TURKISH MINORITY IN BULGARIA: MAIN STAGES OF SOCIAL INTEGRATION

Abstract

The Balkan region, known as the «powder keg of Europe», is one of the most controversial regions with complex tangle of ethnic groups and religions. The problem of the Turkish minority in Bulgaria has its roots directly in the creation of the Bulgarian nation-state in 1878. Initially, the Turks had sufficiently broad rights, but after World War II, their situation has steadily deteriorated. The reasons are linked with the international situation of Cold War — where Bulgaria and Turkey belonged to opposing blocs — and internal political and ideological factors. Broad criticism on the part of the international community has undergone so called «Revival Process» — a large-scale campaign of assimilation of Turkish and Muslim population in Bulgaria 1984–1989. Today Turkish ethnic group enjoys broad rights in education, religion,politically represented in parliament and is an integral part of Bulgarian society. In terms of the ethnic conflicts in the Balkans of the 1990s, Bulgaria has demonstrated striking example of the successful integration of ethnic minorities into society.