Robert,
your first correction is more of an elaboration. General mobilization was interpreted by Germany as a declaration of war. I didn't get into details.
As far as the Disraeli bit - I just pasted the Wiki page and the particulars aren't essential to Bulgaria.
The Straits, Egypt, Cyprus (probably all of the above) is not the point. The point is the effect on BG. I do appreciate a history chap though...

Corrections:

Germany did not start WWI. Germany tried to stop it - after Austria decalared war on Serbia. Russia sided with Serbia, but did not
declare war. In a state of confusion whether to declare partial or general Mobilization, a general offended Tsar Nicholai in the Crown Council by
intimating that he was an weakling who could not make decision - a common knowledge in Russia, which he did not like. He was furious,
grabbed the pen and signed the order for general mobilization. The Kaizer had repeatedly warned him [...]

Read the full comment that a general mobilization in
Russia meant a war on Germany. This warning from the Kaizer was based on the assumption that Germany, spelled out about in 1904
in the German military plan, was
to wage war on two fronts. And then Germany declared war on Russia
The rest is a domino theory in action. Read Sydney B. Fay's
"Origins of WWI."

WWII was a consequence of the Munich agreements. They were interptreted by a High Russian diplomat. On the morning of October 1st 1938 he asked a French diplomat: "My friend, what have you done? Now Hitler will attack France and England or the Soviet Union. He will prefer to attack first England.

The rest is history.

Another correction. Some one noted that Disraeli opted to destroy Bulgaria, because then Russia will
threaten the Straits. It was not the Straits that England was concerned about. England feared a Russian advance to Egypt from Constantinople and would threaten the Suez Canal which was the English short way to India. It
was so important, that England
voted large war credits to Austria-Hungary and moved her navy into the Sea of Marmara and Constantinople.

Cosmos:

".. please do not forget that it was Germany that started two world wars the Brits and French finished the first one and the Brits and Yanks that finished the second."

As I've said before - with the collapse of Socialism, we in BG at least gained the benefit of instinctual distrust of any school years propaganda we remember. You folks in the UK are still laboring under it.

1. WWI was started by Austro-Hungary invading Serbia, which prompted Russia to declare war on Austria, which prompted [...]

Read the full comment Germany to declare war on Russia (as per predating German - Austrian agreement) which prompted France to declare war on Germany. Germany was but a part of the dominos.

2. WWII was finished by the Russians, who were the ones that defeated Germany. WWII was essentially a war between Germany and USSR with a few side shows like North Africa and towards the end, the Allied landing in Italy and France. Refer to map:

http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/ww2-loss.htm

I love educating Brits;)

Well very interesting topic but where will BG go now ? I can answer that it will tow the money machine with the west.I also agree that as a Englishman there are some things in our past history that leaves a sour taste. But the point of the above article is about change. I must answer the comments made by Robert Chiperfield please do not forget that it was Germany that started two world wars the Brits and French finished the first one and the Brits and Yanks that finished the second.But the point is that communism has gone with [...]

Read the full comment the collapse of the Russian system.How long did you expect people to live behind a brick wall,I do not think that BG is divided as the article suggests It will take time to adapt.

So basically, (dear moderator), if I may, all that Berlin congress talk is related to this article.
Many in the West are quick to take a snap shot of a political landscape without the deeper understanding of the dynamics involved. Our relationship with the West is very schizophrenic in that we like some of its features, but we have NO historical trust for for the West in general and the UK in particular.

Think us a child, who was subjected to trauma at birth.
The first thing we witnessed at our re-birth [...]

Read the full comment as a nation, after the Long Night, was the Berlin Congress - a massive betrayal by our European fellow Christians, and one of cataclysmic consequences for the whole of Europe actually, as it did lead to WWI.

The only benign intent we felt was in the East.
Little has changed these days, as BG is being constantly attacked by UK papers for every transition related imperfection that amounts to general abuse in the aggregate.
A brit commits a crime in BG - and that's a reason to question our competence, a brit loses money in real estate - reason to question our honesty.
Articles, articles, by irresponsible people out to make a name at our expense... like that article above actually...

The reality is that we have nothing to prove to the West. It's "the West" that needs to make us trust them, and they are doing everything they can to estrange us...

Interesting ethnographic map done by German cartographer in 1880 - after the Congress of Berlin - it actually resembles the San Stefano BG!
Oops - sorry FYROM-tsi, - that was before you were made a separate nationality by Tito;)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ethnicity-Central-Balkans-1880.jpg

Don't you love the internet?

