Bulgarian Army
Service branches	Bulgarian Land Forces Bulgarian Air Force Bulgarian Navy
Headquarters	Sofia
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	President of Bulgaria Rosen Plevneliev
Minister of Defence	Anyu Angelov (Lt. Gen. retired)
Chief of the General Staff	Lieutenant General Simeon Simeonov
Manpower
Military age	18 years of age
Conscription	No
Available for military service	1,637,470, age 16–49 (2008 est.)
Fit for military service	1,320,955, age 16–49 (2008 est.)
Reaching military age annually	33,444 (2008 est.)
Active personnel	26,100
Reserve personnel	302,500
Deployed personnel	See below
Expenditures
Budget	US$1.190 billion (2009)[1]
Percent of GDP	1.98% (2009)
Industry
Domestic suppliers	TEREM Arsenal Corporation
Foreign suppliers	Germany  USA  Russia
Annual exports	€210,000,000 (2008)[2] €145,000,000 (2009)[3] €260,000,000 (2010)[4]
Related articles
History	Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) Serbo-Bulgarian War First Balkan War Second Balkan War World War I War of the Stray Dog World War II Greco-Bulgarian border conflict Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia Iraq War War in Afghanistan (2001–present) 2011 military intervention in Libya

The Military of Bulgaria, officially the Bulgarian Army (Bulgarian: Българска армия) represents the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria. The Commander-in-Chief is the President of Bulgaria (currently Rosen Plevneliev). The Ministry of Defence is in charge of political leadership while military command remains in the hands of the General Staff, headed by the Chief of Staff. There are three main branches – the Army, the Navy, and the Air Force.

Throughout history, the army has played a major role in defending the country's sovereignty. Only several years after its liberation (1878), Bulgaria became a regional military power and was involved in several major wars – Serbo-Bulgarian War (1885), First Balkan War (1912–13), Second Balkan War (1913), First World War (1915–1919) and Second World War (1941–1944), during which the Army gained significant combat experience. During the Cold War the People's Republic of Bulgaria maintained one of the largest militaries in the Warsaw Pact, numbering an estimated 152,000 troops in 1988.^[5] Since the Fall of Communism, the country's political leadership decided to pursue a pro-NATO policy, thus reducing military personnel and weaponry. Bulgaria joined the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization in 2004, and currently maintains a total 776 deployed troops in three countries.

The patron saint of the Bulgarian Army is St. George. The Army day or St. George's Day (6 May) is an official holiday in the country.

History of the Bulgarian Army[link]

Bulgarian militiamen from the region of Macedonia, ca. 1900

The modern Bulgarian military dates back to 1878. On 22 July 1878 (10 July O.S.) a total of 12 battalions of opalchentsi who participated in the Liberation war, formed the Bulgarian armed forces.^[6] According to the Tarnovo Constitution, all men between 21 and 40 years of age were eligible for military service. In 1883 the military was reorganized in four infantry brigades (in Sofia, Pleven, Ruse and Shumen) and one cavalry brigade.

Serbo-Bulgarian war[link]

The Serbo-Bulgarian War was the first armed conflict after Bulgaria's liberation. It was a result of the unification with Eastern Rumelia, which happened on 6 September 1885. The unification was not completely recognized, however, and one of the countries which refused to recognize the act was the Kingdom of Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian Empire had been expanding its influence in the Balkans and was particularly opposed. Serbia also feared this would diminish its dominance in the region. In addition, Serbia's ruler Milan Obrenović IV was annoyed that Serbian opposition leaders like Nikola Pašić, who had escaped persecution after the Timok Rebellion, had found asylum in Bulgaria. Lured by Austria-Hungary's promises for territorial gains from Bulgaria (in return for concessions in the Western Balkans), Milan IV declared war on Bulgaria on 14 November 1885.

The military strategy relied largely on surprise, as Bulgaria had moved most of its troops near the border with the Ottoman Empire, in the southeast. As it happened, the Ottomans did not intervene and the Serbian army's advance was stopped after the Battle of Slivnitsa. The main body of the Bulgarian army traveled from the Ottoman border in the southeast to the Serbian border in the northwest to defend the capital Sofia. After the defensive battles at Slivnitsa and Vidin, Bulgaria began an offensive which took the city of Pirot. At this point, the Austro-Hungarian Empire stepped in, threatening to join the war on Serbia's side if the Bulgarian troops did not retreat. Fighting lasted for only 14 days, from 14 to 28 November. A peace treaty was signed in Bucharest on 19 February 1886. No territorial changes were made to either country, but the Bulgarian unification was recognized by the Great Powers. However, the relationship of trust and friendship between Serbia and Bulgaria, built during their long common fight against Ottoman rule, suffered irreparable damage.

First Balkan War[link]

Bulgarian soldier and a fallen comrade somewhere in Turkey, 1912

The instability in the Balkan region in the early 1900s quickly became a precondition for a new war. Serbia's aspirations towards Bosnia and Herzegovina were thwarted by the Austrian annexation of the province in October 1908, and so the Serbs focused their attention onto their historic cradle, Kosovo and to the south for expansion. Greek officers, revolting in August 1909, had secured the appointment of a progressive government under Eleftherios Venizelos which they hoped would resolve the Cretan issue in Greece's favour and reverse their defeat of 1897 by the Ottomans. Bulgaria, which had secured Ottoman recognition of her independence in April 1909 and enjoyed the friendship of Russia, also looked to districts of Ottoman Thrace and Macedonia for expansion.

In March 1910, an Albanian insurrection broke out in Kosovo. In August 1910, Montenegro followed Bulgaria's precedent by becoming a kingdom. In 1911, Italy launched an invasion of Tripolitania, which was quickly followed by the occupation of the Dodecanese Islands. The Italians' decisive military victories over the Ottoman Empire greatly influenced the Balkan states to prepare for war against Turkey. Thus in the spring of 1912, consultations between the various Christian Balkan nations resulted in a network of military alliances which became known as the Balkan League. The Great Powers, most notably France and Austria-Hungary, reacted to this diplomatic sensation by trying to dissuade the League from going to war, but failed.

In late September, both the League and the Ottoman Empire mobilized their armies. Montenegro was the first to declare war, on 25 September (O.S.)/ 8 October. The other three states, after issuing an impossible ultimatum to the Porte on 13 October, declared war on Turkey on 17 October. The Balkan League relied on 700,000 troops, 370,000 of which were Bulgarians. Bulgaria, often dubbed "Prussia of the Balkans",^[7] was militarily the most powerful of the four states, with a large, well-trained and well-equipped army.^[8] The peacetime army of 60,000 men was expanded during the war to 370,000,^[8] with almost 600,000 men mobilized in total, out of a population of 4,300,000.^[9] The Bulgarian field army counted for 9 infantry divisions, 1 cavalry division and 1,116 artillery units.^[8] Commander-in-Chief was Tsar Ferdinand, while the actual command was in the hands of his deputy, General Mikhail Savov. The Bulgarians also possessed a small navy of six torpedo boats, which were restricted to operations along the country's Black Sea coast.^[10]

Soldiers preparing for an assault against Adrianople, 1912

Bulgaria's war aims were focused on Thrace and Macedonia. For the latter Bulgaria had a secret agreement with Serbia to divide it between them signed at 13 March 1912 during the negotiations that led to the establishment of the Balkan League. But it was not a secret that Bulgaria's target was the fulfilment of the never materialized Treaty of San Stefano signed after the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78. They deployed their main force in Thrace, forming three armies. The First Army, under general Vasil Kutinchev with 3 infantry divisions, was deployed to the south of Yambol, with direction of operations along the Tundzha river. The Second Army, under general Nikola Ivanov, with 2 infantry divisions and 1 infantry brigade, was deployed west of the First and was assigned to capture the strong fortress of Adrianopel (now Edirne). According to the plans, the Third Army, under general Radko Dimitriev, was deployed east of and behind the First, and was covered by the cavalry division hiding it from the Turkish view. The Third Army had 3 infantry divisions and was assigned to cross the Stranja mountain and to take the fortress of Lozengrad (Kirk Kilisse). The 2nd and 7th divisions were assigned independent roles, operating in Western Thrace and eastern Macedonia respectively.

The first great battles were at the Adrianople – Kirk Kilisse defensive line, where the Bulgarian 1st and 3rd Armies (together 110,000 men) defeated the Ottoman East Army (130,000 men) near Gechkenli, Seliolu and Petra. The fortress of Adrianople was besieged and Kirk Kilisse was taken without resistance under the pressure of the Bulgarian Third Army. The initial Bulgarian attack by First and Third Army defeated the Turkish forces, numbering some 130,000, and reached the Sea of Marmara. But the Turks, with the aid of fresh reinforcements from the Asian provinces, established their third and strongest defensive position at the Chataldja Line, across the peninsula where Constantinople is located. New Turkish forces landed at Bulair and Şarköy but after heavy fighting they were crushed and overthrown by the newly formed 4th Bulgarian army under the command of General Stiliyan Kovachev. The offensive at Chataldja failed too. On 11 March, the final Bulgarian assault on Adrianople began. Under the command of General Georgi Vazov the Bulgarians, reinforced with two Serb divisions, conquered the "untakable" city. On 17/30 May a peace treaty was signed between Turkey and the Balkan Alliance. The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, strengthened Bulgaria's position as a regional military power, significantly reduced Ottoman influence over the Balkans, and resulted in the formation of an independent Albanian state.

