Ziridavan anti-communist resistance movement
Ziridavan anti-communist resistance movement | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Anti-Communist groups |
People's Republic of Ziridava | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Nikola Desislav Dobroliub Lubor Lyudmil Zhelyazko Dragan Krasimir |
Stanimir Simeon Ognyan Vancho | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
At least 40,000 rebels at peak | >3,000,000 | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
~1,000 total | ~2,000 total |
The Ziridavan anti-communist resistance movement was active from the late 1940s to the beginning of the second civil war in 1985. Armed resistance was the first and most structured form of resistance against the communist regime, which in turn regarded the fighters as "bandits". It was not until the overthrow of the Ziridava Communist Party in 1987 that details about what was called "counter-revolutionary armed resistance" were made public. It was only then that the public learnt about the several small armed groups that had taken refuge in the XXX Mountains, where some hid for ten years from authorities and conducted guerilla attacks against government forces.