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Republic of BulgariaРепублика България
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Съединението прави силата  (Bulgarian) "Saedinenieto pravi silata"  (transliteration) "Unity makes strength"
Anthem: Мила Родино  (Bulgarian) Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)  (transliteration) Dear Motherland
Location of Bulgaria (dark green) within the European Union
Capitaland largest city	Sofia
Official languages	Bulgarian
Ethnic groups	83.9% Bulgarians, 9.4% Turkish, 4.7% Roma, 2% other groups
Demonym(s)	Bulgarian
Government	Parliamentary democracy
• President	Georgi Parvanov
• Prime Minister	Boyko Borisov
• Chairperson of the National Assembly	Tsetska Tsacheva
Formation
• Medieval Balkan state	681
• First Bulgarian Empire	(632) 681 - 1018
• Second Bulgarian Empire	1185 - 1396 (1422)
• Independence lost	1396 (1422)
• Self-government re-established (under nominal Ottoman suzerainty)	3 March 1878
• Bulgarian unification	6 September 1885
• Independence	22 September 1908 from Ottoman Empire
Area
• Total	110,910 km (42,820 sq mi) (104th)
• Water (%)	0.3
Population
• 2008 estimate	7,606,551 (99th)
• 2001 census	7,932,984
• Density	68.9/km (178.5/sq mi) (124th)
GDP (PPP)	2008 estimate
• Total	$93.569 billion (63rd)
• Per capita	$12,341 (65th)
GDP (nominal)	2008 estimate
• Total	$51.989 billion (75th)
• Per capita	$6,857 (88th)
Gini (2003)	29.2 low inequality
HDI (2006)	0.834 Error: Invalid HDI value (56th)
Currency	Lev (BGN)
Time zone	UTC+2 (EET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+3 (EEST)
Drives on	Right
Calling code	359
ISO 3166 code	BG
Internet TLD	.bg
"Bulgaria's National Flag". Bulgarian Government. 3 October 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-01. Vidin Tsardom. plural Leva. Bulgarians, in common with citizens of other European Union member-states, also use the .eu domain. Cell phone system GSM and NMT 450i Domestic power supply 220 V/50 Hz, Schuko (CEE 7/4) sockets

Bulgaria (Template:Pron-en; Template:Lang-bg, pronounced [bəlˈɡarija]), officially the Republic of Bulgaria (Република България, Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), [rɛˈpublika bəlˈɡarija]), is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe, which borders five other countries: Romania to the north (mostly along the River Danube), Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south. The Black Sea defines the extent of the country to the east.

Bulgaria includes parts of the Roman provinces of Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia. Old European culture within the territory of present-day Bulgaria started to produce golden artifacts by the fifth millennium BC.

The emergence of a unified Bulgarian national identity and state date back to the early Middle Ages (7th century). All Bulgarian political entities that subsequently emerged preserved the traditions (in ethnic name, language and alphabet) of the First Bulgarian Empire (632/681– 1018), which at times covered most of the Balkans and spread its alphabet, literature and culture among the Slavic and other peoples of Eastern Europe. Centuries later, with the decline of the Second Bulgarian Empire (1185– 1396/1422), Bulgarian kingdoms came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 led to the re-establishment of a Bulgarian state as a constitutional monarchy in 1878, with the Treaty of San Stefano marking the birth of the Third Bulgarian State. In 1908, with social strife brewing at the core of the Ottoman Empire, the Alexander Malinov government and Prince Ferdinand of Bulgaria formally proclaimed the full sovereignty of the Bulgarian state at the ancient capital of Veliko Turnovo. After World War II, in 1945 Bulgaria became a communist state and part of the Eastern Bloc. Todor Zhivkov dominated Bulgaria politically for 33 years (from 1956 to 1989). In 1990, after the Revolutions of 1989, the Communist Party gave up its monopoly on power and Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and free-market capitalism.

Bulgaria functions as a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic. A member of the European Union, NATO and the World Trade Organization, it has a high Human Development Index of 0.834, ranking 56th in the world in 2006. Freedom House in 2008 listed Bulgaria as "free", giving it scores of 1 (highest) for political rights and 2 for civil liberties.

Geography

Geographically and in terms of climate, Bulgaria features notable diversity with the landscape ranging from the Alpine snow-capped peaks in Rila, Pirin and the Balkan Mountains to the mild and sunny Black Sea coast; from the typically continental Danubian Plain (ancient Moesia) in the north to the strong Mediterranean climatic influence in the valleys of Macedonia and in the lowlands in the southernmost parts of Thrace.

Phytogeographically, Bulgaria straddles the Illyrian and Euxinian provinces of the Circumboreal region within the Boreal kingdom. According to the WWF and to the European Environment Agency's Digital Map of European Ecological Regions, the territory of Bulgaria subdivides into two main ecoregions: the Balkan mixed forests and Rhodope montane mixed forests. Small parts of four other ecoregions also occur on Bulgarian territory.

Relief

The Balkan Peninsula derives its name from the Balkan or Stara planina mountain-range, which runs through the centre of Bulgaria and extends into eastern Serbia.

Bulgaria comprises portions of the regions known in classical times as Moesia, Thrace, and Macedonia. The mountainous southwest of the country has two alpine ranges — Rila and Pirin — and further east stand the lower but more extensive Rhodope Mountains. The Rila range includes the highest peak of the Balkan Peninsula, Musala, at 2,925 meters (9,596 ft); the long range of the Balkan mountains runs west-east through the middle of the country, north of the famous Rose Valley. Hilly country and plains lie to the southeast, along the Black Sea coast, and along Bulgaria's main river, the Danube, to the north.

Strandzha forms the largest mountain in the southeast. Few mountains and hills exist in the northeast region of Dobrudzha.

Mineral resources

The country possesses relatively rich mineral-resources, including vast reserves of lignite and anthracite coal; non-ferrous ores such as copper, lead, zinc and gold. Bulgaria extracts most of its supply of lignite coal in the Maritsa river basin, the site of several large thermal power stations. Anthracite coal reserves in Stara Planina largely remain unexploited. Zinc and lead ores occur mostly in the Eastern Rhodopes. Bulgaria has large deposits of manganese ore in the north-east and of uranium in the south-west. Smaller deposits exist of iron, silver, chromite, nickel and others. Bulgaria has abundant non-metalliferous minerals such as rock-salt, gypsum, kaolin and marble.

Hydrography

Bulgaria has a dense network of about 540 rivers, but with the notable exception of the Danube, most have short lengths and low water-levels.

Most rivers flow through mountainous areas; fewer in the Danubian Plain, Upper Thracian Plain and especially Dobrudzha. Two catchment basins exist: the Black Sea (57% of the territory and 42% of the rivers) and the Aegean Sea (43% of the territory and 58% of the rivers) basins. The longest river located solely in Bulgarian territory, the Iskar, has a length of 368 km (229 mi). Other major rivers include the Struma and the Maritsa River in the south.

The Rila and Pirin mountain ranges feature around 260 glacial lakes; the country also has several large lakes on the Black Sea coast and more than 2,200 dam lakes. Many mineral springs exist, located mainly in the south-western and central parts of the country along the faults between the mountains.

The Bulgarian word for spa, баня, transliterated as banya, appears in some of the names of more than 50 spa towns and resorts including Sapareva Banya, Hisarya, Sandanski, Bankya, Varshets, Pavel Banya, Devin, Velingrad and many others.

Climate

Bulgaria has a temperate climate, with cold winters (with considerable snowfall) and hot summers (rainy at first and dry during the second half). The Black Sea coast has a milder climate than the rest of the country, but strong winds and violent local storms occur frequently during the winter. The barrier effect of the Balkan Mountains has some influence on climate throughout the country: northern Bulgaria experiences colder temperatures and receives more rain than the southern lowlands.

The Northern Thracian Plain (middle-south Bulgaria) has a climate resembling that of the Corn Belt in the United States. Precipitation in Bulgaria averages about 630 millimetres per year. In the lowlands rainfall varies between 500 and 800 mm (31 in), and in the mountain areas between 1,000 and 1,400 mm (55 in) of rain falls per year. Drier areas include Dobrudja and the northern coastal strip, while the higher parts of the Rila, Pirin, Rhodope Mountains,Stara Planina (Balkan) Mountains, Osogovska Mountain and Vitosha receive the highest levels of precipitation.

In summer, temperatures in the southest Bulgaria often exceed 40 degrees Celsius, but remain cooler by the coast. The town of Sadovo, near Plovdiv, has recorded the highest known temperature: 45.2 degrees Celsius. The recorded absolute minimum temperature of -39.3 degrees Celsius occurred west of Sofia, near the town of Trun. The usual temperature around the Stara Planina region averages 10 to 15 degrees Celsius.

The highest mountains (over 900 or 1000 meters above sea-level) have an alpine climate. The lowest parts of the Struma and Maritza river valleys are subjected to subtropical (Mediterranean) influence, as are the Eastern Rhodope or Low Rhodope mountains. The extreme south-west part of Bulgaria (near the towns of Sandanski and Petrich) has one of the warmest climates in the country.

