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#CARD:Bulgaria:Background Notes
US DEPARTMENT OF STATE BACKGROUND NOTES:  BULGARIA

JANUARY 1990
Official Name:  People's Republic of Bulgaria

PROFILE
Geography
Area: 110,987 sq. km. (44,365 sq. mi.); about the size of Ohio. Cities:
Capital-Sofia (pop. 1,114,759). Other cities-Plovdiv (377,637), Varna
(297,090), Burgas (188,367), and Ruse (185,425). Terrain: About
three-fourths mountainous and one-fourth plains. Climate: Temperate
continental similar to U.S. Midwest (dry, hot summers and damp, cold
winters) but with strong regional variations.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective-Bulgarian(s). Population (Dec. 1985):
8,942,976. Annual growth rate: 2.3/1,000.  Birth rate: 13.6/1,000.
Density: 80.9/sq. km. (209/sq. mi.). Ethnic groups: Bulgarian 85.3%,
Turk 8.5%, others  (Gypsies, Greeks, Armenians, Jews, and
Russians)-6.2%.  Language: Bulgarian. Religions: Bulgarian Orthodox,
Islam, Roman Catholic, Protestant, and Judaism. Education: Years
compulsory-8. Attendance-1.6 million.  Literacy (est.)-98% .  Health:
Infant mortality rate-16.1/1,000.  Life expectancy-Men 69 yrs., women 74
yrs.  Work force (4,092,832): Agriculture-22%. Industry and
commerce-43%.  Construction-8.3%. Transport-5.9%.  Government-1.3%.
Other-19.5%.

Government
Type: In transition. Constitution: May 1971.
Branches: Executive-chief of state (Chairman of State Council), head of
government (Chairman of Council of Ministers). Legislative-unicameral
National Assembly, State Council: chairman, 1 first deputy chairman, 5
deputy chairmen, 1 secretary, and 21 members.  Judicial- Supreme Court,
28 provincial (okrug and Sofia City) courts, 103 local courts.
Political parties: Bulgarian Communist Party, Bulgarian National
Agrarian Union, other political parties in formation. Suffrage:
Universal over 18.
Administrative subdivisions: 9 oblasts (districts).
Defense (est.): 6% of government budget.
National holiday: September 9.
Flag: White, green, and red horizontal stripes from top to bottom with a
lion framed by wheat stalks on the upper left hand corner of the white
stripe.

Economy
National income (1988): $67.6 billion. Annual growth rate (1988): 1.8%.
Per capita income (1988): $7,540.
Natural resources:  Copper, lead, zinc, coal, lignite, iron, manganese,
limestone, and lumber.
Agriculture: Products-Grain, tobacco, fruits, wine, vegetables, sheep,
hogs, poultry, cheese, sunflower seeds.
Industry: Types-processed agricultural products, machinery, chemicals,
metallurgical products.
Trade (1987): Exports-$16.8 billion; U.S. share, $40.3 million.
Imports-$16.9 billion; U.S. share, $88.3 million. Major trade
partners-U.S.S.R. 61%, other CEMA countries 21.5%, developing countries
10.7%.
Official exchange rate (April 1989): .41 leva=U.S.$1.

Membership in  International Organizations
 UN and many of its specialized agencies, Council for Mutual Economic
Assistance (CEMA), Warsaw Pact.

GEOGRAPHY
 Located on the Balkan Peninsula, Bulgaria extends from the western
shore of the Black Sea to Yugoslavia in the west. In the north, the
Danube River forms the greater part of Bulgaria's common boundary  with
Romania.  Greece and European Turkey lie to the south and southeast of
Bulgaria.
 The country is divided roughly into three parallel east-west zones:
the Danubian tableland in the north, the Stara Planina (or Balkan)
Mountains in the center, and the Thracian Plain and the Rhodope and
Pirin Mountains in the south and southwest.  About one-third of the
country lies at an altitude of 500 meters (1,640 ft.) above sea level.
The average elevation is 480 meters (1,575 ft.) above sea level.
 On the fringe of the humid continental climate zone, Bulgaria has a
climate similar to the U.S. Midwest.  The weather varies considerably
from year to year, as do the several climatic subzones within the
country.  Summer temperatures average about 24 C (75 F); winter
temperatures average around 0 C (32 F).  Annual precipitation averages
63 centimeters (25 in.).

