{"id":1069,"date":"2010-01-01T09:23:00","date_gmt":"2010-01-01T07:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/uncategorized\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T14:16:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T12:16:16","slug":"on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/","title":{"rendered":"On This Day in Bulgaria: September 23"},"content":{"rendered":"

September 23 marks two dark moments in Bulgaria\u2019s political history: the outbreak of the September Uprising in 1923 and the execution of Nikola Petkov in 1947.<\/p>\n

September 23, 1923 \u2014 The September Uprising Breaks Out<\/strong><\/h2>\n

September 23 is the official date of the September Uprising, a large armed rebellion organised by the Bulgarian Communist Party and supported by agrarian groups. The insurgents seized a number of towns and villages, mainly in northwestern Bulgaria.<\/p>\n

Government forces eventually crushed the revolt. The fighting cost thousands of lives and left a deep scar on Bulgarian society throughout the twentieth century. The uprising developed in an atmosphere of intense political tension, when the question of power was being settled not only through parliamentary dispute but also through armed confrontation.<\/p>\n

The memory of the September Uprising remains contested. It includes the participation of communist and agrarian groups, as well as the violence, deaths and repression that followed. This complexity is precisely what makes the date important for understanding political radicalisation in Bulgaria.<\/p>\n

September 23, 1947 \u2014 Nikola Petkov Is Executed<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Nikola Petkov, leader of the Bulgarian Agrarian National Union and head of the democratic opposition, was executed by the communist authorities after a show trial. His death marked the final destruction of legal political opposition in Bulgaria.<\/p>\n

The execution was not only the fate of one politician. It showed how the post-war reordering of power narrowed the space for public disagreement and independent political organisations. With Nikola Petkov removed, the way was cleared for a single-party communist dictatorship.<\/p>\n

The two events remembered on September 23 were separated by 24 years, yet they were connected by a common theme: the violent elimination of political opponents and its long-term consequences for society and the state.<\/p>\n

It is a history of a period in which political struggle increasingly left little room for disagreement. The uprising and Petkov\u2019s trial were different events, but both left a lasting mark on memory of Bulgaria\u2019s twentieth century.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On September 23, 1923, the September Uprising broke out, while opposition leader Nikola Petkov was executed in 1947.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3417,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1069","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-on-this-day-in-bulgaria","latest_post"],"yoast_head":"\nOn This Day in Bulgaria: September 23 History<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"On September 23, 1923, the September Uprising broke out, while opposition leader Nikola Petkov was executed in 1947.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"On This Day in Bulgaria: September 23 History\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On September 23, 1923, the September Uprising broke out, while opposition leader Nikola Petkov was executed in 1947.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"BRONICABLE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-01-01T07:23:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-23T12:16:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/parliament-bulgaria-sofia-monument-4842040.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"850\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"bronic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"bronic\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"bronic\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/67e3ae78e8122c37cbfd42a4258de1be\"},\"headline\":\"On This Day in Bulgaria: September 23\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-01-01T07:23:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-23T12:16:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":322,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/01\\\/nikola-petkov.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"On This Day in Bulgaria\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\\\/\",\"name\":\"On This Day in Bulgaria: September 23 History\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/01\\\/nikola-petkov.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2010-01-01T07:23:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-23T12:16:16+00:00\",\"description\":\"On September 23, 1923, the September Uprising broke out, while opposition leader Nikola Petkov was executed in 1947.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/01\\\/nikola-petkov.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2010\\\/01\\\/nikola-petkov.jpg\",\"width\":400,\"height\":471,\"caption\":\"Nikola Petkov (1893\u20131947), the opposition leader put on show trial in August 1947. Author: unknown. License: Public Domain (PD-anon-70-EU). Source: Wikimedia Commons; original source: Tasho Tashev, Ministers of Bulgaria 1879\u20131999.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\\\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"On This Day in Bulgaria: September 23\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"BRONICABLE\",\"description\":\"Discover Bulgaria & Beyond\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"BRONICABLE\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/cropped-Color-logo-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/03\\\/cropped-Color-logo-no-background.png\",\"width\":3181,\"height\":1291,\"caption\":\"BRONICABLE\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/67e3ae78e8122c37cbfd42a4258de1be\",\"name\":\"bronic\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/25ff1fede0383d75d30524398c544fe9b3d552bf220106f6c6dcbf4381ee2070?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/25ff1fede0383d75d30524398c544fe9b3d552bf220106f6c6dcbf4381ee2070?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/25ff1fede0383d75d30524398c544fe9b3d552bf220106f6c6dcbf4381ee2070?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"bronic\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/bronicable.com\\\/en\\\/author\\\/bronic\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"On This Day in Bulgaria: September 23 History","description":"On September 23, 1923, the September Uprising broke out, while opposition leader Nikola Petkov was executed in 1947.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"On This Day in Bulgaria: September 23 History","og_description":"On September 23, 1923, the September Uprising broke out, while opposition leader Nikola Petkov was executed in 1947.","og_url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/","og_site_name":"BRONICABLE","article_published_time":"2010-01-01T07:23:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-23T12:16:16+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1280,"height":850,"url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/parliament-bulgaria-sofia-monument-4842040.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"bronic","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"bronic","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/"},"author":{"name":"bronic","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/67e3ae78e8122c37cbfd42a4258de1be"},"headline":"On This Day in Bulgaria: September 23","datePublished":"2010-01-01T07:23:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-23T12:16:16+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/"},"wordCount":322,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/nikola-petkov.jpg","articleSection":["On This Day in Bulgaria"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/","url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/","name":"On This Day in Bulgaria: September 23 History","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/nikola-petkov.jpg","datePublished":"2010-01-01T07:23:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-23T12:16:16+00:00","description":"On September 23, 1923, the September Uprising broke out, while opposition leader Nikola Petkov was executed in 1947.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/nikola-petkov.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/nikola-petkov.jpg","width":400,"height":471,"caption":"Nikola Petkov (1893\u20131947), the opposition leader put on show trial in August 1947. Author: unknown. License: Public Domain (PD-anon-70-EU). Source: Wikimedia Commons; original source: Tasho Tashev, Ministers of Bulgaria 1879\u20131999."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria\/on-this-day-in-bulgaria-september-23\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"On This Day in Bulgaria: September 23"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/","name":"BRONICABLE","description":"Discover Bulgaria & Beyond","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#organization","name":"BRONICABLE","url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-Color-logo-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/cropped-Color-logo-no-background.png","width":3181,"height":1291,"caption":"BRONICABLE"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/67e3ae78e8122c37cbfd42a4258de1be","name":"bronic","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25ff1fede0383d75d30524398c544fe9b3d552bf220106f6c6dcbf4381ee2070?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25ff1fede0383d75d30524398c544fe9b3d552bf220106f6c6dcbf4381ee2070?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25ff1fede0383d75d30524398c544fe9b3d552bf220106f6c6dcbf4381ee2070?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"bronic"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en"],"url":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/author\/bronic\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1069"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3091,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1069\/revisions\/3091"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1069"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1069"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bronicable.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1069"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}