Second Balkan War[link]

The peace settlement of the First Balkan War proved unsatisfactory for both Serbia and Bulgaria. Serbia refused to cede a part of the territories in Macedonia, which it occupied and promised to give to Bulgaria according to a secret agreement. Serbia, on its side, was not satisfied with the independence of Albania, and sought a secret alliance with Greece. Armed skirmishes between Serbian and Bulgarian troops occurred.

On 16 June 1913, just a few months after the end of the first war, the Bulgarian government ordered an attack on Serbian and Greek positions in Macedonia, without declaring war. Almost all of Bulgaria's 500,000-man standing army was positioned against these two countries, on two fronts – western and southern, while the borders with Romania and the Ottoman Empire were left almost unguarded. Montenegro sent a 12,000-strong force to assist the Serbs. Exhausted from the previous war, which took the highest toll on Bulgaria, the Bulgarian army soon turned on the defensive. Romania attacked from the north and north-east, the Ottoman empire also intervened in Thrace. Allied numerical superiority was almost 2:1. After a month and two days of fighting, the war ended as a moral disaster for Bulgaria, in the same time its economy was ruined and the military – demoralized.

First World War[link]

The Kingdom of Bulgaria participated in World War I on the side of the Central Powers between 15 October 1915, when the country declared war on Serbia, to 29 September 1918, when the Armistice of Thessalonica was signed. 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 the country with Germany and Austria-Hungary, even though this meant also 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) were all in possession of lands perceived in Bulgaria as its own.

In 1915 Germany promised to restore the boundaries according to the Treaty of San Stefano and Bulgaria, which had the largest army in the Balkans, declared war on Serbia in October the same year. In the First World War Bulgaria decisively asserted its military capabilities. The second Battle of Doiran, with general Vladimir Vazov as commander, inflicted a heavy blow on the numerically superior British army, which suffered 12,000 casualties against 2,000 from the opposite side. One year later, during the third battle of Doiran, the United Kingdom, supported by Greece, once again suffered a humiliating defeat, losing 3,155 men against just about 500 for the Bulgarian side. The reputation of the French army also suffered badly. The Battle of the Red Wall was marked with the total defeat of the French forces, with 5,700 out of 6,000 men killed. The 261 Frenchmen who survived were captured by Bulgarian soldiers.

Despite the outstanding victories, Germany was near defeat, which meant that Bulgaria would be left without its most powerful ally. The war was already unpopular among Bulgarians themselves, as they were allied with the Muslim Ottomans against their Orthodox Christian neighbours. The Russian Revolution of February 1917 had a great effect in Bulgaria, spreading antiwar and anti-monarchist sentiment among the troops and in the cities. In June Radoslavov's government resigned. In 1919 Bulgaria officially left the war with the Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine.

The army between the World Wars[link]

Bulgarian Fiat Ansaldo armored cars, early 1930s

The Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine proved to be a severe blow for Bulgaria's military. According to the treaty, the country had no right to organize a conscription-based military. The professional army was to be no more than 20,000 men, including internal forces and border guard. Equipping the army with tanks, submarines, bombers and heavy artillery was strictly prohibited, although Bulgaria managed to get around some of these prohibitions. Nevertheless, in the eve of World War II the Bulgarian army was still well-trained and well-equipped.

World War II[link]

The government of the Kingdom of Bulgaria under Prime Minister Bogdan Filov declared a position of neutrality upon the outbreak of World War II. Bulgaria was determined to observe it until the end of the war; but it hoped for bloodless territorial gains, especially in the lands with a significant Bulgarian population occupied by neighbouring countries after the Second Balkan War and World War I. However, it was clear that the central geopolitical position of Bulgaria in the Balkans would inevitably lead to strong external pressure by both World War II factions. Turkey had a non-aggression pact with Bulgaria. On 7 September 1940, Bulgaria succeeded in negotiating a recovery of Southern Dobruja with the Treaty of Craiova (see Second Vienna Award). Southern Dobruja had been part of Romania since 1913. This recovery of territory reinforced hopes for resolving other territorial problems without direct involvement in the War. The country joined the Axis Powers in 1941, when German troops preparing to invade Yugoslavia and Greece reached the Bulgarian borders and demanded permission to pass through its territory.

The Bombing of Sofia in World War II, 1944

On 1 March 1941, Bulgaria signed the Tripartite Pact and Tsar Boris III officially joined the Axis bloc. After a short period of inaction, the army launched an operation against Yugoslavia and Greece. The goal of reaching the shores of the Aegean sea and completely occupying the region of Macedonia came to success. Even though Bulgaria did not send any troops to support the German invasion of the Soviet Union, the Navy was involved in a number of skirmishes with the Soviet Black Sea Fleet, which attacked Bulgarian shipping. Besides this, Bulgarian armed forces garrisoned in the Balkans battled various resistance groups. The Bulgarian government declared a token war on the United Kingdom and the United States near the end of 1941, an act which resulted in the bombing of Sofia and other Bulgarian cities by Allied aircraft.

Some communist activists managed to activate a guerrilla movement headed by the underground Bulgarian Communist Party. A resistance movement called Otechestven front (Fatherland front, Bulgarian: Отечествен фронт) was set up in August 1942 by the Communist Party, the Zveno movement and a number of other parties to oppose the elected government, after a number of Allied victories indicated that the Axis might lose the War. In 1943, tsar Boris III died suddenly. In the summer of 1944, after having crushed the Nazi defence around Iaşi and Chişinău, the Soviet Army was approaching the Balkans and Bulgaria. On 23 August 1944, Romania quit the Axis Powers and declared war on Germany, and allowed Soviet forces to cross its territory to reach Bulgaria. On 26 August 1944, the Fatherland Front made the decision to incite an armed rebellion against the government, which led to the appointment of a new government on 2 September. Support for the government was withheld by the Fatherland Front, since it was composed of pro-Nazi circles, in a desperate attempt to hold on to power. On 5 September 1944, the Soviet Union declared war and invaded on Bulgaria.^[11] On 8 September 1944, the Bulgarian army joined the Soviet Union in its war against Germany.

Cold War era[link]

As the Red Army invaded Bulgaria in 1944^[12] and installed a communist government, the armed forces were rapidly forced to reorganise following the Soviet model, and were renamed as the Bulgarian People's Army (Bulgarska Narodna Armiya, BNA). Moscow quickly supplied Bulgaria with T-34/85 tanks, SU-100 guns, Il-2 attack planes and other new combat machinery. As the country was a Soviet satellite, it was a part of the Eastern Bloc and entered the Warsaw Pact as one of its founders. By the time the army had expanded to over 200,000 men with hundreds of thousands of more reserve troops. Military service was obligatory. A special defensive line, known as the Krali Marko defensive line, was constructed along the entire border with Turkey. It was heavily fortified with concrete walls and turrets of T-34, Panzer III and Panzer IV tanks.

The army was involved in a number of border skirmishes from 1948 to 1952, repulsing several Greek attacks, and took part in the suppression of the Prague spring events. In the meantime, during the rule of Todor Zhivkov, a significant military industrial complex was established, capable of producing armored vehicles, self-proppelled artillery, small arms and ammunition, as well as aircraft engines and spare parts. Bulgaria provided weapons and military expertise to Algeria, Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Nicaragua, Egypt and Syria. Some military and medical aid was also supplied to North Korea and North Vietnam in the 1950s and 1960s. During the 1970s the Air Force was at the apogee of its power, possessing at least 500 modern combat aircraft in its inventory. Training in the Bulgarian People's Army was exhaustive even by Soviet standards, however, it was never seen as a major force within the Warsaw Pact.^[13] In 1989, when the Cold War was coming to its end, the army numbered at least 152,000 regular troops.

Modern era[link]

A Land Forces dismounted patrol in Afghanistan, January 2011

With the collapse of the Warsaw Pact and the end of the Cold war, Bulgaria could no longer support a vast military. A rapid reduction in personnel and active equipment was to be carried out in parallel with a general re-alignment of strategic interests. In 1990, Bulgaria had a total of more than 2,400 tanks, 2,000 armored vehicles, 2,500 large caliber artillery systems,^[14] 300 fighter and bomber aircraft, 100 trainer aircraft, more than 40 combat and 40 transport helicopters,^[15] 4 submarine, 6 fast missile craft, 2 frigates, 5 corvettes, 6 torpedo boats, 9 patrol craft, 30 minesweepers and 21 transport vessels.^[16] Due to the economic crisis that affected most former Eastern bloc countries, a steady reform in the military could not be carried out; much of the equipment fell into disrepair and some of it was smuggled and sold to the international black market. Inadequate payments, fuel and spare part shortages and the disbandment of many capable units led to an overall drop in combat readiness, morale and discipline.