PEOPLE
 Partly due to its mountainous terrain, Bulgaria's population density is
one of the lowest in Eastern Europe, about 81 persons per square
kilometer (207/sq. mi.).  About two-thirds of the people live in urban
areas, compared to one-third in 1956. Sofia, the capital, is the largest
city. Other major cities are Plovdiv-site of a major annual
international trade fair, the Black Sea cities of Varna and Burgas, and
Ruse on the Danube River.
 The principal religious organization is the Bulgarian Orthodox Church,
to which most Bulgarians belong. Other religions include Islam, Roman
Catholicism, Protestantism, and Judaism. Before 1989, religious activity
was discouraged by the Bulgarian Communist Party, but its new leadership
has pledged to support the rights of all citizens to worship freely.
 Bulgarian is the primary language spoken in the country, although some
secondary languages closely correspond to ethnic divisions.  The most
important of these is Turkish, which is widely spoken by the Turkish
minority.  From 1984-89, the government, in effect, banned the use of
the Turkish language in public.  The new leadership has repudiated that
policy.  Russian, which shares the Cyrillic alphabet and many words with
Bulgarian, is widely understood.
 Education is free and compulsory to age 15.  Scientific, technical, and
vocational training is stressed.

HISTORY
 Bulgaria's name is derived from a Turkic people, the Bulgars, who
originated in the steppe north of the Caspian Sea. In the latter part of
the seventh century, one branch of the Bulgars moved up the Volga River,
establishing the Kingdom of the Volga Bulgars; the other branch moved
westward along the Black Sea settling near the mouth of the Danube.
Although the name Bulgaria is not of Slavic origin, the Slavic people,
who had entered the Balkan Peninsula earlier, absorbed the invading
Turkic people and were, in large measure, the precursors of the
present-day Bulgarians.
 Bulgarian kingdoms continued to exist in the Balkan Peninsula during
the Middle Ages, following which the Ottoman Turks ruled Bulgaria for
500 years, until 1878. In that year, a Bulgarian principality was
established between the Danube River and the Balkan Mountains when
Russia and Romania assisted the Bulgarians in defeating the Ottomans. In
1885, the union of the Principality of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia
south of the Balkan Mountains created an autonomous Bulgarian state with
roughly the same borders as those of present-day Bulgaria.
 A fully independent Bulgarian kingdom, proclaimed September 22, 1908,
participated in an anti-Ottoman coalition that defeated the Ottoman
Empire in the First Balkan War (1912).  The coalition soon dissolved
over territorial disputes, however, and Bulgaria was isolated and
defeated quickly in the Second Balkan War (1913) by Greece, Serbia,
Montenegro, Romania, and Turkey. It later allied itself with Germany in
World Wars I and II and suffered defeats twice more. Bulgaria's
involvement in these wars was partly due to its ambitions for an outlet
to the Aegean Sea and its desire to annex Macedonian and Thracian
territory held by Greece, Yugoslavia, and Turkey.
 Although Bulgaria declared war on the United States and the United
Kingdom during World War II, it did not declare war on the Soviet Union.
In August 1944, Bulgarian emissaries opened talks in Cairo with Allied
representatives, seeking to take Bulgaria out of the war. On September
5, 1944, while these talks were still under way, the Soviet Union
declared war on Bulgaria.
 Communist rule in Bulgaria began September 9, 1944, when a
communist-dominated coalition, called the Fatherland Front, seized power
from the coalition government formed to arrange an armistice with the
Allies. At the same time, Soviet forces were marching into the country
without resistance. Communist power, consolidated in the next 3 years,
led to the adoption on December 4, 1947, of the so-called Dimitrov
Constitution, modeled after that of the U.S.S.R.
 Yugoslavia's expulsion from the Cominform (a Soviet-led international
socialist organization) in June 1948 and the subsequent Moscow-dictated
persecution of "national communists" throughout Eastern Europe also led
to arrests and trials in Bulgaria. In 1949, Traicho Kostov, a Bulgarian
communist leader, was executed on charges of conspiring with the
Yugoslavs. He had remained in Bulgaria during the war and was second in
rank only to Georgi Dimitrov, who had spent the war years in Moscow.
Vulko Chervenkov, Dimitrov's brother-in-law, who also had spent the war
years in Moscow, emerged as the "Stalin of Bulgaria" after Dimitrov's
death in 1949.
 In 1954, following Stalin's death and separation in the U.S.S.R. of the
positions of party leader and head of government, Chervenkov yielded the
position of party chief to Todor Zhivkov. In the next 7 years, Zhivkov
superseded his one-time mentor, blaming him for the "Stalinist excesses"
and "violations of socialist legality" which had characterized the
1948-53 period. Chervenkov was ousted finally from his last leadership
position in November 1961, and shortly thereafter Zhivkov took on the
additional post of premier, thus recombining the positions of party
leader and head of government.  In 1971, he gave up the premiership and
took on the newly created and more prestigious position of Chairman of
the State Council (chief of state).  He held this position and that of
Bulgarian Communist Party (BCP) Secretary General until November 1989.
 Petur Mladenov, who led the Politburo in its effort to oust Zhivkov,
now also holds both these positions, despite his declarations favoring
separation of party and State powers.  Mladenov is leading the BCP in
its efforts to maintain a credible claim to political leadership in the
country, despite a high level of opposition to the Communist Party which
is now appearing.  Elections, promised for May 1990, will indicate how
successful Mladenov has been in that effort.

