History UsefulNotes / Bulgaria

With the end of CommieLand (though the communist party, who renamed themselves the "socialist party" managed to hang on to power for a few more years), Bulgaria became a democracy (notably electing their former Tsar, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Simeon]], as Prime Minister: he didn't do too well, is doing better as an elder statesman, and they decided not to bring back the monarchy anyway). Also, in 2007 Bulgaria joined UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion. However, the country still has problems: internally, corruption, crime, and poverty, externally its relations with the now-independent country now known as UsefulNotes/NorthMacedonia. These are cordial, but Bulgaria refuses to acknowledge that Macedonian is a different language. This is decidedly not what North Macedonians think.

** Prime Minister: Boyko Borisov

Bulgaria ('''Bulgarian:''' ''България''), officially the '''Republic of Bulgaria''' ('''Bulgarian:''' ''Република България Republika Balgariya''), is an Eastern European country located at the south-east corner of Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Its inhabitants, the Bulgarians, speak Bulgarian, a South Slavic language.

Bulgaria's footballers enjoyed a period of success in the early-mid 1990s, with a fourth-place finish at the 1994 World Cup, qualifying at the expense of highly-rated UsefulNotes/{{France}} and knocking defending champions Germany out in the quarter-final. Bulgaria has continued to produce high-quality players such as former Manchester United striker Dimitar Berbatov, but the team as a whole have not come close to repeating their previous success.

With the end of CommieLand (though the communist party, who renamed themselves the "socialist party" managed to hang on to power a few more years), Bulgaria became a democracy (notably electing their former Tsar, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Simeon]], as Prime Minister: he didn't do too well, is doing better as an elder statesman, and they decided not to bring back the monarchy anyway). Also, in 2007 Bulgaria joined UsefulNotes/TheEuropeanUnion. However, the country still has problems: internally, corruption, crime, and poverty, externally its relations with the now-independent country now known as UsefulNotes/NorthMacedonia. These are cordial, but Bulgaria refuses to acknowledge that Macedonian is a different language. This is decidedly not what North Macedonians think.

In 1941, Bulgaria was again reluctantly dragged into [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Germany's war]] in search of {{revenge}}, and again it paid the price: Bulgaria was actually allowed to keep some territories it was given by UsefulNotes/NaziGermany (which were ethnically Bulgarian and still part of Bulgaria today), but this was hardly worth being stuck in CommieLand for the next few decades. In the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] at the time, Bulgaria was sometimes informally referred to as "the sixteenth Soviet Republic". Because out of all the communist parties of the Eastern Bloc, Bulgaria's was considered the most obedient to UsefulNotes/{{Moscow}}. It's worth noting that commie Bulgaria was one of the better economies of the East Bloc. It managed to successfully collectivize its agricultural production, succeeding not only to avoid the horrible [[TheFamine famines]] faced by the regimes of UsefulNotes/MaoZedong and UsefulNotes/JosefStalin, but also to significantly increase its agricultural output. Bulgaria was also rather popular as a holiday destination for people living on the other side of the Iron Curtain (the skiing in the mountains and the warm Black Sea resorts being the main attraction).

Meanwhile, those people who had historically always been thought of as Bulgarian but who lived in territory gained by Serbia during the Balkan wars were developing their own national consciousness: Macedonism - according to most Bulgarians, against their will.

In 1941, Bulgaria was again reluctantly dragged into [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Germany's war]] in search of {{revenge}}, and again it paid the price: Bulgaria was actually allowed to keep some territories it was given by UsefulNotes/NaziGermany (which were ethnically Bulgarian and still part of Bulgaria today), but this was hardly worth being stuck in CommieLand for the next few decades. In the [[UsefulNotes/SovietRussiaUkraineAndSoOn Soviet Union]] at the time, Bulgaria was sometimes informally referred to as "the sixteenth Soviet Republic". Because out of all the communist parties of the Eastern Bloc, Bulgaria's was considered the most obedient to UsefulNotes/{{Moscow}}. It's worth noting that commie Bulgaria was one of the better economies of the East Bloc. It managed to successfully collectivize its agricultural production, succeeding not only to avoid the horrible famines of Mao's and Stalin's regime, but also to significantly increase its agricultural output. Bulgaria was also rather popular as a holiday destination for people living on the other side of the Iron Curtain (the skiing in the mountains and the warm Black Sea resorts being the main attraction).

