From a material standpoint, the life of a creative artist in contemporary Bulgaria is far more secure than that of his counterpart in a capitalist country. Creative expression is seen as a social function; therefore, society owes the creative artist an assured livelihood. This is provided either through regular salaries from publishing houses, academies of music or art, or other agencies that employ artists or through stipends paid to creative artists who do not have a regular salary to depend on. Free or low-cost room and board are also available to creative artists and their families at special artists' colonies or retreats operated by professional unions in the creative arts and by government agencies for the promotion of the arts and sciences. Under this system, however, the artist is under constant pressure to produce in order to justify his salary or stipend. In order to qualify for any of the material advantages, in fact, in order to function as a professional artist or scholar, an individual must be a member of the appropriate professional union. The unions are, for the most part, an arm of the BKP and another instrument for enforcing cultural policy (see ch. 9). Only the Writers' Union has demonstrated a certain degree of independence based on the recognized power of the written word. As recently as December 1972 the union again resisted integration into the Committee on Art and Culture, a supradepartmental government agency having a wide range of authority in the cultural sphere. The Writers' Union is the only professional union in the arts that has not been integrated into the committee. The principal aim of cultural policy since 1944 has been to popularize the arts and sciences by making them accessible to all segments of the population and to utilize those mediums for the promotion of communist values. Popularization of the arts has been accomplished by greatly expanding the facilities that present the arts to the public and by supporting these facilities with state funds. Many new orchestras, theater companies, publishers, and art galleries have come into existence since World War II. Touring exhibits and road companies take the arts into small towns and villages. Radio and television have been extensively utilized to promote the arts and learning. Through state support, the prices of books and admission tickets have been kept extremely low in order to bring them within the reach of as many persons as possible. The traditional library clubs have been reinforced by a network of "houses of culture," which serve as cultural centers in villages and in urban neighborhoods. LITERATURE