Bulgaria, country in southeastern Europe, officially called the Republic of Bulgaria. It was known from 1946 to 1990 as the People�s Republic of Bulgaria. Situated in the Balkan Peninsula, Bulgaria is bounded on the north by Romania, on the east by the Black Sea, on the south by Turkey and Greece, and on the west by the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Once an independent kingdom, Bulgaria was dominated by the Communist Party from 1946 until 1990, when a multiparty system was adopted. During the Communist period, when Bulgaria was under the control of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the once dominant agricultural sector was overtaken by manufacturing. The capital and largest city is Sofia.

The area of Bulgaria is 110,994 sq km (42,855 sq mi). The greatest distance from north to south is about 330 km (about 210 mi) and from east to west it is about 500 km (about 310 mi).

More than half of Bulgaria is hilly or mountainous; the average elevation is about 480 m (about 1,575 ft). The Balkan Mountains cross the country from the northwestern corner to the Black Sea and form the watershed between the Danube River and the Aegean Sea. The northern side of the Balkan Mountains slopes gradually to form the northern Bulgarian plateau, which ends at the Danube River. The central portion of the southern side of the range is fringed by a series of narrow plains, notably the Thracian Plain, an important agricultural region. In the southern part of the country are the broad and irregular Rhodope Mountains, which form the boundary with Greece. At the western end of these mountains, in southwestern Bulgaria, are the Rila Mountains, which rise to a maximum elevation of 2,925 m (9,596 ft) at Musala, the highest peak in the Balkans. Several smaller ranges lie along the western boundaries.

The principal river draining Bulgaria is the Danube. Its primary tributaries in Bulgaria are the Iskŭr (about 370 km/about 230 mi long) and the Yantra (about 290 km/about 180 mi long). The Maritsa (about 480 km/about 300 mi long), which flows east to Greece and Turkey across the Thracian Plain, is the deepest river of the Aegean Sea basin. Other important rivers are the Kamchiya (about 180 km/about 112 mi long), which empties into the Black Sea, and in the southwest, the Struma and Mesta, which flow south to the Aegean Sea.

Some 33 percent of Bulgaria is forested, and half this area supports tall trees suitable for timber. About 30 percent of the timber trees are conifers. The Balkan Mountains and their foothills support forests of various trees. Conifer, beech, and oak trees are found in the timber zone of the Rhodope Mountains and their western extensions. Most wildlife is confined to the mountainous southwestern portion of the country, where there are bears, wolves, elks, foxes, and wildcats.

The main resources of Bulgaria are agricultural. The country also has a wealth of metallic and nonmetallic minerals, mainly iron ore and coal. Other mineral reserves are small, but some deposits, particularly those of manganese and petroleum, are valuable.

Soil types vary considerably. Some tablelands have fertile black and gray soils, high in humus content and well suited for growing grain. The Thracian Plain contains brown, loamy soils that are fertile and adapted to diversified cultivation. Deforestation and inadequate soil-conservation practices have caused gradual deterioration of several fertile areas.

Most of Bulgaria has a continental climate, with cold winters and hot summers. The climate in general is more severe than in other European areas of the same latitudes, and the average annual temperature range is greater than that of neighboring countries. Severe droughts, frosts, winds, and hail storms frequently damage crops. A Mediterranean climate, with dry summers and mild, humid winters, prevails in the valley of the southwestern Rhodope Mountains; the northern limit of the climatic zone is the Balkan Mountains.

The average January temperature in Sofia ranges from -4� to 2�C (25� to 35�F) and the July temperature ranges from 16� to 27�C (60� to 81�F). In Varna, along the Black Sea, the average January temperature ranges from -1� to 6�C (30� to 42�F) and the July temperature ranges from 19� to 30�C (65� to 85�F). The average rainfall in Bulgaria is about 630 mm (about 25 in) per year, ranging from a low of about 190 mm (about 7 in) in the northeast, to a high of about 1,900 mm (about 75 in) in the Rila Mountains. The wettest period is early summer in most of the country and autumn or winter in the southern valleys.

Bulgaria�s industrial economy has had a negative impact on the environmental health of the country. Virtually all of the middle and lower reaches of the major rivers are polluted by industrial centers that discharge detergents, heavy metals, nitrates, oils, and raw sewage. Water treatment facilities for industrial and municipal wastes are inadequate or nonexistent. Two of the largest industrial cities, Varna and Burgas, are located on the Black Sea coast, and the water pollution generated by these centers has threatened the area�s tourist industry. Uncontrolled mining operations and environmentally insensitive practices also contribute to soil contamination. Air pollution, from automobiles and industrial emissions, is severe, leading to acid rain and the defoliation of a large portion of Bulgaria�s forests.

