"So forward now, with
spirit and ideals" reads a line in a poem by Hristo Botev, a Bulgarian
poet and national hero. Nestled on the Black Sea between Greece and
Romania, Bulgaria is a predominantly Christian country independent of
the Soviet Union since the fall of the Iron Curtain over 20 years ago.
Despite joining the European Union in 2007, the eastern Balkan nation
suffers the same economic problems found elsewhere since the global
downturn in 2008. Further complicating the country's economic outlook
is endemic corruption and organized crime, which has led the EU to
exclude Bulgaria from the Schengen passport-free zone. But the 'spirit
and ideals' are still alive in these images from the past several months
of Bulgaria, a country of over seven million, as it moves forward. -- Lane Turner (37 photos total)
A
worshipper lights a candle as she attends Sunday Mass led by Patriarch
of Moscow and All Russia Kirill and Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim in
Alexander Nevski cathedral in Sofia on April 29, 2012. (Stoyan
Nenov/Reuters)
