Essential Information & explanations, latest texts & monographs on Bulgaria.

The Russian Adoption Handbook : How to Adopt from Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Bulgaria, Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan and Moldova by John H. Maclean

A Concise History of Bulgaria by R. J. Crampton

Lonely Planet Bulgaria (Bulgaria, 1st Ed) by Paul Greenway

The Rough Guide to Bulgaria (Bulgaria (Rough Guides)) by Rough Guides

Bulgaria (Enchantment of the World) by Abraham Resnick

Beyond Hitler's Grasp: The Heroic Rescue of Bulgaria's Jews by Michael Bar-Zohar

All Along the Danube: Recipes from Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Romania and Bulgaria (Hippocrene International Cookbooks) by Marina Polvay

Tortured for His Faith: An Epic of Christian Courage and Heroism in Our Day by Haralan Popoff

Bulgarian Rhapsody : The Best of Balkan Cuisine by Linda J. Forristal

Imprisoned for Christ: A Stirring Testament to God's Sustaining Grace in a Balkan Prison by Christo Kulichev

Dobry (Puffin Newbery Library) by Monica Shannon

The Fragility of Goodness : Why Bulgaria's Jews Survived the Holocaust by Tzvetan Todorov

Bulgaria by Treaty Oak

Bulgaria...in Pictures (Visual Geography) by Mary M. Rodgers

The Balkan Cookbook : Traditional Cooking from Romania, Bulgaria and the Balkan Countries by Catherine Atkinson

Bulgaria

The Republic of Bulgaria is a small republic in the southeast of Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the east, Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north along the river Danube. Република БългарияRepublika Bulgariya (In Detail) (Full size) National motto: Съединението прави силата(Bulgarian: Union provides strength) Official language Bulgarian Capital Sofia President Georgi Parvanov Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg Gotha Area - Total - % waterRanked 102nd 110,910 km2 0.3% Population - Total (2000) - Density Ranked 88th 7,707,495 69.5/km² Independence - Declared - Recognised From the Ottoman Empire March 3, 1878 September 22, 1908 Currency Lev Time zone UTC +2 National anthem Mila Rodino(Bulgarian: Dear Motherland) Internet TLD.BG Calling Code359 Table of contents showTocToggle("show","hide") 1 History 2 Politics 3 Regions 4 Geography 5 Economy 6 Demographics 7 Culture 8 Miscellaneous topics 9 External links 9.1 Official 9.2 Other History Main article: History of Bulgaria The Bulgars, a Central Asian Turkic tribe, merged with the local Slavic inhabitants in the late 7th century to form the first Bulgarian state. In succeeding centuries, Bulgaria struggled with the Byzantine Empire to assert its place in the Balkans, but by the end of the 14th century the country was overrun by the Ottoman Empire. Bulgaria regained its independence in 1878 as an autonomous principality and was proclaimed a fully independent kingdom in 1908. During 1912 and 1913 it became involved in the Balkan Wars, a series of conflicts with its neighbours, during which Bulgarian territory varied in size. During World War I and later World War II, Bulgaria found itself fighting on the losing side. Bulgaria fell within the Soviet sphere of influence after World War II and became a People's Republic in 1946. Communist domination ended in 1990, when Bulgaria again held multiparty elections. Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004 and is hoping to join the European Union in 2007. Politics Main article: Politics of Bulgaria The president of Bulgaria is directly elected for a 5-year term with the right to one re-election. The president serves as the head of state and commander in chief of the armed forces. The president is the head of the Consultative Council for National Security and while unable to initiate legislation, the President can return a bill for further debate, though parliament can overturn the president's veto with a simple majority vote. The Bulgarian unicameral parliament, the National Assembly or Narodno Sabranie, consists of 240 deputies who are elected for 4-term stretches by popular vote. The votes are for party or coalition lists of candidates for each of the nine administrative divisions. A party or coalition must garner a minimum of 4% of the vote in order to enter parliament. Parliament is responsible for enactment of laws, approval of the budget, scheduling of presidential elections, selection and dismissal of the prime minister and other ministers, declaration of war, deployment of troops outside of Bulgaria, and ratification of international treaties and agreements. Regions Main article: Regions of Bulgaria Since 1999 Bulgaria consists of 28 regions (oblasti, singular - oblast), after having been subdivided into 9 provinces since 1987. All are named after the regional capital, with the national capital itself forming a separate region:

