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in reply to a message by Nanaea
Rada is a Slavic name, so it is Russian as much as it is Bulgarian, Serbian or Croatian.
On the question whether many Bulgarians have Russian names: Bulgarians and Russians have a lot of common names, due to their common Slavic heritage (you can put it as Bulgarians use Russian names or Russians use Bulgarian names - both are right :). In addition, there are some Bulgarians named Stalin/Stalinka, Lenin/Leninka, and some are using diminutives that are more common for Russia than for Bulgaria, e.g. Masha and Dasha for Maria and Teodora (the Bulgarian ones would be Mara and Dora). Those people are all in their 50's - 60's and are remnants of the ideology that preached that the Soviet Union is the best place on Earth and Bulgaria should become the 16th republic (luckily they did not want us!).
On the question whether many Bulgarians have Russian names: Bulgarians and Russians have a lot of common names, due to their common Slavic heritage (you can put it as Bulgarians use Russian names or Russians use Bulgarian names - both are right :). In addition, there are some Bulgarians named Stalin/Stalinka, Lenin/Leninka, and some are using diminutives that are more common for Russia than for Bulgaria, e.g. Masha and Dasha for Maria and Teodora (the Bulgarian ones would be Mara and Dora). Those people are all in their 50's - 60's and are remnants of the ideology that preached that the Soviet Union is the best place on Earth and Bulgaria should become the 16th republic (luckily they did not want us!).
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Replies
Simeon rulez :P
Its amazing that within just a few years you have had communist rule, democracy, and now a world-exclusive, the very first-ever hybrid President-King ;)
Its amazing that within just a few years you have had communist rule, democracy, and now a world-exclusive, the very first-ever hybrid President-King ;)
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Rub it in!
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Just for the record: it's prime-minister-king...
Which doesn't change the fact that Bulgaria is the only *republic* ruled by a *king*. That paradox captures the essence of Bulgarian soul so well that it's not even funny. Not to me at least.
Which doesn't change the fact that Bulgaria is the only *republic* ruled by a *king*. That paradox captures the essence of Bulgarian soul so well that it's not even funny. Not to me at least.
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Wow! 'A republic ruled by a king' you learn something new every day!
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to explain the mess...
In 1943 the Bulgarian king at the time, Boris III, died and his 9-year-old son, Simeon II, succeeded to the throne. A year later (1944) he and his family fleed from Bulgaria as the communists took over and changed the monarchy to a people's republic (it remained a people's republic until 1989, and is now a "plain" republic =o).
Simeon II, though dethroned, never renounced his title (he recently renounced his claims to returning the monarchy in Bulgaria) and enjoyed an ever-rising popularity when he started visiting Bulgaria in the post-communist years. He was smart enough to play the role of a public figure caring for the good of Bulgaria, but not associating himself with any of the political parties. Soooo, his time came when the first non-communist government after 1989 (and the first democratically-elected government to serve full term since 1879) failed with flying colors and the people lost any hope that it was ever going to get better. At that time, when it was obvious that neither the socialists (reformed communists), nor the rest could do any good for the country, Simeon took charge, made a party (National Movement Simeon II), and promised he could take the country out of the mess in 800 days. Well, his party won the overwhelming majority in the Parliament and he was elected prime-minister. That was more than 800 days ago... but that's another topic.
In 1943 the Bulgarian king at the time, Boris III, died and his 9-year-old son, Simeon II, succeeded to the throne. A year later (1944) he and his family fleed from Bulgaria as the communists took over and changed the monarchy to a people's republic (it remained a people's republic until 1989, and is now a "plain" republic =o).
Simeon II, though dethroned, never renounced his title (he recently renounced his claims to returning the monarchy in Bulgaria) and enjoyed an ever-rising popularity when he started visiting Bulgaria in the post-communist years. He was smart enough to play the role of a public figure caring for the good of Bulgaria, but not associating himself with any of the political parties. Soooo, his time came when the first non-communist government after 1989 (and the first democratically-elected government to serve full term since 1879) failed with flying colors and the people lost any hope that it was ever going to get better. At that time, when it was obvious that neither the socialists (reformed communists), nor the rest could do any good for the country, Simeon took charge, made a party (National Movement Simeon II), and promised he could take the country out of the mess in 800 days. Well, his party won the overwhelming majority in the Parliament and he was elected prime-minister. That was more than 800 days ago... but that's another topic.
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