During the early 1990s the European Community (now the European Union) granted Bulgaria aid money for the improvement of environmental and nuclear safety. The government has ratified international environmental agreements pertaining to air pollution, biodiversity, climate change, endangered species, environmental modification, hazardous wastes, law of the sea, nuclear test ban, ozone layer protection, ship pollution, and wetlands.

The population of Bulgaria (2001 estimate) is 7,707,495. The 1985 census population was 8,948,649; the subsequent decrease was largely caused by emigration. Bulgaria has a population density of 69 persons per sq km (180 per sq mi). The population became increasingly urbanized after 1945, and today 70 percent of the people live in urban areas. About 85 percent of the population is classified as ethnic Bulgarian and about 9 percent is Turkish. Small groups of Armenians, Roma (Gypsies), Greeks, and Macedonian Slavs also inhabit the country.

Sofia is Bulgaria�s largest city. Other major cities include Plovdiv, a center for light industry; and Varna, the principal seaport.

The official language is Bulgarian, spoken by about 90 percent of the population. Turkish is the largest minority language. See Bulgarian Language; Turkish Language.

For more than 40 years the Bulgarian government promoted atheism, to which an estimated 65 percent of the population subscribed in the early 1980s. The governmental reform of the late 1980s loosened religious restrictions, however, and by the 1990s 85 percent of the population belonged to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (an Eastern Orthodox branch), while another 13 percent were followers of Islam. There are also Jews, Roman Catholics, Uniate Catholics, and Protestants.

Bulgaria�s literacy rate is 100 percent. Education is free and compulsory for children from the ages of 7 through 16; 99 percent of primary school-aged children are enrolled in school. Students attend primary school for four years, basic (or middle) school for three years, and secondary school for three to five years depending on the course of study. About 30 percent of students continue their education past the secondary level. There are more than 20 institutions of higher learning in Bulgaria, including the University of Sofia (founded as a secondary school in 1888 and chartered as a university in 1909).

Bulgarians value a neat, well-dressed appearance. Clothing is Western in style and European fashions are popular. The main ingredients in Bulgarian food are lamb, potatoes, tomatoes, onions, peppers, eggplant, cucumbers, and yogurt. A typical meal may consist of shopska salata (cucumber salad), tarator (yogurt and cucumber soup) or chorba (bean soup), and agneski drebulijki (shish kebab). Lokum (a nut-filled pastry) is a common dessert. Domestically produced wine and brandy is of high quality. In rural areas Bulgarians live in single-family houses; most urban dwellers live in apartments. Soccer is the most popular sport; the Bulgarian soccer team became a source of national pride when they competed in the semifinal round of the 1994 World Cup, an international soccer tournament held every four years. Bulgaria�s Black Sea beaches and large mountainous areas offer recreational opportunities.

Under Communism Bulgarians became accustomed to free health services and a wide range of other benefits. Bulgaria�s post-Communist governments have not had the financial resources to maintain these services. Furthermore, the transition to a market economy has resulted in food and water shortages, high inflation, and increased unemployment. Residents of Bulgaria�s large cities are burdened by housing shortages and rising rents.

In the Middle Ages (especially in the 10th and 11th centuries), Bulgaria was the center of Slavic culture. Over the centuries Bulgarian culture has been influenced successively by Byzantine, Greek, Russian, and Western cultures.

Between the 9th and 14th centuries ad, Bulgarian literature consisted mainly of historical chronicles and translations of religious material. Thereafter very little Bulgarian literature was produced until the 19th century. Christo Botev, Ivan Vazov, Stoyan Mikhaylovski, and Yordan Yovkov emerged as important writers of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Modern writers include Blaga Dimitrova, Jordan Radichkov, and Bulgarian-born writer Elias Canetti, who won the 1981 Nobel Prize for literature. See Bulgarian Literature.

The 13th-century frescoes of the Boyana Church near Sofia are outstanding examples of the painting of that period. Bulgarian handicrafts include rich folk embroideries and ornaments. Some of the best sculpture, wood carvings, etchings, and paintings are based on traditional culture and native subjects. Outstanding 20th-century Bulgarian artists include the painter Vladimir Dimitrov and Christo, a Bulgarian-born avant-garde artist noted for his technique of wrapping buildings, monuments, and landscape features, who now lives in the United States.

The chief architectural monuments of Bulgaria are medieval churches and monasteries. The oldest is the 4th-century Church of Saint George in Sofia. South of Sofia in the Rila Mountains is the Rila Monastery, founded in the 9th century. An important monument of the 11th century is Bachkovo Monastery, south of Plovdiv. A major modern structure is the large, ornate Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, built in Sofia in the early 20th century.

