AHC: Bulgaria as part of Yugoslavia

To keep a country as diverse as Yugoslavia together, striking the right balance between centralization and regional autonomy is a must. To put it simply it would mean letting each member of the union have its own national assembly, national guard and ministry of internal affairs, while the country as a whole would have a federal parliament and the federal government would retain control over all of the other ministries (with the prime minister also being the federal minister for internal affairs), the ministry of treasury being the only partial exception, as its competencies would be split between a federal minister and a number of state ministers, the latter being mainly charged with looking after the budget of the national guards and the local police forces.

A country like this would also need to administratively partitioned along ethnic lines as closely as possible. Here's a possible set up:

1. Slovenia - Slovene ethnic majority - state capital: Ljubljana;
2. Croatia - Croatian ethnic majority - state capital: Zagreb;
3. Serbokraine (OTL western Bosnia Herzegovina) - Serbian ethnic majority - state capital: Banja Luka;
4. Bosnia Herzegovina (OTL eastern Bosnia Herzegovina) - Bosniak ethnic majority - state capital: Sarajevo;
5. Montenegro - Montenegrin ethnic majority - state capital: Podgorica;
6. Serbia (without Kosovo) - Serbian ethnic majority - state capital: Belgrade;
7. Bulgaria (OTL Bulgaria + OTL Vardar Macedonia) - Bulgar ethnic majority - state capital: Sofia.

Kosovo would have been ceded to Albania after World War One.
 
Last edited:
To keep a country as diverse as Yugoslavia together, striking the right balance between centralization and regional autonomy is a must. To put it simply it would mean letting each member of the union have its own national assembly, national guard and ministry of internal affairs, while the country as a whole would have a federal parliament and the federal government would retain control over all of the other ministries (with the prime minister also being the federal minister for internal affairs), the ministry of treasury being the only partial exception, as its competencies would be split between a federal minister and a number of state ministers, the latter being mainly charged with looking after the budget of the national guards and the local police forces.

A country like this would also need to administratively partitioned along ethnic lines as closely as possible. Here's a possible set up:

1. Slovenia - Slovene ethnic majority - state capital: Ljubljana;
2. Croatia - Croatian ethnic majority - state capital: Zagreb;
3. Serbocraina (OTL western Bosnia Herzegovina) - Serbian ethnic majority - state capital: Banja Luka;
4. Bosnia Herzegovina (OTL eastern Bosnia Herzegovina) - Bosniak ethnic majority - state capital: Sarajevo;
5. Montenegro - Montenegrin ethnic majority - state capital: Podgorica;
6. Serbia (without Kosovo) - Serbian ethnic majority - state capital: Belgrade;
7. Bulgaria (OTL Bulgaria + OTL Vardar Macedonia) - Bulgar ethnic majority - state capital: Sofia.

Kosovo would have been ceded to Albania after World War One.

Problem is just that Serbs wanted to be major ehtnic group. There would be much rivalry between different ethnic groups.

And Serbia wouldn't ever accept ceding Kosovo to another nation. Even in OTL Serbia is very unwillingful recognise independence of Kosovo despite that it de facto lost that after Kosovo War.
 
We need to keep in mind how Yugoslavia came about. The Serbs wanting Greater Serbia (and deposed the Montenegrin King by not letting him return to the country, after the Austrians overran it) and they ended up with more Croat and Slovene land when they requested to join in union with Serbia. I can see the Serbs wanting to annex Greek Macedonia, but I don't see Bulgaria being on the plate. Perhaps something is done with nobility? After all, Serbia was one of the only countries in southeast Europe to not invite a German in to be the monarch. Then again, to get ties between local dynasties we would need a much earlier POD.
 
Every major ethnic group in the Balkans rebelling simultaneously to the Ottomans right after their empire lost Hungary to the Hapsburg?
They would be crushed like bugs. I presume the Habsburgs wouldn't be able to hurry down there in time to help, and the Ottomans would have large, if damaged, armies marching home through the Balkans. Hmmmm, at one point there was an Albanian running Egypt, who had control over the Hejaz, Levant, and some Greek Islands. If he made a sharp break... no, too many variables. Given how old and massive the empire was, we would need to look at any given twenty year period and see if left shake things enough. Still, perhaps some way could be found where Eastern Rumelia, Macedonia, and Servia (so many fun, old names) could come together like how Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania. Perhaps they take the name Rumelia? I doubt they would see themselves as Slavs first and foremost, as that probably was imported from the Russians.
 
BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA STREAMLINED - A VICTORY FOR THE FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION

bosnia herzegovina.png


Northern Bosnia joins the State of Serbia.

Western and Eastern Bosnia form the State of Bosnia.

Herzegovina joins the State of Croatia.
 

elkarlo

Banned
Maybe it could happen if Tito is able to gain land at the expense of Albania, Austria, Italy and Greece, adding some non-Bulgarian peoples to the Balkan mix...

800px-Tito%27s_irrendentist_Yugoslav_claims.png


...but a Yugoslavia this big would probably be even more of a pain in the ass to keep somewhat stable than in OTL.
It might be ok until it falls. Then it'd get really ugly.
 
1945-1947 it was proposed and negotiations occurred, all it would have needed is Stalin to say yes ( big change to OTL ) and the Bulgarian Communist party would have rubber stamped it ( so spineless they supposedly proposed to make Bulgaria's official language Russian at one point ). The idea also included incorporating Albania ( regardless of its wishes ) and would have redefined unstable but it could have happened

This.

