About Bulgaria

BULGARIA, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southern-East Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north (mostly along the Danube), Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south. The Black Sea defines the extent of the country to the east. The Black Sea coastline is 378-kilometer (235 mi).

With a territory of 110,994 square kilometers (42,855 sq mi), Bulgaria ranks as the 16th-largest country in Europe. Several mountainous areas define the landscape, most notably the Stara Planina (Balkan) and Rodopi mountain ranges, as well as the Rila range, which includes the highest peak in the Balkan region, Musala (2925 m).

In contrast, the Danubian plain in the north and the Upper Thracian Plain in the south represent Bulgaria's lowest and most fertile regions.

Bulgarian Flag

Bulgarian Coat of Arms

Bulgarian Anthem

Mila Rodino

STATE-POLITICAL STRUCTURE

Bulgaria is a parliamentary republic with the Basic Law - Constitution, based on principles of separation of powers into legislative, executive and judiciary. The main state institutions in Bulgaria are: the Parliamen, President of the Republic, the Cabinet of Ministers and the Constitutional Court. Supreme power in the country is legal. It is exercised by the Parliament (Narodno Sabranie).

Bulgaria is a member of the European Union, NATO, the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, it has a high Human Development Index of 0.840, ranking 61st in the world in 2009.

The state of Bulgaria was founded in 681.

The new constitution was adopted in 1991.

Head of state - president. He is elected by direct suffrage for five years, for not more than two mandates.

Legislature
Supreme legislative body is the National Assembly (Narodno Sabranie), which consists of 240 members. They are directly elected by voters for four years, based on the proportional system.

Executive
Central executive body of the Council of Ministers. He is elected by National Assembly on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

Population of the country - about 9 million people. General population are Bulgarians. Moreover, ethnic Turks live here (about 10% of the population), Armenians, Greeks and other nationalities.

Bulgaria's capital city and largest settlement is Sofia, with a permanent population of 1,378,000 people. Other large cities: Plovdiv, Varna, Burgas and Ruse.

PUBLIC HOLIDAYS

January 1 - New Year's Day

March 3 - Liberation Day, celebrating liberation from Ottoman rule - national holiday of the Republic of Bulgaria

May 1 - Labour Day and international day of workers' solidarity

May 6 - St George's Day, Day of the Bulgarian Army

May 24 - Bulgarian Education and Culture Day and Day of Slavonic Letters

September 6 - Unification Day

September 22 - Bulgarian Independence Day

November 1 - Enlightenment Leaders' Day - a holiday for all educational institutions

December 24, 25, 26 - Christmas

Easter - four days (from Good Friday to Easter Monday)

TIME
Weather in Bulgaria behind Moscow one hour. When in Moscow at noon, in Sofia - 11:00. From April until the end of September the clock in Bulgaria to carry forward one hour.

RELIGION
The Orthodox religion is predominant in Bulgaria. Bulgarian Church is headed by the Patriarch, who together with the Synod of Metropolitans exercise sovereign power.

LANGUAGE
Official language - Bulgarian. He belongs to the Slavic group, which includes Russian, Czech, Polish and Serbo-Croatian.

The oldest Slavic letter refers to the X century and are on Bulgarian territory in Preslav, the capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. These manuscripts are written in Cyrillic, created by brothers Cyril and Methodius. Her signs and letters mostly borrowed from the Greek alphabet and adapted with the addition of some letters.

This Cyrillic alphabet, with some modifications, has existed since the Middle Ages to our days in Russian, Serbian, and all Orthodox Slavs languages.