After partially recovering from the 1990s crisis, the Bulgarian military became a part of the collective defensive system of NATO. As its member, Bulgaria sent a total of 485 soldiers to Iraq (2003–2008) as a participant in the Iraq War, and currently maintains a 608-strong force in Afghanistan as part of ISAF. Bulgaria had a significant missile arsenal, including 67 SCUD-B, 50 FROG-7 and 24 SS-23 ballistic missiles.^[17] In 2002, Bulgaria disbanded the Rocket Forces despite nationwide protests, and has disbanded its submarine component. Bulgaria is to have 27,000 standing troops by 2014, consisting of 14,310 troops in the land forces, 6,750 in the air force, 3,510 in the navy and 2,420 in the joint command.^[18]

Organization[link]

Structure of the Bulgarian Armed Forces

General Staff[link]

The Bulgarian Armed Forces are Headquartered in Sofia, where most of the general staff is based. Currently headed by Chief of Staff general Simeon Simeonov, the General Staff is responsible for operational command of the Bulgarian Army and its 3 major branches. Deputies: Vice Admiral Petar Petrov, General Atanas Zaprianov, General Dimitar Zekhtinov.

Chief commanders:

• Land Forces: Major General Stefan Vassilev
• Air Force: Major General Konstantin Popov
• Naval Forces: Rear admiral Plamen Manushev

Units and formations[link]

61st Mech Brig

62nd Mech Brig

(2)

Varna Naval Base

4th Art Regt

55th Engr Regt

(1)

Bezmer
Air Base

Burgas
Naval Base

Bulgarian military units and bases
(1) – Graf Ignatievo Air Base, (2) – 68th SpecOps Regt

In 2010 the Ministry of Defence completed a thorough study of the defence policy and issued a White Book, or a White Paper on Defence, calling for a major overhaul of the structure of Defence Forces. According to the document the military of the Republic of Bulgaria should include two mechanized brigades, four regiments (Logistics, Artillery, Engineering, SpecOps), four battalions (Reconnaissance, Mechanized, NBC, PsyOps) in the Land Forces; Fighter base, helicopter base, SAM air defense brigade and Air force training base in the Air Force; and two naval bases in the Navy. Currently deployed units are as follows:

Land Forces:

• 2nd Light Infantry Brigade (scheduled to be disbanded)
• 61st Stryamska Mechanized Brigade
• 68th Special Forces Brigade

• 5th Shipchenska Infantry Brigade, the last of the Shipchenski brigades, has been disbanded in late 2010.^[19]

Air Force:

• 3rd Fighter Air Base
• 12th Training Air Base
• 16th Transport Air Base
• 22nd Bomber/Attack Air Base
• 24th Helicopter Air Base

Navy:

• Varna Naval Base
• Burgas Naval Base
• Chayka Naval Helicopter Air Base

Personnel and education[link]

Rakovski Defence and Staff College

Bulgaria's total military personnel as of late 2010 is 34,500, of which 30,400 (88.1%) are active military personnel and 4,100 (11.9%) are civilian personnel. The Land Forces are the largest branch, with at least 18,000 men serving there. In terms of percentage, 53% of all Army personnel are in the Land Forces, 25% are in the Air Force, 13% are in the Navy and 9% are in the Joint Forces Command.^[20] Annual spending per soldier amounts to 30,000 leva (~ 15,000 euro) and is scheduled to increase to 43,600 leva by 2014.^[21]

Unlike many former Soviet bloc militaries, discipline and morale problems are not common.^[22][23] During the Communist era, the army members enjoyed extensive social privileges. After the fall of Communism and Bulgaria's transition to a market economy, wages fell severely. For almost a decade social benefits were virtually non-existent, and some of them have been restored but recently. Nikolai Tsonev, defence minister under the 2005–2009 cabinet, undertook steps to provide the members of the military and their families with certain privileges in terms of healthcare and education, and to improve living conditions.^[24]

Military education in Bulgaria is provided in military universities and academies. Due to cuts in spending and manpower some universities have been disbanded and their campuses were included as faculties of other, larger educational entities. The largest institutions of military education in Bulgaria are:

• Vasil Levski National Military University
• Rakovski Defence and Staff College
• Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy
• Military Medical Academy – a mixed military academy/hospital institution

Training[link]

Bulgarian trooper fires an M2 Browning .50 cal machine gun at the Novo Selo training range

The Land Forces practice extensive year-round military training in various conditions. Cooperative drills with the United States are very common, the last series of them conducted in 2008. Bulgaria's most recent full-scale exercise simulating a foreign invasion was carried out in 2009. It was conducted at the Koren range, and included some 1,700 personnel with tanks, ATGMs, attack aircraft, AA guns and armored vehicles.^[25] The combat skills of individual soldiers are on a very high level, on par with troops of the U.S. Army.^[26]

Until recent years the Air Force suffered somewhat from fuel shortages; a problem which was overcome in 2008. Fighter pilots have year-round flights, but gunship pilots do not fly often due to the yet unfulfilled modernization of the Mi-24 gunships. Due to financial difficulties fighter pilots have 60 hours of flying time per year, only a third of the national norm of 180 hours.^[27]

The Navy also has some fuel shortage problems, but military training is still effective. The most recent overseas operation of the Navy was along the coast of Libya as part of Operation Unified Protector.

Budget[link]

After the collapse of the Warsaw pact, Bulgaria lost the ability to acquire cheap fuel and spares for its military. A large portion of its nearly 2,000 T-55 tanks fell into disrepair, and eventually almost all of them were scrapped or sold to other countries. In the early 1990s the budget was so small, that regulars only received token-value payments. Many educated and well-trained officers lost the opportunity to educate younger soldiers, as the necessary equipment and basis lacked adequate funding. Military spending increased gradually, especially in the last 10 years. As of 2005, the budget was no more than $400 mln., while military spending for 2009 amounted to more than $1.3 bln. – almost a triple increase for 4 years. Despite this growth, the military still does not receive sufficient funds for modernization. An example of bad spending plans is the large-scale purchasing of transport aircraft, while the Air Force has a severe need of new fighters (the MiG-29s, even though modernized, are nearing their operational limits). The planned procurement of 2–4 Gowind class corvettes has been cancelled. As of 2009, military spending were about 1.98% of GDP. In 2010 the budget is to be only 1.3% due to the international financial crisis.

Land Forces[link]

Paratroopers on an exercise near Bezmer Air Base, 2009

A parading BTR-60PB-MD1, local production BTR-60 with numerous improvements

T-72 tanks advance towards the OPFOR on an exercise

The Land Forces are functionally divided into Deployable and Reserve Forces. Their main functions include deterrence, defence, peace support and crisis management, humanitarian and rescue missions, as well as social functions within Bulgarian society. Active troops in the land forces number about 18,000 men, and reserve troops number about 300,000.

The equipment of the land forces is impressive in terms of numbers, but most of it is nonoperational and scheduled to be scrapped or refurbished and exported to other nations. Bulgaria has a military stockpile of about 5,000,000 small arms, models ranging from World War II-era MP 40 machine pistols to modern Steyr AUG, AK-74, HK MP5, HK416 and AR-M2F assault rifles.

National guard unit[link]

The National Guard of Bulgaria, founded in 1879, is the successor to the personal guards of Knyaz Alexander I. On 12 July of that year, the guards escorted the Bulgarian knyaz for the first time; today, 12 July is the official holiday of the National Guard. Throughout the years the structure of the guards has evolved, going from convoy to squadron, to regiment and, subsequent to 1942, to division. Today it includes military units for army salute and wind orchestra duties.

In 2001, the National Guard unit was designated an official military unit of the Bulgarian army and one of the symbols of state authority, along with the flag, the coat of arms and the national anthem.

Statistics and equipment[link]

Note: This table represents active equipment only; there are large numbers of equipment in reserve status.^[28] They are not listed here.

Navy[link]

The Navy has traditionally been the smallest component of the Bulgarian military. Established almost simultaneously with the Ground forces in 1879, initially it consisted of a small fleet of boats on the Danube river. Bulgaria has a coastline of about 354 kilometers – thus, naval warfare is not considered a priority.

After the downturn in 1990, the Navy was largely overlooked and received almost no funding. No projects for modernization were carried out until 2005, when a Wielingen class frigate (F912 Wandelaar) was acquired from Belgium. By 2009, Bulgaria acquired two more frigates of the same class. The first of them was renamed 41 Drazki and took part in several operations and exercises, most notably the UNIFIL Maritime Patrol along the coast of Lebanon in 2006, and Operation Active Endeavour. 41 Drazki is currently (as of April 2011) participating in the enforcement the naval blockade against Muammar Gaddafi's regime off the coast of Libya.

The equipment is typical for a small navy, consisting mostly of light multi-purpose vessels – 4 frigates, 3 corvettes, 5 minesweepers, 3 fast missile craft and 2 landing ships. One submarine – 84 Slava – remains in inventory, although it is not considered in active service as the submarine component was disbanded in 2010. 84 Slava is scheduled to be turned into a museum. Other equipment includes a coastal defence missile battalion armed with locally modified P-15 Termit missiles, a coastal artillery battery, a naval helicopter airbase and a marine special forces unit.

The Bulgarian Navy is centered in two main bases – in Varna and in Burgas.