GOVERNMENT
 The paragraphs in Article One of the Bulgarian Constitution that
guaranteed the "leading role in society" of the BCP were removed by the
National Assembly on January 16, 1990.  Further changes in the
constitution are under consideration, and more, significant changes in
the political structure of the country may follow.  As currently
written, the constitution provides for a unicameral 400-member National
Assembly, described as "the supreme organ of state power."  Each deputy
in this body represents a particular district and, in the past, ran for
election for a 5-year term on a single Fatherland Front list.  The
government has pledged that the assembly elections called for May 1990
will permit competition by multiple candidates representing different
parties.  The National Assembly is required to meet three times a year.
Formerly, its sessions were typically pro forma affairs, but since
November it has  convened more frequently and has shown signs of
independence.
 The executive branch is the Council of Ministers (cabinet), the
chairman of which-the prime minister-is head of government.  The number
of Cabinet-rank officials has varied over the years but generally is
about 30. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial body.  It is
responsible for and reports on its activity to the National Assembly
and, between assembly sessions, to the State Council. Judges are elected
for a 5-year period.  The Bulgarian judicial system also has a chief
prosecutor, elected for a 5-year term, who is constitutionally charged
with seeing that laws are obeyed, particularly those concerning
Bulgarian national and  economic interests, independence, and
sovereignty.
 Bulgaria has a three-tiered system of government. Below the central
government are 27 provinces (okrugs) and one city, Sofia, which also has
the status of a province. Subordinate to the 27 provinces are more than
1,100 urban and rural communities (obshtina), constituting the third
level of government. The provinces and communities are governed by
elected People's Councils and party-appointed executive officials.

Principal Government Officials
Chairman, Council of State; General Secretary of the Bulgarian Communist
Party-Petur Mladenov
Chairman, Council of Ministers-Georgi Atanasov (premier or prime
minister)
Chairman, National Assembly-Stanko Todorov
Minister of Foreign Affairs-Boyko Dimitrov
Politburo (Full Members)
Petur Mladenov
Georgi Atanasov
Andrei Lukanov
Aleksandur Lilov
Belcho Belchev
Dobri Dzhurov
Pandeley Pachov
Mincho Yovchev
Politburo (Candidate Members)
Petko Danev
Ivan Stanev
Dimitar Stanishev
Ivan Ivanov
Ambassador to the United States-Velichko Velichkov
Ambassador to the United Nations-Aleksander K. Strezov

 Bulgaria maintains an embassy in the United States at 1621-22d Street
NW., Washington, D.C. 20008 (tel. [phone]).

