Marxist-Leninist Self-Education as a Main Method for Creation of Staff in the Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Communist Party (1945–1948)

The theme of “Marxist-Leninist education” of party cadres in Bulgaria after September 9, 1944 was not developed by historical science. The controversial issue is directly related with, the implementation of communist propaganda, а method of self-education. The system of self-education was accepted by the acted then Agitation and Propaganda Department of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Workers’ Party of Communists as fundamental for the introducing and promoting of the Marxism-Leninism. This researching sets the task, albeit partially, to reveal the mechanisms of this process. For this purpose, the author of the current report examines the main ideas used and imposed by the party propaganda in self-learners the Marxist-Leninist theory. In the current report are listed, chronologically, the party solutions for the raising of the intellectual level of party cadres; there is and a published part of Valko Tchervenkov’s speech, delivered in December, 1948, causing smiles in the audience; placed are the reasons, which, again according to Valko Tchervenkov, repressed the assimilation of Marxism – Leninism; it is explained that the self-educations are under the control of the sector “Party education” to the Agitation and Propaganda Department. In the current report there is a list of books proposed by the party agitation, the study of which guarantees an acquisition of basic knowledge of Marxism – Leninism; the three most important stages in self-education are considered, featured in the article “The Individual Work Over the Book” – a publication, that is complete methodological guidelines for selflearning. The final conclusion is that the self-education in this form, as understood by the communist propaganda has nothing to do with the, used in the Bulgarian dictionary, concept: “Scientific knowledge and culture obtained by themselves without attending a school and without teachers.