Air Force[link]

A BAF MiG-29 at Graf Ignatievo Air Base

In the past decade Bulgaria has been trying actively to restructure its army as a whole and a lot of attention has been placed on keeping the aging Russian aircraft operational. Currently the attack and defence branches of the Bulgarian air force are mainly MiG-21s, MiG-29s and Su-25s. About 16 MiG-29 fighters have been modernized in order to meet NATO standards. The first aircraft arrived on 29 November 2007 and final delivery was due in 03/09. In 2006 the Bulgarian government signed a contract with Alenia Aeronautica for the delivery of five C-27J Spartan transport aircraft in order to replace the Soviet made An-24 and An-26, although the contract was later changed to only three aircraft. Modern EU-made transport helicopters were purchased in 2005 and a total of 12 Eurocopter Cougar have been delivered (8 transport and 4 CSAR).

Branches of the airforce include: fighter aviation, assault aviation, intelligence aviation and transportation aviation, aid defence troops, radio-technical troops, communications troops, radio-technical support troops, logistics and medical troops.

The Bulgarian ministry of defense has announced plans to withdraw and replace the MiG-21 fighters with new ones. Several offers were received from international suppliers – the United States (offering F-16 Fighting Falcon and F-18 Super Hornet), Sweden JAS-39 Gripen), Germany (Eurofighter Typhoon), Italy (second-hand Eurofighter Typhoon), Russia (MiG-29) and Israel (IAI Kfir).^[31]

Aircraft inventory[link]

With the exception of the Navy's small helicopter fleet, the Air Forces are responsible for all military aircraft in Bulgaria. The Air Forces' inventory numbers 124 aircraft, including 46 combat jets and 42 helicopters. Aircraft of western origin have only begun to enter the fleet, numbering 13 of the total in service.

Bulgarian-American cooperation[link]

A US Stryker IFV on a training range near Novo Selo

The Bulgarian-American Joint Military Facilities were established by a Defence Cooperation Agreement signed by the United States and Bulgaria in April 2006. Under the agreement, U.S. forces can conduct training at several bases in the country, which remain under Bulgarian command and under the Bulgarian flag. Under the agreement, no more than 2,500 U.S. military personnel can be located at the joint military facilities.

Foreign Policy magazine lists Bezmer Air Base as one of the six most important overseas facilities used by the USAF.^[32]

Deployments[link]

Both during Communist rule and after, Bulgaria has deployed troops with different tasks in various countries. The table below lists Bulgarian military deployments in foreign countries. Active missions are shown in bold.

Country	Operation	Organization	Timespan	Personnel	Casualties
Libya	–	People's Republic of Bulgaria	?	a total of 9,000 military and non-military advisors[33]	–
Nicaragua	Nicaraguan Revolution	People's Republic of Bulgaria	1980s	unknown number of military instructors[34]	–
Iraq	Gulf War	UN	1991	270[35]	–
Cambodia	peacekeeping	UNTAC	1992–1993	850 troops 34 military observers	11
Angola	military observation	UNOMA	1995–2000	48 military observers	–
Tajikistan	military observation	UNMOT	1995–2000	27 military observers	–
Bosnia and Herzegovina	peacekeeping (EUFOR Althea)	SFOR / EUFOR	1997–present	120 troops[36]	-
Croatia	demining	OSCE	1999–2001	unknown	–
Ethiopia /  Eritrea	peacekeeping	UNMEE	2001–2004	11 military observers	–
Serbia, Kosovo	construction / peacekeeping	UNMIK and KFOR	2000–present	10	–
Macedonia	humanitarian (construction of field kitchens and a hospital)	–	1999–2003	?	–
Afghanistan	internal security / anti-terrorist	ISAF	2001–present	1400[37][38]	-
Liberia	peacekeeping	UNMIL	2003–present	2[39]	-
Iraq	Iraq War	Multi-National Force – Iraq	2003–2008	485	13
Georgia	peacekeeping	European Union Monitoring Mission	2008–present	12[40]	-
Iraq	training mission	NATO Training Mission – Iraq	2009–present	2[41]	-
Libya	Operation Unified Protector	–	27 April 2011 – 3 June 2011	160 military observers, including a group of 12 naval special commandos with the frigate Drazki	–

References[link]

Sources[link]

• Hall, Richard C. (2000). The Balkan Wars, 1912–1913: Prelude to the First World War. Routledge. ISBN 0-415-22946-4. 
• Бяла книга на Въоръжените сили (White Paper of the Armed Forces), Ministry of Defence of Bulgaria, 2011.
• Wikisource:Great Battles of Bulgaria

External links[link]

• Ministry of Defence of Bulgaria(English)
• Equipment holdings in 1996
• http://www.wikileaks.ch/cable/2007/10/07SOFIA1271.html – U.S. Embassy Sofia views via United States diplomatic cables leak on appropriate future equipment purchases, 2007

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Military of Bulgaria

• Defense industry of Bulgaria
• Bulgaria and weapons of mass destruction
• Medieval Bulgarian Army

Coordinates: 42°45′N 25°30′E / 42.75°N 25.5°E / 42.75; 25.5

Republic of Bulgaria Република България Republika Balgariya
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: Съединението прави силата Unity makes strength
Anthem:  Mila Rodino "Dear Motherland"
Location of  Bulgaria  (red) – in Europe  (yellow & grey) – in the European Union  (yellow)  —  [Legend]
Capital (and largest city)		Sofia (София) 42°41′N 23°19′E / 42.683°N 23.317°E / 42.683; 23.317
Official language(s)		Bulgarian
Ethnic groups (2011)		84.8% Bulgarians 8.8% Turks 4.9% Roma 1.5% others
Demonym		Bulgarian
Government		Parliamentary democracy
-	President	Rosen Plevneliev
-	Prime Minister	Boyko Borisov
Legislature		National Assembly
Formation
-	First Bulgarian Empire	681
-	Principality of Bulgaria	3 March 1878
-	Kingdom of Bulgaria	22 September 1908
Area
-	Total	110,994 km2 (105th) 42,823 sq mi
-	Water (%)	0.3
Population
-	2011 census	7,364,570 [1] (98th)
-	Density	66.2/km2 (139th) 171/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$101.036 billion[2] (66th)
-	Per capita	$13,597[2] (68th)
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$53.514 billion[2] (72th)
-	Per capita	$7,202[2] (74th)
Gini (2007)		28.2[3] (low)
HDI (2011)		0.771[4] (high) (55th)
Currency		Lev (BGN)
Time zone		EET (UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Drives on the		right
ISO 3166 code		BG
Internet TLD		.bg
Calling code		359

Bulgaria ⁱ/bʌlˈɡɛəriə/ (Bulgarian: България, IPA: [bɤ̞ɫˈɡarijɐ]), is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and the Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south and the Black Sea to the east. With a territory of 110,994 square kilometres (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria is Europe's 14th-largest country. Its location has made it a historical crossroad for various civilisations and as such it is the home of some of the earliest metalworking, religious and other cultural artifacts in the world.

Prehistoric cultures began developing on Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history was marked by the presence of the Thracians, and later by the Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian ethnicity and state dates back to the First Bulgarian Empire, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavic peoples during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the Second Bulgarian Empire in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five hundred years. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 resulted in the Third Bulgarian State, recognised in 1908. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both World Wars. In 1946 it became a Communist republic with a single-party system until 1989, when the Communist Party allowed multi-party elections. After 1990 Bulgaria transitioned to democracy and a market-based economy.

The population of 7.36 million people is predominantly urban and mainly concentrated in the administrative centres of its 28 provinces. Most commercial and cultural activities are concentrated in the capital Sofia. The strongest sectors of the economy are heavy industry, power engineering and agriculture, all relying on local natural resources. The massive industrial expansion during the postwar economic boom established Bulgaria as the leading electricity and raw material exporter in Southeast Europe through its energy and mining industries.

The current political structure dates to the adoption of a democratic constitution in 1991. A free country,^[5] Bulgaria is a unitary parliamentary republic with a high degree of political, administrative and economic centralisation. It is a member of the European Union, NATO and the Council of Europe, a founding state of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), and has taken a seat at the UN Security Council three times.

History[link]

Prehistory and antiquity[link]

Prehistoric cultures in Bulgarian lands include the Neolithic Hamangia culture,^[6] Vinča culture^[7] and the eneolithic Varna culture (fifth millennium BC). The Varna Necropolis offers insights for understanding the social hierarchy of the earliest European societies.^[8]

The earliest and one of the three primary ancestral groups of modern Bulgarians^[9] were the Thracians, who populated various tribes until king Teres united most of them in the Odrysian kingdom around 500 BC.^[10][11] They were eventually subjugated by Alexander the Great in the 4th century and later by the Roman Empire in 46 AD. After the Fall of the Roman Empire, the easternmost South Slavs gradually settled on the territory of modern Bulgaria during the 6th century, assimilating the Hellenised or Romanised Thracians. Eventually the élite of the Central Asian Bulgars incorporated them into a new state which formed upon khan Asparukh's arrival in the Balkans.^[12]

First Bulgarian Empire[link]

Khan Krum feasts with his nobles after the battle of Pliska. His servant (far right) brings the wine-filled skull cup of Nicephorus I.