History

Prehistory and antiquity

Prehistoric cultures in the Bulgarian lands include the Neolithic Hamangia culture and Vinča culture (6th to 3rd millennia BC), the eneolithic Varna culture (5th millennium BC; see also Varna Necropolis), and the Bronze Age Ezero culture. The Karanovo chronology serves as a gauge for the prehistory of the wider Balkans region. The Thracians, one of the three primary ancestors of modern Bulgarians and earliest peoples known to inhabit the present-day territory of Bulgaria, have left lasting traces throughout the Balkan region despite its tumultuous millenniums old history spanning the rise and fall of numerous civilizations and empires. The Thracians lived divided until King Teres united most of them around 500 BC in the Odrysian kingdom, which later peaked under the respective leaderships of kings Sitalces and Cotys I (383-359 BC). Thereafter the Odrysian kingdom was incorporated in the Macedonian Empire where Thracians became an inalienable component in the extra-continental expeditions of both Philip II and Alexander III, aka the Great. In 188 BC the Romans invaded Thrace, and warfare continued until 45 AD when Rome finally conquered the region. Thracian and Roman cultures merged to an extent, although the core traditions of the former remained untouched. Thus by the 4th century the Thracians had a composite indigenous identity, as Christian "Romans" who held on to some of their ancient pagan rituals. These Thracian rituals such as the Martenitza are to this day kept alive in the modern Bulgarian culture.

The Slavs emerged from their original homeland in the early 6th century and spread to most of Eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans, forming in the process three main branches: the West Slavs, the East Slavs and the South Slavs. A portion of the eastern South Slavs assimilated the Thracians before being incorporated by the Bulgar elites into the First Bulgarian Empire.

The First Bulgarian Empire

In 632 the Bulgars, originally from Central Asia, formed under the leadership of Khan Kubrat an independent state that became known as Great Bulgaria. Its territory extended from the lower course of the Danube to the west, the Black Sea and the Azov Sea to the south, the Kuban River to the east, and the Donets River to the north. Pressure from the Khazars led to the subjugation of Great Bulgaria in the second half of the 7th century. Kubrat’s successor, Khan Asparuh, migrated with some of the Bulgar tribes to the lower courses of the rivers Danube, Dniester and Dniepr (known as Ongal), and conquered Moesia and Scythia Minor (Dobrudzha) from the Byzantine Empire, expanding his new khanate further into the Balkan Peninsula. A peace treaty with Byzantium in 681 and the establishment of the Bulgar capital of Pliska south of the Danube mark the beginning of the First Bulgarian Empire. At the same time one of Asparuh's brothers, Kuber, settled with another Bulgar group in present-day Macedonia.

During the siege of Constantinople in 717-718 the Bulgarian ruler Khan Tervel honoured his treaty with the Byzantines by sending troops to help the populace of the imperial city. According to the Byzantine chronicler Theophanes, in the decisive battle the Bulgarians killed 22,000 Arabs, thereby eliminating the threat of a full-scale Arab invasion into Eastern and Central Europe.

The influence and territorial expansion of Bulgaria increased further during the rule of Khan Krum, who in 811 won a decisive victory against the Byzantine army led by Nicephorus I in the Battle of Pliska.

In 864, Bulgaria under Boris I The Baptist accepted Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

Bulgaria became a major European power in the ninth and the tenth centuries, while fighting with the Byzantine Empire for the control of the Balkans. This happened under the rule (852–889) of Boris I. During his reign, the Cyrillic alphabet developed in Preslav and Ohrid, adapted from the Glagolitic alphabet invented by the monks Saints Cyril and Methodius.

The Cyrillic alphabet became the basis for further cultural development. Centuries later, this alphabet, along with the Old Bulgarian language, fostered the intellectual written language (lingua franca) for Eastern Europe, known as Church Slavonic. The greatest territorial extension of the Bulgarian Empire — covering most of the Balkans — occurred under Emperor Simeon I The Great, the first Bulgarian Tsar (Emperor), son of Boris I.

However, Simeon's greatest achievement consisted of Bulgaria developing a rich, unique Christian Slavonic culture, which became an example for the other Slavonic peoples in Eastern Europe and also ensured the continued existence of the Bulgarian nation despite forces that threatened to tear it into pieces throughout its long and war-ridden history.

Bulgaria declined in the mid-tenth century, worn out by wars with Croatia, by frequent Serbian rebellions sponsored by Byzantine gold, and by disastrous Magyar and Pecheneg invasions. Because of this, Bulgaria collapsed in the face of an assault of the Rus' in 969-971.

The Byzantines then began campaigns to conquer Bulgaria. In 971, they seized the capital Preslav and captured Emperor Boris II. Resistance continued under Tsar Samuil in the western Bulgarian lands for nearly half a century. The country managed to recover and defeated the Byzantines in several major battles, taking the control of the most of the Balkans and in 991 invaded the Serbian state. But the Byzantines led by Basil II ("the Bulgar-Slayer") destroyed the Bulgarian state in 1018 after their victory at Kleidion.

Byzantine Bulgaria

No evidence remains of major resistance or any uprising of the Bulgarian population or nobility in the first decade after the establishment of Byzantine rule. Given the existence of such irreconcilable opponents to Byzantium as Krakra, Nikulitsa, Dragash and others, such apparent passivity seems difficult to explain. Some historians explain this as a consequence of the concessions that Basil II granted the Bulgarian nobility in order to gain their obedience. In the first place, Basil II guaranteed the indivisibility of Bulgaria in its former geographic borders and did not officially abolish the local rule of the Bulgarian nobility, who became part of Byzantine aristocracy as archons or strategoi. Second, special charters (royal decrees) of Basil II recognised the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Archbishopric of Ohrid and set up its boundaries, securing the continuation of the dioceses already existing under Samuel, their property and other privileges.

The people of Bulgaria challenged Byzantine rule several times in the 11th century and again in the early 12th century. The biggest uprising occurred under the leadership of Peter II Delyan (proclaimed Emperor of Bulgaria in Belgrade in 1040). In the mid to late 11th century, the Normans, fresh from their recent conquests in southern Italy and Sicily, landed in the Balkans and began advancing against the Byzantine Empire. They posed a constant threat to Byzantine Bulgaria, and it took Byzantium until 1185 to drive them out. In 1091 another invasion came in the form of the Pechenegs. However, Byzantine forces crushed the Pechenegs at Levounion (1091) and again around 1120. After that, the Hungarians made an attempt to increase their influence beyond the Danube river; John Comnenus' campaigns along the Danube eventually drove back the Hungarians as well by c.1140. Bulgarian nobles ruled the province in the name of the Byzantine Empire until a rebellion by Ivan Asen I and Peter IV of Bulgaria led to the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire.

The Second Bulgarian Empire

From 1185, the Second Bulgarian Empire once again established Bulgaria as an important power in the Balkans for two more centuries with its capital based in Veliko Tarnovo and under the Asen dynasty. Kaloyan, the third of the Asen monarchs, extended his dominions to Belgrade, Nish and Skopie (Uskub); he acknowledged the spiritual supremacy of the pope, and received the royal crown from a papal legate. The Bulgarian ruler from 1218 to 1241, Ivan Asen II extended his rule over Albania, Epirus, Macedonia and Thrace. During his reign, the state saw a period of cultural growth, with important artistic achievements of the Tarnovo artistic school. The Asen dynasty ended in 1257, and due to Tatar invasions (beginning in the later 13th century), internal conflicts, and constant attacks from the Byzantines and the Hungarians, the power of the country declined. Emperor Theodore Svetoslav (reigned 1300-1322) restored Bulgarian prestige from 1300 onwards. But by the end of the 14th century the country had disintegrated into several feudal principalities, which the Ottoman Empire eventually conquered.

Ottoman rule

By the end of the 14th century, factional divisions between Bulgarian feudal landlords (boyars) had gravely weakened the cohesion of the Second Bulgarian Empire. It split into three small Tsardoms and several semi-independent principalities which fought among themselves, and also with Byzantines, Hungarians, Serbs, Venetians, and Genoese. In these battles, they often allied with the Ottoman Turks. Similar situations of internecine quarrel and infighting existed also in Byzantium and Serbia. In the period 1365-1370, the Ottomans conquered most Bulgarian towns and fortresses south of the Balkan Mountains.

In 1393, the Ottomans captured Tarnovo, the capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, after a three-month siege. In 1396, the Vidin Tsardom fell after the defeat of a Christian crusade at the Battle of Nicopolis. With this, the Ottomans finally subjugated and occupied Bulgaria. A Polish-Hungarian crusade commanded by Władysław III of Poland set out to free the Balkans in 1444, but the Turks defeated it in the battle of Varna.

Some accounts of the five centuries of Ottoman rule highlight its violence and oppression. The Ottomans decimated the Bulgarian population, which lost most of its cultural relics. Turkish authorities destroyed most of the medieval Bulgarian fortresses in order to prevent rebellions. Large towns and the areas where Ottoman power predominated remained severely depopulated until the 19th century.

The new authorities dismantled Bulgarian institutions at anything above the village or communal level, and merged the separate Bulgarian Church into the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople (although a small, autocephalous Bulgarian archbishopric of Ohrid survived until January 1767).

Bulgarians in the Ottoman empire had to endure a number of disabilities; they paid more taxes than Muslims, they lacked legal equality with Moslems, they could not carry arms, their clothes could not rival those of Moslems in color, nor could their churches tower as high as mosques. Bulgarians who converted to Islam, the Pomaks, retained Bulgarian language, dress and some customs compatible with Islam.