Traditional Bulgarian music includes folk songs and choral plain chants in the Greek mode for church services. The chief native musical instruments are the gaida (bagpipe) and the kaval (a wooden shepherd�s flute). The characteristic folk dances are variations of the hora, a round chain dance, and the ruchenitsa, a lively dance of two couples. Modern Bulgarian orchestral and operatic compositions have occasionally gained recognition in other countries. Among leading 20th-century composers are Petko Stainov and Pancho Vladigerov.

Large libraries in Sofia include the Central Library of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (founded in 1869), the library of the University of Sofia (1888), and the Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius National Library (1878). The Ivan Vazov National Library (1879) is located in Plovdiv. In addition, the people of Bulgaria are served by many smaller public libraries.

The country has more than 200 museums. In Sofia are botanical and zoological museums and gardens; the National Archaeological Museum (1892), with a collection of old coins and finds from many ancient burial mounds; and the National Ethnographical Museum (1906). Other museums in the country are devoted to history, science, and the revolutionary movement.

Until 1947 Bulgaria was predominantly agricultural, with virtually no heavy industry. In Communist Bulgaria following World War II (1939-1945), all industrial enterprises were nationalized and operated under a series of five-year economic plans, modeled after the Soviet system, with financial aid from the USSR. Heavy industry was the government�s highest priority. Bulgaria enjoyed one of the most prosperous economies of the Soviet bloc.

In 1990 Bulgaria began converting from a socialist to a market economy, which was expected to result in a positive economic reversal. The reversal did not happen, however, leading to popular dissatisfaction with the social effects of the reforms. Consequently, the legislature did not enact laws that would have resulted in mass privatization, and the major industrial sectors remained under state control. Some reforms and privatization had begun, however, and in 1994 more than twice as many state-owned enterprises were privatized than in 1993. In 1994 economic reform was further hindered when the country�s voters, yearning for the economic stability of the Communist era, elected former Communists into power. Rather than transferring money-draining state-owned enterprises to private ownership, the government continued to sustain them or had state-controlled banks extend loans that were never repaid. The absence of reform began to yield dangerous consequences by 1996, as the national currency plummeted in value and the fragile banking system came near collapse. The economy continued to deteriorate, and in late 1996 the country entered a deep economic crisis, with near-hyperinflation and a rash of bankruptcies in the banking system. In 1997, however, a newly elected pro-reform government undertook measures to stabilize the economy and to fight the deep-seated corruption prevalent in many of the country�s large enterprises.

In 1999 the labor force totaled 4.2 million. Industry, including manufacturing, mining, and construction, engaged 31 percent of the workers. Employment in agriculture, forestry, and fishing constituted 26 percent of the workforce. The remainder of the workers were unevenly distributed among other sectors of Bulgaria�s economy.

In 1990 sweeping changes occurred in Bulgaria�s labor movement. In February the Central Council of Trade Unions, formerly affiliated with the Bulgarian Communist Party, declared its independence from all political parties and changed its name to the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB). In March the National Assembly legalized strikes and the formerly underground labor organization Podkrepa Trade Union Confederation held its founding congress.

Emphasis on agriculture, once the predominant sector of Bulgaria�s economy, has declined significantly since World War II (1939-1945). By 1999 agriculture contributed only 15.1 percent to the country�s gross domestic product (GDP). Collectivization of agriculture was begun in the early 1950s, and by the late 1980s most farmland was part of the country�s collective and state farms. Between 1992 and 1994, however, almost 75 percent of this farmland was returned to its former owners. Climate and soil conditions support livestock raising and the growing of grains, oilseeds, vegetables, and fruits. Tobacco is one of the most important crops, contributing approximately 20 percent to the total value of agricultural goods. Although Bulgaria is a surplus food producer, agriculture is facing an economic downturn. Cropland, livestock population, and yields are declining. Furthermore, the price of agricultural goods is not rising with the rate of inflation.

The principal Bulgarian timber areas are in the vicinity of the Rila, Rhodope, and Balkan mountains. In 1999, 3 million cu m (107 million cu ft) of timber were produced.

The fishing industry produced a catch of 16,674 metric tons in 1997. Whiting, mackerel, and carp are the main species of fish caught. Canning and processing plants are located at Varna and Burgas, on the Black Sea coast.

Coal furnishes the bulk of Bulgaria�s mineral production. More than half the total coal production goes to industry, and the annual output (26 million metric tons in 1999) has expanded to meet domestic demand. Petroleum was discovered in 1951 on the Black Sea coast; Bulgaria produced 365,300 barrels of crude oil in 1999. Production of iron ore was 280,000 metric tons. Copper, gold, zinc, lead, and natural gas are also commercially exploited.

