During the White Terror which ensued in the wake of the St Nedelya Church assault of 1925, he was sentenced to four years in prison, but amnestied in 1926.

In Spain, Lukanov took various governing positions within the International Brigades that assisted the Republican forces in the Spanish Civil War.

After his return to Moscow, Lukanov worked at the Comintern and from 1941 on at the Hristo Botev Bulgarian-language radio.

[1][2] Following the 9 September coup d'état of 1944, Lukanov returned to Bulgaria, where he was appointed director of the Bulgarian National Radio by the newly established communist government.

[1][2] In 1954, Lukanov was elected member of the Central Committee of the Bulgarian Communist Party, a post he held until the end of his life.