Bulgaria (populated)
The People’s Republic of Bulgaria was a Soviet satellite state which existed from 1946 until 1990. This map attempts to faithfully recreate Bulgaria sometime around 1960 in roughly 1:32.5 scale using height map data.
For more maps, see my collection: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2972427447
Some edits to the heightmap have been made to smooth city locations as well as ensure the main agricultural regions of Bulgaria are flat enough for field placement. The Danube has also been added and widened to the point where boats from the small dock are able to transit the river and deliver cargo.
This map contains 25 named settlements that were the largest population centers at the time, which contain a 11.3k maximum starting population. Settlements are located across all of Bulgaria’s regions and largely reflect their relative populations. Some names (such as Tolbukhin) may seem unfamiliar and this is because historical names were given precedence over modern ones. Some major modern cities which were part of the wave of planned cities constructed during the communist period (ie… Dimitrovgrad) have not been added. There are also eleven border crossings. These are comprised of two medium and one large western crossings as well as five small and three large eastern crossings. The border crossings represent most of Bulgaria’s major international checkpoints and include the primary international rail linkages plus plenty of power connections. There are both eastern and western maritime borders.
The internal road and rail network is a slightly simplified representation of the situation in the 1950s. The main rail lines follow the routes of real world equivalents and single and double track segments largely correspond to the maps I could find, but narrow gauge lines (mostly in the Rhodopes) and some branch lines were excluded for various reasons.
Bulgaria is rich in lignite and anthracite coal deposits (ore yield variation is reflective of deposit type) and has a limited onshore oil industry with potential offshore exploitation. Iron and bauxite are found in limited quantities, mostly in the southwestern mountains. Uranium is found in a few places in limited quantities. All resource deposits largely correspond to real-world locations. Scattered quarries are reflective of the main copper and gold mining areas.
Bulgaria was the most loyal of the Soviet satellite states. With few changes in political leadership and ongoing concerns about Yugoslavia, the Bulgarians sought close alignment with the USSR and largely supported the Soviets in foreign policy and the affairs of the Warsaw Pact. The domestic economy was initially extremely reliant on agriculture but collectivisation and mechanization were rapidly implemented freeing up labor for industrial development. This mostly came via a focus on heavy industry, mining, and the chemicals sector.
In the early 1960s a shift in political leadership led to a re-focusing of the economy to include expanded light industry, tourism, and the development of one of the largest electronics sectors in the Eastern bloc. Major industrial sites included the steelworks in Pernik, the refinery at Burgas and the Varna shipyard. Energy exports were also a particular focus of the government with a massive series of coal power stations at Maritsa Iztok, hydropower in the southwest, and a nuclear power station at Kozloduy.
This map does not require historical industrial placements, but as I plan to larp a bit when I play it, historical placements should be entirely viable (thus adjustments like the foreign power connectors at Kozloduy). No matter how you choose to play, Stalinist style heavy industry, reformist lighter industry, agrarian socialism, or even heresy and a Western focused export economy, Bulgaria offers a blessing of many resources but also a few geographical and resource constraints that require firm planning skills.
For the unpopulated version of this map, see here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3145241135
For the roads and railways only version of this map, see here:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3145246160
