Eighty-one years ago today, on September 19, 1944 (August 3, 1944 lunar calendar), Bulgaria withdrew from the Axis powers. September 19, 1944. Bulgaria was terrified by the advance of the Soviet Red Army in Eastern Europe. After a short engagement with the Soviet army, it cut off all ties with Germany, signed an armistice with the Soviet Union, and established a new government. The new government, led by Colonel Kimon-Georgiev, a Communist supporter, began to exile and imprison those responsible for Bulgaria's collusion with the Nazi government in Berlin. Bulgaria made this change after the Soviet victory in neighboring Yugoslavia. Soviet commander Joseph Stalin happily announced on Moscow radio: "Bulgaria is no longer the center of German power in the Balkans."