After the nationalization of the Bulgarian manufacturing industry began in the 1940s, many sectors substantially increased their total output and industry is now the largest sector of the Bulgarian economy. As a result of the privatization laws of the early 1990s, many state-owned industrial enterprises have come under private ownership. The metalworking and chemical industries, as well as the food-processing, tobacco-processing, and machinery-manufacturing enterprises, are among the newer, more productive areas. Textiles are the oldest manufacture of Bulgaria and, except for cotton goods, largely use domestic raw materials. The manufacture of building materials, including cement, brick, and glass, is well developed. Leather goods and leather and rubber footwear are well-established manufactures. Smelting and metalworking industries are largely dependent on imports of raw materials. The ores mined domestically, however, are refined and fabricated into manufactures in Bulgaria. Machine building and engineering are being expanded, especially for light electrical equipment. The most famous product of Bulgaria is attar of roses, which is used as a perfume base. With the collapse of other centrally planned Eastern European economies, the Bulgarian manufacturing industry lost trade links and suffered an economic downturn. Manufacturing employment and production declined in the early and mid-1990s.

Bulgaria derives most of its energy from hydroelectric facilities, thermal plants burning low-grade coal, and nuclear power plants. Bulgaria imports some of its energy, primarily from Russia and Ukraine. In 1991 two of Bulgaria�s four nuclear stations were closed for safety reasons; they are expected to be reopened by 2010. Bulgaria produced 36.2 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 1999.

During the 1980s most Bulgarian trade was with the republics of the USSR. The breakup of the USSR in 1991 left Bulgaria with declining markets and a weakened economy. Although Bulgaria is heavily dependent on imports, the economy showed some improvement in 1994 when imports decreased and exports increased. The rise in exports is attributed to Bulgaria�s weakened currency, which has made Bulgarian products more affordable in foreign markets, as well as a revival of trade with former republics of the USSR and increased trade with Western nations.

Exports in 1999 were valued at $3.9 billion. Chief exports are machinery, agricultural products, and manufactured consumer goods. Imports were valued at $5.4 billion. Principal imports are machinery, fuels, minerals, and metals.

The unit of currency in Bulgaria is the lev (2 leva equal U.S.$1; 1999 average). The lev weakened dramatically during the country�s economic collapse in late 1996 and early 1997, reaching a low of about 3,000 leva per U.S.$1. All banks were nationalized in 1947. Under the economic reforms begun in 1990, however, private banks were established and international banks were allowed to enter the market. The National Bank of Bulgaria is the bank of issue and handles government funds and state-owned enterprises. In 1996 Bulgaria�s banking system was in deep crisis with many new banks verging on insolvency, having extended sizable loans to failing state-owned enterprises. By early 1997 most of Bulgaria�s banks had declared bankruptcy or closed their doors to depositors, effectively ceasing operations.

Bulgaria is largely dependent for transport on railroads, with 4,290 km (2,666 mi) of track in use. The country is also served by about 37,284 km (about 23,167 mi) of roads. A major event in the development of transportation in Bulgaria was the opening of the Ruse-Giurgiu rail-and-road bridge over the Danube River in 1954; it is the chief bridge of its type connecting Bulgaria and Romania. Comprehensive bus service operates in areas not served by railroads.

The Danube River is a major artery of commerce. Of the dozen Danube ports, Ruse, Svishtov, Lom, and Vidin have the greatest importance. Much of the Bulgarian freight and passenger traffic with the countries of the former Soviet bloc uses the Danube and the Black Sea. Balkan Bulgarian Airlines, the national airline, serves the major cities of the country as well as many international destinations. Smaller airlines also operate in Bulgaria.

In 1999 Bulgaria had 354 telephones mainlines for every 1,000 people. Television started on an experimental basis in 1954 and was officially inaugurated in 1959. By the early 1990s, 29 television stations were in operation. In 1997 there were 394 television sets and 537 radios in use for every 1,000 people.

Until recently, all Bulgarian periodicals were published either by the government or by government-approved organizations and reflected government policy. In 1996, 17 independent dailies, with a combined circulation of 2.1 million, were being published. The leading dailies were Noshtun Trud (Night Labor), 24 Chasa (24 Hours), Zemedelsko Zname (Agrarian Banner; organ of the Bulgarian Agrarian People�s Union), Democratsiya (Democracy; organ of the Union of the Democratic Forces), and Duma (Work; organ of the Bulgarian Socialist Party).

From 1946 to 1990, Bulgaria had a Communist form of government with only one legal political party, the Communist Party. Early in 1990, however, the Bulgarian constitution was amended to allow a multiparty system, and in July 1991 a new constitution was approved, establishing Bulgaria as a parliamentary republic. Bulgarian citizens age 18 and older may vote in local and national elections.

