Bulgaria: Terra europeansis incognita

Conceived originally as a tool for familiarizing Western intellectuals with the rich history and culture of Bulgaria and its people, the book presents as well - albeit briefly - the other Balkan nationalities and their interrelations. The case is made for the injustice wrought upon the country by the Great Powers, such that within the last 130 years or so since its liberation from the Ottoman yoke it has been splintered into multiple pieces, each donated to a different neighbour. Specifically, the call is justified for unification between Bulgaria and it's southwestern part that is known under the name of Republic of Macedonia, or FYROM.

Of particular interest to the socio-politically active Intelligentsia is the second part of the book dealing extensively with the plight of the country in modern times. In order to introduce the background of all current difficulties, first a comparative analysis is offered - unique, we believe - of the positive and negative effects on all essential components of everyday life, under Communism vs. under Democracy. Then, after a comprehensive review of the "Transition to Democracy", the reasons for failing to establish a truly just and fair society where law and order should prevail are discussed. The case is presented as though such a situation is not necessarily unique for Bulgaria but in fact is characteristic for all former Soviet Bloc countries, to a various extent of the unfairness and injustice, and with the colourful nuances typical for each individual nation.

Given the country is an EU member, a good deal of attention is dedicated to the potential contribution of that status to improvement of the current total mess, characterizing Bulgaria in terms of its economy, political process, judicial practices, etc., all plagued by corruption and inefficiency, and judged destined for doom less radical changes are effectuated as immediately as possible. Ditto about the Bulgarian national psyche, utterly depressed at best, for the last 20 years, after the brief spate of jubilation, in the wake of the "velvet revolution." The conclusion drawn here is not in favour of continuing that EU membership, surprising and unpleasant as this might sound to many a reader.

Once having identified the faulty design, the roadmap for correcting the situation is proposed next. Both the economic and political aspects are reviewed, separately and in their strong interdependence and perpetual interaction. The proposed new model is unique and worthy of the name "revolutionary." While the aspect of economics may be more suitable for, and certainly easier applicable to, the small former Soviet satellite states, the part of politics is viewed as a prerequisite for a step towards true democracy in any nation. Hence this writing offers a Project, to the Bulgarians, but as well an idea for a System, to the democratic-minded intellectuals of this world, and specifically to the Intelligentsia within the EU, currently devoid of an ideology appealing to the masses.

Ivan D. is the literary pseudonym of Ivan Daraktchiev. Born (1948) and raised in Burgas, Bulgaria, he graduated (1972) as engineer in microelectronic technology. He has spent the next ten years working as research fellow and midlevel manager at the Institute of Microelectronics in Sofia. Since 198 Mr. Daraktchiev lives in Belgium where he first was affiliated with the Catholic University in Leuven. In 1984 he joined the microelectronics industry and for the next 20 years served in executive positions in Belgium, USA and Switzerland.
Since 2004 Ivan is no longer in service to the industry and spends his time in literary exploits. In 2005 he authored "My Diet", a book presenting his comprehensive concept for healthy living, challenging the postulates of all conventional dietetic systems. Bulgaria: Terra europeansis incognita is Ivan D.'s second large literary project, apart from the multitude of scientific papers, patents and presentation in the domains of his technical competence, that he has (co) authored.

Дукати ЕООД
Бургас, Гладстон 9
ivan.daraktchiev@gmail.com

Preface
History: Beneath the shroud of millennia

• Introduction
• Origin of the Bulgarian nation: a story about the perfect melting pot and the longest cooking recipe
• Trakians: the autochthonous population of the Balkan Peninsula, and the first Europeans with known identity
• Prehistoric population of the Balkans: an enigma no more
• The Balkans from about 2000 BC till about 500 AC (Balkan Peninsula = Trakian Peninsula)
• The Troyan war
• Hellenistic city-states: the new presence on the Balkans in the 1^-st millennium BC
• The prehistoric Balkans and Noah's Flood
• An attempt for facial characterization of the Trakians
• The Slavs
• The proto-Bulgarians
• The Cyrillic alphabet and the elevation of Christianity to official religion of the Bulgarian state
• The (First & Second) Bulgarian Empire in the Middle Ages: from negotiating with the Frankish and Byzantine Emperors to the capturing of Baldwin of Flanders, head of the Latin Empire
• The First Bulgarian Tragedy
• The liberation, the Great Powers and the amputation of hopes
• The Third Bulgarian Empire: the times of the grand (limping) projects and one national catastrophe after the other
• The Second World War - a due continuation of the first one. The disaster called Yalta Conference
• The Communist rule in Bulgaria, 1944 - 1989, and its comparison to the "Transition to Democracy"
• Culture: unique amongst equals. A) Culture of the Trakian civilization
• Culture: unique amongst equals. B) Cultural contributions by the Slavs
• Culture: unique amongst equals. C) The cultural achievements by the proto-Bulgarians
• Culture: unique amongst equals. D) Contribution by the Bulgarians
• Brief on the anthropomorphic characteristics of the typical Bulgarian
• Balkan national characters
• Religion - or the drive of spiritual - and Bulgarians

Modern day Bulgaria: Paradise for crooks and Hell for ordinary people

• Contemporary society: at the crossroad
• The role played by the West
• The transition to free market economy and democratic rule
• What exactly happened during the "Transition to Democracy" years?
• Mechanisms of initial accumulation of capital, a. k. a. mechanisms of exploitation and looting
• Analysis of the pluses and minuses of communism & democracy
• The Bulgarian national character, a version of the Balkan one
• The Bulgarian mixture (those famous minorities, again)
• The Bulgarians outside Bulgaria
• The Celts, the Goths, the Huns and the Comans
• Bulgarian blues: Chronicle of European "post-Communism"
• The results of 18 years of "free, democratic development" in Bulgaria
• What lies ahead?
• The EU road
• The land and its resources: unsuspected paradise on Earth
• Bulgarian curiosities, records and funny - and - serious claims
• Bulgaria in numbers: Bulgarian statistics
• Bulgaria the Beautiful
• Bulgarian future: whose choice will it be?
• Epilogue

Crumbs of evidence

• The basic economic considerations underpinning the upcoming revolution in Bulgaria
• Bulgarians and learning
• Chart of the "ancestry tree" of the Bulgarian tsars, compiled by Prof. Johan Stritter in his "Bulgarica ex scriptoribus Byzantinis"
• Statistical information pertaining to the casus "Makedonia"
• More considerations about Bulgaria's bleeding wound called Makedonia
• Quotes about Bulgaria, its South-Western part that is more popular under the name of Macedonia, and the rest of the Balkan nations

Bibliography
Glossary & Abbreviations