Harsh working conditions in Bulgaria have led…

Harsh working conditions in Bulgaria have led the urban poor to the cause of socialism; the Social Democratic Party is formed in 1891. (Later transformation of one of its factions into the Bulgarian Communist Party will make this organization the oldest communist party in the world.)

An influx of West European commerce, to which Bulgaria had been opened by the terms of the Treaty of Berlin, sweeps away town-centered trade and the guild structure.