Blagoevgrad

Burgas

Dobrich

Gabrovo

Khaskovo

Kurdzhali

Kyustendil

Lovech

Montana

Pazardzhik

Pernik

Pleven

Plovdiv

Razgrad

Ruse

Shumen

Silistra

Sliven

Smolyan

Sofia

Sofia Region

Stara Zagora

Turgovishte

Varna

Veliko Turnovo

Vidin

Vratsa

Yambol

Geography Main article: Geography of Bulgaria Bulgaria is comprised of the classical regions of Thrace, Moesia and Macedonia. The southwest of the country is mountainous, containing the highest point of the Balkan Peninsula, the Musala at 2,925 m, and the range of the Balkan mountains runs west-east through the middle of the country, north of the famous Rose Valley. Hill country and plains are found in the southeast, along the Black Sea coast in the east, and along Bulgaria's main river, the Danube in the north. Other major rivers include the Struma and the Marica in the south. The Bulgarian climate is temperate, with cold, damp winters and hot, dry Mediterranean summers. The Balkan peninsula derives its name from the Balkan or Stara Planina mountain range which runs through the center of Bulgaria into eastern Serbia. See also:

Economy Main article: Economy of Bulgaria Bulgaria's economy contracted dramatically after 1989 with the loss of the Soviet market, to which the Bulgarian economy had been closely tied. The standard of living fell by about 40%, but is expected to reach the pre-1990 levels by the end of 2003. In addition, UN sanctions against Yugoslavia and Iraq took a heavy toll on the Bulgarian economy. The first signs of recovery emerged in 1994 when the GDP grew and inflation fell. During 1996, however, the economy collapsed due to poor economic reforms and an unstable banking system. Since 1997 the country has been on the path to recovery, with GDP growing at a 4-5% rate, increasing FDI, macroeconomic stability and EU membership set for 2007. The current government, elected in 2001, has pledged to maintain the fundamental economic policy objectives adopted by its predecessor in 1997, i.e., retaining the Currency Board, practicing sound financial policies, accelerating privatisation, and pursuing structural reforms. While economic forecasts for 2002 and 2003 predict continued growth in the Bulgarian economy, the government still faces high unemployment and low standards of living. Bulgaria is holding accession talks with the European Union, hoping to join in 2007. Demographics Main article: Demographics of Bulgaria According to the 2001 census, Bulgaria's population is mainly ethnic Bulgarian (83.9%), with two sizable minorities in the form of Turks (9.4%) and Roma (4.7%). The remaining 2% consist of several smaller minorities including Armenians, Russians, Romanians, Ukrainians, Greeks, and Jews. 84.8% of the Bulgarian population speak Bulgarian, a member of the Slavic languages, which is the only official language, but other languages are spoken, corresponding closely to their respective ethnic minorities. Most Bulgarians (83.9%) are at least nominally a member of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the national Eastern Orthodox church. Other religious denominations include Islam (12.1%), Roman Catholicism (1.7%), Judaism (0.8%), with Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other faiths numbering 1.6%. Culture Main article: Culture of Bulgaria

Miscellaneous topics

Much of the material in these articles comes from the CIA World Factbook 2000 and the 2003 U.S. Department of State website. External links Official

Council of Ministers - Official governmental site
President.bg - Official presidential site
Narodno Sabranie - Official parliamentary site

Other

World-wide press freedom index - Rank 38 out of 139 countries
Banknotes of Bulgaria
Pictures of Bulgaria

Bulgaria is also a historic state that existed in 10-14th centuries around the confluence of Volga and Kama.

The above article is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

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Note again ... some material here is adapted from from Wikipedia All Wikipedia article text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

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