Bulgaria (For Want of a Telegram)

Bulgaria (Bulgarian: България, tr. Bǎlgariya), officially the Kingdom of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Царство България, tr. Tsarstvo Bŭlgariya), is a country in southeastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, and the Black Sea to the east.

Organised prehistoric cultures began developing on current Bulgarian lands during the Neolithic period. Its ancient history saw the presence of the Thracians, Greeks and Romans. The emergence of a unified Bulgarian state dates back to the establishment of the in 681 AD, which dominated most of the Balkans and functioned as a cultural hub for Slavs during the Middle Ages. With the downfall of the in 1396, its territories came under Ottoman rule for nearly five centuries. The of 1877–78 led to the formation of the Third Bulgarian State. The following years saw several conflicts with its neighbours, which prompted Bulgaria to align with Germany in both world wars. In 1945 it became a one-party fascist state as part of the Russian-led Eastern Bloc. In December 1989 the ruling Nationalist Party allowed multi-party elections, which subsequently led to Bulgaria's transition into a democracy.

Bulgaria's population of 7.4 million people is predominantly urbanised and mainly concentrated in the administrative centres of its 28 provinces. Most commercial and cultural activities are centred on the capital and largest city,. The strongest sectors of the economy are heavy industry, power engineering, and agriculture, all of which rely on local natural resources.

The country's current political structure dates to the adoption of a democratic constitution in 1991. Bulgaria is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy 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.