Asparukh, son of Old Great Bulgaria's khan Kubrat, migrated with several Bulgar tribes to the lower courses of the rivers Danube, Dniester and Dniepr. After 670, he expanded his kingdom into the Balkan Peninsula by leading a horde of 50,000 across the Danube^[13] and severed Moesia and Scythia Minor (Dobruja) from the Byzantine Empire.^[14] The local south Slavic language was gradually adopted by the advancing Bulgars, who preserved dominance over the Slavic majority. A peace treaty with Byzantium in 681 and the establishment of a permanent capital at Pliska south of the Danube marked the beginning of the First Bulgarian Empire.^[15]

Succeeding khans strengthened the Bulgarian state throughout the 8th and 9th centuries—Tervel established Bulgaria as a major military power by defeating a 26,000-strong Arab army during the Second Arab Siege of Constantinople.^[16] Krum doubled the country's territory, killed Byzantine emperor Nicephorus I in the Battle of Pliska,^[17] and introduced the first written code of law. Then in 864 Boris I abolished Tengriism in favour of Eastern Orthodox Christianity^[18] and introduced the Cyrillic alphabet. Simeon the Great's 34-year rule began in 893 and saw the largest territorial expansion of Bulgaria, along with a golden age of Bulgarian culture.^[19]

Wars with Croatians, Magyars, Pechenegs and Serbs and the spread of the Bogomil heresy weakened Bulgaria after Simeon's death.^[18][20] Two consecutive Rus' and Byzantine invasions resulted in the seizure of the capital Preslav by the Byzantine army in 971.^[21] Under Samuil, Bulgaria somewhat recovered from these attacks and managed to conquer Serbia and Albania,^[22] but this rise ended when Byzantine emperor Basil II defeated the Bulgarian army at Klyuch in 1014. Samuil died shortly after the battle,^[23] and by 1018 the Byzantines had ended the First Bulgarian Empire.^[24]

Second Bulgarian Empire[link]

The Second Bulgarian Empire under Tsar Ivan Asen II

After his conquest of Bulgaria, Basil II prevented revolts and discontent by retaining the rule of the local nobility and recognising the autocephaly of the Archbishopric of Ohrid.^[25] After his death Byzantine domestic policies changed and a series of unsuccessful rebellions broke out, the largest being led by Peter Delyan. In 1185 Asen dynasty nobles Ivan Asen I and Peter IV organised a major uprising which resulted in the re-establishment of the Bulgarian state. Ivan Asen and Peter laid the foundations of the Second Bulgarian Empire with Tarnovo as a capital.^[26]

Kaloyan, the third of the Asen monarchs, extended his dominion to Belgrade and Ohrid. He acknowledged the spiritual supremacy of the Pope and received a royal crown from a papal legate.^[12] The empire reached its zenith under Ivan Asen II (1218–1241), when commerce and culture flourished.^[12] The strong economic and religious influence of Tarnovo made it a "Third Rome", unlike the already declining Constantinople.^[27]

The country's military and economic might declined after the Asen dynasty ended in 1257, facing internal conflicts, constant Byzantine and Hungarian attacks and Mongol domination.^[12][28] By the end of the 14th century, factional divisions between the feudal landlords and the spread of Bogomilism had caused the Second Bulgarian Empire to split into three tsardoms—Vidin, Tarnovo and Karvuna—and several semi-independent principalities that fought each other, along with Byzantines, Hungarians, Serbs, Venetians and Genoese. By the late 14th century the Ottoman Turks had started their conquest of Bulgaria and had taken most towns and fortresses south of the Balkan mountains.^[12]

Ottoman rule[link]

Tarnovo was captured by the Ottomans after a three-month siege in 1393. After the Battle of Nicopolis and the fall of the Vidin Tsardom three years later, the Ottomans conquered all Bulgarian lands south of the Danube.^[29] Under the Ottoman system, Bulgarians were considered an inferior class of people and were subjected to heavy taxes; Bulgarian culture was suppressed and the educated clergy fled to other countries.^[30] The nobility was eliminated, the peasantry was enserfed to Ottoman masters,^[29] and the population lost its national consciousness.^[31]

The Defence of Shipka Pass was crucial for the liberation of Bulgaria. In the final stage of the battle the Bulgarian forces, having finished their ammunition, threw rocks and bodies of fallen comrades to repulse the Ottoman attacks.^[32]

Throughout the nearly five centuries of Ottoman rule, the Bulgarian people attempted to re-establish their state by organising several revolts, most notably the First (1598) and Second Tarnovo Uprisings (1686) and Karposh's Rebellion (1689).^[29] In the 18th century, the Enlightenment in Western Europe provided influence for the initiation of a movement known as the National awakening of Bulgaria.^[29] It restored national consciousness and became a key factor in the liberation struggle, resulting in the 1876 April Uprising. Up to 30,000 Bulgarians were killed as Ottoman authorities put down the rebellion. The massacres prompted the Great Powers to take action.^[33] They convened the Constantinople Conference in 1876, but their decisions were rejected by the Ottomans. This allowed the Russian Empire to seek a solution by force without risking military confrontation with other Great Powers, as had happened in the Crimean War.^[33] In 1877 Russia declared war on the Ottoman empire and defeated its forces with the help of Bulgarian volunteers. The Treaty of San Stefano was signed on 3 March 1878, setting up an autonomous Bulgarian principality on the territories of the Second Bulgarian Empire.^[34][35]

The other 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 provided for a much smaller autonomous state comprising Moesia and the region of Sofia, leaving large populations of Bulgarians outside the new country.^[34][36] This played a significant role in forming Bulgaria's militaristic approach to foreign affairs during the first half of the 20th century.^[37] The Bulgarian principality won a war against Serbia and incorporated the semi-autonomous Ottoman territory of Eastern Rumelia in 1885, proclaiming itself an independent state on 22 September 1908.^[38]

Third Bulgarian State[link]

Bulgarian soldiers cutting Entente Powers barbed wire and preparing to advance, World War I

In the years following independence, Bulgaria increasingly militarised and was often referred to as "the Balkan Prussia".^[39][40] Between 1912 and 1918, Bulgaria became involved in three consecutive conflicts—two Balkan Wars and World War I. After a disastrous defeat in the Second Balkan War, Bulgaria again found itself fighting on the losing side as a result of its alliance with the Central Powers in World War I. Despite fielding more than a quarter of its population in a 1,200,000-strong army^[41][42] and achieving several decisive victories at Doiran and Monastir, the country capitulated in 1918. The war resulted in significant territorial losses, a total of 412,000 casualties, and a wave of more than 253,000^[43] refugees who put additional strain on the already ruined national economy.^[44]

The political unrest resulting from these losses led to the establishment of a royal authoritarian dictatorship by tsar Boris III (1918–1943). Bulgaria entered World War II in 1941 as a member of the Axis but declined to participate in Operation Barbarossa and saved its Jewish population from deportation to concentration camps.^[45] The sudden death of Boris III in the summer of 1943 pushed the country into political turmoil as the war turned against Germany and the Communist guerilla movement gained momentum.^[46] Following strikes and unrest, in September 1944 the Communist-dominated Fatherland Front took power, ending the alliance with Germany and joining the Allied side until the war ended.^[47]

Zhelyu Zhelev, the first democratically elected president of Bulgaria^[48] with George H. W. Bush (right) in 1990

The left-wing uprising of 9 September 1944 led to the abolition of monarchic rule, but it was not until 1946 when a single-party people's republic was established.^[49] It became a part of the Soviet sphere of influence under the leadership of Georgi Dimitrov (1946–1949), who laid the foundations for a rapidly industrialising stalinist state. By the mid-1950s standards of living rose significantly, while political repressions were lessened.^[50][51] The Soviet-style planned economy saw some market-oriented policies emerging on an experimental level under Todor Zhivkov (1954–1989).^[52] His daughter Lyudmila bolstered national pride by promoting Bulgarian heritage, culture and arts worldwide.^[53] In an attempt to erase the identity of the ethnic Turk minority, an assimilation campaign was launched in 1984. This resulted in the emigration of some 300,000 of them to Turkey.^[54][55]

Under the influence of the collapsing Eastern Bloc, on 10 November 1989 the Communist Party gave up its political monopoly, Zhivkov resigned, and Bulgaria embarked on a transition to a parliamentary democracy.^[56] The first free elections in June 1990 were won by the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP, the freshly-renamed Communist Party).^[57] A new constitution that provided for a relatively weak elected President and for a Prime Minister accountable to the legislature was adopted in July 1991. The new system initially failed to improve living standards or create economic growth—the average quality of life and economic performance remained lower than under Communism well into the early 2000s.^[58] A 1997 reform package restored economic growth, but living standards continued to suffer.^[59] After 2001 economic, political and geopolitical conditions improved greatly,^[60] and Bulgaria achieved high Human Development status.^[61] It became a member of NATO in 2004 and of the European Union in 2007.^[62][63]

Geography[link]

