbrella.”
Markov broadcast critical essays about the communist regime on the BBC and Radio Free Europe. He died four days later. The case turned his name into a symbol of resistance to the regime and remains one of the best-known political killings associated with Bulgaria during the Cold War.
To follow the neighboring dates, continue with September 6 or September 8. For more stories and places in Bulgaria, explore the Bulgaria From Above category.
