[buhl-gair-ee-uh, boo
l-] 
| a republic in SE Europe. 8,652,745; 42,800 sq. mi. (110,850 sq. km). Capital: Sofia. |
Bul·gar·i·a (bŭl-gâr'ē-ə, bŏŏl-)  (click for larger image in new window) A country of southeast Europe on the Black Sea. Settled in the 6th century A.D. by Slavs, it was subject to the Ottoman Empire from the late 14th century until 1908, when it became an independent kingdom. The Soviet Union invaded in 1944 and established the People's Republic of Bulgaria in 1947. Communist rule came to an end in 1989, and a democratic constitution was established in 1991. Sofia is the capital and the largest city. Population: 7,320,000. |
Republic in southeastern Europe in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula, bordered by Romania to the north, the Black Sea to the east, Turkey to the southeast, Greece to the south, and Macedonia and Yugoslavia to the west. Its capital and largest city is Sofia.
Note: Former Eastern Bloc country. Soviet troops entered Bulgaria in 1944, and a communist government was established soon thereafter. Bulgaria's communist rulers followed the Soviet lead for almost fifty years, until the collapse of the Soviet Union. In January 1991, a multiparty government began to institute democratic and economic reforms.