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A brief introduction to Bulgarian history

Like most European countries the history of Bulgaria has got something of a complicated past. The tourist board in Bulgaria proudly calls it Europe’s oldest civilization.

Bulgaria certainly experienced very early colonization and was influenced by the Greeks, Romans, Bulgars of central Asia, Slovak locals and the Ottoman Empire who invaded and occupied it. Bulgaria fought on the losing side of the First World War, an unenviable achievement which was repeated during the Second World War and ended with the Soviet Union influence in 1946.

From this period onwards Bulgaria had become a satellite of the Soviet Union, remaining so throughout the Cold War period. Todor Zhivkov, the head of the Bulgarian Communist Party, ruled the country for much of its time under communism, and during his 27 years as leader of Bulgaria, democratic opposition was crushed, agriculture and industry were nationalized, and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church fell under the control of the state.

As Bulgaria emerged from the pain of communism, it experienced a period of social and economic unrest that culminated in a severe economic and financial crisis in late 1996-early 1997. With the help of the international community, a number of reforms were initiated that helped stabilize the country’s economy and put Bulgaria on the Euro-Atlantic path.

Bulgaria officially became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on March 29, 2004 and hopes for a full membership in the European Union by 2007.

It’s now been a democratic country for more than 15 years and long gone are the iron curtains that hid this fascinating country from the rest of the world.