In 1941, Bulgaria was again reluctantly dragged into [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Germany's war]] in search of {{revenge}}, and again it paid the price: Bulgaria was actually allowed to keep some territories it was given by the Nazis (which were ethnically Bulgarian and still part of Bulgaria today), but this was hardly worth being stuck in CommieLand for the next few decades. In the USSR at the time Bulgaria was sometimes informally referred to as "the sixteenth Soviet Republic", because out of all the communist parties of the Eastern Bloc Bulgaria's was considered the most obedient to UsefulNotes/{{Moscow}}. It's worth noting that commie Bulgaria was one of the better economies of the East Bloc. It managed to successfully collectivize its agricultural production, succeeding not only to avoid the horrible famines of Mao's and Stalin's regime, but also to significantly increase its agricultural output. Bulgaria was also rather popular as a holiday destination for people living on the other side of the Iron Curtain (the skiing in the mountains and the warm Black Sea resorts being the main attraction).

In the First Balkan War, Bulgaria and Serbia (and UsefulNotes/{{Montenegro}} and Greece) put aside their disputed to fight the Turks, but soon fell out over the spoils. Trouble was that Bulgaria and Greece didn't have an agreement on how to divide the conquered territories, while Serbia with which Bulgaria did have an agreement refused to honor it. Bulgaria wanted most of Macedonia which would leave Serbia and Greece with little. So the two allied against Bulgaria and when Bulgaria attacked them, Romania and the Ottomans also jumped in. When the dust cleared Bulgaria had lost badly and ended up losing a lot of land, including territories which were clearly Bulgarian.

Confusingly enough, the original people called "Bulgars" were Turkic-speaking[[note]]Or possibly [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_languages Iranian]]-speaking, or perhaps Turkic-speaking with a strong UsefulNotes/{{Iran}}ian influence.[[/note]] [[BornInTheSaddle nomadic horsemen]] from somewhere in Central Asia, and they stayed a while in the UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}} before scattering. Most went to modern Bulgaria and entered an alliance with some Slavic tribes, intermixing until the two peoples were one ethnic group, sharing one Slavic language. The new group were called Bulgarians (a bit like how Rus' nobles of Nordic extraction gradually [[GoingNative went native]] as the UsefulNotes/KievanRus, and then evolved into the Eastern Slavic nations we know and love today, namely UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}}). Other Bulgar groups lived along the Volga until being destroyed by the [[UsefulNotes/{{Mongolia}} Mongols]] (the Russian Tsars liked to call themselves Tsars of Volga Bulgaria as part of their long list of titles), and may have given their name to the Balkar people of the northern Caucasus; the Volga Tatars of today claim descent from the Volga Bulgars.

Confusingly enough, the original people called "Bulgars" were Turkic-speaking[[note]]Or possibly [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_languages Iranian]]-speaking, or perhaps Turkic-speaking with a strong UsefulNotes/{{Iran}}ian influence.[[/note]] [[BornInTheSaddle nomadic horsemen]] from somewhere in Central Asia, and they stayed a while in the Ukraine before scattering. Most went to modern Bulgaria and entered an alliance with some Slavic tribes, intermixing until the two peoples were one ethnic group with one Slavic language who were called Bulgarians (a bit like how Rus' nobles of Nordic extraction gradually [[GoingNative went native]] as the UsefulNotes/KievanRus evolved into the Eastern Slavic nations we know and love today, namely UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}}). Other Bulgar groups lived along the Volga until being destroyed by the Mongols (the Russian Tsars liked to call themselves Tsars of Volga Bulgaria as part of their long list of titles), and may have given their name to the Balkar people of the northern Caucasus; the Volga Tatars of today claim descent from the Volga Bulgars.