POLITICAL CONDITIONS
 The removal of long-time Bulgarian leader Todor Zhivkov from government
and party positions on November 11, 1989, began a period of significant
change in Bulgarian political life. Until this time, the BCP, with about
984,000 members, controlled all phases of Bulgarian life.  The Bulgarian
constitution guaranteed it a role as the leading force in society. Petur
Mladenov, former Foreign Minister, took over from Zhivkov as Head of
State and Secretary General of the BCP.  In the period that followed,
six of the nine full Politburo members were dismissed, as were three of
the six candidate members.  In most cases, these were individuals
closely associated with former leader Zhivkov or with his most unpopular
policies.  There also were changes in the Central Committee (CC)
membership, which were widely viewed as an effort to bring more liberal
and reform-minded party members into responsible positions.  Most
important, however, the CC of the BCP voted in December 1989 to
relinquish its monopoly on power.  On January 16, 1990, the National
Assembly formally removed the clauses guaranteeing the BCP's preeminence
from the constitution.
 The other political party that functioned in Bulgaria during communist
rule is the Bulgarian National Agrarian Union (BANU). A coalition
partner of the BCP, it could not have an independent program.  Its
leadership also changed in November 1989, and some of its members have
begun to take the initiative, in the National Assembly and elsewhere, to
assume a more independent position.
 Other political parties have begun to form since Zhivkov's dismissal.
A new law on associations is expected to be considered by the National
Assembly early in 1990; this would set the guidelines for the
functioning of other political parties.  In the meantime, independent
parties are forming without benefit of legal guidelines and have
apparently been permitted to function without government interference.
A Social Democratic Party has been formed, as has a Green Party, among
others.
 The government has promised "free, democratic" elections for the
National Assembly before the end of May 1990.  Some of the opposition

members have called for elections in May for part of the assembly seats,
followed later in the year by further elections; this is in order to
give the newly formed opposition parties more time to organize.  The
current National Assembly, generally considered to be a "rubber stamp"
Parliament, has begun to take some tentative steps toward independence.
 The Bulgarian media, although still state-owned and controlled, has
made some effort at keeping pace with the political changes underway,
and has reported accurately and objectively on opposition positions in
many cases, although not in every instance. After decades in which
Bulgarian political development was marked by stability and lack of
dissent, it has now entered a period in which many voices are being
heard.  It has taken some important initial steps toward greater freedom
and respect for human rights, but it faces a difficult task in achieving
true democracy.

ECONOMY
 At the end of World War II, Bulgaria was among the least industrialized
European countries.  In 1948, 18% of the work force was employed outside
the agricultural sector.  Since then, however, the government has
pursued a policy of rapid industrialization so that today about 80% of
the work force is employed in sectors other than agriculture.
 The national income grew rapidly in the 1960s and early 1970s,
averaging more than 6% annually during the 1960s and reaching 9% in
1975.  Economic growth has slowed markedly since the late 1970s and has
averaged only 1%-3% annually in recent years.  Bulgaria's gross national
product (GNP) was $67.6 billion in 1988, or $7,540 per capita.  The
national currency, the lev, is not a convertible currency and has been
tied to the Soviet ruble.  The official lev-dollar exchange rate is,
therefore, not necessarily an accurate index of the true value of the
lev (BL).
 A major factor in Bulgaria's postwar growth rate was Soviet assistance,
the dollar value of which cannot be accurately estimated.  The
assistance included raw materials at favorable prices, technical
assistance, and substantial credits, partly in hard (convertible)
currency.  In contrast to some more developed East European countries,
which have suffered economically from their dependence on the Soviet
Union, Bulgaria's ties with the Soviet Union have brought economic
benefits during most of the post-World War II period.  However, during
the 1980s, reduced deliveries of Soviet raw materials and fuels, coupled
with higher prices, have reduced these benefits to Bulgaria.

Economic Reform and Plans
 Bulgaria's command economic system has been patterned on the Soviet
model.  For several years in the mid-1960s, it appeared that Bulgaria
had launched a program of economic reform involving decentralization of
decisionmaking, a greater reliance on market forces, and even embryonic
workers' councils.  In 1968, however, fears aroused by the course of
developments in Czechoslovakia and by domestic abuses in the use of
decentralized authority prompted the BCP to reverse the trend toward
decentralization.  Since 1971, productive enterprises have been grouped
into more than 60 state economic amalgamations responsible for almost
all nonagricultural production.  In the agricultural sector, state and
collective farms began to be combined in 1970 into "agrarian-industrial
complexes" averaging 17,776-26,664 hectares (44,000-66,000 acres).
Since 1979, halting attempts have been made to decentralize the economic
planning and decisionmaking process in both the industrial and
agricultural sectors.  The most recent reform process, which began in
1986, is intended to make the economy operate more efficiently, but so
far, implementation haS been half-hearted and disappointing.  Major
features are:

--  Decentralized management decisionmaking;
--  Financial stimuli to workers;
--  Creation of a commercial banking system;
--  Greater emphasis on market forces and incentives; and
--  More rational pricing policies.

