Standard of Living of the Bulgarian Middle Class (1895–1947) Based on Surviving Testimonies in a Shoe Box

Стандарт на живот на българската средна класа (1895–1947) по оцелели свидетелства в една кутия за обувки

Исторически преглед, 81 (2025) No. 4, pp. 89-140 (ISSN 0323-9748)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.71069/IPR4.25.MI04

Martin Ivanov / Мартин Иванов

Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”

Abstract: Household budgets are an extremely valuable yet, unfortunately, underappreciated source for studying the standard of living of Bulgarians in the past. They could introduce much-needed historical perspective into the fierce debates on social networks about how people lived in earlier times compared to today. Although not fully representative, the preserved accounting records of Shumen’s military doctor and sanitary general Boris Boyadzhiev, spanning the years 1895 to 1947, offer a rare opportunity to glimpse into the everyday life of the urban middle class in post-Liberation Bulgaria.

Keywords: standard of living, Third Bulgarian State, household budget.

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