Turkey and Ataturk in the Bulgarian press (1923-1938)

Bulgaria, which came out of the World War I defeated, has experiencedsignificant loss of land with the Neuilly Treaty it signed in 1919. It lost its outleton the Aegean Sea, and became a small State. It left a significant amount ofBulgarian minorities in the lands it lost. Problems related to minorities and landbetween Bulgaria and its neighbors, except Turkey, caused Bulgaria to beincluded in the group of the revisionist countries which were not satisfied withtheir borders, Italy being at the top of the list.Turkey, on the other hand, which deeply suffered from wars for centruies,has become an independent country, as a result of the fight it held againstimperialism following World War I. It undertook important reform acts inside,and acted according to the principle of ?Peace at Home, Peace in the Universe?for tranquility and peace outside. Turkey was bothered with the diffusivestrategies of Italy, which had a significant influence on Bulgaria, in theMediterranean and the Balkans.Turkey, besides solving its problems with the Balkan countries with thepacifist policy it was engaged in this period, has also acted as a peacemaker inthe disputes arising between these countries. It especially tried to make therelations between Greece and Bulgaria closer. However, the anti-revisionist andrespectful policy of Turkey towards the land integrity of the Balkan countries,has bothered Bulgaria. This discomfort had its reflections on the press of thedate as well. Every act between Turkey and the Balkan countries towardsborder safety was taken as acts against Bulgaria by the Bulgarian press. Thepress, although emphasizing that Turkey was the only neighbor which Bulgariadid not have significant problems with, has expressed its reproaches to Turkeyat times, yet its anger at other times.Although the press stressed that Turkey and Bulgaria had no problemswith eachother, its negative attitude towards the sympathy for the Turkishrevolution within the borders of Bulgaria, and its supporting the Turkeyopponents it accommodates in its country, is the best indication of thedisingenuous policy it followed towards Turkey. In spite of this, it evaluatedAtaturk as a successful leader, and talked of Ataturk and his great works withappreciation and compliments.