The theocratic Ottoman system started to decline by the 17th century, and at the end of the 18th had all but collapsed. Central government weakened over the decades, and this had allowed a number of local Ottoman holders of large estates to establish personal ascendancy over separate regions. During the last two decades of the 18th and first decades of the 19th centuries the Balkan Peninsula dissolved into virtual anarchy, a period known in Bulgarian as the kurdjaliistvo. Armed bands of Turks, called kurdjalii, plagued the area at this time. In many regions, thousands of peasants fled from the countryside either to local towns or (more probably) to the hills or forests; some even fled beyond the Danube to Moldova, Wallachia or southern Russia.

In the 18th and especially the 19th centuries conditions improved in certain areas. Some towns — such as Gabrovo, Tryavna, Karlovo, Koprivshtitsa, Lovech, Skopie — prospered. The Bulgarian peasants actually possessed their land, although it officially belonged to the sultan. The 19th century also brought improved communications, transportation and trade. The first factory in the Bulgarian lands opened in Sliven in 1834, and the first railway system started running (between Rousse and Varna) in 1865.

Throughout the five centuries of Ottoman rule, the Bulgarian people organized many attempts to re-establish their own state. The National awakening of Bulgaria became one of the key factors in the struggle for liberation. The 19th century saw the creation of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee and the Internal Revolutionary Organisation led by liberal revolutionaries such as Vasil Levski, Hristo Botev, Lyuben Karavelov and many others.

In 1876, the April uprising broke out: the largest and best-organized Bulgarian rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. Though crushed by the Ottoman authorities, the uprising (together with the 1875 rebellion in Bosnia) prompted the Great Powers to convene the 1876 Conference of Constantinople, which delimited the ethnic Bulgarian territories as of the late 19th century, and elaborated the legal and political arrangements for establishing two autonomous Bulgarian provinces. The Ottoman Government declined to comply with the Great Powers’ decisions. This allowed Russia to seek a solution by force without risking military confrontation with other Great Powers as in the Crimean War of 1854 to 1856.

Kingdom of Bulgaria

In the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878, Russian soldiers together with a Romanian expeditionary force and volunteer Bulgarian troops defeated the Ottoman armies. The Treaty of San Stefano (3 March 1878), set up an autonomous Bulgarian principality. But the Western Great Powers immediately rejected the treaty, fearing that a large Slavic country in the Balkans might serve Russian interests. This led to the Treaty of Berlin (1878) which provided for an autonomous Bulgarian principality comprising Moesia and the region of Sofia. Alexander, Prince of Battenberg, became Bulgaria's first Prince. Most of Thrace became part of the autonomous region of Eastern Rumelia, whereas the rest of Thrace and all of Macedonia returned to the sovereignty of the Ottomans. After the Serbo-Bulgarian War and unification with Eastern Rumelia in 1885, the Bulgarian principality proclaimed itself a fully independent kingdom on 5 October (22 September O.S.), 1908, during the reign of Ferdinand I of Bulgaria.

Ferdinand, of the ducal family of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, became the Bulgarian Prince after Alexander von Battenberg abdicated in 1886 following a coup d'état staged by pro-Russian army-officers. (Although the counter-coup coordinated by Stefan Stambolov succeeded, Prince Alexander decided not to remain the Bulgarian ruler without the approval of Alexander III of Russia.) The struggle for liberation of the Bulgarians in the Adrianople Vilayet and in Macedonia continued throughout the late 19th and early 20th centuries, culminating with the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising organised by the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization in 1903.

The Balkan Wars and World War I

In the years following the achievement of complete independence Bulgaria became increasingly militarised: Dillon in 1920 called Bulgaria "the Prussia of the Balkans" In 1912 and 1913, Bulgaria became involved in the Balkan Wars, first entering into conflict alongside Greece, Serbia and Montenegro against the Ottoman Empire. The First Balkan War (1912-1913) proved a success for the Bulgarian army, but a conflict over the division of Macedonia arose between the victorious allies. The Second Balkan War (1913) pitted Bulgaria against Greece and Serbia, joined by Romania and Turkey. After its defeat in the Second Balkan War Bulgaria lost considerable territory conquered in the first war, as well as Southern Dobrudzha and parts of the region of Macedonia.

During World War I, Bulgaria found itself fighting again on the losing side as a result of its alliance with the Central Powers. Defeat in 1918 led to new territorial losses (the Western Outlands to Serbia, Western Thrace to Greece and the re-conquered Southern Dobrudzha to Romania). The Balkan Wars and World War I led to the influx of over 250,000 Bulgarian refugees from Macedonia, Eastern and Western Thrace and Southern Dobrudzha.

The interwar years

In September 1918, Tsar Ferdinand abdicated in favour of his son Boris III in order to head off anti-monarchic revolutionary tendencies. Under the Treaty of Neuilly (November 1919) Bulgaria ceded its Aegean coastline to Greece, recognized the existence of Yugoslavia, ceded nearly all of its Macedonian territory to that new state, and had to give Dobrudzha back to Romania. The country had to reduce its army to no more than 22,000 men, and to pay reparations exceeding $400 million. Bulgarians generally refer to the results of the treaty as the "Second National Catastrophe".

Elections in March 1920 gave the Agrarians a large majority, and Aleksandar Stamboliyski formed Bulgaria's first peasant government. He faced huge social problems, but succeeded in carrying out many reforms, although opposition from the middle and upper classes, the landlords and the officers of the army remained powerful. In March 1923, Stamboliyski signed an agreement with the Kingdom of Yugoslavia recognising the new border and agreeing to suppress Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (VMRO), which favoured a war to regain Macedonia from Bulgaria. This triggered a nationalist reaction, and the Bulgarian coup d'état of 9 June 1923 eventually resulted in Stamboliykski's assassination. A right-wing government under Aleksandar Tsankov took power, backed by the army and the VMRO, which waged a White terror against the Agrarians and the Communists. In 1926, the Tsar persuaded Tsankov to resign, a more moderate government under Andrey Lyapchev took office and an amnesty was proclaimed, although the Communists remained banned. A popular alliance including the re-organised Agrarians won elections in 1931 under the name "Popular Bloc".

In May 1934 another coup took place, removing the Popular Bloc from power and establishing an authoritarian military régime headed by Kimon Georgiev. A year later, Tsar Boris managed to remove the military régime from power, restoring a form of parliamentary rule (without the re-establishment of the political parties) and under his own strict control. The Tsar's regime proclaimed neutrality, but gradually Bulgaria gravitated into alliance with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

World War II

After regaining control of Southern Dobrudzha in 1940, Bulgaria became allied with the Axis Powers, although it declined to participate in Operation Barbarossa (1941) and never declared war on the USSR. During World War II Nazi Germany allowed Bulgaria to occupy parts of Greece and of Yugoslavia. Bulgaria became one of only three countries (along with Finland and Denmark) that saved its entire Jewish population (around 50,000 people) from the Nazi camps by refusing to comply with a 31 August 1943 resolution.

In early September 1944, the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria and invaded the country, meeting no resistance. This enabled the Bulgarian Communists (the Bulgarian Workers' Party) to seize power and establish a communist state. The new régime turned Bulgaria's forces against Germany. The 450,000-man army of 1944 dwindled to 130,000 by 1945. However, the authorities deported almost the entire Jewish population of the Bulgarian-occupied Yugoslav and Greek territories to the Treblinka death camp in occupied Poland.

The People's Republic of Bulgaria

In World War II Bulgaria had again allied itself with Germany following the promise of the return of Macedonia. On September 8, 1944 the USSR declared war on Bulgaria and crossed the Danube. Bulgarian army officers and partisan brigades joined forces with the Soviets and Sofia fell. On the next day the invading forces took the rest of Bulgaria. (9 September became known as "Liberation Day".) The Fatherland Front took over the government and the Communist party increased its membership from 15,000 to 250,000 during the following six months.

After World War II, Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence. It became a People's Republic in 1946 and one of the USSR's staunchest allies. In the late 1970s, it began normalizing relations with Greece. The forced assimilation campaign of the late 1980s directed against ethnic Turks resulted in the emigration of some 300,000 Bulgarian Turks to Turkey. The People's Republic ended in 1989 as many Communist regimes in Eastern Europe, as well as the Soviet Union itself, began to collapse. Opposition forces removed the Bulgarian Communist leader Todor Zhivkov and his right-hand man Milko Balev from power on 10 November 1989.

The Republic of Bulgaria

In February 1990 the Communist Party voluntarily gave up its monopoly on power, and in June 1990 free elections took place, won by the moderate wing of the Communist Party (renamed the Bulgarian Socialist Party — BSP). In July 1991, the country adopted a new constitution which provided for a relatively weak elected President and for a Prime Minister accountable to the legislature.

The anti-Communist Union of Democratic Forces took office, and between 1992 and 1994 carried through the privatization of land and industry, and faced massive unemployment and economic difficulties. The reaction against economic reform allowed BSP to take office again in 1995, but by 1996 the BSP government had also encountered difficulties, and in the presidential elections of that year the UDF's Petar Stoyanov was elected. In 1997, the BSP government collapsed and the UDF came to power. Unemployment remained high and the electorate became increasingly dissatisfied with both parties.

