Sunny beach history

The head of the Bulgarian Communist Party, Todor Zhivkov, ruled the country under communism for 27 years, and during his leadership the independent opposition was crushed, cultivation and industry were state-owned, and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church fell under the control of the state.

Bulgaria officially became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on March 29, 2004 and expects a full membership in the European Union by the year of 2007.