The Bulgarians established an empire in the Balkans in the ninth century have been recognized as a separate ethnic group since the time of Tsar Boris I (852-89) and accepted the Eastern Orthodox

Christianity. The Bulgarian language, which

was the first written Slavic language, replaced Greek as the official language of both church

and state.

The Bulgarian state was overrun by the Turks at the end of the fourteenth century and

remained a part of the Ottoman Empire until 1878.

In 1878 Turks began emigrating to Turkey and it continued till the late 1980s.

The communist`s regime forced all Muslims to adopt

Bulgarian (Christian or traditional Slavic) names and renounce all Muslim customs. Bulgaria no longer recognized

the Turks as a national minority. During the name-

changing phase of the campaign, Turkish towns and villages were surrounded by

army units. Citizens were issued new identity cards

with Bulgarian names. Traditional Turkish costumes and Turkish-language were

prohibited.

Since the ‘gentle revolution' of 1989, Bulgaria has moved towards political pluralism, and liberal democracy. The restoration of the

rights of minorities began with the collapse of the communist government in November

1989.  The new authorities passed legislation to restore the property of those who had fled the country and to permit the use of Muslim

and Arabic names. After November 1989, minority-language publications and cultural groups were re-founded. A Law on Public

Education passed in October 1991, allowing teaching in minority languages in schools.

Gypsies

Although Gypsies are known to have lived in Bulgaria since the fourteenth century, most of the Gypsy population arrived in the past few centuries. Many Gypsies drop out of school before reaching

legal working age, increasing the tendency to marry and begin having children early.

In 1990 about 70 percent of Gypsy workers were unskilled and worked as general laborers, street cleaners, dishwashers, or in other minimum-wage occupations.

After years of delay, in 1999 the government came to an agreement with Roma representatives on a Framework Programme for Equal Integration of Roma. 

Bulgaria allows education in minority languages (Turkish, Armenian, Greek and

Roman) in elective courses. By law, public broadcasting is to be available in languages

other than Bulgarian.

Bulgaria ratified the Council of Europe's Framework Convention for the Protection of

National Minorities in May 1999.

Bulgarian team:

Violeta BazhdarovaMirela Radeva

Alexander Simeonov

November, 2013