The president serves as the head of state and is directly elected by the voters to no more than two five-year terms. The head of government is the prime minister, who is nominated by the president from the largest parliamentary party and approved by parliament. The prime minister presides over the Council of Ministers, the highest administrative body of the Bulgarian government.

Bulgaria�s legislature, the National Assembly, is a one-chamber parliament composed of 240 members. They are directly elected to four-year terms.

The constitution enacted in 1991 provides for an independent judiciary and for the establishment of a Constitutional Court. The Supreme Court sits in Sofia. Other tribunals in Bulgaria include provincial courts, regional courts, and military courts.

For purposes of local administration, Bulgaria is divided into 28 regions, each headed by a regional governor who is appointed by the Council of Ministers. The governor is assisted by an appointed deputy governor and regional administration. The duties of the governor and the regional administration are to implement the policies of the national government on the local level, safeguard the national interests, enforce the law and maintain public order, and exercise administrative control.

For purposes of local self-government, Bulgaria is divided into dozens of municipalities. Each municipality is governed by a mayor and a municipal council. The municipal council is elected directly by the populace for a term of four years. The mayor is elected by the municipal council for a term of four years. The municipal councils adopt their own budgets and development plans and deal with matters such as environmental preservation, public health, education, and cultural activities.

In 1990 the period of Communist domination ended and Bulgaria became a multiparty state. During the 1990s, three principal political parties dominated Bulgarian politics: the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), composed of former Communist Party members; the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF), a center-right coalition of anti-Communist parties; and the Movement for Rights and Freedoms, an ethnic Turkish party. In 2001 a new organization led by Bulgaria�s former king, Simeon II, the National Movement for Simeon II, emerged as an important party. More than 60 other parties function in Bulgaria, including the Bulgarian Agricultural People�s Union (BAPU), a peasant party; Euroleft, a party composed of BSP defectors, the right-leaning Bulgarian Business Block; and the environmentalist Bulgarian Green Party.

Matters of health and medicine in Bulgaria are under the overall control of the Ministry of Public Health. Health services are free, although patients must pay for medication. Private medical services were authorized in 1989. A program providing pensions, recreational facilities, and welfare benefits was established in 1958. Social security, however, is facing severe monetary restraints as a result of the deteriorating economy.

Military service is compulsory for 18 months for all males beginning at age 19. Men enrolled in institutions of higher education may defer fulfillment of their military obligation until they complete their education. The Bulgarian armed forces have modern equipment that was supplied by the USSR. The army had about 42,400 personnel in 1999. Air force personnel numbered about 18,300. Military equipment in the late 1990s included 1,475 tanks and 217 combat aircraft. The navy had a force of about 5,260 and maintained three major bases on the Black Sea.

Bulgaria is a member of the United Nations (UN), the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Partnership for Peace program of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Group, the Council of Europe, and several other major international associations. Bulgaria is an associate member of the European Union (EU). In December 1997 the EU invited Bulgaria to begin the process of becoming a full member; no timetable was set for this process.

The region that is now Bulgaria was at one time included in the Roman Empire as part of the provinces of Thrace and Moesia. Slavic and Turkic tribes settled in the area between about the 4th and 6th centuries ad. One branch of people known as Bulgars, who had established a large state near the Volga River on the east side of the Black Sea, invaded the Balkan Peninsula in the 7th century. They set up a state between the Danube River and the Balkan Mountains, an area that was then claimed by the Byzantine Empire. Byzantine armies failed repeatedly to dislodge the invaders during the 8th and early 9th centuries. By the end of the 9th century the Bulgarians had annexed considerable additional territory and laid the foundations for a strong state under Khan Krum, who reigned from 803 to 814. The Krum armies inflicted a devastating defeat on an invading Byzantine force in 811 and, assuming the offensive, nearly succeeded in 813 in taking Constantinople (present-day İstanbul, Turkey), the capital of the Byzantine Empire. Bulgarian-Byzantine relations were thereafter relatively peaceful and continued to be so during the first half of the 9th century. The immediate successors of Krum enlarged their dominions, mainly in the region of Serbia and Macedonia. In 860, however, during the reign of Boris I, Bulgaria suffered a severe military setback at the hands of the Serbs. Four years later Boris, responding to pressure from the Byzantine emperor Michael III, made Christianity the official religion. Boris accepted the primacy of the papacy in 866, but in 870, following the refusal of Pope Adrian II to make Bulgaria an archbishopric, he shifted his allegiance to the Eastern Orthodox Church.

