Issue 202

Antifreeze, AdBlue® diesel exhaust fluid, windshield wiping fluid, grease... When drivers and car mechanics in Bulgaria and the Balkans buy such crucial products, they often choose one brand in particular. TSAKI has been around since 1989, but had only started manufacturing products for the car industry in the late 2000s. This crucial change took place under the helm of Krasimira Hristova, the second generation of managers in this family owned company.

In 2013, when the Inland Revenue agency started a probe into alleged wrongdoing by then President Rosen Plevneliev, he famously excused himself: I am not a Martian. Plevneliev had been a minister for Boyko Borisov. The latter personally handpicked his nomination for president  – explaining, in his inimitable style, that if he had put forward a "donkey," it would have been elected.

Firstly, a bright light appeared in the sky over Vidin, at the River Danube, one dark, hot and mosquito-infested night. It was reputedly followed by a loud explosion. People were mesmerised and slightly frightened. During the following days the media reported a unusually large meteorite burning over Romanian territory, leaving no identifiable debris. But the event, which will probably go down in local lore as the World-Famous Vidinska Event, was the beginning rather than the end of the story.

The beaches on Bulgaria's southern Black Sea coast are under threat: every year developers take new ground to build hotels and bars on. Sand dunes, which are protected by law, overnight turn into plots ready for the diggers to arrive, and new buildings rise right by the sea on the site of former cliffs, marshes and wetlands.

I want to make it perfectly clear that Ukraine insists on continuing this war, and that the bill is being paid by the whole of Europe.

Bulgarian President Rumen Radev during the inauguration of the Rozhen Flagpole

Radev swings between being a war hawk and a dove of peace.

Kornelia Ninova, Chairwoman of the BSP

In Bulgaria's right wing, there is a conflict between the families of the former State Security and the genuine rightwing people.

Bulgarians are present in many fields of modern science and engineering, from medicine to space exploration, pushing new boundaries and breaking new grounds. If you have not heard much about it, it is because the great majority of them work for foreign universities, scientific institutions and R&D teams. As a result of the decades-long neglect of the fundamental and the applied sciences and of engineering in Bulgaria, academically gifted Bulgarians go abroad the moment they graduate from secondary school.

The bridge was built in the late 19th century with a donation by Jiří Prošek, a Czech entrepreneur who had introduced beer brewing to Bulgaria. The grand total cost of the project amounted to 160,000 gold leva, a colossal sum at the time. The bronze lions were made by the Waagner Biro in Vienna, the same guys who manufactured the Bulgarian "Iron Church" in Constantinople. Hint about the location: If you look closer, you will find out that none of the lions have tongues.

When John Jackson became the first US diplomat in Bulgaria, in 1903, the two nations had known each other for about a century. In the 120 years that followed a lot more was to happen, as politics of the day and world conflicts would separate and then bring Bulgaria and America closer.

1. Bulgarians are proud of their...

A. Radishes

B. Pumpkins

C. Tomatoes

2. Bulgaria has how many nuclear power plants?

A. One

B. Two

C. None

3. Where is the Devetashka Cave?

A. Near Lom

B. Near Lovech

C. Near Lyaskovets

4. The largest Bulgarian banknote is...

A. 100 leva

A small, neat bag filled with dried lavender is an ubiquitous souvenir in many Mediterranean countries. It should be in the portfolio of Bulgarian souvenirs too, along with the vials of rose water.