On 17 June 2001, Simeon II, the son of Tsar Boris III and himself the former Head of state (as Tsar of Bulgaria from 1943 to 1946), won a narrow victory in elections. The Tsar's party — National Movement Simeon II ("NMSII") — won 120 of the 240 seats in Parliament. Simeon's popularity declined quickly during his four-year rule as Prime Minister, and the BSP won the elections in 2005, but could not form a single-party government and had to seek a coalition. In the parliamentary elections in July 2009, Boyko Borisov's right-centrist party GERB won nearly 40% of the votes.

Since 1989, Bulgaria has held multi-party elections and privatized its economy, but economic difficulties and a tide of corruption have led over 800,000 Bulgarians, including many qualified professionals, to emigrate in a "brain drain". The reform package introduced in 1997 restored positive economic growth, but led to rising social inequality. Bulgaria became a member of NATO in 2004 and of the European Union in 2007.

Politics

Bulgaria is a democratic, unitary parliamentary republic. It became a member of the United Nations in 1955, and a founding member of OSCE in 1995. As a Consultative Party to the Antarctic Treaty, Bulgaria takes part in the administration of the territories situated south of 60° south latitude. The National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie (Народно събрание) consists of 240 deputies, each elected for four-year terms by popular vote. A party or coalition must win a minimum of 4% of the vote in order to enter the parliament. The National Assembly enacts laws, approves the budget, schedules presidential elections, selects and dismisses the Prime Minister and other ministers, declares war, deploys troops abroad, and ratifies international treaties and agreements. The current government is a minority government formed by the Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria party.

The judicial system consists of regional, district and appeal courts, as well as a Supreme Court of Cassation. In addition, Bulgaria has a Supreme Administrative Court and a system of military courts.

The president serves as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. He also chairs the Consultative Council for National Security. While unable to initiate legislation other than Constitutional amendments, the President can return a bill for further debate, although the parliament can override the President's veto by vote of a majority of all MPs.

The country joined NATO on 29 March 2004 and signed the European Union Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005. It became a full member of the European Union on 1 January 2007, and elects 17 members to the European Parliament.

Military

The military of Bulgaria consists of three services:

1. the Bulgarian land forces
2. the Bulgarian Navy
3. the Bulgarian Air Force

Following a series of reductions beginning in 1989, the active troops of Bulgaria's army number less than 45,000 today, out of nearly 200,000 in 1988. Reserve forces include 303,000 soldiers and officers. Highly capable Soviet equipment, such as MiG-29 fighters, Su-25 ground attack jets, SA-6 Gainful and SA-10 Grumble SAMs, Mi-24 helicopter gunships and SS-21 Scarab short-range ballistic missiles are among the Armed Forces' inventory.

Bulgarian military personnel have participated in international missions in Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. As of 2009 Bulgaria had more than 700 military personnel deployed abroad, mostly in Afghanistan (610 men), in Bosnia and Herzegovina (about 100 men) and in Kosovo (about 50 men).

In 2008 Bulgaria abolished compulsory military service. Bulgaria's naval and air forces became fully professional in 2006, and the land forces followed suit at the end of 2008. Bulgaria's Special Forces have conducted missions with the SAS, Delta Force, KSK, and the Spetsnaz of Russia.

In April 2006 Bulgaria and the United States of America signed a defence-cooperation agreement providing for the development of the Bulgarian air bases at Bezmer (near Yambol) and Graf Ignatievo (near Plovdiv), the Novo Selo training-range (near Sliven), and a logistics centre in Aytos as joint US-Bulgarian military facilities.

As of 2009 military spending accounts for 1,98% of the Bulgarian GDP .

Provinces and municipalities

Between 1987 and 1999 Bulgaria consisted of nine provinces (oblasti, singular oblast); since 1999, it has consisted of twenty-eight. All take their names from their respective capital cities:

The provinces subdivide into 264 municipalities.

Economy

Bulgaria has an industrialised, open free market economy. It is a mixture of a large, moderately advanced private sector, and a number of strategic state-owned enterprises. The World Bank classifies it as an "upper-middle-income economy". Bulgaria has experienced rapid economic growth in recent years, even though it continues to rank as the lowest-income member state of the EU. According to Eurostat data, Bulgarian PPS GDP per capita stood at 40 per cent of the EU average in 2008. The economy relies primarily on industry and agriculture, although the services sector increasingly contributes to GDP growth. Bulgaria produces a significant amount of manufactures and raw materials such as iron, copper, gold, bismuth, coal, electronics, refined petroleum fuels, vehicle components, weapons and construction materials.

Due to high-profile allegations of corruption, and an apparent lack of willingness to tackle high-level corruption, the European Union has partly frozen EU funds of about €450 million and may freeze more if Bulgarian authorities do not show solid progress in fighting corruption.

Bulgaria has tamed its inflation since the deep economic crisis in 1996-1997, but latest figures show an increase in the inflation-rate to 12.5% for 2007. Unemployment declined from more than 17% in the mid 1990s to nearly 7% in 2007, but the unemployment-rate in some rural areas continues in high double-digits. Bulgaria's inflation means that the country's adoption of the euro might not take place until the year 2013-2014.

Economic forecasts for 2005 and 2006 predicted continued growth for the economy. Economists predicted annual year-on-year GDP growth for 2005 and 2006 of 5.3% and 6.0% respectively. Forecasters expected industrial output in 2005 to rise by 11.9% from the previous year, and by 15.2% in 2006. Projections of unemployment envisaged 11.5% for 2005, 9% for 2006 and 7.25% for 2007. Unemployment remained relatively low at 6.3% for 2008. GDP growth remains relatively high despite the world economic crisis, being 6% for 2008 and projected to be 4.7% for 2009.

Agriculture

Agricultural output has decreased overall since 1989, but production has grown in recent years, and together with related industries like food processing it still plays a key role in the economy. Arable farming predominates over stock breeding. Agricultural equipment amounts to over 150,000 tractors and 10,000 combine harvesters, as well as a large fleet of light aircraft.

Bulgaria ranks as one of the top world producers of agricultural commodities such as anise (6th in the world), sunflower seed (11th), raspberries (13th), tobacco (15th), chili peppers (18th) and flax fibre (19th).

Energy

Although Bulgaria has relatively few reserves of natural fuels such as coal, oil and gas, it has a very well-developed energy sector which plays a crucial role throughout the Balkans. The country's strategic geographical location makes it a major hub for transit and distribution of oil and natural gas from Russia to Western Europe and to other Balkan states. In terms of electricity production per capita, it is ranked in fourth in Eastern Europe.

The largest (and for now only) nuclear power plant is located in the vicinity of Kozloduy, and has a total capacity of 3,760 MW. A second nuclear power plant is under construction as of 2009 near Belene with a projected capacity of 2,000 MW. Thermal power plants (TPPs) provide a significant amount of energy, with most of the capacity concentrated in the Maritsa Iztok Complex.

Recent years have seen a steady increase in electricity production from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power, although it still relies mostly on coal and nuclear powerplants. Due to the abundance of forests and agricultural land, biomass can provide a viable source of electricity. Wind energy can be developed on a large scale, with up to 3,400 MW of installed capacity potential. As of 2009 Bulgaria operates more than 70 wind turbines with a total capacity of 112.6 MW, and plans to increase their number nearly threefold to reach a total capacity of 300 MW in 2010.

Industry and mining

Industry plays a key role in the Bulgarian economy. Although Bulgaria lacks large reserves of oil and gas, it produces significant quantities of minerals, metals and electricity.

Bulgaria ranks as a minor oil producer (97th in the world) with a total production of 3,520 bbl/day. Prospectors discovered Bulgaria's first oil field near Tyulenovo in 1951. Proved reserves amount to 15,000,000 bbl. Natural gas production halted in the late 1990s. Proved reserves of natural gas amount to 5.663 bln. cu m.

Mining, an important source of export earnings, and has become pivotal to the Bulgarian economy. The country ranks as the 19th largest coal producer in the world, 9th largest bismuth producer, 19th largest copper producer, and the 26th largest zinc producer. Ferrous metallurgy also has major importance. Much of the production of steel and pig iron takes place in Kremikovtsi and Pernik, with a third metallurgical base in Debelt. In production of steel and steel products per capita the country heads the Balkans. The largest refineries for lead and zinc operate in Plovdiv (the biggest refinery between Italy and the Ural mountains), Kardzhali and Novi Iskar; for copper in Pirdop and Eliseina (now defunct); for aluminium in Shumen. In production of many metals per capita, such as zinc and iron, Bulgaria ranks first in Eastern Europe.

About 14% of the total industrial production relates to machine building, and 20% of the people work in this field. Its importance has decreased since 1989.

Tourism

In 2007 Bulgaria was visited by 5,200,000 tourists, ranking 39th in the world. Tourists from Greece, Romania and Germany account for 40% of visitors. Significant numbers of British (+300,000), Russian (+200,000), Serbian (+150,000), Polish (+130,000) and Danish (+100,000) tourists also visit Bulgaria. Most of them are attracted by the varying and beautiful landscapes, well-preserved historical and cultural heritage, and the tranquility of rural and mountain areas.

Main destinations include the capital Sofia, coastal resorts Albena, Sozopol, Sveti Vlas; winter resorts Pamporovo, Chepelare and Borovetz. Arbanasi and Bozhentsi are rural tourist destinations with well-preserved ethnographic traditions. Other popular attractions are the 10th century Rila Monastery and the 19th century Euxinograd château.

