Bulgaria Informative Slideshow

The Bulgarian government is similar to other democracies but is more parliamentary in nature with a single prime minister at the head of the three-branch system. The parties and officials are elected or re-elected every four years.

The majority of Bulgarians have ethnic heritage from that region, and speak Bulgarian which is a similar dialect of Macedonian, both with roots from South Slavic languages. After the communist rule ended in 1990, the country citizens have developed a strong love for freedom of religion and most consequently belong to the Christian Bulgarian Orthodox church.

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Average for it’s size as a European country, Bulgaria sits atop the Balkan Mountain Range that splits the nation into the plains of Northern Bulgaria and rugged mountainous regions of Southern Bulgaria; however, the Black Sea coastal areas remain indifferent to these divides.

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Bulgarians today can trace their heritage back to when Persians conquered most of the region back in 600 BCE. This region eventually came under rule of Alexander the Great and then the Romans by the turn of the millennia. It was until 680 that Bulgarian tribes immigrated south into the region, settled and established an official Bulgarian empire and a peace treaty with the Byzantines. And like many peace treaties at the time, it was broken as tensions between the two countries grew into a war that led the Byzantines to conquer and rule the Bulgarian country.

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The Byzantines held this region as part of the capital of their empire until divisions within the government made the military weak and vulnerable to Ottoman Turks who laid siege to the region and captured it around 1396. Between the 1400s and 1800s, there were several unsuccessful Bulgarian revolts and conflicts against the Ottoman Turks, but finally fell to Russian forces who united with Bulgarian rebels in 1877. This led to a signed treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire that would allow Bulgarians to define and govern their own territories.

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Not long after the signed treaty, neighboring countries became weary of potential Bulgarian uprisings within their own borders. As borders were drawn, many Bulgarians were left outside of them, a problem that fueled the tensions that eventually erupted in wars (particularly with Serbia) that led the country to be referred to as “the Balkan Prussia.”

These wars lasted into World War l and the Balkan Wars, both of which heavily drained the country’s economy. However, during World War ll, the country joined the war only to save its Jewish population from being deported or killed.

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The war-ravaged country was almost in full German control when the war ended. When Bulgaria failed to force the Germans out of its borders, the Russians invaded and established their communist rule that lasted until 1989.

Bulgaria declared independence as a nation, wrote a constitution, and established a parliamentary democracy in 1991.

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After joining NATO, participating in the War in Afghanistan and joining the European Union, the country in 2017 faces concerns of extreme corruption and was deemed the most corrupted of the EU. These tensions are linked to relations between Bulgaria and Romania, and have led millions in protest for a reformation and re-election of the government. Results of the conflict are uncertain and will be updated in the future.

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The Bulgarian flag was originally designed by Tsar Ivan Shishman, the most powerful Bulgarian ruler. On the design, there was coat of colors on the tri-color background, but in the late 1800s it was redesigned with just the three stripes of white, green, and red. As part of the declaration of independence in 1991, they adopted this flag as a representation. The white is said to stand for peace and freedom; the green represents the agriculture; the red symbolizes the military.

The country is divided up into 26 provinces that are named after their largest cities, and are run by local governments that operate similarly to the national government.

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There are numerous festivals in Bulgarian culture, some are traditional while others are more recently established. The most prominent of these is Liberation Day, the day Bulgarians declared independence from the Ottoman Turks in the late 1800s. This day has parades, festivals, and other activities.

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This beautiful festival is held in the Valley of Roses and coincides with rose petal picking. There are often singers, dancers, costumes, and traditional performances and dances that are adorned in flowers and other folklore. Though this event has been scaled down in recent years, it is still an event many like to attend.

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The Balkan Folklore festival mostly celebrates the rich history and culture of the country and the surrounding areas. This event often features thousands of singers, dancers, and musicians from around the region and sometimes from around the world, it is located near the second Bulgarian Empire capital, a popular tourist attraction.

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