Bulgaria occupies a portion of the eastern Balkan peninsula, bordering five countries—Greece and Turkey to the south, Macedonia and Serbia to the west, and Romania to the north. The land borders have a total length of 1,808 kilometres (1,123 mi), and the coastline has a length of 354 kilometres (220 mi).^[64] Its total area of 110,994 kilometres (68,968 mi) ranks it as the world's 105th-largest country.^[65][66] Bulgaria's geographic coordinates are 43° N 25° E.^[67]

Left: The Balkan Mountains in central Bulgaria
Right: Maslen nos on the Black Sea coast

The most notable topographical features are the Danubian Plain, the Balkan Mountains, the Thracian Plain, and the Rhodope Mountains.^[64] The southern edge of the Danubian Plain slopes upward into the foothills of the Balkans, while the Danube defines the border with Romania. The Thracian Plain is roughly triangular, beginning southeast of Sofia and broadening as it reaches the Black Sea coast.^[64]

The Balkan mountains run laterally through the middle of the country. The mountainous southwest of the country has two alpine ranges—Rila and Pirin, which border the lower but more extensive Rhodope Mountains to the east.^[64] Bulgaria is home to the highest point of the Balkan peninsula, Musala, at 2,925 metres (9,596 ft)^[68] and its lowest point is sea level. Plains occupy about one-third of the territory, while plateaus and hills occupy 41 per cent.^[69] The country has a dense network of about 540 rivers, most of which are relatively small and with low water levels.^[70] The longest river located solely in Bulgarian territory, the Iskar, has a length of 368 kilometres (229 mi). Other major rivers include the Struma and the Maritsa in the south.^[64]

Bulgaria has a dynamic climate, which results from its being positioned at the meeting point of Mediterranean and continental air masses and the barrier effect of its mountains.^[64] Northern Bulgaria averages 1 °C (34 °F) cooler and registers 200 millimetres (7.9 in) more annually than the regions south of the Balkan mountains. Temperature amplitudes vary significantly in different areas. The lowest recorded temperature is −38.3 °C (−36.9 °F), while the highest is 45.2 °C (113.4 °F).^[71] Precipitation averages about 630 millimetres (24.8 in) per year, and varies from 500 millimetres (19.7 in) in Dobrudja to more than 2,500 millimetres (98.4 in) in the mountains. Continental air masses bring significant amounts of snowfall during winter.^[72]

Imperial eagles have a gradually growing population in Bulgaria.^[73]

Environment and wildlife[link]

Bulgaria adopted the Kyoto Protocol^[74] and achieved the protocol's objectives by reducing carbon dioxide emissions from 1990 to 2009 by 30 per cent.^[75] However, pollution from factories and metallurgy works and severe deforestation continue to cause major problems to the health and welfare of the population.^[76] Urban areas are particularly affected by energy production from coal-based powerplants and automobile traffic,^[77][78] while pesticide usage in the agriculture and antiquated industrial sewage systems produce extensive soil and water pollution with chemicals and detergents.^[79] Bulgaria is the only EU member which does not recycle municipal waste,^[80] although an electronic waste recycling plant opened in June 2010.^[81] The situation has improved in recent years, and several government-funded programmes have been put into place in an attempt to reduce pollution levels.^[79]

Bulgaria's biodiversity is conserved in three national parks, 11 nature parks^[82] and 17 biosphere reserves.^[83] Nearly 35 per cent of its land area consists of forests,^[84] where some of the oldest trees in the world, such as Baikushev's Pine and the Granit oak,^[85] grow. Its flora encompass more than 3,800 species of which 170 are endemic and 150 are considered endangered.^[86] The fauna is represented prominently by the brown bear and the jackal,^[87] while the Eurasian lynx and the Eastern imperial eagle have small, but growing populations.^[88]

Politics[link]

The National Assembly building

Bulgaria is a parliamentary democracy in which the most powerful executive position is that of prime minister.^[60] The political system has three branches—legislative, executive and judicial, with universal suffrage for citizens at least 18 years old. Elections are supervised by an independent Central Election Commission that includes members from all major political parties. Parties must register with the commission prior to participating in a national election.^[89] Normally, the prime minister-elect is the leader of the party receiving the most votes in parliamentary elections.^[60]

Political parties gather in the National Assembly, which consists of 240 deputies elected to four-year terms by direct popular vote. The National Assembly has the power to enact laws, approve the budget, schedule presidential elections, select and dismiss the Prime Minister and other ministers, declare war, deploy troops abroad, and ratify international treaties and agreements. The president serves as the head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and has the authority to return a bill for further debate, although the parliament can override the presidential veto by a simple majority vote of all members of parliament.^[60] Boyko Borisov of the centre-right party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) became prime minister on 27 July 2009,^[90] while GERB-backed Rosen Plevneliev was elected president in 2011, after receiving 52.5 per cent of the votes on the second round against 47.5 per cent for his Socialist Party opponent Ivaylo Kalfin.^[91] As of 2012, GERB has 117 seats in the National Assembly and no permanent political allies, thus ruling as a minority government.^[92]

Political groups in the Parliament and number of representatives, 2012:^[93]

  Coalition for Bulgaria (left-wing, 39)

  DPS (centrist, 35)

  Independent (24)

  GERB (centre-right, 117)

  Blue Coalition (centre-right, 14)

  Ataka (far right, 10)

Bulgaria has a typical civil law legal system.^[94] The judiciary is overseen by the Ministry of Justice. The Supreme Administrative Court and Supreme Court of Cassation are the highest courts of appeal and oversee the application of laws in subordinate courts.^[89] The Supreme Judicial Council manages the system and appoints judges. Bulgaria's judiciary, along with other institutions, remains one of Europe's most corrupt and inefficient.^{[95][96][97][98]}

Law enforcement is carried out by organisations mainly subordinate to the Ministry of the Interior.^[99] The National Police Service (NPS) combats general crime, maintains public order and supports the operations of other law enforcement agencies.^[100] NPS fields 27,000 police officers in its local and national sections.^[101] The Ministry of Interior also heads the Border Police Service and the National Gendarmerie—a specialised branch for anti-terrorist activity, crisis management and riot control. Counterintelligence and national security are the responsibility of the State Agency for National Security, established in 2008.^[102]

Administrative divisions[link]

Bulgaria is a unitary state.^[103] Since the 1880s, the number of territorial management units has varied from seven to 26.^[104] Between 1987 and 1999 the administrative structure consisted of nine provinces (oblasti, singular oblast). A new administrative structure was adopted in parallel with the decentralisation of the economic system.^[105] It includes 27 provinces and a metropolitan capital province (Sofia-Grad). All areas take their names from their respective capital cities. The provinces subdivide into 264 municipalities.

Municipalities are run by mayors, who are elected to four-year terms, and by directly elected municipal councils. Bulgaria is a highly centralised state, where the national Council of Ministers directly appoints regional governors and all provinces and municipalities are heavily dependent on it for funding.^[89]

Blagoevgrad Burgas Dobrich Gabrovo Haskovo Kardzhali Kyustendil Lovech Montana Pazardzhik Pernik Pleven Plovdiv Razgrad Rousse Shumen Silistra Sliven Smolyan Sofia Province Stara Zagora Targovishte Varna Veliko Tarnovo Vidin Vratsa Yambol

Foreign relations and military[link]

Bulgaria became a member of the United Nations in 1955 and since 1966 has been a non-permanent member of the Security Council three times, most recently from 2002 to 2003.^[106] Bulgaria was also among the founding nations of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in 1975. It joined NATO on 29 March 2004, signed the European Union Treaty of Accession on 25 April 2005,^[62][107] and became a full member of the European Union on 1 January 2007.^[63] Euro-Atlantic integration became a priority for the country since the fall of Communism, although the Communist leadership also had aspirations of leaving the Warsaw Pact and joining the European Communities by 1987.^{[108][109][110]} Bulgaria's relationship with its neighbours since 1990 has generally been good. The country also plays an important role in promoting regional security.^[111] Bulgaria has an active tripartite economic and diplomatic collaboration with Romania and Greece,^[112] maintains strong relations with EU members, the United States and Russia, and continues to improve its traditionally good ties with China^[113] and Vietnam.^[114] The HIV trial in Libya, which followed after the imprisonment of several Bulgarian nurses in Benghazi in 1998, had a significant impact on relations between Bulgaria, the European Union, and Libya. It resulted in the release of the nurses by Muammar Gaddafi's government, which was granted a contract to receive a nuclear reactor and weapons supplies from France in exchange.^[115]

Bulgarian Air Force Mikoyan MiG-29 fighter jets

Bulgaria hosted six KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft and 200 support personnel for the war effort in Afghanistan in 2001, which was the first stationing of foreign forces on its territory since World War II.^[116] International military relations were further expanded in April 2006, when Bulgaria and the United States signed a defence cooperation agreement providing for the usage of Bezmer and Graf Ignatievo air bases, the Novo Selo training range, and a logistics centre in Aytos as joint military training facilities.^[117] The same year Foreign Policy magazine listed Bezmer Air Base as one of the six most important overseas facilities used by the USAF due to its proximity to the Middle East.^[118] A total of 756 troops are deployed abroad as part of various UN and NATO missions. Historically, Bulgaria deployed significant numbers of military and civilian advisors in Soviet-allied countries, such as Nicaragua^[119] and Libya (more than 9,000 personnel).^[120]