Confusingly enough, the original people called "Bulgars" were Turkic-speaking[[note]]Or possibly [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_languages Iranian]]-speaking, or perhaps Turkic-speaking with a strong UsefulNotes/{{Iran}}ian influence.[[/note]] nomadic horsemen from somewhere in Central Asia, and they stayed a while in the Ukraine before scattering. Most went to modern Bulgaria and entered an alliance with some Slavic tribes, intermixing until the two peoples were one ethnic group with one Slavic language who were called Bulgarians (a bit like how Rus' nobles of Nordic extraction gradually [[GoingNative went native]] as the UsefulNotes/KievanRus evolved into the Eastern Slavic nations we know and love today, namely UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}}). Other Bulgar groups lived along the Volga until being destroyed by the Mongols (the Russian Tsars liked to call themselves Tsars of Volga Bulgaria as part of their long list of titles), and may have given their name to the Balkar people of the northern Caucasus; the Volga Tatars of today claim descent from the Volga Bulgars.

During the Classical period most of modern day Bulgaria, as well as Northern Greece and Western Turkey, was occupied by the Thracian people. The Odrysian Kingdom attempted to unify Thrace as a political and military force, but they were unable to resist the dominance of - at varying times - UsefulNotes/AncientGreece, Macedonia, and Rome.

During the Classical period most of modern day Bulgaria, as well as Northern Greece and Western Turkey, was occupied by the Thracian people. The Odrysian Kingdom attempted to unify Thrace as a political and military force, but they were unable to resist the dominance of - at varying times - Greece, Macedonia, and Rome.

Bulgaria ('''Bulgarian:''' ''България''), officially the '''Republic of Bulgaria''' ('''Bulgarian:''' ''Република България Republika Balgariya''), is a Eastern European country located at the south-east corner of Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Its inhabitants, the Bulgarians, speak the South Slavic language Bulgarian.

* The country appears in ''Franchise/HarryPotter'' as home to a highly elite national Quidditch team, most notably seeker Viktor Krum''[[note]]praised by Bulgarian fans as a cool character but also derided for his [[CriticalResearchFailure inaccurate name]] and MisplacedAccent[[/note]]'' who attended the Durmstrang Institute and participated as its champion in the Triwizard Tournament at Hogwarts in 1994-1995, striking a friendship with Harry and Hermione ([[GreenEyedMonster but not Ron]]).

The Bulgarian language is Slavic but has some features which set it apart from the other Slavic languages. For example, its grammar is closer to English - no cases and the verb system is complicated, while in most other Slavic languages, it's the other way around. It also has some words which don't appear in any other Slavic language--including an equivalent to ''the''[[note]]Though like in Scandinavian languages and Romanian, it comes at the end of the word[[/note]] (most other Slavic languages have no articles at all). Macedonian shares some of these characteristics, though to go from there and say that it's the same language may cause some internet drama. Bulgarian appears as Krakozhian in ''Film/TheTerminal''.

Confusingly enough, the original people called "Bulgars" were Turkic-speaking[[note]]Or possibly [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iranian_languages Iranian]]-speaking, or perhaps Turkic-speaking with a strong UsefulNotes/{{Iran}}ian influence; this is tied up with both recent research and the uncomfortable recent history of the Bulgarians and Turks. Most likely it was Turkic[[/note]] nomadic horsemen from somewhere in Central Asia, and they stayed a while in the Ukraine before scattering. Most went to modern Bulgaria and entered an alliance with some Slavic tribes, intermixing until the two peoples were one ethnic group with one Slavic language who were called Bulgarians (a bit like how Rus' nobles of Nordic extraction gradually [[GoingNative went native]] as the UsefulNotes/KievanRus evolved into the Eastern Slavic nations we know and love today, namely UsefulNotes/{{Russia}}, UsefulNotes/{{Belarus}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Ukraine}}). Other Bulgar groups lived along the Volga until being destroyed by the Mongols (the Russian Tsars liked to call themselves Tsars of Volga Bulgaria as part of their long list of titles), and may have given their name to the Balkar people of the northern Caucasus; the Volga Tatars of today claim descent from the Volga Bulgars.

* '''Highest point:''' Musala (2925 m/9,596 ft) (80th)

* '''Highest point:''' Musala (2925 m/9,596 ft) (75th)