Here's what I fond on Wiki:

Basically much of what I said below.

"Through the Treaty of San Stefano, the Russians, led by chancellor Alexander Gorchakov, had managed to create a Bulgarian autonomous principality under the nominal rule of the Ottoman Empire, thus sparking British well-entrenched fears of growing Russian influence in the East. The new principality, including a very large portion of Macedonia and with access to the Aegean Sea, could easily threaten the Straits that separate the Black Sea from the [...]

Read the full comment Mediterranean. This arrangement was not acceptable to the British Empire, which considered the entire Mediterranean to be a British sphere of influence, and saw any Russian attempt to gain access there as a grave threat to its power. Just a week before the Congress, Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli had concluded a secret alliance with the Ottomans against Russia, whereby Britain was allowed to occupy the strategically placed island of Cyprus. This agreement predetermined Disraeli's position during the Congress and led him to issue threats to unleash a war against Russia if she did not comply with Turkish demands."

"Thus, the congress sowed the seeds of further conflicts, including the Balkan Wars, and ultimately the First World War."


"After returning from the Congress, Salisbury confessed that--in supporting Austria-Hungary instead of Russia--the British had "backed the wrong horse." According to A.J.P. Taylor: "If the treaty of San Stefano had been maintained, both the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary might have survived to the present day. The British, except for Beaconsfield in his wilder moments, had expected less and were therefore less disappointed. Salisbury wrote at the end of 1878: We shall set up a rickety sort of Turkish rule again south of the Balkans. But it is a mere respite. There is no vitality left in them."[5]"

Enjoy:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Congress_of_Berlin

"Bulgaria held out its arms to the Germans in WW11.Then the Germans were kicked out and you held out your arms to the Russians.."

Says Cosmos with his signature British lack of knowledge.

Robert is exactly right. Bulgarian foreign policy in the 20th century has bee remarkably consistent in that we have reached out to any power capable of helping us redress the injustice of the Congress of Berlin, where the British Disraili conspired to hand back half of BG to the Turks in exchange for Cyprus.

All [...]

Read the full comment of the Balkan wars and probably even the dynamic that led to the trigger of WWI, steam from that event.

Historically Western Europe has never been our friend, because in her push to contain the Russians, she's always had an interest in supporting the Ottomans against their Christian subjects in Europe.

Britain was helping the Turks, as they were unabashedly cutting chunks of their territory in the Levant. We owe many decades of subjection to British self interest

To Cosmos:

It is true that the West did not
feed Bulgaria with hopes before 1944. If anything, since 1878 the
West massacred Bulgaria. Russia created San Stefano Bulgaria, and the West - Austria-Hungary, Englan, France a Germany cut San Stefano Bulgaria to five pieces. In 1919 England and France cut more
pieces from the body of Berlin-made Bulgaria, among the other things, they cut her off the Aegean coast and gave it to Greece
to block her excit to the rest of the world. If it [...]

Read the full comment was not for USSR, they would have cut more from her at Paris in 1946.

You blame Bulgaria for holding the
hand of Germany in World War II. What do you propose, that she should have stopped Germany in 1941
in gratitude for the injustice which was done to her by France and England?

And then, If France, a great power
could not stop Hitler, Bulgaria should have done it? For whst purpose Bulgaria had to sacrify herself, to defend her neighbors Yugoslavia and Greece who had devouered her?

And then, you blame Bulgaria that
she had held the hand of Russia after 1944. Sure she did. But who opened the door to Russia to enter Bulgaria? In 1938 at Munich
England and France gave Hitler the green light to smash Eastern Europe, and then in June 1944 gave the green light to Stalin to move to Bulgaria - to be followed by Yalta and Potsdam to perpetuate the Communist occupation of that country.

Sure, the Bulgarians did not move to help Hungarians who were being slaughtered by USSR. But what did
the US and UK do, after enticing
the Hungarians to rise? They watched and did nothing.

The same thing is happening now in
Eastern Europe. The Eastern Europeans are starving, the West is doing nothing to help them. Yes,
there is much lip service done, but nothing to alleviate conditions there - except to keep the new puppets in their power and
be tied in the iron chain by which they, the West, is encircling Russia.

So, the new world that appeared after 1989 is not much different from the old world - the world after 1919 and the world after 1945.

