Bulgaria is located on the Balkan Peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by the Black Sea on the east, Turkey and Greece on the south, Yugoslavia on the west, and Romania on the north. Although a small country today, Bulgaria was once the dominant power in the Balkans. In the Middle Ages it competed with the Byzantine Empire and greatly influenced the cultural life of the region, until conquered by the Ottoman Turks in the late 14th century. The modern nation of Bulgaria was established in 1878. From 1947 until 1989 it was under dictatorial Communist rule. LAND AND RESOURCES Bulgaria is divided into four major geographic regions. The most northerly is the plateau of the Danube, which rises from the shore of the Danube River to the foothills of the east. Its climate is continental, with hot summers and cold winters. The Balkan Mountains (or "Old Mountains" to the Bulgarians) are the second region. They are highest in the western part of the country and gradually diminish as they extend across the country to the Black Sea. These mountains serve to block the cold winds blowing from the plains of Russia, and the region to the south, the valley drained by the Maritsa River, enjoys a Mediterranean climate, with mild, rainy winters and warm, dry summers. Finally, south of the Maritsa River valley are the Rhodope Mountains, highest in the Balkan Peninsula, which forms the border between Bulgaria and Greece. The Danube Plateau and the Maritsa valley are important agricultural regions. The former produces wheat, corn, sugar, beets, and sunflowers. The Maritsa valley grows tobacco and contains the famous Valley of Roses, devoted to the production of attar of roses, a vital ingredient in the making of perfume. The mountains contain valuable forests, about three-quarters of which are broad leaf and the rest coniferous. Bears, wolves, foxes, squirrels, elk, and wildcats can still be found in Bulgaria's mountain forests. The most important natural resources that Bulgaria possesses are the fertility of its land, which is the basis of the country's agricultural economy, and the beauty of its landscape, which has allowed an important tourist industry to develop, particularly along the Black Sea coast and in the mountains. Bulgaria is not well endowed with mineral wealth. It does contain significant deposits of coal, but it is of a low-grade kind called lignite (brown coal), which contributes to a serious problem of air pollution around industrial areas where it is burned. Iron, copper, zinc, and lead are also found, but not in the quantities sufficient to satisfy the country's needs. PEOPLE Ethnic Bulgarians, about 90% of the population, are Slavs, descendants of the people who settled in the region in the 6th century AD. The name Bulgaria comes from the Bulgars, a nomadic people from Central Asia who arrived a century later. They conquered the Slavs and created the First Bulgarian Kingdom, but were gradually absorbed by the much larger Slavic population. The largest minority today are ethnic Turks, the descendants of Turks who settled in Bulgaria during the five-hundred years it was a province of the Ottoman Empire. They make up approximately 9% of the population. Other minorities include gypsies, Armenians, Greeks, Russians, and Jews. Ethnic Bulgarians who converted to Islam are recognized as a separate group called Pomaks. The government's efforts to forcibly assimilate ethnic Turks caused many of them to flee the country in the late 1980s. Historically, Bulgarians belong to the Bulgarian Orthodox church, an autonomous branch of the Eastern Orthodox church. Most ethnic Turks and the Pomaks are Muslim. Small groups of Protestants, Jews, and Roman Catholics also exist. During the period of dictatorial Communist rule, the practice of religion was discouraged by the government. Education and Health Care Basic education in Bulgaria is free, universal, and compulsory. Bulgarian children begin formal education at age seven, although most of them have experienced day-care classes from their earliest years. Compulsory education continues to age 16, after which most students continue on to receive specialized training. Students who qualify for advanced work are supported by the state. The University of Sofia trains most of the country's intellectual elite, although many Bulgarians also go abroad for study, particularly to the \TUSSR\t. Like education, health services are provided by the state, although citizens may seek private care if they wish. Diseases such as cholera and tuberculosis, which were once serious threats to public health, have been eliminated. Culture Bulgaria's cultural life was quite rich during the Middle Ages but declined in the centuries of isolation under Ottoman rule. In the 19th century Bulgarians began to create a new cultural life that was influenced both by foreign models and by native traditions. Bulgarians developed particularly strong traditions in literature, music, and the arts. In music the opera singers Boris \TChristoff\t and Nikolai Ghaiouroff became world famous, and Milcho Leviev is an important contributor to American jazz. The artist \TChristo\t Javacheff is famous for the vast scale of his productions. ECONOMY Under the pre-1989 Communist system, Bulgaria had a centrally planned economy in which the government set economic goals and directed the processes of production. Although this system worked effectively in the early stages of industrialization, it was not adequate for a more complex economy. With the fall of the Communist dictatorship in 1989, the country began moving toward a system based on free markets. Small, independent enterprises became legal right away, and similar measures were proposed for the larger industries. Agriculture About half of Bulgaria's land area is suitable for agriculture. The country's chief crops are wheat, corn, other grains, sugar beets, sunflower seeds, roses, fruits and vegetables, and tobacco. Bulgarian fruits and vegetables are exported to many countries in Europe, and much of what is called "Turkish" tobacco actually comes from southern Bulgaria. Bulgarian wines have become popular in many countries in the world. Industry Bulgaria had little modern industry before World War II. Since that time, however, the government stressed the industrial sector, and it has become the main component of the economy, employing over 40% of the country's workers. Bulgaria's principal industrial products are processed foods, machinery, chemicals, and metal products. Tourism has also become an important industry, with many resorts built along the coast of the Black Sea, in the mountains, and near hot springs. Most of Bulgaria's energy needs