Wikipedia's History of Bulgaria

• First Bulgarian Empire in 681 dominated most of the Balkans in the 9th-10th centuries and functioned as a Slavic cultural hub.

• After a period of Byzantine rule (1018- 1185), the Second Bulgarian Empire emerged and lasted until 1396

• This was followed by 500 years of Ottoman Rule aka “Turkish yoke”

Read: Under the Yoke by Ivan Vazov

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkanshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavic_peopleshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Bulgarian_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Yokehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Yokehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Under_the_Yoke

Russo-Turkish War• A national rebellion (April Uprising)

fails in 1876 , but Russians succeed in freeing Bulgaria 1877-78 Russo-Turkish War)

• The Treaty of San Stefano was signed on March 3, 1878, setting up an de jure autonomous Bulgarian principality on the territories of the Second Bulgarian Empire (see previous slide).

• The Great Powers immediately rejected the treaty out of fear that such a large country in the Balkans might threaten their interests. The subsequent Treaty of Berlin (July 13, 1878) split Bulgaria in two.

• This played a significant role in forming Bulgaria's militaristic approach to foreign affairs during the first half of the 20th century.

• Map of Treaty of Berlin: Bulgaria is split in two – Bulgaria and Eastern Roumelia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Turkish_War,_1877%E2%80%931878http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Turkish_War,_1877%E2%80%931878http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_San_Stefanohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Powershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berlin,_1878http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Berlin,_1878

• Treaty of San Stefano March 3, 1878 (black out-line)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_San_Stefano

• Treaty of San Stefano March 3, 1878

• Congress of Berlin (July 13, 1878) split Bulgaria in two

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_San_Stefanohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Berlinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Berlin

Eastern Rumelia• After a bloodless revolution on 6 September 1885, Eastern

Rumelia was annexed by the Principality of Bulgaria, which was de jure a tributary state but de facto functioned as independent nation.

• After the Bulgarian victory in the subsequent Serbo-Bulgarian War, the status quo was recognized by the Tophane Agreement on 24 March 1886.

• The province was nominally under Ottoman power until Bulgaria became de jure independent in 1908. 6 September, Unification Day, is a national holiday in Bulgaria

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Rumeliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Rumeliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Rumeliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Rumeliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tophane_Agreementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tophane_Agreementhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_Day_(Bulgaria)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public_holiday

Bulgarian unification and Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885).

Serbo-Bulgarian War, Two Balkan Wars, and World War I

• Serbo-Bulgarian War: between Serbia and Bulgaria in14 November 1885 lasted until the 28th. As a result of the war, European powers acknowledged the act of Unification of Bulgaria which happened on 6 September 1885. A final peace treaty was signed on 19 February 1886 in Bucharest, as Bulgaria incorporated the semi-autonomous Ottoman territory of Eastern Rumelia- but not fully until 1908.

• Bulgaria proclaimed itself an independent state on 22 September 1908.

• Between 1912 and 1918, Bulgaria became involved in three consecutive conflicts—two Balkan Wars (1912 and 1913) and World War I (1914–1918)

• Read “THE BALKAN WARS: 1912-1913” BY JACOB GOULD SCHURMAN

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serbiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unification_of_Bulgariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucharesthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Rumeliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Rumeliahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_Declaration_of_Independencehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkan_Warshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://www.gutenberg.org/files/36192/36192-h/36192-h.htm

1st Balkan War: 1912

• Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia ally to become the Balkan League.

• Large parts of their ethnic populations remained under Ottoman sovereignty.

• The Balkan League succeeds in, terminating the Ottoman Empire’s five-century rule in the Balkans in a seven month campaign, resulting in the Treaty of London.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkan_Leaguehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_London,_1913

Treaty of London (1913)• The combatants were the victorious Balkan League (Serbia, Greece,

Kingdom of Bulgaria, and Montenegro) and the defeated Ottoman Empire.

• Representing the Great Powers were Britain, Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, and Italy.

• However, the division of the territories ceded to the Balkan League was not addressed in the Treaty, and Serbia refused to carry out the division agreed with Bulgaria in their treaty of March 1912.