Domestic defence is the responsibility of the all-volunteer military of Bulgaria, consisting of land forces, navy and air force. The land forces comprise of two mechanised brigades and eight independent regiments and battalions; the air force operates 106 aircraft and air defence systems in six air bases, and the navy operates a variety of ships, helicopters and coastal defence measures.^[121]

Following a series of reductions beginning in 1990, the number of active troops contracted from 152,000 in 1988^[122] to about 32,000 in the 2000s,^[123] supplemented by a reserve force of 302,500 soldiers and officers and 34,000 paramilitary servicemen.^[124] The inventory is mostly of Soviet origin, such as MiG-29 fighters, SA-10 Grumble SAMs and SS-21 Scarab short-range ballistic missiles. By 2020 the government will spend $1.4 billion for the deployment of new fighter jets, communications systems and cyber warfare capabilities.^[125] Total military spending in 2009 cost $819 million.^[126]

Economy[link]

Sofia, the financial heart of the country

Bulgaria has an industrialised market economy^[127] in the upper middle income range,^[128] where the private sector accounts for more than 80 per cent of GDP.^[129] From a largely agricultural country with a predominantly rural population in 1948, by the 1980s Bulgaria had transformed into an industrial economy with scientific and technological research as its top priorities.^[130] The loss of COMECON markets in 1990 and the subsequent "shock therapy" of the planned system caused a sharp drop in industrial and agricultural production, ultimately followed by an economic collapse in 1997.^[131][132] After 2000, Bulgaria experienced rapid economic growth,^[131] even though its income level remained one of the lowest within the EU with a gross average monthly wage of 754 leva (386 euro) in March 2012.^[133] Wages, however, account for only half of the total household income.^[134] Bulgarian PPS GDP per capita stood at 44 per cent of the EU average in 2010 according to Eurostat data,^[135] while the cost of living was 51 per cent of the average.^[136] The currency is the lev, which is pegged to the euro at a rate of 1.95583 levа for one euro.^[137] Bulgaria is not part of the eurozone and the financial crisis has pushed the accession date beyond 2015 according to some economic analysts.^[138]

Unemployment rate increased to 12.6 per cent in April 2012 and GDP growth contracted from 6.2 (2008) to −5.5 per cent (2009) amid the late-2000s financial crisis.^[139][140] The crisis had a negative impact mostly on industry, causing a 10 per cent decline in the national industrial production index, a 31 per cent drop in mining, and a 60 per cent drop in "ferrous and metal production".^[141] Positive growth was restored in 2010, reaching 0.2 per cent.^[140] However, by the end of 2011, investments were diminishing and consumption was dropping steadily due to rising unemployment.^[142]

Corruption remains a serious problem in the country as it is ranked 86th in the Corruption Perceptions Index and its rankings are gradually worsening.^[143] At the same time Bulgaria ranks 28th in the Economic Freedom of the World index,^[144] has the lowest personal and corporate income tax rates in the European Union,^[145] and the second-lowest public debt of all member states at 16.3 per cent of GDP in 2011.^[146] In 2011, GDP (PPP) was estimated at $101 billion, with a per capita value of $13,597.^[2] Sofia and the surrounding Yugozapaden planning area are the most developed region of the country with a per capita PPS GDP of $24,647 in 2009.^[147] The service sector accounts for 64.6 per cent of GDP, followed by industry with 30.1 per cent and agriculture with 5.3 per cent.^[148] The labour force is about 2.5 million people.^[149] Bulgaria is a net receiver of funds from the EU. The absolute amount of received funds was 589 million euro in 2009.^[150]

Bulgaria (orange) and its largest export partners by share of total exports

Local iron, copper, coal and lead deposits are vital for the domestic manufacturing sector.^[151] Major industries include extraction of metals and minerals, production of chemicals, machinery and vehicle components,^[152] petroleum refinement^[153] and steel.^[154] The mining sector and its related industries employ a total of 120,000 people and generate about five per cent of the country's GDP.^[155] The country is Europe's fourth-largest gold producer and sixth-largest coal producer.^[155][156] Almost all top export items of Bulgaria are industrial commodities such as oil products ($2.24 billion), copper products ($1.59 billion), medicaments ($493 million) and military equipment ($358 million).^[157][158]

In contrast with the industrial sector, agriculture has declined for the past decade. Production in 2008 amounted to only 66 per cent of that between 1999 and 2001,^[158] while cereal and vegetable yields dropped by nearly 40 per cent after 1990.^[159] Bulgaria, however, remains a net agricultural and food exporter, and two-thirds of its exports are to OECD countries.^[160] The country is the largest global producer of perfumery essential oils such as lavender and rose oil.^[116][161] A five-year modernisation and development programme was launched by the government in 2007, aimed at strengthening the agricultural sector with a total investment of 3.2 billion euro.^[162]

In recent years Bulgaria has emerged as an attractive tourist destination with some of Europe's least expensive resorts and the last remaining beaches outside the reach of the tourist industry.^[163][164] Lonely Planet ranked Bulgaria among its top 10 travel destinations for 2011.^[165] More than 40 per cent of its 9,000,000 annual visitors were Greeks, Romanians and Germans.^[166] Main destinations include the capital Sofia, the medieval capital Veliko Tarnovo,^[167] coastal resorts Golden Sands and Sunny Beach and winter resorts Bansko, Pamporovo and Borovets.

Science and technology[link]

The supercomputer of the National Centre for Supercomputing Applications

Bulgaria has one of Europe's lowest scientific research budgets at 0.25 per cent of GDP in 2010.^[168][169] Chronic underinvestment in the sector since 1990 forced many scientific professionals to leave the country.^[170] As a result, Bulgaria scores low in terms of innovation, competitiveness and high-value added exports.^[171][172]

The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) is the leading scientific institution and employs most Bulgarian researchers in its numerous branches. Principal areas of research and development are energy, nanotechnology, archaeology and medicine.^[168] Bulgaria became the 6th country in the world to have an astronaut in space with Georgi Ivanov's flight on Soyuz 33 in 1979. It has deployed its own experiments on various missions, such as RADOM-7^[173] dosimeters on the International Space Station and Chandrayaan-1, and space greenhouses (a Bulgarian development) on the Mir space station.^[174][175] In 2011 the government announced plans to reboot the space programme by producing a new microsatellite and joining the European Space Agency.^[176]

In the 1980s Bulgaria became known as the "Silicon Valley of the Eastern Bloc" due to its large-scale computing technology exports to COMECON states.^[177] The country ranked third in the world in 2011 by total number of ICT specialists, outperforming countries with far larger populations,^[178] and operates the only supercomputer in the Balkan region, an IBM Blue Gene/P at the National Centre for Supercomputing Applications.^[179][180]

Infrastructure[link]

Trakiya motorway, one of the national motorways

Although it has relatively few reserves of fossil fuels, Bulgaria's well-developed energy sector and strategic geographic location make it a key European energy hub.^[181] Nearly 34 per cent of its electricity is produced by the nuclear power station at Kozloduy^[182] and public opinion strongly supports nuclear energy development.^[183] The rapid expansion of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar power stations^[184] make Bulgaria one of the fastest-growing wind energy producers in the world.^[185] The country aims to produce 16 per cent of its electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020.^[186]

The national road network has a total length of 40,231 kilometres (24,998 mi),^[187] of which 39,587 kilometres (24,598 mi) are paved, but nearly half fall into the lowest international rating for paved roads.^[188] Railroads are a major mode of freight transportation, although highways carry a progressively larger share of freight. Bulgaria has 6,238 kilometres (3,876 mi) of railway track^[188] and currently a total of 461 km of high-speed lines are under construction with expected completion in 2013.^{[189][190][191]} Rail links are available with Romania, Greece and Serbia, and express trains serve direct routes to Kiev, Minsk, Moscow and Saint Petersburg.^[192] Sofia and Plovdiv are the country's air travel hubs, while Varna and Burgas are the principal maritime trade ports.^[188] Varna is also scheduled to be the first station on EU territory to receive natural gas through the South Stream pipeline.^[193]

The telecommunications network is generally antiquated and requires substantial modernisation. Telephone service is available in most villages, and a central digital trunk line connects most regions.^[188] Currently there are three active mobile phone operators—Mtel, GLOBUL and Vivacom.^[194] The number of Internet users has increased rapidly since 2000—from 430,000 their number grew to 1.55 million in 2004, and 3.4 million (48 per cent penetration rate) in 2010.^[195] Bulgaria has the fastest average Broadband Internet speed in the world after South Korea.^[196]

Demographics[link]

A group of Bulgarian men in 1926

According to the 2011 census, the population of Bulgaria was 7,364,570 people, down from a peak of nine million in 1989. Bulgaria has had negative population growth since the early 1990s,^[197] when the collapse of the economy caused some 937,000 people—mostly young adults—to emigrate by 2005.^[198] The population continues to decrease and the current growth rate is one of the lowest in the world.^[199]