Science, technology and telecommunications

As of 2009, 47 universities operate within Bulgaria's small territory, fostering its scientific and technological know-how. The country has a strong tradition in mathematics, astronomy, physics, nuclear technology and sciences-oriented education, and has significant experience in medical and pharmaceutical research. The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS), the leading scientific institution in the country, employs most of Bulgaria's researchers working in its numerous branches. According to MENSA International, Bulgaria ranks 2nd in the world in Mensa IQ test-scores and its students rate second in the world in SAT scores.

Several important discoveries and inventions have been made by Bulgarian scientists - the first electronic digital computer (John Vincent Atanasoff), TrES-4b (the largest planet discovered to date, Georgi Mandushev), the first digital watch (Peter Petroff), the molecular-kinetic theory of crystal formation and crystal growth (Ivan Stranski), photoelectrets (Georgi Nadjakov). The Bulgarian Air Force was the first military force in the world to conduct airplane bombing sorties during a full-scale war (in 1912). More than 90 Bulgarian scientists are currently employed in CERN and will actively participate in the Large Hadron Collider experiments.

Bulgaria was the 6th country in the world to send astronauts to space: Georgi Ivanov on Soyuz 33 (1979) and Alexander Alexandrov on Soyuz TM-5 (1988). Bulgaria also supplied many scientific and research instruments for the Soviet space program. Currently the country participates in India's lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-1. In 1981 Bulgaria designed and constructed its first artificial satellite: Bulgaria 1300, which a Soviet Vostok-2M rocket inserted into polar orbit. The satellite had a launch weight of 1,500 kilograms, and as of 2009, it continues in operation, gathering information for BAS. The Bulgarian Space Agency also plans to construct and send in space a new light-weight satellite — Balkansat — by 2010.

Bulgaria hosts two major astronomical observatories: the Rozhen Observatory, the largest in Southeastern Europe, and the Belogradchik Observatory with three telescopes; as well as several "public astronomical observatories" with planetaria, focused on educational and outreach activities. Larger universities have their own observatories.

Computer technology is among Bulgaria's most advanced scientific branches, and in the 1980s the country was known as the Silicon Valley of the Eastern Bloc. According to the Brainbench Global IT IQ report, Bulgaria ranks first in Europe in terms of IT-certified specialists per capita and 8th in the world in total ICT specialists, out-performing countries with far larger populations. The most powerful supercomputer in Eastern Europe (one of the top 100 in the world as of 2009), an IBM Blue Gene/P, entered service in September 2008 at the State Agency of Information Technology. Scientists from Sofia University and the BAS operate the machine. Leading multinational corporations such as Apple Inc. and HP have set their regional support centers in Bulgaria. Hewlett-Packard built its Global Service Centre for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) in Sofia in 2006.

Since 2001 telecommunications has become one of the growing industries in the country. Three GSM mobile telephone operators — Globul, Mtel and Vivatel — provide almost 100% coverage each. They have a network of service-centers throughout the country. Bulgarians made use of some 10 million cellular phones as of 2006. Bulgaria had about 298,781 Internet hosts as of 2007. The number of Internet users has increased sharply since in the last 9 years: in 2000, they numbered 430,000, in 2004 - 1,545,100, and in 2006 - 2,2 million.

Transport

Bulgaria occupies a unique and strategically important geographic location. Since ancient times, the country has served as a major crossroads between Europe, Asia and Africa.

Roads

Five of the ten Trans-European corridors run through its territory. Bulgaria's roads have a total length of 102,016 km (63,390 mi), 93,855 km (58,319 mi) of them paved and 441 km (274 mi) of them motorways. The country has several motorways in planning, under construction, or partially built: Trakiya motorway, Hemus motorway, Cherno More motorway, Struma motorway, Maritza motorway and Lyulin motorway.

Other planned motorways await finalisation of their routes. They include a link between the capital Sofia and Vidin, a link between the Struma and Trakia motorways south of Rila Mountain, a link between Rousse and Veliko Tarnovo, and the Sofia ringroad. Many roads have recently undergone reconstruction.

Railways

As of 2009 Bulgaria has 6,500 km (4,000 mi) of railway track, more than 60% electrified. A €360,000,000 project exists for the modernisation and electrification of the Plovdiv-Kapitan Andreevo railway. The only high-speed railway in the region, between Sofia and Vidin, will operate by 2017, at a cost of €3,000,000,000.

Air transportation

Air transportation has developed relatively comprehensively. Bulgaria has six official international airports  — at Sofia, Burgas, Varna, Plovdiv, Rousse and Gorna Oryahovitsa. Massive investment plans exist for the first three. Important domestic airports include those of Vidin, Pleven, Silistra, Targovishte, Stara Zagora, Kardzhali, Haskovo and Sliven. After the fall of communism in 1989, most of them stood unused as the importance of domestic flights declined. The country has many military airports and agricultural airfields. 128 of the 213 airports in Bulgaria are paved.

Shipping

The most important ports by far, Varna and Burgas, have the largest turnover. Like Burgas, Sozopol, Nesebar and Pomorie support large fishing fleets. Large ports on the Danube River include Rousse and Lom (which serves the capital).

Intra-city transportation

The cities and many smaller towns have well-organised public transport systems, using buses, trolleybuses (in about 20 cities) and trams (in Sofia). The Sofia Metro in the capital has three planned lines with total length of about 48 km (30 mi) and 52 stations, but some parts of it remain incomplete as of 2009.

Demographics

According to the 2001 census, Bulgaria's population consists mainly of ethnic Bulgarian (83.9%), with two sizable minorities, Turks (9.4%) and Roma (4.7%). Of the remaining 2.0%, 0.9% comprises some 40 smaller minorities, most prominently in numbers the Russians, Armenians, Arabs, Vlachs, Jews, Crimean Tatars and Sarakatsani (historically known also as Karakachans). 1.1% of the population did not declare their ethnicity in the latest census in 2001.

The 2001 Bulgarian census defines an ethnic group as a "community of people, related to each other by origin and language, and close to each other by mode of life and culture"; and one's mother tongue as "the language which a person speaks best and which is usually used for communication in the family (household)".

Most Bulgarians (82.6%) belong, at least nominally, to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the national Eastern Orthodox Church. Other religious denominations include Islam (12.2%), various Protestant denominations (0.8%) and Roman Catholicism (0.5%); with other denominations, atheists and undeclared totalling approximately 4.1%.

In recent years Bulgaria has had one of the slowest population growth-rates in the world. Negative population growth has occurred since the early 1990s, due to economic collapse and high emigration. In 1989 the population comprised 9,009,018 people, in 2001 7,950,000 and in 2009 7,606,000. As of 2009 Bulgaria faces a severe demographic crisis: the population had a fertility-rate of 1.48 children per woman as of 2008. The fertility-rate will need to reach 2.2 to restore natural growth in population.

Urban geography

Bulgaria's larger cities include:

Place	City	Population	View	Place	City	Population	View
1.	Sofia	1 404 929		6.	Stara Zagora	162 416
2.	Plovdiv	379 315	File:PlovdivCentralStreetNicolaGruev.JPG	7.	Pleven	137 001
3. File:Varna-coat-of-arms.svg	Varna	353 292		8.	Sliven	115 758
4.	Burgas	229 250		9.	Dobrich	114 990
5.	Rousse	175 058	File:Dohodno Zdanie-ngruev.jpg	10.	Shumen	103 016

Culture

A number of ancient civilizations, most notably the Thracians, Greeks, Romans, Slavs, and Bulgars, have left their mark on the culture, history and heritage of Bulgaria. Thracian artifacts include numerous tombs and golden treasures, while ancient Bulgars have left traces of their heritage in music and early architecture.

The oldest treasure of worked gold in the world, dating back to the 5th millennium BC, comes from the site of the Varna Necropolis.

Bulgaria functioned as the hub of Slavic Europe during much of the Middle Ages, exerting considerable literary and cultural influence over the Eastern Orthodox Slavic world by means of the Preslav and Ohrid Literary Schools. Bulgaria also gave the world the Cyrillic alphabet, the second most-widely used alphabet in the world, which originated in these two schools in the tenth century AD.

Bulgaria's contribution to humanity continued throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with individuals such as John Atanasoff — a United States citizen of Bulgarian descent, regarded as the father of the digital computer. A number of noted opera-singers (Nicolai Ghiaurov, Boris Christoff, Raina Kabaivanska, Ghena Dimitrova, Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Vesselina Kasarova), pianist Alexis Weissenberg, and successful artists (Christo, Pascin, Vladimir Dimitrov) popularized the culture of Bulgaria abroad.

One of the best internationally-known artists, Valya Balkanska sang the song Izlel e Delyu Haydutin, part of the Voyager Golden Record selection of music included in the two Voyager spacecraft launched in 1977. The Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir also known as Mystery of Bulgarian voices has also attained a considerable degree of fame.

Customs and rites

Bulgarians may wear the martenitsa (мартеница) — an adornment made of white and red yarn and worn on the wrist or pinned on the clothes — from March 1 until the end of the month. Alternatively, one can take off the martenitsa earlier if one sees a stork (considered a harbinger of spring). One can then tie the martenitsa to the blossoming branch of a tree. Family-members and friends in Bulgaria customarily exchange martenitsas, which they regard as symbols of health and longevity. The white thread represents peace and tranquility, while the red one stands for the cycles of life. Bulgarians may also refer to the holiday of 1 March as Baba Marta (Баба Марта), meaning Grandmother March. It preserves an ancient pagan tradition. Many legends exist regarding the birth of this custom, some of them dating back to the 7th-century times of Khan Kubrat, the ruler of Old Great Bulgaria. Otther tales relate the martenitsa to Thracian and Zoroastrian beliefs.