• As a result of Bulgarian dissatisfaction with the de facto military division of Macedonia, the Second Balkan War broke out between the combatants in June 1913. A final peace was agreed at the Treaty of Bucharest on 12 August 1913.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_London_(1913)

• The territorial gains of the Balkan states after the First Balkan War and the line of expansion according to the prewar secret agreement between Serbia and Bulgaria

Second Balkan War

• The Second Balkan War broke out on 16 June 1913 when Bulgaria, dissatisfied over the division of the spoils in Macedonia after the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece.

Initial Bulgarian plan of operations

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Balkan_War

• Bulgaria lost most of the territories gained in the First Balkan War.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Balkan_War

Map showing the final territorial gains of the Balkan countries after

the Balkan Wars

*Treaties of BucharestTreaty of Bucharest may refer to the following treaties signed in Bucharest:Treaty of Bucharest (1812), between the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire ending the 1806–1812 Russo-Turkish warTreaty of Bucharest (1886), between Serbia and Bulgaria ending the Serbo-Bulgarian WarTreaty of Bucharest (1913), between Bulgaria, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece ending of the Second Balkan WarTreaty of Bucharest (1916), a treaty of alliance between Romania and the Entente powers (France, Britain, Italy, and Russia)Treaty of Bucharest (1918), between Romania and the Central Powers (Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, Germany and the Ottoman Empire), subsequently nullified due to the defeat of the Central Powershttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharest

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Balkan_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Balkan_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Balkan_Warhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharest_(1812)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharest_(1886)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharest_(1913)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharest_(1916)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharest_(1918)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharesthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharest

Treaty of Bucharest (1913)• Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its gains in the First Balkan War, and especially

with Greek and Serbian gains in Macedonia, launched an attack on its former allies in June 1913.

• The attacks were driven back, and the Greek and Serbian armies invaded Bulgarian-held territory in return.

• At the same time, the Ottomans advanced into Eastern Thrace and retook Adrianople, while Romania used the opportunity to invade Bulgaria from the north and advance against little opposition to within a short distance of the Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

• Isolated and surrounded by a more powerful coalition of opponents, Bulgaria was forced to agree to a truce and to peace negotiations to be held in the Romanian capital, Bucharest.

• Wikipedia: Treaty of Bucharest 1913

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macedonia_(region)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empirehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Thracehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrianoplehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sofiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bucharesthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Bucharest_(1913)

Bulgaria in World War I• In the aftermath of the Balkan wars Bulgaria

found itself isolated on the international scene, surrounded by hostile neighbors and deprived of the support of the Great Powers. Anti-Bulgarian sentiments were especially strong in France and Russia, whose political circles blamed the country for the dissolution of the Balkan League.

• In the aftermath of the Balkan Wars Bulgarian opinion turned against Russia and the Western powers, whom the Bulgarians felt had done nothing to help them. The government of Vasil Radoslavov aligned Bulgaria with the German Empire and Austria-Hungary, even though this meant becoming an ally of the Ottomans, Bulgaria's traditional enemy. But Bulgaria now had no claims against the Ottomans, whereas Serbia, Greece and Romania (allies of Britain and France) held lands perceived in Bulgaria as Bulgarian.

In Literature an Film: The story ¨Kradetzat na praskovi¨ (English: “The Peach Thief ") depicts the love story between a Bulgarian colonel's wife and a Serbian prisoner of war. Written by Emilian Stanev in 1948, and turned into a film in 1964 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsWa30Z-M38

The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine required Bulgaria to cede various territories, after Bulgaria had been one of the Central Powers defeated in World War I. The treaty was signed on 27 November 1919 at Neuilly-sur-Seine, France.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasil_Radoslavovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasil_Radoslavovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasil_Radoslavovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilian_Stanevhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilian_Stanevhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emilian_Stanevhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsWa30Z-M38http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HsWa30Z-M38http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Neuilly-sur-Seinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Neuilly-sur-Seinehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Neuilly-sur-Seine

Bulgaria sat out the first year of World War I recuperating from the Balkan Wars.[67] Germany and Austria realized they needed Bulgaria's help in order to defeat Serbia militarily, and thereby open supply lines from Germany to Turkey, and bolster the Eastern Front against Russia.

The Kingdom of Bulgaria participated in World War I on the side of the Central Powers from 15 October 1915, when the country declared war on Serbia.

