Mountain Republic

Kornitsa and Breznitsa are two Muslim, Pomak, villages near Bulgaria's border with Greece. In the winter of 1973 the entire population of Kornitsa rebelled and spent the next 3 months camped out in the main square. Uniquely for Communist Eastern Europe, their village became a no-go area for the state. The peaceful protest came to an end at dawn, and the crackdown was brutal.