In the late 9th and early 10th centuries, Bulgaria became the strongest nation of Eastern Europe during the reign of Boris�s son Simeon. A brilliant administrator and military leader, Simeon introduced Byzantine (Greek) culture into his realm, encouraged education, obtained new territories, defeated the Magyars (Hungarians), and conducted a series of successful wars against the Byzantine Empire. In 925 Simeon proclaimed himself tsar (emperor) of the Greeks and Bulgars. He conquered Serbia in 926 and became the most powerful monarch in contemporary Eastern Europe. Simeon�s reign was marked by great cultural advances led by the followers of the brothers Saint Cyril and Saint Methodius. During this period Old Church Slavonic, the first written Slavic language, and the Cyrillic alphabet were adopted.

Weakened by domestic strife and successive Magyar raids, Bulgarian power declined steadily during the following half-century. In 969 invading Russians seized the capital and captured the royal family. The Byzantine Emperor John I Tzimisces, alarmed over the Russian advance into southeastern Europe, intervened in 970 in the Russo-Bulgarian conflict. The Russians were compelled to withdraw from Bulgaria in 972, and the eastern part of the country was annexed to the Byzantine Empire. Samuel, the son of a Bulgarian provincial governor, became ruler of western Bulgaria in 976. Samuel�s armies were annihilated in 1014 by the Byzantine Emperor Basil II, who incorporated the short-lived state into his empire in 1018.

Led by the noble brothers Asen and Peter, the Bulgarians revolted against Byzantine rule in 1185 and established a second empire. It consisted initially of the region between the Balkan Mountains and the Danube; by the early 13th century it included extensive neighboring territories, notably sections of Serbia and all of western Macedonia. Ivan Asen II, the fifth ruler of the Asen dynasty, added western Thrace, the remainder of Macedonia, and part of Albania to the empire in 1230.

Feudal strife and involvement in foreign wars caused gradual disintegration of the empire after the death of Ivan Asen II. The Bulgarian armies were decisively defeated by the Serbs in 1330, and for the next quarter century the second empire was little more than a dependency of Serbia. Shortly after 1360, armies of the Ottoman Empire began to ravage the Maritsa Valley and by 1396 they controlled all of Bulgaria. During the next five centuries the political and cultural existence of Bulgaria was almost obliterated. After a century of terrorism and persecution, Ottoman administration improved, and the economic condition of the remaining Bulgarians rose to a level higher than it had been under the kingdom, although unsuccessful revolts against Ottoman rule occurred from time to time.

With the revival of a Bulgarian literature glorifying the history of the country, in the latter half of the 18th century and the early part of the 19th century, Bulgarian nationalism became a powerful movement. In 1876 the Bulgarians revolted against the Ottomans, but were quelled; in reprisal, the Ottomans massacred an estimated 30,000 Bulgarian men, women, and children. In 1877, prompted by the desire to expand toward the Mediterranean Sea and by Pan-Slavic sentiment, Russia declared war on the Ottoman Empire and defeated it in 1878. As a result of the war, a part of Bulgaria became an autonomous principality; another part, Eastern Rumelia, was made an autonomous Ottoman province.

Elected by a Bulgarian assembly in 1879, the first prince of the new Bulgaria was a German, Alexander of Battenberg, also a prince and a nephew of Emperor Alexander II of Russia. Eastern Rumelia revolted against the Ottoman Empire in 1885 and was united with Bulgaria. Russia, whose relationship with Prince Alexander had deteriorated, refused to recognize the union. The Russian emperor demanded the abdication of the prince and withdrew all officers who had been detailed to train the Bulgarian army. Serbia then declared war on Bulgaria but was quickly defeated. In 1886 a group of Russian and Bulgarian conspirators abducted Prince Alexander and established a Russian-dominated government. Within a few days the government was overthrown by the Bulgarian statesman Stepan Stambolov, but the Russians compelled Prince Alexander to abdicate. The new ruler, chosen in 1887, was Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Taking advantage of a revolution in the Ottoman Empire, in 1908 Ferdinand declared Bulgaria independent and assumed the title of King, or Tsar, Ferdinand I; he reigned from 1908 to 1918.

In the First Balkan War (1912-1913), Bulgaria, allied with Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece, defeated the Ottoman Empire. Division of the reconquered Balkan territories, however, resulted in the Second Balkan War in 1913, which Bulgaria lost to Serbia, Montenegro, Greece, the Ottoman Empire, and Romania; as a consequence, Bulgaria lost considerable territory. Bulgaria entered World War I in 1915 on the side of the Central Powers, but was forced to agree on an armistice with the Allies in September 1918. King Ferdinand abdicated in October and was succeeded by his son, Boris III. By the Treaty of Neuilly on November 27, 1919, Bulgaria lost most of what it had gained in the Balkan Wars and all of its conquests from World War I. It was also required to abandon conscription, reduce armaments, and pay large reparations.

