Bulgaria - Country history and economic development

550 A.D. Slavs settle into present-day Bulgarian (then Byzantine) lands, comprising the ancient Roman provinces of Moesia, Thrace, and Macedonia.

681. Khan Asparuh founds the first Bulgarian state as a union between Slavs and newcomer Bulgars, militant people from the steppes of the northern Caucasus. They are to be assimilated by the Slavs but leave their name and statehood tradition to the nation.

863. Bulgaria converts to Christianity under Prince Boris I and embraces Byzantine civilization as a feudal agrarian economy takes root.

893. The Cyrillic alphabet and Old Bulgarian (Slavonic) are adopted as the official language (instead of Greek).

893-927. The territory expands under Prince (later Tsar) Simeon. A rich medieval culture spreads its influence to other Slavs in Serbia, Walachia, Kievan Rus, and later Muscovy.

927. Bulgarian rulers recognize the title of tsar (emperor); Bulgarian Orthodox Church is elevated to patriarchy.

1018. The First Bulgarian Empire is violently subdued by Byzantium.

1185. The brothers, Asen and Peter, take over an uprising to liberate the Bulgarian lands and restore the state known as the Second Bulgarian Empire.

1230. There is territorial and commercial expansion under Tsar Ivan Asen II. Bulgaria becomes a major grain supplier to Byzantium, actively trading with Venice, Genoa, and Ragusa (Dubrovnik).

1371. Commercial and cultural development accompanies political crisis under Tsar Ivan Alexander. Bulgaria is divided into several lesser kingdoms and principalities.

1396. Bulgaria is violently conquered by the rising Ottoman Empire and remains under its rule for nearly 500 years.

1762-1876. A national revival develops new Bulgarian culture and pride. Agriculture and home industries thrive, benefitting from large Ottoman markets. Merchants and industrialists emerge and benefit the economy. The national liberation movement gains momentum.

1871. An independent Bulgarian church is restored.

1876. There are mass uprisings against Ottoman rule.

1878. Bulgaria is liberated from Ottoman rule as an outcome of the 1877-78 Russo-Turkish war.

1879. The first Bulgarian constitution establishes a democracy, modeled after the Belgian constitution.

1885. North and South Bulgaria unite after being separated since 1878 by the European powers. A sizable ethnic Bulgarian population remains under the Ottoman Empire.

1887-12. Democratic statehood develops as well as a market economy that remains largely agrarian and a national culture.

1903. There are mass uprisings of Bulgarians in the Ottoman lands (Macedonia and Adrianople area).

1912-18. Bulgaria participates in the Balkan Wars and World War I, which is aimed at liberating ethnic Bulgarians outside Bulgaria's borders. The war ends in defeat and brings an influx of refugees.

1923-41. Political life is troubled by violence as democracy gives way to bitter partisanship and is finally supplanted by a pro-Nazi Germany regime. The economy grows with the influence of German investors.

1944-56. Communist rule takes over. Central economic planning is introduced, focusing on heavy industries, and farms are collectivized. Economic cooperation with the Socialist bloc develops.

1946. Bulgaria is proclaimed a people's republic.

1955. Bulgaria joins the United Nations.

1956-80. Bulgaria exhausts the extensive socialist growth model and reaches stagnation.

1985-89. Economic and political crisis occurs as perestroika unfolds in the Soviet Union. The Bulgarian regime desperately seeks methods of market reform, while cracking down on dissenters and the Turkish minority.

1989. Communist leader Todor Zhivkov resigns as the transition to multiparty democracy and a market economy begins. Bulgaria shifts its loyalties to the EU and NATO.

1991. A new democratic constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria is adopted, and elections bring the reformist Union of Democratic Forces (UDF) to power.

1995. Bulgaria is admitted as an associate member of the EU and applies for full membership.

1997. IMF-sponsored program for financial stabilization is implemented by the second UDF government.

1998. Effective IMF membership is established.

1999. Negotiations for full membership of the EU get underway.