 Decree 56 of January 1989 provides for the restructuring of economic
organizations as companies, with varying forms of ownership and liable
to bankruptcy.  Theoretically, companies are free to engage in foreign
trade, ending the state's monopoly.  The basic legal code for
self-managing entities is not expected to enter into force until January
1991.  The beginnings of a commercial banking system may have been
established in late 1987 with the creation of eight new commercial
banks.  They are initially functioning only as investment banks.  Price
controls are to be lifted in stages through the end of 1990.  It remains
to be seen whether the market will play a greater role in the allocation
of productive resources, but the new political leadership has affirmed
market-oriented reforms as a high priority and plans to reinvigorate the
1986 reform program, which is expected to extend over a period of 10-15
years.
 Bulgaria's economic strategy has been set forth in 5-year development
plans closely patterned after and coordinated with the Soviet Union's
5-year plans.  The current 1986-90 plan sets lower economic growth
targets but continued strong emphasis on the industrial sector,
particularly electronics, machine-building, and biotechnology.  The plan
calls for approximately BL 54 billion in capital investment, roughly 70%
slated for modernizing and reconstructing existing plants and equipment,
rather than for new projects.

Industry and Agriculture
 Industry has been the motor of Bulgarian economic growth for most of
the past 45 years.  However, by the early 1980s, it was clear that the
process of extensive industrialization had carried the Bulgarian economy
about as far as it could.  Bulgaria has, therefore, launched its current
campaign to modernize its aging industrial base, increase efficiency,
and introduce new technology (e.g. robotics).  The largest industrial
sector is "machine building" (heavy industry), which accounts for more
than one-quarter of industrial production.  The largest single
industrial plant is the Metallurgical Combine at Kremilkovtsi (near
Sofia), one of the largest iron and steel mills in the Balkans.
 Despite its lower priority, agriculture remains a key component of the
economy.  Although only about 40% of the land is arable, Bulgaria has
one of the highest ratios of arable land to population in Eastern
Europe.  Small private farms exist, mainly in the uplands.  The size of
the private plots is based on the size of the household: one-half
hectare is the maximum in most places; in mountainous areas, 1 hectare.
Climate and soil conditions are suitable for raising livestock and for
growing various grain crops, vegetables, fruits, and tobacco.  More than
one-third of the cultivated land is devoted to growing the principal
grain crops-wheat, corn, and barley.  Bulgaria is a major tobacco
producer-the fourth largest exporter of tobacco and the largest exporter
of cigarettes (mainly to the Soviet Union).

Energy
 Bulgaria's ambitious nuclear energy program is increasing the share of
total electric energy generated by nuclear power-36% in 1988.  A nuclear
power plant at Kozloduy was recently completed, and construction of a
second nuclear power complex has begun at Belene.  In northeastern
Bulgaria, deposits of black and coking coal may contribute to the effort
to increase energy self-sufficiency.  Estimated deposits are 1.2 billion
metric tons, but great physical obstacles, such as the depth of the
deposits (between 1,375 and 1,950 meters) and water-bearing rock strata,
must be overcome if they are to be successfully exploited.