The Agrarian Party government under Aleksandr Stambolisky, who became premier in 1919, attempted to improve the condition of the large peasant class and maintain friendly relations with the other Balkan countries. Stambolisky�s dictatorial regime, unpopular with the army and the urban middle class, was overthrown by a coup d�état in 1923; he was captured and killed while seeking to escape. Internal dissension continued under the new government, which represented all political parties except the Agrarians, Communists, and Liberals. Bulgaria and Greece again came into conflict in 1925, and the Greek army invaded Bulgaria. The Council of the League of Nations brought the conflict to an end and penalized Greece. In 1934 King Boris staged a coup of his own and established a royal dictatorship. In September 1940 Germany compelled Romania to cede southern Dobruja to Bulgaria. In March 1941, under German pressure, Bulgaria joined the Axis powers, agreeing to immediate occupation by German forces. Bulgaria declared war on Greece and Yugoslavia in April, shortly afterward occupying all of Yugoslav Macedonia, Grecian Thrace, eastern Greek Macedonia, and the Greek districts of Florina and Kastoría. Bulgaria signed the Anti-Comintern Pact in November and the following month declared war on the United States and Britain. Although allied with Nazi Germany, King Boris and his government resisted German demands for the persecution of Bulgarian Jews, most of whom survived the Holocaust, the near destruction of European Jews by the Nazis.

When the tide of war turned against the Germans in 1943, German dictator Adolf Hitler attempted to force Bulgaria to declare war on the USSR. In August 1943, after returning from a meeting with Hitler, King Boris died under mysterious circumstances and was succeeded by his six-year-old son, Simeon II, and a pro-German government under Dobri Bozhilov. An anti-German resistance movement organized by the Communists and the Agrarians opposed the Bozhilov regime, which fell in May 1944. The succeeding government severed its ties with Germany, but it was too late. The USSR formally declared war on Bulgaria on September 5. No fighting occurred, and the Bulgarian government subsequently asked the USSR for an armistice; Bulgaria, moreover, declared war on Germany on September 7. The armistice was agreed to by the USSR on September 9, and under the protection of Soviet forces a government subservient to the USSR was immediately established. The armistice, signed by the USSR, the United States, and Britain in October 1944, provided for the control of Bulgaria, until the signing of final peace treaties, by the Allied Control Commission under the chairmanship of the Soviet representative, who was also the commander of the Soviet occupation forces. The armistice provided also that the Bulgarians evacuate Yugoslav Macedonia and territories they had taken from Greece.

Soviet pressure in the Bulgarian election engaged the attention of Britain and the United States in the fall of 1945. National elections originally scheduled for August were postponed because of U.S. protests concerning the nature of Soviet political maneuvers within Bulgaria. The opposition parties boycotted the elections held on November 18, and a single list of candidates of the Communist-dominated Fatherland Front won 85 percent of the vote.

By a plebiscite in September 1946, the Bulgarians ousted King Simeon and ended the monarchy; a week later Bulgaria was proclaimed a people�s republic. The constitution drawn up by the Fatherland Front, which won an overwhelming victory in the elections to the National Assembly, held in October, provided for freedom of the press, assembly, and speech. The National Assembly, which gained full control of state affairs, then elected the premier and also the president. The first president was Vasil Kolarov, a Communist Party leader. Georgi Dimitrov, a former key figure in the Communist International, was elected premier in November 1946.

In February 1947 the peace treaty formally ending Bulgarian participation in World War II was signed in Paris. It provided for reparations to be paid to Greece in the amount of $45 million and to Yugoslavia in the amount of $25 million; severe limitation of military strength, with partial demilitarization along the Greek frontier; and the retention of southern Dobruja. (The borders with Greece were returned to their status as of 1941.) In December 1947 the National Assembly adopted a new constitution modeled on that of the USSR; this document replaced the presidency with the presidium, an executive committee. That September, Nikola Dimitrov Petkov, leader of the opposition to the Fatherland Front, had been executed after being convicted of conspiring to overthrow the government.

Under pressure from the USSR, Bulgaria renounced its treaty of friendship with Yugoslavia after the Soviet-Yugoslavian rift in 1948; relations with the country and its successor states have since continued to fluctuate, as have those with neighboring Greece and Turkey. Diplomatic ties with the United States, broken in 1950 but restored in 1959, have frequently been marred by Bulgarian accusations of U.S. espionage activities. The U.S. ministry was raised to the status of an embassy in 1966.