The ancient Bulgarian ritual of kukeri (кукери), performed by costumed men, seeks to scare away evil spirits and bring good harvest and health to the community. The costumes, made of animal furs and fleeces, cover the whole of the body. A mask, adorned with horns and decoration, covers the head of each kuker, who also must have bells attached to his waist. The ritual consists of dancing, jumping and shouting in an attempt to banish all evil from the village. Some of the performers impersonate royalty, field-workers and craftsmen. The adornments on the costumes vary from one region to another.

Another characteristic custom called nestinarstvo (нестинарство), or firedancing, distinguishes the Strandzha region. This ancient custom involves dancing into fire or over live embers. Women dance into the fire with their bare feet without suffering any injury or pain.

UNESCO World Heritage Sites

Bulgaria has nine UNESCO World Heritage Sites:

• The early medieval large rock relief Madara Rider
• Two Thracian tombs (one in Sveshtari and one in Kazanlak)
• Three monuments of medieval Bulgarian culture (the Boyana Church, the Rila Monastery and the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo)
• Two examples of natural beauty: the Pirin National Park and the Sreburna Nature Reserve
• The ancient city of Nessebur, known as the Dubrovnik of the Black Sea coast — a unique combination of European cultural interaction, as well as, historically, one of the most important centres of seaborne trade in the Black Sea

Music

Bulgaria has an long-standing musical tradition, which music historians can trace back to the early Middle ages. One of the earliest known composers of Medieval Europe, Yoan Kukuzel (ca. 1280-1360), became famous for his work Polieleion of the Bulgarian Woman. About 90 of his works have survived. Kukuzel also reformed the Byzantine musical writing system, and became known as The Angel-voiced for his singing abilities.

The distinctive sound of Bulgarian folk music comes partly from the asymmetric rhythms, harmony and polyphony, such as the use of close intervals like the major second and the singing of a drone accompaniment underneath the melody, especially common in songs from the Shopi region in Western Bulgaria and the Pirin region.

Regional folk musical styles abound in Bulgaria. Dobrudzha, Sofia, Rodopi, Macedonia, Thrace and the Danube plain all have distinctive sounds. Traditional folk music revolved around holidays like Christmas, New Year's Day, midsummer, and the Feast of St. Lazarus, as well as the Strandzha region's unusual Nestinarstvo rites on May 21. Traditional instruments include gudulka (гъдулка), gaida (гайда) - bagpipe, kaval (кавал), tupan (тъпан) and others.

Several world-renowned troupes perform Bulgarian folk music, such as the State Ensemble for Folk Songs and Dances, led by Philip Koutev (1903-1982), and the Bulgarian State Television Female Vocal Choir, famous for the series of songs entitled Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares.

Visual art

Bulgaria has a rich heritage in the visual arts, especially in frescoes, murals and icons. The Thracian Tomb of Kazanlak offers fine examples of excellently preserved ancient Thracian art. Tomb art provides one of the most important sources of information about Thracian lifestyle and culture. Visual arts in the Bulgarian lands experienced an upsurge during the entire period of the Middle ages. The crypt of the Alexander Nevski cathedral features an exhibition of a large collection of medieval icons. The earliest of those dates from around the 9th century AD. The Tarnovo Artistic School, the mainstream of the Bulgarian fine arts and architecture between 13th and 14th centuries, takes its name from the capital and main cultural center of the Second Bulgarian Empire, Tarnovo. Although it shows the influence of some tendencies of the Palaeologan Renaissance in the Byzantine Empire, the Tarnovo painting had its own unique features which makes it a separate artistic school. Art historians classify its products into two types:

• mural painting: mural decoration of churches
• iconography: easel painting

The works of the school show some degree of realism, portrait individualism and psychology.

The unique and realistic portraits in the Boyana Church class as forerunners of the Renaissance. The wall piers and the arches often featured medallion-shaped bust images of saints. Magnificent examples of those survive in SS Peter and Paul Church in Tarnovo. Along with traditional scenes such as "Christ's passions" and "Feast cycle" in the second layer; "Christ Pantokrator" in the dome and the Madonna with the infant Christ in the apse, specific images and scenes also appear. During the period of Ottoman rule (1396-1878) the authorities suppressed Bulgarian art. Many churches suffered destruction, and newly built ones remained somewhat modest. In the end of the 18th century the Islamic Ottoman empire began to decay slowly, thus permitting the Bulgarian National Revival of the 18th and 19th centuries to occur. Bulgaria experienced a revival in every area of culture. Following the Liberation in 1878, fine arts rapidly recovered and came under the influence of European artistic currents such as late Romanticism.

Cuisine

Owing to the relatively warm climate and diverse geography affording excellent growth-conditions for a variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits, Bulgarian cuisine (Bulgarian: българска кухня, bulgarska kuhnya) offers great diversity.

Famous for its rich salads required at every meal, Bulgarian cuisine also features diverse quality dairy products and a variety of wines and local alcoholic drinks such as rakia (ракия), mastika (мастика) and menta (мента). Bulgarian cuisine also features a variety of hot and cold soups, for example tarator. Many different Bulgarian pastries exist as well, such as banitsa, a traditional pastry prepared by layering a mixture of whisked eggs and pieces of sirene (Feta cheese) between filo pastry and then baking it in an oven.

Traditionally, Bulgarian cooks put lucky charms into their pastry on certain occasions, particularly on Christmas Eve, the first day of Christmas, or New Year's Eve. Such charms may include coins or small symbolic objects (such as a small piece of a dogwood branch with a bud, symbolizing health or longevity). More recently, people have started writing happy wishes on small pieces of paper and wrapping them in tin foil. Wishes may include happiness, health, or success throughout the new year.

Bulgarians eat banitsa — hot or cold — for breakfast with plain yogurt, ayran, or boza. Some varieties include banitsa with spinach (спаначена баница / spanachena banitsa) or the sweet version, banitsa with milk (млечна баница / mlechna banitsa) or pumpkin (тиквеник / tikvenik).

The Bulgarian lyutenitsa (лютеница) comprises a spicy mixture of mashed and cooked tomatoes, aubergines, garlic, hot peppers and vegetable oil, seasoned with salt, pepper and parsley. Variations of lyutenitsa exist in the national cuisines of most Balkan states.

Tripe soup (шкембе чорба / skhembe chorba) takes as its basis the thick lining of the cleaned stomach of cattle, prepared with milk and seasoned with vinegar, garlic and hot peppers. During the Ottoman yoke, the sultans allegedly preferred tripe soup made by Bulgarian cooks, whose mastery in preparing the dish remained unmatched in the Balkans.

Exports of Bulgarian wine go worldwide, and until 1990 the country exported the world's second-largest total of bottled wine. The rich soil, perfect climate and the millennia old tradition of wine-making, which dates back to the time of the Thracians, contributes to the wide variety of fine Bulgarian wines. As of 2007, Bulgaria produced 200,000 tonnes of wine annually, ranking 20th in the world.

Sports

In its men's national volleyball side, controlled by the Bulgarian Volleyball Federation, Bulgaria fields one of the leading volleyball teams in Europe and the world. As of January  2009 the team held 4th place in the world according to FIVB rankings. Bulgaria has regularly featured in the Top 10, and has earned silver medals at the 1980 Summer Olympics, the 1970 Volleyball World Championship and the 1951 European Championship, as well as numerous bronze medals, including at the 2007 World Cup in Japan.

Football has become by far the most popular sport in the country. Dimitar Berbatov (Димитър Бербатов) currently ranks as one of the most famous Bulgarian football players. Currently he plays for Manchester United, where he scored his first two goals for the team in their 3–0 win away to Aalborg in the Champions League group stage on 30 September 2008, less than a month after he joined the team. Some of the best-known players for all time include Georgi Asparuhov-Gundi (1943-1971), (declared Bulgarian football player №1 award for the twentieth century), Hristo Stoichkov (former FC Barcelona player and winner of Ballon d'Or and Golden Boot in 1994), Georgi Slavkov and Petar Jekov.

PFC Levski Sofia became the first Bulgarian team to participate in the modern UEFA Champions League in 2006/2007. PFC CSKA Sofia, PFC Slavia Sofia, PFC Lokomotiv Sofia, PFC Litex Lovech have often played in the UEFA Cup championship, achieving remarkable results.

Bulgaria participates both in the Summer and Winter Olympics, and its first appearance dates back to the first modern Olympic games in 1896, when the Swiss gymnast Charles Champaud represented the country. Since then Bulgaria has appeared in most Summer Olympiads, and by this day has won a total of 212 medals: 51 gold, 84 silver, and 77 bronze. The most successful participations took place at Munich (21 medals), Montreal (22 medals), Moscow (41), Seoul (35). At the Winter Olympic games, Bulgaria has a less impressive record: only 6 medals (of which only one gold) out of 17 participations.

