site.btaAugust 5, 1946: Youth Brigade Movement Starts with Construction of Hainboaz Pass

Eighty years ago Wednesday, the Youth Brigade Movement was launched in Bulgaria as 2,075 youths began building a road for the Hainboaz Pass in the Balkan Range.

On August 5, 1946, the first youth construction brigade named after communist leader Georgi Dimitrov, started work at the Hainboaz Pass (today the Pass of the Republic), with the participation of 2,075 young people. Pencho Kubadinski was appointed commander of the brigade. The brigade movement was directed by the Central Committee of the Democratic Youth.

In 1947, the National Youth Construction Brigade was established. It took part in the construction of the Pernik–Voluyak railway line, the Pass of the Republic, the Aleksandar Stamboliyski Dam (today Rositsa Dam), and the town of Dimitrovgrad. The motto of the brigade movement was "We Build for the Homeland," and its symbol was a red torch.

During 1947–1948, young people in the brigade movement worked on five national, 93 district, and 2,157 local construction sites, including Dimitrovgrad, the Pernik–Voluyak, Lovech–Troyan, and Samuil–Silistra railway lines, the Georgi Dimitrov Dam (today Koprinka Dam), and others. The projects of the mass brigade movement formed part of the national construction program within the framework of the state Reconstruction Two-Year National Economic Plan (1947–1948).

The legacy of Bulgaria's youth brigade movement is complex and remains contested. On the one hand, it was seen as a nation-building project. Supporters emphasize the movement's role in rebuilding Bulgaria after World War II and constructing major infrastructure. Hundreds of thousands of young people participated in projects. In this interpretation, the movement fostered solidarity, civic participation, and practical skills under the slogan "We Build for the Homeland." 

On the other hand, it was an instrument of the communist state. Historians stress that, especially from the late 1940s onward, the brigades became closely tied to the Bulgarian Communist Party and the Dimitrov Communist Youth Union (DKMS). While many participants joined voluntarily - particularly in the immediate postwar years - participation later often carried strong social and political pressure, and the brigades served as a means of political education and ideological mobilization alongside labor.