Bulgarian Citizenship Test flashcards

36 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Bulgarian alphabet size

The Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet has 30 letters. Distinctive letters include ъ, a mid back unrounded vowel, and щ, pronounced like 'sht'.

Bulgarian definite article

The article is a suffix attached to the noun: -ът/-ят for masculine subjects, -а/-я for masculine objects, -та for feminine, -то for neuter, and -те for plural.

Bulgarian да-construction

Bulgarian has no infinitive. Subordinate clauses and modal constructions use да plus a present-tense verb, as in 'Искам да чета' (I want to read).

Bulgarian evidential mood

The renarrative mood marks information the speaker did not witness directly, reporting events heard or inferred. Bulgarian is notable among European languages for grammaticalizing this distinction.

Free and mobile stress

Bulgarian stress is not fixed to a syllable and is not written. It can distinguish meanings, such as пѐра (I wash) versus пера̀ (I do laundry).

First Bulgarian Empire

Founded in 681 after Khan Asparuh's victory over Byzantium, it adopted Christianity in 864 under Boris I and peaked under Simeon I in the early tenth century.

Preslav and Ohrid schools

Literary schools established after 886 under Clement and Naum. They fostered Slavonic literacy and the Cyrillic tradition commemorated on 24 May.

Second Bulgarian Empire

Established in 1185 by the Asen brothers after an uprising against Byzantium. Its capital was Tarnovo, and Ivan Asen II expanded it to three seas.

Paisii Hilendarski

An eighteenth-century monk whose 1762 'Slavo-Bulgarian History' is conventionally regarded as the opening text of the Bulgarian National Revival.

Vasil Levski

A revolutionary who organized an internal network of committees in the 1870s aimed at an uprising against Ottoman rule. He was captured and executed in 1873.

Bulgarian Exarchate

An independent Bulgarian church established by Ottoman firman in 1870, a central achievement of the National Revival's church struggle.

Treaty of San Stefano

Signed on 3 March 1878 after the Russo-Turkish War, it created a large autonomous Bulgaria. The date is Bulgaria's national holiday.

Congress of Berlin 1878

The July 1878 settlement that revised San Stefano, splitting Bulgaria into a principality, Eastern Rumelia, and Macedonia under Ottoman control.

Tarnovo Constitution

Adopted in 1879, it established a hereditary monarchy with a single-chamber parliament and remained formally in force, with amendments, until 1947.

Unification of 1885

On 6 September 1885 Bulgaria united with Eastern Rumelia. Bulgaria defeated Serbia in the ensuing war, and the union was recognized in 1886.

Treaty of Neuilly

The 1919 peace treaty after the First World War. Bulgaria ceded territory, paid reparations, and accepted limits on its armed forces.

10 November 1989

The date Todor Zhivkov resigned as communist leader, opening Bulgaria's transition to democracy and a market economy.

Bulgaria's area and borders

Bulgaria covers 110,994 square kilometers and borders Romania, Serbia, North Macedonia, Greece, and Türkiye, with a Black Sea coastline of about 378 kilometers.

Musala peak

Musala, in the Rila Mountains, rises to 2,925 meters and is the highest peak in Bulgaria and the entire Balkan Peninsula.

Stara planina

The Balkan Mountains, running west to east across the country, divide the Danubian Plain in the north from the Thracian Plain in the south.

Bulgarian climate zones

Temperate continental climate dominates the north, transitional continental the south, while the Black Sea coast and southern valleys show Mediterranean influence.

Iskar River

The longest river entirely within Bulgaria. It rises in Rila, crosses the Balkan Mountains, and joins the Danube near Nikopol.

National Assembly

Bulgaria's unicameral parliament of 240 members, elected for four years by proportional representation with a four percent national threshold.

President of Bulgaria

Directly elected for five years and limited to two terms. The President is head of state and commander-in-chief, with the Vice President on the same ticket.

Council of Ministers

Bulgaria's government, led by a Prime Minister nominated by the largest parliamentary group and approved by the National Assembly.

Constitutional Court

Composed of twelve justices serving nine-year terms, it reviews the constitutionality of laws and resolves jurisdictional disputes between state bodies.

Bulgarian provinces

Bulgaria is divided into 28 provinces plus the capital, each headed by a governor appointed by the Council of Ministers; municipalities form the basic self-government level.

Restriction of rights

Under the Constitution, rights may be limited only by law, only for listed public purposes, and only proportionately; the prohibition of torture is absolute.

Citizens' duties

The Constitution obliges citizens to observe the Constitution and laws, pay taxes, defend the country, and protect the environment.

Right to petition

Citizens may address state bodies with petitions, and they have a right to compensation for unlawful acts of administration and the judiciary.

Bulgarian flag and motto

The flag is a horizontal tricolor of white, green, and red. The coat of arms bears a golden lion rampant and the motto 'Unity makes strength'.

Mila Rodino

Bulgaria's national anthem, meaning 'Dear Motherland', with text and music by Tsvetan Radoslavov.

Bulgarian national holiday

3 March commemorates the Treaty of San Stefano and the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878.

Bulgaria in NATO and EU

Bulgaria joined NATO on 29 March 2004 and the European Union on 1 January 2007; it became a full Schengen member in 2024.

Euro adoption path

Bulgaria joined the Exchange Rate Mechanism II in 2020, a preparatory step toward adopting the euro, which it had not yet done.

Treaties in domestic law

The Constitution provides that ratified and promulgated international treaties become part of domestic law and prevail over conflicting provisions of statute.