During most of the Communist period, under the leadership of Todor Zhivkov�secretary of the Communist Party from 1954, the country�s premier from 1964 to 1971, and head of state from 1971 to late 1989�Bulgaria was one of the most restrictive societies among the former Soviet satellites. As a member of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) and the Warsaw Pact, Bulgaria long remained among the USSR�s most dependable allies. During the 1970s the country received substantial financial aid from the USSR, which was used for industrialization.

During the mid-1980s the Zhivkov government launched a campaign to assimilate members of Bulgaria�s Turkish minority by forcing them to take Slavic names, prohibiting them from speaking Turkish in public, and subjecting them to other forms of harassment; during 1989 alone, more than 300,000 Bulgarian Turks crossed the border into Turkey to escape persecution. Late in 1989, Zhivkov was ousted from power and expelled from the Communist Party; replacing him as general secretary was the foreign minister, Petur T. Mladenov. Under Mladenov�s leadership, Bulgaria restored the civil rights of Bulgarian Turks and began to institute a multiparty system. In June 1990 the Communists, running as the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), won the nation�s first free parliamentary elections since World War II. Mladenov, who had become president in April, resigned in July over a scandal regarding the use of force in the suppression of student demonstrations. The parliament replaced him with Zhelyu Zhelev of the Union of Democratic Forces (UDF). The collapse of the Bulgarian economy led to the resignation in November 1990 of Prime Minister Andrei Lukanov of the BSP. Despite being replaced by an independent candidate, Dimiter Popov, new elections were scheduled. The UDF won the elections of 1991 by a narrow margin. Filip Dimitrov, head of the UDF, became the prime minister. Under a new constitution providing for direct presidential voting, Zhelyu Zhelev won reelection in January 1992. In September 1992, after an 18-month trial, Todor Zhivkov was found guilty of corruption while in office and sentenced to seven years in prison. In 1996 the Bulgarian Supreme Court overturned Zhivkov�s conviction.

Following the 1991 elections, the government slowly began initiating economic and industrial reforms. Among the reforms were laws allowing foreign investment, privatization of state-owned companies, and the return of land seized by the Communists to its original owners. However, public dissatisfaction with the social effects of the reforms led to the overthrow of Dimitrov�s government in October 1992.

The following two years were characterized by volatile and ineffective political alliances with parliament unable to enact key legislation. When the BSP and the UDF refused to form a new government, President Zhelev of the UDF dissolved parliament in October 1994. He then appointed a caretaker government until parliamentary elections were held in December. The BSP won a clear majority, capturing 125 of the 240 seats. Zhan Videnov, the 35-year-old chairman of the BSP, was appointed prime minister.

In 1996 Zhelev lost his party�s nomination to Petar Stoyanov for the November presidential elections. Stoyanov won 60 percent of the vote in the elections, defeating Ivan Mazarov, the BSP candidate. Faced with Mazarov�s defeat, a collapsing economy, and an intraparty rebellion against his leadership, Videnov resigned his posts as prime minister and chairman of the BSP in December. The BSP parliamentary majority then appointed the interior minister, Nikolay Dobrev, as their choice for prime minister. The UDF objected vigorously to continuing the BSP mandate and demanded an early parliamentary election, but the BSP refused, insisting that its mandate from 1994 be continued. Meanwhile, the national economy suffered a collapse; the currency plunged in value and inflation soared, leaving the country in a state of near-bankruptcy. In January 1997 tens of thousands of Bulgarians began to hold daily protests, calling for early elections and an end to the country�s economic crisis.

On January 10 the UDF and other opposition parties�angered that the BSP refused to consider the UDF�s motion for new elections�walked out of a National Assembly session and began a boycott of parliament. Protesters immediately stormed the parliament building, trapping more than 100 BSP deputies inside until police broke through and enabled the deputies to escape. The next day, President Zhelev announced he would not give the BSP�s newly appointed prime minister the mandate, as required by the constitution, to form a new government. In the face of this political standoff, president-elect Stoyanov took office on January 22. After the mass protests and strikes succeeded in paralyzing the economy, the BSP conceded to the opposition�s demands on February 4, and Stoyanov appointed a caretaker government led by Sofia mayor Stefan Sofianski. The economy began to recover somewhat in March, in part because the interim government was able to attract support from international lenders and donor governments.

In the April 19 general election, the United Democratic Forces (ODC)�an electoral alliance of the UDF and several smaller parties�swept into power, winning 137 parliamentary seats. The leader of the alliance, Ivan Kostov of the UDF, was unanimously chosen to be prime minister. He immediately established a currency-board system, required by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in exchange for aid. Kostov promised to battle organized crime and corruption and institute rigorous economic reforms.