Some of the most prominent Olympians include Maria Grozdeva (shooting), Ekaterina Dafovska (biathlon), Armen Nazaryan (wrestling), Stefka Kostadinova (high jump, holder of the world record since 1987), Yordan Yovtchev (gymnastics), Neshka Robeva (gymnastics), Rumyana Neykova (rowing). Outside the field of Olympics, Veselin Topalov (chess), Grigor Dimitrov (tennis), couple Albena Denkova and Maxim Staviski (ice skating) and Kotoōshū Katsunori (sumo) are among Bulgaria's top sportspeople of all time.

Religion

Bulgaira is officially a secular nation and the Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion but appoints Orthodoxy as an official religion. In the 2001 census, 82.6% Bulgarians declared themselves Orthodox Christians, 12,2% Muslim, 1.2% other Christian denominations, 4% other religions (Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Judaism) and zero percent atheists. Most citizens of Bulgaria have associations — at least nominally — with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Founded in 870 AD under the Patriarchate of Constantinople (from which it obtained its first primate, its clergy and theological texts), the Bulgarian Orthodox Church had autocephalous status since 927 AD. The Church became subordinate within the Patriarchate of Constantinople, twice during the periods of Byzantine (1018 – 1185) and Ottoman (1396 – 1878) domination. It was re-established first in 1870 in the form of the Bulgarian Exarchate, and then in the 1950s as the Bulgarian Patriarchate.

Islam came to Bulgaria at the end of the fourteenth century after the conquest of the country by the Ottomans. It gradually gained ground throughout the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries through the introduction of Turkish colonists. One Islamic sect, Ahmadiyya, faces problems in Bulgaria. Some officials have moved against Ahmadis on the grounds that other countries also attack the religious rights of Ahmadis, whom many Muslims regard as heretical.

In the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries, missionaries from Rome converted Bulgarian Paulicians in the districts of Plovdiv and Svishtov to Roman Catholicism. Today their descendants form the bulk of Bulgarian Catholics, whose number stood at 44,000 in 2001. Missionaries from the United States introduced Protestantism into Bulgarian territory in 1857. Missionary work continued throughout the second half of the nineteenth and the first half of the twentieth century. In 2001 Bulgaria had some 42,000 Protestants.

Buddhism, Hinduism and Taoism became popular among Bulgarians in the time of perestroika and especially after the fall of communist regime and are usually a co-religion or co-belief to Bulgarians who otherwise are Christians (Roman Catholicism or Orthodoxy). Among these Estern (Asian) religions Buddhsit centers are officially registered in Bulgaria as religious denominations. The number of followers of Buddhsm has increased gradually in recent years also due to the influx of Vietnamese citizens (predominantly Buddhist) to Bulgaria.

According to the most recent Eurostat "Eurobarometer" poll, in 2005, 40% of Bulgarian citizens responded that "they believe there is a God", whereas 40% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force", 13% that "they do not believe there is a God, spirit, nor life force", and 6% did not answer.

See also

• List of Bulgarian monarchs
• History of Communist Bulgaria
• Bulgarian resistance movement during World War II
• American University in Bulgaria

Notes

1. "CIA - The World Factbook - Bulgaria". Cia.gov. Retrieved 2009-08-03., citing 2001 census and July 2009 estimates.
2. "Bulgaria (07/08)". State.gov. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
3. ^ information source - NSI population table as of 31.12.2008
4. ^ "Bulgaria". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 2009-04-22.
5. "The Thracian tomb in Kazanluk". Digsys.bg. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
6. Crampton, R.J., Bulgaria, 2007, pp.174, Oxford University Press
7. Human development index trends, Human development indices by the United Nations. Retrieved on June 7, 2009
8. Bulgaria country report for 2008, freedomhouse.org
9. Donchev, D. (2004). Geography of Bulgaria (in Bulgarian). Sofia: ciela. p. 68. ISBN 954-649-717-7.
10. ^ s:1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Bulgaria/History
11. ^ Bojidar Dimitrov: Bulgaria Illustrated History. BORIANA Publishing House 2002, ISBN 9545000449
12. Zlatarski, pp. 146-153
13. Runciman, p. 26
14. Иван Микулчиќ, "Средновековни градови и тврдини во Македониjа", Скопjе, "Македонска цивилизациjа", 1996, стр. 29-33.
15. C. de Boor (ed), Theophanis chronographia, vol. 1. Leipzig: Teubner, 1883 (repr. Hildesheim: Olms, 1963), 397, 25-30 (AM 6209)"φασί δε τινές ότι και ανθρώπους τεθνεώτας και την εαυτών κόπρον εις τα κλίβανα βάλλοντες και ζυμούντες ήσθιον. ενέσκηψε δε εις αυτούς και λοιμική νόσος και αναρίθμητα πλήθη εξ αυτών ώλεσεν. συνήψε δε προς αυτούς πόλεμον και τον των Βουλγάρων έθνος, και, ως φασίν οι ακριβώς επιστάμενοι, κβ χιλάδας Αράβων κατέσφαξαν."
16. Runciman, p. 52
17. s:Chronographia/Chapter 61
18. Georgius Monachus Continuatus, loc. cit. , Logomete
19. Vita S. démentis
20. Barford, P. M. (2001). The Early Slavs. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press
21. Fine, The Early Medieval Balkans, pp. 144-148.
22. Theophanes Continuatus, pp. 462—3, 480
23. Cedrenus: II, p. 383
24. Leo Diaconus, pp. 158-9
25. Шишић , p. 331
26. Skylitzes, p. 457
27. Zlatarski, vol. II, pp. 1-41
28. Averil Cameron, The Byzantines, Blackwell Publishing (2006), p. 170
29. Jiriček, p.295
30. Jiriček, p. 382
31. Lord Kinross, The Ottoman Centuries, Morrow QuillPaperback Edition, 1979
32. ^ R.J. Crampton, A Concise History of Bulgaria, 1997, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-521-567-19-X
33. ^ D. Hupchick, The Balkans, 2002
34. Crampton, R.J. Bulgaria 1878-1918, p.2. East European Monographs, 1983. ISBN 0880330295.
35. Kemal H. Karpat, Social Change and Politics in Turkey: A Structural-Historical Analysis, BRILL, 1973, ISBN 9004038175, pp. 36-39
36. Dennis P. Hupchick: The Balkans: from Constantinople to Communism, 2002
37. Dillon, Emile Joseph (1920) . "XV". The Inside Story of the Peace Conference. New York: Harper. Retrieved 2009-06-15. The territorial changes which the Prussia of the Balkans was condemned to undergo are neither very considerable nor unjust. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |laydate=, |separator=, |nopp=, |trans_title=, |chapterurl=, |laysummary=, and |lastauthoramp= (help); Text "trans_chapter" ignored (help)
38. Независимостта, тази скъпа покойница, Nova Zora, September 30, 2008
39. Цар Фердинанд І и премиерът Малинов са в Петербург, bg-history.info: Фердинанд I Сакскобургготски е отговорен за обявяването на Междусъюзническата война и претърпяната от България първа национална катастрофа. Под негово влияние България се присъединява към Тройния съюз по време на Първата световна война. Последвалата втора национална катастрофа принуждава Фердинанд I да абдикира от българския престол на 3 октомври 1918 г. в полза на своя син Борис III.
40. Bohlen, Celestine (1991-10-17). Bulgaria "Vote Gives Key Role to Ethnic Turks". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-15. ... in the 1980's the Communist leader, Todor Zhivkov, began a campaign of cultural assimilation that forced ethnic Turks to adopt Slavic names, closed their mosques and prayer houses and suppressed any attempts at protest. One result was the mass exodus of more than 300,000 ethnic Turks to neighboring Turkey in 1989 ... {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Cite has empty unknown parameters: |trans_title=, |month=, and |coauthors= (help)
41. Cracks show in Bulgaria's Muslim ethnic model. Reuters. May 31, 2009.
42. The Antarctic Treaty system: An introduction. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).
43. Signatories to the Antarctic Treaty. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).
44. "NATO Update: Seven new members join NATO". 2004-03-29. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
45. "European Commission Enlargement Archives: Treaty of Accession of Bulgaria and Romania". 2005-04-25. Retrieved 2008-11-02.
46. Bos, Stefan (01 January 2007). "Bulgaria, Romania Join European Union". VOA News. Voice of America. Retrieved 2 January 2009. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
47. "Results of the 2009 European elections > Bulgaria". Retrieved 2009-06-21.]
48. "World Bank: Data and Statistics: Country Groups". The World Bank Group. 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-27. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
49. "GDP per capita in PPS" (PDF). Eurostat. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
50. AFP News Briefs (2008-03-28). "Barroso slams Bulgaria's rampant corruption". France 24. AFP. Retrieved 2008-10-15. "High-level corruption and organised crime have no place in the European Union and cannot be tolerated," Barroso said after talks with Prime Minister Sergey Stanishev... Barroso arrived on a one-day visit to Sofia on Friday amid a high-level corruption scandal that has shaken Stanishev's centre-left government... Bulgaria joined the European Union in 2007 but continues to face strong criticism from Brussels for failing to root out high-level corruption and put well-known criminal bosses behind bars. Corruption concerns also prompted Brussels recently to partly freeze pre-accession subsidy payments of at least 450 million euros still due to the EU newcomer. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |accessdaymonth=, |accessyear=, |accessmonthday=, and |coauthors= (help); line feed character in |quote= at position 506 (help)
51. Koinova, Elena (2008-05-12). "Bulgaria to adopt the euro in 2013-2014, UniCredit says". Sofia Echo. Sofia Echo Media Ltd. Retrieved 2008-09-01. Bulgaria and Romania would likely join the euro zone in 2013-2014, the analytical unit of UniCredit Group said in its latest report titled The Euro goes Eastwards.
52. Associated, The. "Bulgaria's economy grew by 6.2 percent on year in 1Q - International Herald Tribune". Iht.com. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
53. Бюджет 2009 на България предвижда икономически растеж от 4,7%, Stara Zagora Economic Chamber
54. FAO - Bulgaria country rank
55. EU Energy factsheet about Bulgaria
56. Bulgaria Renewable Energy Fact Sheet (EU)
57. 2010 г.: 300 мегавата мощности от вятърни централи, profit.bg, June 28, 2009
58. Елаците-Мед АД, Geotechmin group
59. Oil producing countries rank table, CIA
60. Natural gas producing countries rank table, CIA
61. See List of countries by coal production.
62. See List of countries by bismuth production
63. See List of countries by copper mine production
64. See List of countries by zinc production
65. Geography of machine building in Bulgaria Factsheet
66. See World Tourism rankings
67. Statistics from the Bulgarian Tourism Agency
68. ^ http://www.outsourcingmonitor.eu/articles/outsourcing-to-bulgaria.html
69. http://www.ambsofia.um.dk/da/menu/Eksportraadgivning/Markedsmuligheder/Sektoranalyser/Outsourcing/
70. Mandushev, Georgi (2007). "TrES-4: A Transiting Hot Jupiter of Very Low Density". The Astrophysical Journal Letters. 667: L195 – L198. doi:10.1086/522115. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
71. Daemgen; et al. (2009). "Binarity of transit host stars - Implications for planetary parameters" (PDF). Astronomy and Astrophysics. 498: 567–574. doi:10.1051/0004-6361/200810988. {{cite journal}}: Explicit use of et al. in: |author= (help)
72. www.allbusiness.com - "Peter Petroff, Digital Watch Inventor, Dies at Age 83". Compare the [http://www.engology.com/eng5nakamatsu.htm claim of Yoshiro Nakamatsu to have invented a digital watch in 1953.
73. A Brief History of Air Force Scientific and Technical Intelligence
74. Българи разкриват раждането на Вселената, dir.bg, December 21, 2007
75. ^ Bulgarian Space Agency active programs
76. IT Services: Rila Establishes Bulgarian Beachhead in UK, findarticles.com, June 24, 1999
77. http://www.sharedxpertise.com/file/2251/forget-india-lets-go-to-bulgaria.html
78. Вече си имаме и суперкомпютър, Dir.bg, 9 September 2008
79. Hewlett Packard Opens Global Support Center in Sofia, Sofia News Agency, June 6, 2006
80. "Bulgaria Communications 2007". Theodora.com. 2007. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
81. Statistics of Bulgarian communications
82. [http://www.internetworldstats.com/eu/bg.htm Bulgaria Internet Usage Stats and Market Report]
83. Влак-стрела ще минава през Ботевград до 2017 г.
84. National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria. Retrieved 31 July 2006
85. Bulgaria's Ministry of Interior extimates various numbers (between 600,000 and 750,000) of Roma in Bulgaria; nearly half of Roma traditionally self-identify ethnically as Turkish or Bulgarian.
86. ^ Cultrual Policies and Trends in Europe. "Population by ethnic group and mother tongue, 2001". Retrieved 2008-12-02.
87. "Bulgaria".
88. "Will EU Entry Shrink Bulgaria's Population Even More? | Europe | Deutsche Welle | 26.12.2006". Dw-world.de. Retrieved 2009-01-02.
89. Head Direction of Residential Registration and Administrative Service. Population table by permanent and present address as of 15 March 2008.
90. New perspectives on the Varna cemetery (Bulgaria), By: Higham, Tom; Chapman, John; Slavchev, Vladimir; Gaydarska, Bisserka; Honch, Noah; Yordanov, Yordan; Dimitrova, Branimira; September 1, 2007
91. Graba, A. La peinture religiouse en Bulgarie, Paris, 1928, p. 95
92. Цончева, М. За Търновската живописна школа. - В: Търновска книжовна школа. 1371-1971, С., 1974, с. 343.
93. "Старобългарско изкуство", Том ІІ - Никола Мавродинов, издателство "Наука и изкуство", София, 1959 г.
95. See List of wine-producing countries
96. FIVB official rankings as per January 15, 2009
97. Hibbs, Ben (30 September 2008). "Berbatov Plays It Cool". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 1 October 2008.
98. "Gundi pips Stoichkov to Top Footballer of the century" (article in Bulgarian)
99. ^ Corley, Felix. "Ahmadis barred "because it is against the religions that people follow here"" (PDF). Forum 18. Oslo: Forum 18 News Service. pp. 1–3. Retrieved 2008-09-01. Bulgaria's small Ahmadi Muslim community is concerned by persistent attempts by a local prosecutor and the national state Religious Affairs Directorate to strip it of its legal status
101. Виетнамците се завръщат у нас, BGBen.co.uk
102. "Social values, science and technology" (PDF). Eurobarometer. European Commission. 2005. Retrieved 2007-01-01. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)

