Kingdom of Bulgaria

Bulgaria, officially known as the Kingdom of Bulgaria, is a nation located in the Balkan peninsula in Europe. The Kingdom was established on the 5th of October, 1908, when Bulgaria broke free from Ottoman occupation.

History:

The Kingdom of Bulgaria was officially established after it broke free from Ottoman occupation in October of 1908. Shortly after, the First Balkan War broke out and Bulgaria was made to fight against the Ottoman empire once again with the help of Serbia, Montenegro and Greece.

After they won the war, Bulgaria gained a lot of land from the Ottoman empire, including the majority of Eastern Thrace and parts of the coast which are now a part of Greece. One thing Bulgaria did not gain was Macedonia, which in the east, was dominantly Bulgarian back then.

This caused Bulgaria to declare war on Serbia on the 29th of June, 1913, to try and gain Macedonia and it's Bulgarian population into Bulgaria. The war went terribly, as Serbia was supported by Greece, Montenegro, Romania and even the Ottoman empire later on in the conflict. Bulgaria was quickly crushed and forced to sign for peace on the 10th of August, 1913.

Bulgaria eventually joined the First world war with revenge in their minds, attacking Serbia on the 11th of October, 1915. The combined forces of Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria managed to make the Serbian army retreat from the entire country, giving Bulgaria two thirds of Serbia's territory. This wouldn't last long, however, as the Allied army managed to start a powerful offensive in September of 1918, causing Bulgaria to sign an armistice and King Ferdinand I to abdicate in favor of his 24 year old son Boris.

When the Federal Kingdom of Yugoslavia joined the Second World War, Bulgaria joined the war on the side of the Axis in a last ditch attempt of gaining their Macedonian lands. The decision wasn't made by the king, however, as Bulgaria was controlled by a military junta at the time. The government of Yugoslavia knew this and decided to hold the line until a coup could happen in Bulgaria with the support of the Bulgarian people.

The coup eventually came and Prime Minister Nikola Shtarbanov was overthrown in February of 1944 by Boris III and his new Prime Minister, Stanislav Ignatov. The king was placed back in full power and switched sides from the Axis to the Allies shortly after, with a Bulgarian invasion of Romania following soon after in early March of 1944.

Eventually, the Kingdom of Bulgaria would find itself declaring war against the People's Republic of Romania on the 2nd of March, 1957, after it had threatened the borders of Bulgaria before. The incompetent and underfunded People's army was quickly crushed by the Bulgarian army as well as the Serbian army, after Serbia joined the conflict on the 6th of April, 1957.

The conflict against a Communist nation proved to be a bad idea, as Bulgarian revolutionary militias started a civil war in Bulgaria just a few months after the conflict ended on the 20th of November, 1957. The Bulgarian revolutionaries spread across all of Bulgaria, until the General Governorate of Serbia joined the war, with support from NATO. The revolutionaries were defeated and their leader was executed on the 17th of May, 1960.

In January of 1968, the Vardar War broke out and Bulgaria ended up joining it on the side of the General Governorate of Serbia and the Kingdom of Croatia on the 31st of January, 1968. The Vardar War became larger after Albania joined the war on the 16th of October, 1968. Eventually, the People's Republic of Greece and the Socialist state of Albania were defeated in June of 1970 and Bulgaria was paid a hefty sum of money from the Greek government for war reparations.

The kingdom sent volunteers and supplies to Czechoslovak and Hungarian revolutionaries during the revolutions of 2003 in July of that year. This gave Bulgaria great relations with the two (later three) nations.

Demographics:

Bulgaria is mostly ethnically Bulgarian, with small minorities of other ethnic groups which had moved in to Bulgaria centuries ago. The few ethnic groups which co-exist along side the Bulgarians are the following:

* Bulgarians (89.2%)
* Turks (5.9%)
* Romanians (3.5%)
* Others (1.4%)

Largest cities in the nation:

1. Sofia (population: 1 674 651)
2. Plovdiv (population: 675 586)
3. Varna (population: 418 108)
4. Stara Zagora (population: 315 133)
5. Burgas (population: 277 922)
6. Ruse (population: 145 118)
7. Pleven (population: 135 152)
8. Shumen (population: 106 445)
9. Sliven (population: 98 620)
10. Dobrich (population: 83 584)

Government:

The Kingdom of Bulgaria, by definition, is a semi-absolute monarchy and has been so since 2002. The government had been a full absolute monarchy for a long time, but in December of 2002, a few powers were taken away from the king, as international judgement over the government of Bulgaria was getting too pressing for the country, with the country expecting sanctions from the international community.

Instead, the country changed it's government slightly and has avoided international sanctions, despite pressure from the USSR. The king of Bulgaria, who is also called the "Tsar" of Bulgaria, is Boris V, who has been the King since 1996 after his father died on the 15th of June, 1996.

Geography:

The kingdom is located in the Balkan peninsula, with the Black sea to the east, where most of it's trade occurs with Romania and Turkey. The kingdom is bordered by Romania in the north, Serbia to the west, Greece to the south and Turkey to the south east.

Bulgaria has a large mountain range in the west and the center of the kingdom, which is called the Balkan mountain range. The tallest peak in the mountain range is Mt. Kutelo, which is 2 908 meters tall. The kingdom covers a total of 110 994 square kilometers, making it the 103rd largest country in the world ranked by area.

Religion:

Bulgaria is dominantly Orthodox, with around 73% of the nation's population being of the Orthodox faith. Another 9.3% are atheists and around 7.7% are of the Islamic faith. The other 10% are various different religions such as Judaists and people of the Catholic church.

Administrative regions and divisions:

The kingdom is split into 9 administrative regions and divisions, the following are:

1. Burgas province (Bulgarian: Burgas oblast)
2. Varna province (Bulgarian: Varna oblast)
3. Lovech province (Bulgarian: Lovech oblast)
4. Mihailovgrad province (Bulgarian: Mikhaĭlovgradska oblast)
5. Plovdiv province (Bulgarian: Plovdivska oblast)
6. Razgrad province (Bulgarian: Razgradska oblast)
7. Sofia proper (Bulgarian: Sofiya)
8. Sofia province (Bulgarian: Sofiĭska oblast)
9. Haskovo province (Bulgarian: Khaskovska oblast)