Bulgaria history and politics

The ancestors of today’s modern Bulgarians are the Thracian peoples. In fact the Bulgarian roots stem from the Thracian civilization. It was further influenced by the ancient Greeks and the ancient Romans.

Although the land on which Bulgaria now stands has been occupied for millennia, the modern state that we recognize was formed in 632 by Khan Kubat. It became a major European power in the 9th and 10th centuries. The country accepted the Orthodox faith in 864 – a faith that is at the core of its culture and value system to this day.

During the reign of Boris, the First Cyrillic alphabet was created and became the basis of all Slavic languages henceforth.

The state was completely destroyed by the Byzantines in 1018. The Bulgarians challenged Byzantine rule several times until they finally established the second Bulgarian Empire in 1185. After this Bulgaria once again became an important player in Europe.

Bulgaria was conquered by the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 14th century. Ottoman rule lasted 5 centuries during which the people of Bulgaria faced terrible violence and oppression. Finally in 1877-78, Bulgarian rebels aided by Russian and Romanian forces finally defeated the Ottomans. It resulted in the Treaty of San Stefano in 1878 in which an autonomous Bulgarian principality was proclaimed. However, that treaty was rejected and a new one written called the Treaty of Berlin, which was proclaimed and accepted that same year.

During 1912-13 Bulgaria participated in the Balkan War. Then during the 2nd Balkan War against Greece and Serbia, Bulgaria lost most of the territories that they had gained during the first war.

Bulgaria was on the losing side during WWII because of an alliance they had formed with the Central Powers. After WWII the country was left unstable. It eventually fell under the Soviet sphere of influence. The People’s Republic of Bulgaria was created in 1946 and the country became staunch allies of the USSR.

The People’s Republic ended in 1989 with the collapse of the USSR. In 1990 Bulgaria held its first free election since 1931. The election was won by a moderate faction of the communist party. Since then Bulgaria has held multi-party elections and privatized its economy. However, the economy has faced tremendous difficulties due to corruption.

Today Bulgaria is working towards creating a prosperous free-market economy and stabilizing its newly found democracy.

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