Further reading

• Jiriček, Constantin Josef (2008). History of the Bulgarians (Geschichte der Bulgaren) (in German). Frankfurt: Textor Verlag GmbH, digital facsimile of the book published in Prague, 1878. pp. 587 pages. ISBN 3-938402-11-3.
• Crampton, R. J. A Concise History of Bulgaria (2005) Cambridge, UK; New York: Cambridge University Press ISBN 9780521616379
• Detrez, Raymond Historical Dictionary of Bulgaria (2006) Second Edition lxiv + 638 pp. Maps, bibliography, appendix, chronology ISBN 978-0-8108-4901-3
• Lampe, John R., and Marvin R. Jackson Balkan Economic History, 1550-1950: From Imperial Borderlands to Developing Nations (1982)
• Lampe, John R. The Bulgarian Economy in the Twentieth Century (1986) London: Croom Helm ISBN 0709916442

Pre 1939

• Fox, Frank, Sir Bulgaria (1915) London: A. and C. Black, Ltd., book scanned by Project Gutenberg
• Hall, Richard C. Bulgaria's Road to the First World War (1996) New York: Columbia University Press ISBN 088033357X
• MacDermott, Mercia (1962). A History of Bulgaria, 1393-1885. London: Allen & Unwin.
• Perry, Duncan M. Stefan Stambolov and the Emergence of Modern Bulgaria, 1870-1895 (1993) Durham: Duke University Press ISBN 0822313138
• Runciman, Steven (1930). A History of the First Bulgarian Empire. G. Bell & Sons, London.
• Zlatarski, Vasil N. (1934). "Prof. Dr". Medieval History of the Bulgarian State (in Bulgarian). Royal Printing House, Sofia. Retrieved 2007-08-05. (Васил Н. Златарски, История на българската държава през средните векове, Част II, II изд., Наука и изкуство, София 1970)

World War II

• Bar-Zohar, Michael Beyond Hitler's Grasp: The Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria's Jews
• Groueff, Stephane Crown of Thorns: The Reign of King Boris III of Bulgaria, 1918–1943
• Todorov, Tzvetan The fragility of goodness: why Bulgaria’s Jews survived the Holocaust: a collection of texts with commentary (2001) Princeton: Princeton University Press ISBN 0691088322

Communist era

• Todorov, Tzvetan Voices from the Gulag: Life and Death in Communist Bulgaria
• Dimitrova, Alexenia The Iron Fist — Inside the Bulgarian secret archives

Contemporary

• Bell, John D., ed. Bulgaria in Transition: Politics, Economics, Society, and Culture after Communism. Westview. (1998) ISBN 978-0813390109
• Ghodsee, Kristen. The Red Riviera: Gender, Tourism and Postsocialism on the Black Sea. Durham: Duke University Press. ISBN 978-0-8223-3662-4.
• Ghodsee, Kristen. Muslim Lives in Eastern Europe: Gender, Ethnicity and the Transformation of Islam in Postsocialist Bulgaria. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-13955-5.

Guide-books

• Annie Kay Bradt Guide: Bulgaria
• Paul Greenway Lonely Planet World Guide: Bulgaria
• Pettifer, James Blue Guide: Bulgaria
• Timothy Rice Music of Bulgaria
• Jonathan Bousfield The Rough Guide To Bulgaria

External links

Government

• Official governmental site
• President of The Republic of Bulgaria
• National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria
• Chief of State and Cabinet Members

General information

• "Bulgaria". The World Factbook (2025 ed.). Central Intelligence Agency.
• Bulgaria information from the United States Department of State
• Portals to the World from the United States Library of Congress
• Article Eco Friendly Bulgaria
• Bulgaria at UCB Libraries GovPubs
• Template:Dmoz

Wikimedia Atlas of Bulgaria

• Bulgaria Gazette

Travel

• Template:Wikitravel
• Bulgaria - video presentations from Bulgaria Tourism Authority
• All cities and villages
• The mountains of Bulgaria
• Image Gallery of Bulgaria
• Image Gallery of Bulgaria under Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License
• Large Image Gallery of Bulgaria

Geographic locale

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