must be satisfied by imports, although some progress has been made in developing nuclear power. Most of Bulgaria's trade is with the Soviet Union, which supplies energy and raw materials in return for manufactured goods and processed foods. Bulgaria's largest cities are \TSofia\t, the capital and seat of government; \TPlovdiv\t, the site of an annual world industrial fair, and the Black Sea cities of \TVarna\t and \TBurgas\t. \TRuse\t, on the Danube, is also an important port. GOVERNMENT From 1947 to 1989 the Bulgarian government was run by the Communist party, whose Politburo (Political Bureau, or ruling council) was the real center of power. On Nov. 10, 1989, Todor \TZhivkov\t, who had headed the Communist party and the government for 35 years, was forced to retire. The new Communist leadership condemned the party's past methods of government and pledged to reform. Changing their name from "Communist" to "Socialist," the new leaders promised to separate the party from the institutions of government and to respect the power of the National Assembly, which in the past had been a mere rubber stamp. Under the old government there was no freedom of speech, and people were frequently persecuted for their political views. The new Socialist party leadership promised to respect individual rights and to allow a political opposition. A new government was formed with Petar Mladenov as president and Andrei Lukanov as premier. Mladenov resigned in July 1990. At the same time, many other groups took advantage of these changes to form new political parties. The most important of them formed a coalition, the Union of Democratic Forces, led by Dr. Zheliu Zhelev. The Union of Democratic Forces promised to turn Bulgaria into a parliamentary democracy similar to those in the West. In June 1990, elections were held for a Grand National Assembly that would prepare a new constitution for Bulgaria. The Bulgarian Socialist party won a small majority, 211 of 400 seats, but received only 47% of the popular vote. The Union of Democratic Forces received about 36%. Another new group is the Rights and Freedoms party, dedicated to winning full equality for Bulgaria's Muslim minority. In August 1990 Zhelev of the UDF replaced Mladenov as president. Dimitar Popov, an independent, became premier; and in July 1991 a new constitution was adopted. Nevertheless, the bureaucracy, the army, the police, and the foreign ministry remained under the effective control of the former Communist party. In October, the Union of Democratic Forces won a general election, and in January 1992, Zhelev narrowly won the first direct presidential election in the country's history. HISTORY In the 6th and 7th centuries AD much of the Balkan Peninsula was settled by Slavic tribes. The Bulgars, a Turkic people, migrated to the Balkans from Central Asia in the second half of the 7th century. They conquered the Slavic tribes and founded the First Bulgarian Kingdom in 681. The Bulgarians adopted Orthodox Christianity in the 9th century under \TBoris I\t. Under Boris's son, Tsar \TSimeon I\t (r. 893-927) the First Bulgarian Kingdom reached the height of its power. Its territory included most of the Balkan peninsula, and it enjoyed a vigorous cultural and intellectual life. Bulgaria declined under Simeon's successor, and in 1014 the Byzantine emperor Basil II won a battle over the Bulgarian army after which he ordered 14,000 prisoners to be blinded. For this Basil II took the title Bulgaroktonus, or "Bulgar slayer," and Bulgaria was ruled by Byzantium until 1185. In that year the brothers Ivan and Peter Asen launched a successful revolt that led to the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom, which reached its height under Tsar Ivan Asen II (r. 1218-41). After his death the kingdom weakened, retreating before the rising power of the Ottoman Turks. Turnovo, the royal capital, was seized by the Turks in 1393, beginning for the Bulgarians a period of nearly 500 years of captivity in the Ottoman Empire. During this time Bulgaria's national customs and values were preserved in the monasteries and in mountain villages isolated from Turkish influence. In the 18th century Paissy, a Bulgarian monk of the Khilendar monastery on Mount Athos, used medieval texts to prepare a history of his people. Paissy called on Bulgarians to rediscover themselves, and in the following century a strong national revival developed. A Bulgarian school system was begun in 1835 and the national church was restored in 1870. Finally, the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 resulted in the restoration of a self-governing Bulgarian state. Because the European powers feared Russian influence in Bulgaria, they initially allowed only the northern part to become an autonomous principality. In 1885, however, the southern portion, known as Eastern Rumelia, joined the new state. A German prince, Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (see \TFerdinand\t, TSAR \TOf\t \TBulgaria\t), became Bulgaria's monarch in 1887. In 1908, Ferdinand took the old title of tsar, and his desire to regain all the old Bulgarian lands led to the formation of an alliance with Serbia, Montenegro, and Greece. In the First Balkan War (1912), the allies forced Turkey to relinquish its remaining Balkan territories. However, they could not agree among themselves, and fought the Second Balkan War (1913), which Bulgaria lost (see \TBalkan Wars\t). Bulgaria was also on the losing side in World War I, and had to give up territory to Serbia and Greece. Ferdinand was forced to abdicate, and the throne passed to his son \TBoris III\t (r. 1918-43). Reparations, the influx of many refugees from the lost territories, and severe economic problems kept Bulgaria in turmoil after the war. In 1934, Boris and the army imposed dictatorship on the country. During World War II, Bulgaria was a reluctant ally of Germany. Boris's death in 1943 left the country without a strong leader, and in September 1944 the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria and quickly occupied its territory. Led by Georgi \TDimitrov\t, the Bulgarian Communists seized power, and by the end of 1947 completely eliminated their opponents. The Communist government industrialized Bulgaria, and also expanded education, helping to prepare the way for a new reform-minded generation at the end of the 1980s. John D. Bell Bibliography: Bell, John D., The Bulgarian Communist Party (1987); Crampton, Richard J., A Short History of Modern Bulgaria (1987); Lampe, John, The Bulgarian Economy in the 20th Century (1986); Nicoloff, Assen, The Bulgarian Resurgence (1987); Runciman, S., A History of the First Bulgarian Empire (1930).