Ok first of all Bulgaria was not fed any hopes from the west and if you do not mind me saying Bulgaria held out its arms to the Germans in WW11.Then the Germans were kicked out and you held out your arms to the Russians,during the time of the Hungarian uprising in 1956 when your so called comrades murdered the woman and children of Budapest and Hungary for wanting there freedom Bulgarian people stood by and said and done nothing.It will be the younger generations that do not want to be told where to work , where to go on [...]

Read the full comment holiday , what time to get up, they have the freedom of choice and they can travel without a brick wall stopping them so to all you comrades you can always go to North korea or Iran where you can still read the little red book .

I think that it should be noted that the US, UK, and French as examples of working (?) democracies have taken hundreds of years to model and refine. Political systems are not to be understood as one size fits all, as is so often the case. I look forward to Bulgaria in 20 years time when it has worked hard for its place on the international stage. There is no such thing as a free lunch. Let's work hard and see what we can do about it!

I applaud you Bulgaria the only Warsaw Pact member without an institute for national memory of thousands of people imprisoned and and killed. When you erect one, you must do so with lessons learnt from me India the largest democracy in the world where I erect statues of: Boars who walked around shouting, "Only Napoleon is right,"; and Humans who have only two legs who walk around, burn down my animal farms and chase the starving animals after raping my Sows.

For 40 years after 9.9.44, the Bulgarians were fed with hopes that "big dadddy" from the West
was going to put them on his expense account. Those who took over after Todor Zhivkov sold their souls, their Bulgarian pride and sovereignty to Washington and Strasburg in the hope that they
would be given high positions in
the new world government that was being structured in the West. Peter
Stoyanov was to be President of the EU. Ex King Simeon was looking for a great career as international statesman in the hall of [...]

Read the full comment the EU. Where are they now? Back in Bulgaria, thrown out of the soft government jobs where they planned the sell out of Bulgaria. The New civilization choice of Stoyanov never materialized. Stoyanov, Kostov and
Simeon opened the door for the swallowing of our country by Turkey - if the last ever is admitted in the EU. From a proud independent country from 1878 to 1944, Bulgaria was turned into a
beggar on the European theater. With its 35 - more or less - representatives in a 700 member
European parliamen, it is distant satellte to the big stars in Washington, London, Paris and Berlin. They will be lucky if even the crumbs
fall their way from the big table
of the big table of their feudal lords. And then go and ask the young Bulgarians to accept that humiliation administered to them by those who were in charge for 20 years.

Let us hope that Boiko Borisov will figure out how to take the country from this age of nihilism which befell the Bulgarian people.

I wonder why is that "someone" who have never been in Bulgaria for longer then a months or two have an opinion on what is wrong/right & why the things are the way there are.

I'm 40 half of my life was during the "comrades" the other half during the "freedom". I wish I could write a book about the first 10 years 90-00. About the pyramids, the hyperinflation, the "insurance agencies" the "mutras" and many other very Bulgarian phenomenons no westerner can comprehend.

Regarding the young people vs. the old generation... [...]

Read the full comment here is my view from the middle. 20 years ago I fought & believed in the bright future. My grandpa told me that we are nuts and have no idea what are we against. He remembered Boris II, then the WWII, the Communists and was old enough to have opinion. 20 years later I think my grandpa was right. He said "old pervs always use young people for their dirty work". 6000 days & 6000 miles away from that time. I wish the things were different yet I bare no illusions. Bulgaria is ran by the money grabbing faceless businessman in a bowler hat who doesn't necessarily resides in Bulgaria. Yet there are plenty of Bulgarian born parvenus willing to grab & pillage so they can have money. Bulgarians love to say that any developed country have its own "mafia", in Bulgaria the Mafia have its own country. That is it in one sentence. Survive the one who are willing to bend over and take a deep breath..., the rest immigrate or shot them-self

Absolutley the free world is about rising to the top being competative.Working hard and thinking beyond the box.This will take time to sink in for some!!!!

I think it stems from the decision to adopt a democratic model where citizens still vote for a 'party' rather than a real person. If one asks of any citizen "who is your representative in Parliament? or how do you get rid of an MP?" They seem not to understand the premise that they should have this right!

During last five yars I have come accross lots of young people and none of them would want to go back to old days. Of course they all say their parents would preffer to be under the old system. it is a big change for some one who has been suddenly thrown into the deep end, you have to learn to swim else you would drawn. Younger generation is learning, transition is always going to be difficult.Rome was not build in a day. Change of goverment may have some positive effect time will tell.

It will take time to adapt, the younger generations will carry through freedoms, there is a capitalist society in BG now and there is no turning back. Who wants to be told how to live there lives.(Freedom is the only choice).