When Andrey Lyapchev took over as head of the government in 1926, Bulgaria was emerging from years of political violence, coups and terrorist attacks. He did not promise a quick rescue, but rather a course toward calming the country, restoring the economy and bringing political struggle back into parliament. On November 6, 1933, Lyapchev died after a serious illness, but he remained in history as a statesman with an unusually moderate tone for his era.
From Resen to high politics
Born in Resen in 1866, Lyapchev studied in Bitola, Thessaloniki and Plovdiv, and later pursued studies in finance and economics in Zurich, Berlin and Paris. He worked at the Ministry of Finance, took part in the Democratic Party and gradually established himself as a specialist in public finance.
His first major tests came before and during the wars. As minister of trade and agriculture in Alexander Malinov’s cabinet, he took part in the negotiations related to the recognition of Bulgarian independence. On April 6, 1909, the protocol by which the Ottoman Empire recognized an independent Bulgaria was signed. According to a recollection by Acad. Georgi Markov, quoted by News.bg, Lyapchev managed to reduce the sum initially demanded by Constantinople from 500 million gold francs to 82 million.
“Better for them to fight with ballots”
After the First World War, the politician found himself at the center of the most difficult period in modern Bulgarian history. In 1923, he was among the leaders of the Democratic Alliance, and on January 4, 1926, Tsar Boris III appointed him prime minister.
One of the most frequently recounted moments from his tenure is linked to the decision to allow the communists to participate in political life under another name. In response to the sharp reaction of Gen. Ivan Valkov, Lyapchev said: “Better for them to fight with ballots than to blow up churches.” The remark is associated with the 1925 attack on the Sveta Nedelya Church and with his belief that political violence should be replaced by parliamentary struggle.
In February 1926, the government declared a partial amnesty. More than 1,000 political prisoners were released, while 70 people, most of them communists sentenced to death, were pardoned. The government also sought economic support through two major foreign loans – one for the country’s stabilization and another for the accommodation and integration of refugees.
The phrase he left behind
Lyapchev is remembered for the expression “With gentleness, with kindness and with a little beating.” Its historical attribution, however, is disputed. The Bulgarian National Radio notes that the original formula “With gentleness and kindness, one goes far” was used by journalist Grigor Vasilev to describe the course of the new government. The addition about “the beating” remains in the realm of political folklore rather than among Lyapchev’s reliably established words.
Another revealing remark is attributed to him in 1931, when fellow party members warned him that the Democratic Alliance would lose the elections: “Let us lose them, if we must. The voice of the people is the voice of God.” Lyapchev did indeed leave office after the electoral defeat in June 1931.
Banker Atanas Burov left one of the strongest descriptions of his character: “He did not know how to hate, he did not know how to take revenge, he did not know how to persecute.” After withdrawing from active politics, Lyapchev also retreated from public life because of his deteriorating health. He died in 1933 without direct heirs, leaving his property to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Bulgarian Economic Society.
Sources: old-news.bnr.bg, bnt.bg, news.bg