The another issue was that Bulgaria would become one of the member republics of yugoslavia - so on the level of Serbia, Montenegro etc - or Bulgaria and Yugoslavia would unite in a state - so Bulgaria would be on the level of the whole of Yugoslavia. In the second variation Bulgaria has much more say in matters than in the first solution. The problem is that Bulgaria really is too big for the first but too small for the second.

But the deciding factor of it not happening OTL was Stalin.
 
Around 1880, with the help of Russia, the Serbian-Bulgarian kingdom was created. The Serbian-Bulgarian kingdom becomes the foundation for the creation of Yugoslavia.
 
As I think I've mentioned before, the only way for this to succeed is avoiding the Tito-Stalin split. Both wanted this for various reasons (Tito because he was an ambitious expansionist, Stalin because it would increase Soviet influence in Yugoslavia) and the traitorous Bulgarian government would follow the Soviets. Otherwise it's basically impossible - no non-puppet Bulgarian or Yugoslavian government would be willing to accept the conditions considered vital by the other side.

the 1934 coup in Bulgaria succeeds or the Tito-Stalin split never happens are the only ways I could see it happen
The 1934 coup succeeded, but uniting with Yugoslavia was never the intention of the plotters.

I have been told different versions, whether or not languages are mutually intelligible? my understanding at least Macedonia understands Bulgarians?
Macedonian is basically a dialect of Bulgarian. Serbo-Croatian is closely related but only slightly mutually intelligible with Bulgarian.

1945-1947 it was proposed and negotiations occurred, all it would have needed is Stalin to say yes ( big change to OTL ) and the Bulgarian Communist party would have rubber stamped it ( so spineless they supposedly proposed to make Bulgaria's official language Russian at one point ). The idea also included incorporating Albania ( regardless of its wishes ) and would have redefined unstable but it could have happened
Stalin said yes - he even ordered the Bulgarian Communists to create a Macedonian identity in Bulgarian Macedonia. The problem is the conflict with Tito, which prevented this happening.

And I've never heard of a plan to make Bulgaria's official language Russian. Source?

1. Slovenia - Slovene ethnic majority - state capital: Ljubljana;
2. Croatia - Croatian ethnic majority - state capital: Zagreb;
3. Serbokraine (OTL western Bosnia Herzegovina) - Serbian ethnic majority - state capital: Banja Luka;
4. Bosnia Herzegovina (OTL eastern Bosnia Herzegovina) - Bosniak ethnic majority - state capital: Sarajevo;
5. Montenegro - Montenegrin ethnic majority - state capital: Podgorica;
6. Serbia (without Kosovo) - Serbian ethnic majority - state capital: Belgrade;
7. Bulgaria (OTL Bulgaria + OTL Vardar Macedonia) - Bulgar ethnic majority - state capital: Sofia.

Kosovo would have been ceded to Albania after World War One.
Serbia would never accept this and without Serbia there is no Yugoslavia.

Around 1880, with the help of Russia, the Serbian-Bulgarian kingdom was created. The Serbian-Bulgarian kingdom becomes the foundation for the creation of Yugoslavia.
I doubt that Serbia would accept. Serbia was smaller than even the Bulgarian principality before the 1885 unification with Eastern Rumelia and the Serbs would hardly want to be part of a country where they are the second largest group. There is also the dispute of where exactly the border between Bulgaria and Serbia should be located and the ambiguous identification of the population in this disputed region.
 
Last edited:
Perhaps during an offwar year a massive humanitarian disaster strikes Bulgaria, Yugoslavia provides a significant amount of aid, eventually it is decided Bulgaria's best path to economic recovery is integration with Yugoslavia? Could be some disease (less likely in my mind as I don't see why this wouldn't hurt Yugoslavia as much), an earthquake around a major population center, or something more exotic like a meteor strike.
 
Perhaps during an offwar year a massive humanitarian disaster strikes Bulgaria, Yugoslavia provides a significant amount of aid, eventually it is decided Bulgaria's best path to economic recovery is integration with Yugoslavia? Could be some disease (less likely in my mind as I don't see why this wouldn't hurt Yugoslavia as much), an earthquake around a major population center, or something more exotic like a meteor strike.
I don't really see the economic advantage of Bulgaria integrating with Yugoslavia, nor do I see Yugoslavia being willing to spend so much money on Bulgaria.

To what part are you referring to, aside from the Kosovo issue?
This is enough. But Bulgaria with Macedonia is definitely bigger than Serbia without Kosovo and Montenegro, and I don't see the Serbs accepting such position in Yugoslavia.
 
So, for the premise of this thread to be realized you'd need to turn the Serbian approach to nationalism upside down?
Yes, which would be very difficult. The fact is that the Serbs, as the first Slavic people in the Balkans to re-gain their independence, looked down upon their neighbors and would not have countenanced to be placed in a subordination position to them. Also, romantic nationalism was heavily promoted, so Serbia sought to gain territories like Kosovo and Macedonia for which they had no ethnic justification.
 
Yes, which would be very difficult. The fact is that the Serbs, as the first Slavic people in the Balkans to re-gain their independence, looked down upon their neighbors and would not have countenanced to be placed in a subordination position to them. Also, romantic nationalism was heavily promoted, so Serbia sought to gain territories like Kosovo and Macedonia for which they had no ethnic justification.

Then, why did they never take up the "Empire" label again after losing it in the Middle Ages? If you don't care who's living on the land you want gobble up for your country, at least be honest about it.
 
Top