Trade
 Foreign trade is important to the Bulgarian economy.  In 1988, exports,
which were $17.2 billion, constituted about a quarter of GNP.  Since
1985, foreign trade has remained relatively stagnant.  In the late
1980s, exports and imports have been basically in balance.
 Bulgarian foreign trade is conducted principally with other communist
countries.  In 1987, 82.5% of Bulgaria's exports and 80.5% of its
imports were with communist partners.  Almost 60% of Bulgaria's trade
was with the Soviet Union in 1988.  Bulgaria is a member of Council for
Mutual Economic Assistance (CEMA), an economic/trade organization of
communist countries.
 The share of Bulgaria's trade with developed Western countries is
relatively modest: 6.8% of exports and 15.1% of imports in 1987.  West
Germany is the largest exporter to Bulgaria.  Bulgaria's main interest
in trade with the West is to import technology to modernize its
industrial base and to use more efficiently raw materials and energy.
In many cases, Bulgaria has been able to pay in hard currency for its
imports from the West.  Bulgaria's net debt to the developed Western
countries increased to $7-$7.5 billion by the end of 1989 because of
growing purchases of Western goods.
 Since 1967, Bulgaria has been an observer in the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT).  It is presently seeking accession to full
GATT membership on the grounds that it has now reformed its economy
sufficiently along market lines to be able to accept both the benefits
and obligations of GATT membership.
 The Bulgarian Government promulgated a joint venture law (Decree 535)
in March 1980 to attract Western technology and investment.  However,
most Western businesses have responded cautiously because of the
vagueness of many of its provisions.  Decree 535, on paper one of the
most liberal joint venture laws in Eastern Europe, allows the formation
of joint enterprises with unlimited foreign participation for operations
in Bulgaria.

FOREIGN RELATIONS
 The first and overriding goal of Bulgarian foreign policy has been "to
strengthen and expand the unbreakable alliance, friendship, and
all-round cooperation with the U.S.S.R. and the other fraternal
socialist countries." Bulgaria has supported consistently the Soviet
position on all major world issues. Within the Warsaw Pact and CEMA,
Bulgaria has been an advocate of greater integration of military,
economic, and political policies under Soviet leadership. Bulgaria
participated in the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia.
 Because of its geographic position, Bulgaria devotes particular
attention to relations with the other Balkan states. It has achieved
substantial progress in improving relations with Greece, but its
relationship with Turkey has suffered because of the government's
campaign of forced cultural assimilation aimed at the Turkish minority
in Bulgaria.  The  end of this policy has led to some improvements in
the relations between the two countries. Relations with Yugoslavia are
troubled periodically by the Macedonian question. Relations with Albania
are not particularly close because of Albanian distrust of Bulgaria's
close links to the Soviet Union.
 More recently, Bulgaria also has been more active in its relations with
West European countries and with certain developing countries,
particularly in the Middle East and Africa. Bulgaria has been a member
of the United Nations since 1955 and participates in some of its
specialized agencies.

U.S.-BULGARIAN RELATIONS
 Diplomatic relations between the United States and Bulgaria were
established on September 19, 1903, but were broken on December 13, 1941,
when Bulgaria declared war on the United States. The post-World War II
treaty of peace between the Allies and Bulgaria entered into force
September 15, 1947.
 The first postwar U.S. minister to Bulgaria presented his credentials
on November 8, 1947. Relations were suspended in February 1950, however,
when Bulgaria refused to withdraw false charges of complicity in
espionage made against the U.S. minister during the trial of the
Bulgarian Communist Party Leader Traicho Kostov. Another U.S. minister
was accredited to Bulgaria in 1960 after Bulgaria withdrew as false the
charges made against his predecessor.
 Following settlement of certain claims of U.S. citizens against
Bulgaria as a result of an agreement signed on July 2, 1963, the United
States resumed paying government benefits to persons entitled to them
living in Bulgaria, and Bulgaria was allowed to open a trade office in
New York City. The Bulgarian and U.S. Legations at Washington and Sofia
were raised to embassy status on November 28, 1966.  A consular
agreement was concluded, which became effective on May 28, 1975.
 Other advances were the cultural and scientific exchange agreement
signed during the June 1977 visit by the late Chairman of the Committee
for Art and Culture, Lyudmila Zhivkova, and the reciprocal elimination
of discriminatory bilateral restrictions on the travel of accredited
diplomats on November 9, 1977. A joint agricultural statement on
cooperation between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Bulgarian
National Agro-Industrial Union was signed in November 1979. A maritime
agreement was signed in February 1981 to facilitate marine traffic
between the two countries.
 U.S. cultural and other exchanges with Bulgaria have been much smaller
than with other East European countries. In 1970, two significant
exchange agreements were negotiated-one between the National Academies
of Science and the other between the International Research and Exchange
Board and the Bulgarian Committee for Friendship and Cultural Relations
with Foreign Countries. These were followed by the cultural and
scientific
exchanges agreements that entered into force on March 23, 1978, and has
been renewed successively every 2 years; the latest extension was in
June 1986.
 U.S.-Bulgarian trade has never accounted for more than a small fraction
of either country's total commerce. Bilateral trade, which peaked in
1981 at $283 million, was $159 million in 1988.  Since the mid-1980s,
U.S.-Bulgarian trade has averaged $150 million annually, with the
balance favoring the United States, and has consisted mostly of
agricultural raw materials.  The United States has not extended
most-favored-nation status to Bulgaria since 1951.
 U.S. policy toward Bulgaria has sought to promote a more constructive,
reciprocal relationship by resolving specific, concrete issues.
Consistent with the Helsinki Final Act, the United States has endeavored
to encourage improved Bulgarian respect for human rights, increased
cultural and people-to-people contacts, removal of barriers to
information flows, and trade facilitation.  Recent liberalizations by
the Bulgarian Government have led to improvement in U.S.-Bulgarian
relations.

