1886 Bulgarian coup d'état
The Bulgarian coup d'état of 1886, known as the 9 August coup, was an attempt to dethrone Knyaz Alexander Battenberg in the Principality of Bulgaria. On the night of 8–9 August 1886, Battenberg was arrested in his Sofia palace, forced to abdicate, and expelled from Bulgaria to Russia. A provisional government led by Kliment of Tarnovo took over, but the coup did not have broad support among Bulgarian officers and politicians, including the head of the National Assembly, Stefan Stambolov. A counter-coup, led by Sava Mutkurov in Plovdiv, quickly isolated the coup leaders.
Background: After the 1877–78 Russo-Turkish War, Bulgaria won its independence. Battenberg was elected prince in 1879 at the request of the Russian emperor, his uncle. When Bulgaria united with Eastern Rumelia in 1885, Russia did not approve, and relations between Bulgaria and Russia deteriorated. Russia withdrew many of the officers who had commanded Bulgaria’s army, and Rusophile groups blamed Battenberg for the worsening ties.
Battenberg returned to Bulgaria on 17 August 1886, but abdicated on 26 August to help calm Russian relations. Bulgaria later elected Ferdinand I as prince on 7 July 1887, and Stefan Stambolov led domestic politics, pursuing a more independent foreign policy and cooling relations with Russia.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 20:01 (CET).