However, the war soon became unpopular with most Bulgarians, who suffered great economic hardship and also disliked fighting their fellow Orthodox Christians in alliance with the Muslim Ottomans. The Russian Revolution of February 1917 had a great effect in Bulgaria, spreading anti-war and anti-monarchist sentiment among the troops and in the cities.

The Armistice with Bulgaria (also known as the Armistice of Thessalonica) 30 September 1918, effectively ended Bulgaria’s participation in WWI.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria_during_World_War_I

Bulgaria's Entry into WWI

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Bulgariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_Revolutionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armistice_with_Bulgariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria_during_World_War_Ihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgaria_during_World_War_I

Interwar Period• Aleksandar Stamboliyski opposed involvement in WWI

and was a member of the Agrarian Union which won national elections in March 20, 1920 and confirmed Stamboliyski as prime minister.

• Faced with this array of enemies, allied himself with the Bulgarian Communist Party and opened relations with the Soviet Union.

• In March 1923, Stamboliyski signed an agreement with Yugoslavia recognizing the new border and agreeing to suppress Macedonian succession from the Ottomans. This triggered a nationalist reaction, and on 9 June there was a coup after which Stamboliykski was assassinated (beheaded).

• A right wing government under Aleksandar Tsankov took power, backed by the Tsar, the army and the VMRO, who waged a White terror against the Agrarians and the Communists. The Communist leader Georgi Dimitrov fled to the Soviet Union.

Just when political stability had been restored, the full effects of the Great Depression hit Bulgaria, and social tensions rose again.

In May 1934 there was another coup, the Agrarians were again suppressed, and an authoritarian regime headed by Kimon Georgiev established with the backing of Tsar Boris.

In April 1935 Boris took power himself, ruling through puppet Prime Ministers Georgi Kyoseivanov (1935-40) and Bogdan Filov (1940-43).

The Tsar's regime banned all opposition parties and took Bulgaria into alliance with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy.

Although the signing of the Balkan Pact of 1938 restored good relations with Yugoslavia and Greece, the territorial issue continued to simmer.

Wikipedia: Interwar Period

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandar_Stamboliyskihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandar_Stamboliyskihttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_Agrarian_People's_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_Agrarian_People's_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_Communist_Partyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_coup_d'%C3%A9tat_of_1923http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandar_Tsankovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksandar_Tsankovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_terrorhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Dimitrovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Dimitrovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Dimitrovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depressionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bulgarian_coup_d'%C3%A9tat_of_1934http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimon_Georgievhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimon_Georgievhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimon_Georgievhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Kyoseivanovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Kyoseivanovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgi_Kyoseivanovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogdan_Filovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogdan_Filovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bogdan_Filovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nazi_Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Italy_(1861%E2%80%931946)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balkan_Pacthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Bulgaria_(1878%E2%80%931946)

World War II and Communism• Bulgaria drifted into World War II, faced by an Invasion and bribed by the return of southern Dobruja from

Romania, on the orders of Hitler (see Vienna Award), in September 1940.

• In March 1941 Bulgaria formally signed the Tripartite Pact, becoming a German ally, and German troops entered the country in preparation for the German invasion of Greece and Yugoslavia. When Yugoslavia and Greece were defeated, Bulgaria was allowed to occupy all of Greek Thrace and most of Macedonia. Bulgaria declared war on Britain and the United States, but resisted German pressure to declare war on the Soviet Union, fearful of pro-Russian sentiment in the country.

• In August 1943 Tsar Boris died suddenly after returning from Germany (possibly assassinated, although this has never been proved) and was succeeded by his six-year old son Simeon II. Power was held by a council of regents headed by the young Tsar's uncle, Prince Kirill. The new Prime Minister, Dobri Bozhilov, was in most respects a German puppet.

• Resistance to the Germans and the Bulgarian regime was widespread by 1943, co-ordinated mainly by the Communists. Together with the Agrarians, now led by Nikola Petkov, the Social Democrats and even with many army officers they founded the Fatherland Front. Partisans operated in the mountainous west and south. By 1944 it was obvious that Germany was losing the war and the regime began to look for a way out. Bozhilov resigned in May, and his successor Ivan Ivanov Bagryanov tried to arrange negotiations with the western Allies.

• Meanwhile, the capital Sofia was bombed by Allied aircraft in late 1943 and early 1944, with raids on other major cities following later.