Principal U.S. Officials
Ambassador-Sol Polansky
Deputy Chief of Mission-William D. Montgomery
Head, Political-Economic Section-Douglas Ray Smith
Press and Cultural Affairs Officer-John Menzies
Consular Officer-Jonathan J. Coyne
Defense Attache-Col. John M. Handley USA

 The U.S. Embassy in Bulgaria is located at 1 Alexander Stamboliiski
Boulevard, Sofia (tel. 88-48-01 through -05).

Travel Notes
 Climate and clothing: Summer temperatures range from 18 C to 30 C (65
F-90 F), but humidity is low.  Sweaters are recommended for the cool
evenings. By December, the weather is cold with considerable snowfall.
 Customs: A valid entry visa is required.  Check with the Bulgarian
Embassy for specific requirements.

 Currency: The lev (pl. leva) is the basic unit; the stotinka (pl.
stotinki) is the fractional unit. Leva may not be imported, exported, or
freely converted into Western currencies. Personal importation and
exportation of dollars by Americans are unrestricted, and no declaration
is required.
 Health: Apart from winter smog, affecting those with respiratory or
sinus problems, Sofia causes no special health problems. Tapwater in the
capital is potable. Eating in  larger restaurants is advised.
 Telecommunications: Local and long-distance telephone and telegraph
services are available. Sofia is seven times zones ahead of eastern
standard time.
 Transportation: There are no direct flights to Bulgaria  from the
United States.  Connections may be made in Frankfurt, London, or Vienna
with foreign airlines that serve Sofia. Rail accommodations may be
booked from Paris, Frankfurt, or Vienna. Air or rail service links Sofia
with the Black Sea resorts near Varna and Burgas.
 Sofia has streetcars, trolley-buses, and buses. Taxis are available at
stands or by telephone. Cars may be rented. An international driving
permit is required. Main roads are good. Snowtires are advisable during
October-May.

Further Information
 Bell, John. The Bulgarian Communist Party:  From Blagoevto Zhivkov,
Stanford:  Hoover Institution Press, l985.
 Bokov, Georgi, ed. Modern Bulgaria. Sofia: Sofia Press, 1981.
Bromke, Adam. The Communist States at the Crossroads. New York: Praeger,
1965.
 Brown, James F. Bulgaria Under Communist Rule. New York: Praeger, 1970.
 Butler, Thomas, ed. Bulgaria Past and Present. Columbus: AAASS, 1976.
 Chary, Frederick B. The Bulgarian Jews and the Final Solution, 1940-44.
Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1972.
 Constant, Stephen. Foxy Ferdinand, Tsar of Bulgaria. London: Sidgwick &
Jackson, Ltd., 1979.
Evans, Stanley G. A Short History of Bulgaria. London: Lawrence &
Wishhart, 1960.
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 Available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government
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 American University. Area Handbook for Bulgaria. 1974.

 Published by the United States Department of State --Bureau of Public
Affairs--Office of Public Communication --Editorial Division
--Washington, D.C.-- October 1989--Editor:  Juanita Adams
 Department of State Publication 8874--Background Notes Series --This
material is in the Public domain and may  be reprinted without
permission; citation of this source is appreciated.  For sale by the
Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,
Washington, D.C.  20402.
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