Bulgarian IT industry is the most rapidly developing sector of the local economy. What are the challenges that it faces? What is the climate in which it operates? What changes did it experience in the past 10 years? The answers to these questions, and many more, are crucial for anyone who tries to understand the local market, to make sound investments and to seek the best IT solutions for their organisation.
During 2021 Bulgarians have so far gone to the polls twice, in April and in July. On both occasions the sort of parliament they elected was so split that it failed to form a government. Consequently, the president, in keeping with his Constitutional prerogatives, had to set up a caretaker administration to handle the day-to-day running of the state. Now, on 14 November, Bulgarians will have to go to the ballots again, for the third time this year. They will not only have to choose their MPs, but also a new head of state, as President Rumen Radev's term in office draws to a close.
Florence Robine, the French ambassador to Bulgaria, has spent about two years in the country as most of the time her schedule and activities have been impeded by the varying and changing Covid-19 restrictions. Still, none of those managed to dampen the inquisitiveness of someone with a background in education. Mme Robine has used all opportunities she has had to explore all aspects of Bulgaria: from classical music to travelling in the mountains, to reading Bulgarian literature in translation to visiting the galleries in Sofia.
In the neighbourhood, I asked a retired woman, who habitually makes a public nuisance by throwing bread crumbs out of her fourth-floor balcony to feed Sofia's uncontrolled population of pigeons, to stop doing that because a uncontrolled population of pigeons carried many diseases that directly jeopardised the health of the other residents.
Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, industrial development has taken its toll on communities and landscapes. Polluted air, water and soil, the destruction of nature and a decimated biodiversity are all its consequences. However, in some cases industrial development has created beautiful and even stunning landscapes. Most often this is the case with artificial bodies of water, resulting from the construction of dams.
The healthcare minister was left like a lone pillar, trying to withstand overwhelming waves from all directions.
Dr Ivan Madzharov, chairman of the Bulgarian Medical Association
We are facing a serious crisis.
Diyan Stamatov, school principal, on the consequences of online education
Yes, we made mistakes in the management of the Covid-19 crisis and we are ready to pay the political price.
Seen from a US standpoint, the 28th American President is usually being put in the "upper tier" of US leaders despite criticism of his propagation of racial segregation. Democrat Woodrow Wilson, who served two terms in 1913-1921, successfully led the United States through the Great War. His foreign policy came to be known as Wilsonianism. He was the leading architect of the League of Nations project.
1. Which world famous artist is of Bulgarian origin?
A. Christo
B. Damien Hirst
C. Cy Twombly
2. On 14 November, Bulgarians will vote for...
A. President
B. Parliament
C. Both
3. Bulgaria sent a man to outer space in...
A. 1979
B. 1989
C. 2001
4. What is kyopoolu?
If you ever find yourself in the Thracian Plain northeast of Plovdiv, Bulgaria's second largest city that holds many enticements to both expats and casual visitors alike, you will probably be bored. You will be doing the 20-mile drive over farming flatlands with little to distract the traveller's attention than the occasional roadside vendor selling tomatoes and peppers, or sometimes a mini traffic jam caused by a tractor going too slow. Then, quite surprisingly for a Bulgarian flatland where you are usually able to see for miles around, you will enter a thick grove.
Built on a hill almost 180 degrees surrounded by a river meander its outlook constantly changes with the weather and the seasons. Bulgarian kids are bussed there on obligatory school tours. In effect, it is not just a major monument of history but also of how the perception of history has changed in the Bulgarian lands through the past decades – the late Communist period included.
Early Christian communities appeared in the Balkans as early as the middle of the 1st century. A couple of centuries later, there were so many followers that dozens of them were martyred for their faith during Roman persecutions.
In different historical periods different figures were the ones who set the pulse of events and the society's development. During the Renaissance, these were the artists, during the Enlightenment – the philosophers, in the 19th century – the writers, and in the 20th century – the industrialists. Today the pulse of modernity is set by the IT entrepreneurs and innovators, and the managers of successful IT companies.