Former Communist country (1989)

Entered the EU on January 1st 2007

• The country joined NATO in 2004 and the EU in 2007.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_IIhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobrujahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adolf_Hitlerhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Awardhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tripartite_Pacthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_II_of_Bulgariahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobri_Bozhilovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobri_Bozhilovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dobri_Bozhilovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Petkovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Petkovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatherland_Front_(Bulgaria)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Ivanov_Bagryanovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Ivanov_Bagryanovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Ivanov_Bagryanovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ivan_Ivanov_Bagryanovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombing_of_Sofia_in_World_War_II

The communist coup But it was the Soviet army which was rapidly advancing towards Bulgaria. In August Bulgaria unilaterally

announced its withdrawal from the war and asked the German troops to leave: Bulgarian troops were hastily withdrawn from Greece and Yugoslavia. In September the Soviets crossed the northern border. The government, desperate to avoid a Soviet occupation, declared war on Germany, but the Soviets could not be put off, and on September 8 they declared war on Bulgaria - which thus found itself for a few days at war with both Germany and the Soviet Union. On September 16, the Soviet army entered Sofia.

The Fatherland Front took office in Sofia following a coup d'état, setting up a broad coalition under the former ruler Kimon Georgiev and including the Social Democrats and the Agrarians. Under the terms of the peace settlement, Bulgaria was allowed to keep Southern Dobruja, but formally renounced all claims to Greek and Yugoslav territory. To prevent further disputes 150,000 Bulgarians were expelled from Greek Thrace. The Communists deliberately took a minor role in the new government at first, but the Soviet representatives were the real power in the country. A Communist-controlled People's Militia was set up, which harassed and intimidated non-Communist parties.

In February 1945 the new realities of power in Bulgaria were shown when Prince Kirill and hundreds of other officials of the old regime were arrested on charges of war crimes. By June Kirill and the other regents, 22 former ministers and many others had been executed. In September 1946 the monarchy was abolished by plebiscite, and young Tsar Simeon was sent into exile.

The Communists now openly took power, with Vasil Kolarov becoming President and Dimitrov becoming Prime Minister. Free elections promised for 1946 were blatantly rigged and were boycotted by the opposition. The Agrarians refused to co-operate with the new regime, and in June 1947 their leader Nikola Petkov was arrested. Despite strong international protests he was executed in September. This marked the final establishment of a Communist regime in Bulgaria.

Soviet Influence: Bulgaria became People's Republic in 1946. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Bulgaria

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Dobrujahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Dobrujahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasil_Kolarovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasil_Kolarovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasil_Kolarovhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People's_Republic_of_Bulgaria

The Fall of Iron Curtain

•The reforms towards liberalization, both social, political and economic in the Eastern Block started with Gorbachev's reform program in the Soviet Union which was felt in Bulgaria in the late 1980s.In fact, the release of tightening started with the end of the Stalinist era and continued slowly to the point that many previously forbidden literary texts were translated, the same was relevant for Hollywood movies, etc., stores appeared with Western products that had elements of advertisement (advertisement of products was generally unknown and not used in the Eastern Bloc since everything was accessible and the same to all), these new features of the late communist years acknowledged the gradual breaking of the Iron Curtain for the Common people. This, together with the policies of Gorbachov, led to more freedom and expectations for democracy among people.•In November 1989 demonstrations on ecological issues staged in Sofia, and these soon broadened into a general campaign for political reform. That Communists generally didn't break the demonstrations was a sign of a possible change that would come. In fact communist politicians reacted by eventually voting for the removal Todor Zhivkov as a communist party and country head and replacing him with Petar Mladenov, but this gained them only a short respite in power. •In February 1990 the Communist Party, forced by street protests gave up its claim on power and in June 1990 the first free elections since 1931 were held, won by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (the new name of the Communist Party). In July 1991 a new Constitution was adopted, which regulates a representative elected President and a Prime Minister and Cabinet. Between 1997 and 2001 much of the success of the Ivan Kostov government was due to Foreign Minister Nadezhda Mihailova who had huge approval and support in Bulgaria and abroad.