Bulgarians are the main ethnic group and comprise 84.8 per cent of the population. Turkish and Roma minorities comprise 8.8 and 4.9 per cent, respectively; some 40 smaller minorities comprise 0.7 per cent, and 0.8 per cent do not self-identify with an ethnic group.^[200] Romani people are considered second-class citizens by some Bulgarians^[201] and approximately 70,000 of them are engaged in criminal activities.^[202] Trafficking among Romani people is also widespread due to their bride market traditions.^[203] Roma integration programmes funded by the European Union have so far been unsuccessful.^[204] All ethnic groups use Bulgarian, the only language with official status, and a native language for 85.2 per cent of the population.^[205] The oldest Slavic written language, Bulgarian is distinguishable from the other languages in this group through certain grammatical peculiarities such as the lack of noun cases and infinitives, and a suffixed definite article.^[206][207]

Bulgaria regards itself officially as a secular state. The Constitution guarantees religious freedom, but designates Orthodoxy as a "traditional" religion.^[208] A majority of the population (76 per cent) self-identify as Orthodox Christian.^[205] The Bulgarian Orthodox Church gained autocephalous status in 927 AD,^[209][210] and currently has 12 dioceses and over 2,000 priests.^[211] Other religious denominations include Islam (10 per cent), Roman Catholicism (0.8 per cent) and Protestantism (1.1 per cent); 0.2 per cent practice other beliefs and 11.8 per cent do not self-identify with a religion.^[205]

The library of Sofia University, the first higher education establishment in Bulgaria

Government estimates from 2003 put the literacy rate at 98.6 per cent, with no significant difference between the sexes. Bulgaria has traditionally had high educational standards.^[201] The Ministry of Education, Youth and Science funds all public educational establishments, sets criteria for textbooks and oversees the publishing process.^[212] The State provides free education in government schools, except for higher education.^[201] The educational process spans through 12 grades, where grades one through eight are primary and nine through twelve are secondary level.^[212] High schools can be technical, vocational, general or specialised in a certain discipline, while higher education consists of a 4-year bachelor degree and a 1-year Master's degree.^[213]

Average life expectancy is 73.6 years, below the European Union average.^[214] The primary causes of death are similar to those in other industrialised countries, mainly cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms and respiratory diseases.^[215] Bulgaria has a universal healthcare system financed by taxes and contributions.^[215] The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) pays a gradually increasing portion of the costs of primary healthcare. Healthcare expenditures in the national budget increased to 4.3 per cent between 2002 and 2004, and the NHIF accounted for more than 60 per cent of annual expenditures.^[216] The healthcare budget amounted to 4.2 per cent of GDP in 2010, or about 1.3 billion euro.^[217] The number of doctors is above the EU average with 181 physicians per 100,000 people,^[218] although there is a severe shortage of nurses and other medical personnel, and the quality of most medical facilities is poor.^[219]

Most Bulgarians (72.5 per cent) reside in urban areas.^[1] Bulgaria has the highest home ownership rate in the world; about 97 per cent of the population live in privately owned and owner-occupied homes.^[220] There is also a very high rate of household appliance ownership, such as television sets (97.9 per cent of all households), refrigerators (93.3) and telephones (90.6), and relatively high rates for computers (42.9) and automobiles (41.9 per cent). The average rates in all categories are substantially higher in Sofia, the 12th-largest city in the European Union with a population of more than 1,200,000 people.^[221][222]

Culture[link]

Thracian golden wreath in the National Historical Museum

Traditional Bulgarian culture contains mainly Thracian, Slavic and Bulgar heritage, along with Greek, Roman, Ottoman, Persian and Celtic influences.^{[223][224][225]} Traces of Gothic culture also appeared in Antiquity, as evidenced by the Wulfila Bible—the first book written in a Germanic language, created in Nicopolis ad Istrum in the 4th century.^[226][227]

A vast amount of uncovered archaeological sites are spread throughout the country; their total number is the third-largest in Europe after Italy and Greece.^[228] In 1972 the oldest golden treasure in the world was discovered in a necropolis near Varna, consisting of coins, weapons and jewellery dating to 4,600 BC.^[229] The site revealed evidence of the first European civilisation.^[116] Other objects testifying for the early development of advanced culture on Bulgaria's lands are Plovdiv, one of the oldest cities in the world,^[230] and the first Christian monastery in Europe, established in 344 AD.^[231] Nine historical and natural objects have been inscribed in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites: the Madara Rider, the Thracian tombs in Sveshtari and Kazanlak, the Boyana Church, the Rila Monastery, the Rock-hewn Churches of Ivanovo, Pirin National Park, Sreburna Nature Reserve and the ancient city of Nesebar.^[232] Nestinarstvo, a ritual fire-dance of Thracian origin,^[233] is included in the list of UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage.^[234] Fire is an essential element of Bulgarian folklore, used to banish evil spirits and diseases. Bulgarian folklore personifies illnesses as witches and has a wide range of creatures, including lamya, samodiva (veela) and karakondzhul.^[235] Some of the customs and rituals against these spirits have survived and are still practiced, most notably the kukeri and survakari.^[236] Martenitsa is also widely celebrated.^[237]

Both the First and the Second Bulgarian empires functioned as the centre of Slavic culture during much of the Middle Ages, exerting considerable cultural influence over the Eastern Orthodox world by means of the Preslav, Ohrid and Tarnovo literary schools.^{[238][239][240]} The Cyrillic alphabet, used as a writing system to many languages in Eastern Europe and Asia, originated in the Preslav Literary School around the 9th century.^[241] The medieval advancement in the arts and letters ended with the Ottoman conquest when many masterpieces were destroyed, and artistic activities did not re-emerge until the National Revival in the 19th century.^[242] After the Liberation, Bulgarian literature quickly adopted European literary styles such as Romanticism and Symbolism. Since the beginning of the 20th century, several Bulgarian authors, such as Ivan Vazov, Pencho Slaveykov, Peyo Yavorov, Yordan Radichkov and Tzvetan Todorov have gained prominence.^[243][244] In 1981 Bulgarian-born writer Elias Canetti was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.^[245]

Chasoslov, an early Bulgarian printed book from 1566 in Cyrillic

Bulgarian folk music is by far the most extensive traditional art and has slowly developed throughout the ages as a fusion of Eastern and Western influences. It contains Far Eastern, Oriental, medieval Eastern Orthodox and standard Western European tonalities and modes.^[246] The music has a distinctive sound and uses a wide range of traditional instruments, such as gadulka, gaida (bagpipe), kaval and tupan. One of its most distinguishing features is extended rhythmical time, which has no equivalent in the rest of European music.^[116] The State Television Female Vocal Choir is the most famous performing folk ensemble, and received a Grammy Award in 1990.^[247] Bulgaria's written musical composition can be traced back to the early Middle Ages and the works of Yoan Kukuzel (c. 1280–1360).^[248] Classical music, opera and ballet are represented by composers Emanuil Manolov, Pancho Vladigerov and Georgi Atanasov and singers Ghena Dimitrova and Boris Hristov.^{[249][250][251][252]} Bulgarian performers have gained popularity in several other genres like progressive rock (FSB), electropop (Mira Aroyo) and jazz (Milcho Leviev).

The religious visual arts heritage includes frescoes, murals and icons, many produced by the medieval Tarnovo Artistic School.^[253] Vladimir Dimitrov, Nikolay Diulgheroff and Christo are some of the most famous modern Bulgarian artists.^[242] Film industry remains weak: in 2010, Bulgaria produced three feature films and two documentaries with public funding. Cultural events are advertised in the largest media outlets, including the Bulgarian National Radio, and daily newspapers Dneven Trud and 24 Chasa.^[254]

The Bulgarian Olympic squad at the 2010 games

Bulgarian cuisine is similar to those of other Balkan countries and demonstrates a strong Greek and Turkish influence.^[255] Yogurt, lukanka, banitsa, shopska salad, lyutenitsa and kozunak are among the best-known local foods. Oriental dishes such as moussaka, gyuvech, and baklava are also present. Meat consumption is lower than the European average, given a notable preference for a large variety of salads.^[255] Rakia is a traditional fruit brandy which was consumed in Bulgaria as early as the 14th century.^[256] Bulgarian wine is known for its Traminer, Muskat and Mavrud sorts, of which up to 200,000 tonnes are produced annually.^[257][258] Until 1989, Bulgaria was the world's second-largest wine exporter.^[259]

Bulgaria performs well in sports such as wrestling, weight-lifting, boxing, gymnastics and tennis.^[260] The country fielded one of the leading men's volleyball teams, ranked sixth in the world according to the 2011 FIVB rankings.^[261] Football is by far the most popular sport.^[260] Some famous players are Manchester United forward Dimitar Berbatov and Hristo Stoichkov, twice winner of the European Golden Shoe and the most successful Bulgarian player of all time.^[262] Prominent domestic football clubs include PFC CSKA Sofia^[263][264] and PFC Levski Sofia. The best performance of the national team at FIFA World Cup finals came in 1994, when it consecutively eliminated Mexico and Germany and finished fourth.^[260] Bulgaria participates in most Olympic competitions since its first appearance at the 1896 games, when it was represented by Charles Champaud.^[265] The country has won a total of 218 medals: 52 gold, 86 silver, and 80 bronze,^[266] which puts it in 24th place in the all-time ranking.