The Bulgarian lands are ancient crossroads, populated from the times of antiquity. The state of Bulgaria has 1300 years of history, only Greece and Italy have more ancient archaeological monuments.

Much of Bulgaria’s modern day history has roots that began when they were conquered and absorbed into the Ottoman Empire in the 1300’s. Turkish rule was often oppressive and rebellions were frequent; a determined effort was made to destroy Bulgarian Christianity and the Bulgarian language.

In the 1800’s, Bulgarian nationalism surged to the point where a major rebellion broke out in 1876. The subsequent Turkish reprisals provided a reason for the Russians to invade their neighbor in what become the Russo-Turkish Wars. This left a largely autonomous Bulgaria, but marked the beginning of a lengthy period of influence by the Russians.

Bulgaria entered World War I on the side of Germany and Austria-Hungary, largely in an effort to regain lands lost over the years of shifting borders under Ottoman rule. There was a great amount of domestic opposition to the war, so when Bulgaria's military position crumbled, its leaders fled. Bulgaria ended up on the losing side and was forced to pay reparations and lost even more territory.

In World War II, Bulgaria saw an alliance with Germany as again, an opportunity to satisfy its territorial claims. But, in 1944 the Soviet Union declared war on Bulgaria, and their troops entered the country and seized power immediately.

After a short period of coalition rule, the Communists succeeded in taking over the government. The monarchy was abolished, and in 1947 a new constitution was enacted, and Bulgaria became a one-party state. Industry was nationalized and farms collectivized.

Bulgaria then closely followed the Soviet Union in its domestic and foreign policies. In the mid-1950s the government loosened its grip somewhat. In 1965 its army officers and party officials unsuccessfully attempted a coup.

In August of 1990, in what was a peaceful transition, the first non-Communist political leader in 40 years was elected president. Bulgaria was able to shed years of Russian dominated oppression along with the other countries of the former Eastern Bloc. Economic reforms were introduced and a new constitution created a parliamentary democracy for the country.

Unfortunately, immediately thereafter, the politics were unstable and major economic reforms proved difficult to enact. The former Communists were then able to gain power again as the Socialist Party. But after a period of hyperinflation, economic stagnation and charges of corruption, they lost power again.

The Union of Democratic Forces party won parliamentary elections held in 1997. Things still did not go well, because Bulgaria’s economy was seriously weakened by the loss of a major trading partner in Yugoslavia due to UN economic sanctions imposed during the 1990’s. The disgruntled populace then elected a former king as premier, Simeon II, under the Nationalist Party and a more conventional politician, Socialist Georgy Parvanov, as the Head of State. Since then, they have been able to make great strides in the quality of government and have substantially reduced corruption.

Bulgaria became a member of NATO in March of 2004 and officially joined the EU in January of 2007.