Privatization in Bulgaria

http://www.fdi.net/documents/WorldBank/databases/plink/factsheets/bulgaria.htm

Bulgarian Privatization Agency

Bulgarian Foreign Investment Agency

Center for Mass Privatization

Miller, Jeffrey Bernard, Evaluation of Mass Privatization in Bulgaria (March 2006). William Davidson Institute Working Paper No. 814. Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=906596 Full Paper: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID906596_code531861.pdf?abstractid=906596&mirid=1

http://www.fdi.net/documents/WorldBank/databases/plink/factsheets/bulgaria.htmhttp://www.fdi.net/documents/WorldBank/databases/plink/factsheets/bulgaria.htmhttp://www.priv.government.bg/ap/eng/content00.shtmlhttp://www.bfia.org/http://www.bulgarianspace.com/cmp/http://ssrn.com/abstract=906596http://ssrn.com/abstract=906596http://ssrn.com/abstract=906596http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID906596_code531861.pdf?abstractid=906596&mirid=1http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID906596_code531861.pdf?abstractid=906596&mirid=1http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/Delivery.cfm/SSRN_ID906596_code531861.pdf?abstractid=906596&mirid=1

The Economy During Communism

• From the end of World War II until the widespread change of regime in Eastern Europe in November 1989, the Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) exerted complete economic, social and political control in Bulgaria. The party's ascent to power in 1944 had marked the beginning of economic change towards planned economy in Bulgaria.

• After World War II, Bulgaria followed the Soviet model of economic development more closely than any other East Bloc country with becoming one of the first members of Comecon; the new regime shifted the economy from mainly agrarian type towards industrial economy and much of the labour force from the countryside to the city, providing workers for new large-scale industrial complexes. At the same time, the focus of Bulgarian international trade shifted from Central Europe to Eastern Europe and USSR

• In the late 1980s, continuing poor economic performance brought new economic hardship. By that time, the misdirection and irrationality of BCP economic policies had become quite clear. Bulgaria's economy contracted dramatically after 1987 with the dissolution of the COMECON, with which the Bulgarian economy had integrated closely.

• Finally, on 10 November 1989, at the November plenum of BCP Todor Zhivkov was dismissed as a long-time party leader and head of state and the communist regime gave way to democratic elections and government.

• Unlike the communist parties in most other East European states, the BCP (changing its name to Bulgarian Socialist Party) retained majority power after the transition in Bulgaria by winning the first free national elections in June 1990.

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Bulgaria#History

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economy_of_Bulgaria#History

1990-2000•The economy declined dramatically during the 1990s with the collapse of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (COMECON) system and the loss of the Soviet market, to which the country had been closely tied. •The standard of living fell by about 40%, and only regained pre-1989 levels by June 2004. In addition, UN sanctions against Serbia (1992–95) and Iraq took a heavy toll on the Bulgarian economy. •The first signs of recovery emerged when GDP grew 1.4% in 1994 for the first time since 1988, and 2.5% in 1995. •Inflation, which surged in 1994 to 122%, fell to 32.9% in 1995. During 1996, however, the economy collapsed due to an unstable and decentralised banking system, a wave of hyperinflation throughout several countries of Eastern Europe, and slow reforms, which led to an inflation rate of 311% and the collapse of the lev.•When pro-reform forces came into power in the spring 1997, an ambitious economic reform package, including introduction of a currency board regime, was agreed to with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, and the economy began to stabilise.

•Corruption in the public administration and a weak judiciary have continued to be long-term problems, and the presence of organized crime remains very high.

Inflation and Unemployment

AVERAGE YEARLY INFLATION Year %Inflation2000 10.32001 7.42002 5.82003 2.32004 4.02005 6.52006 6.52007* 5.02008* 5.0

http://www.investbulgaria.com/UnemploymentInBulgaria.php

Year Average Annual Salary/Wage (Lev)

Exchange Rate (Lev/Dollar)

Average Annual Salary in $

20064,324.00 лв. 1.49 $2,902.01

2007 5,167.00 лв. 1.33 $3,884.96

2008 6,538.00 лв. 1.39 $4,703.60

2009 7,309.00 лв. 1.36 $5,374.26

2010 7,777.00 лв. 1.47 $5,290.48

$0.00

$1,000.00

$2,000.00

$3,000.00

$4,000.00

$5,000.00

$6,000.00

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Bulgarian Average Annual Salary/Wage

Source: Bulgaria National Statistics Institute http://www.nsi.bg/otrasalen.php?otr=51

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