1. The mayor of Dregerat, near Samokov, made the news as 2009 ended by:
a. Handing out free drinks to visitors on New Year’s Eve
b. Karaoke-singing at an open-air concert in Borovets
c. Being arrested for drunk driving

2. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church said that the August 29 date chosen for Madonna’s concert in Sofia was blasphemous because it was the date of:
a. The immaculate conception of Mary
b. The beheading of John the Baptist
c. Jesus’s Ascension

3. Dimitar Berbatov admitted to British journalists that, at the age of 18, he had:
a. Smoked marijuana
b. Cheated the offside rule
c. Been kidnapped

4. Speaking on March 3 2009, he said: "Behind the reforms, there are real people in Bulgaria, who are working very hard". Who is he?
a. Jose Barroso
b. Georgi Purvanov
c. Sergei Stanishev

5. Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov met his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Gdansk on September 1. Why Gdansk?
a. Poland was hosting a conference on energy in Central and Eastern Europe
b. Poland was hosting an EU-Russia summit
c. Poland was hosting a commemoration of the outbreak of World War 2

6. The natural gas crisis in January 2009 focused attention on Bulgaria’s sole storage facility at:
a. Vihren
b. Chiren
c. Sliven

7. Bulgaria’s nominee for Eurovision 2010 is:
a. Evtim Kostadinov
b. Miroslav Kostadinov
c. Petar Kostadinov

8. Kalina Ilieva (29) got a new job on August 19. What was it?
a. Head of the State Agriculture Fund
b. Head of the State Agency for Child Protection
c. Head of the Council for Electronic Media

9. On December 7, US diplomat Daniel Fried wrote to Bulgarian PM Boiko Borissov formally asking Bulgaria to:
a. Send more troops to Afghanistan
b. Send more troops to Iraq
c. Accept a Guantanamo Bay prisoner

10. In early December, police were involved in a shootout with a highway robbery gang known as…
a. The Bisons
b. The Insolents
c. The Crocodiles

11. Bulgarian PM Borissov complained that it was absurd that, in common with France and Germany, Bulgaria…
a. Had troops in Kosovo
b. Owned an Airbus for official trips
c. Served Moet et Chandon at all state receptions

12. Why did Deputy Prime Minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov go to Roswell, New Mexico, earlier in his career?
a. Like the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, he believes that the truth is out there
b. To study management at a school of international law enforcement
c. To learn how to prevent immigration by illegal aliens

13. How many European Parliament seats did the National Movement for Stability and Progress win on June 7 2009?
a. One
b. Two
c. Three

14. Thirty per cent of them are unsafe, according to European Consumer Protection Commissioner Meglena Kouneva. They are:
a. Mobile phones
b. Christmas tree lights
c. Microwave ovens

15. Touring Defence Ministry premises after taking office, new minister Nikolai Mladenov discovered that the ministry owned:
a. Artillery bearing depleted uranium
b. 100 Maybach tanks
c. A BMW painted Ashes of Roses pink

16. Finding Paul "Jock" Palfreeman guilty of the 2007 murder of Andrei Monov, the court in Bulgaria on December 2 sentenced Palfreeman to:
a. 10 years in prison
b. 20 years in prison
c. Life

17. On June 23 2009, former Kosovo prime minister Agim Ceku was arrested while trying to enter Bulgaria. From which country?
a. Serbia
b. Macedonia
c. Romania

18. On February 26, the Cabinet decided that the fee for applying for permanent residence in Bulgaria on the basis of foreign investment would be:
a. 250 000 euro
b. 500 000 euro
c. 750 000 euro

19. By the time its term in office ended in July 2009, how many votes of no confidence had the Stanishev cabinet faced?
a. Six
b. Seven
c. Eight

20. Vladimir Kouzov, formerly an MP for Ataka, was expelled from Parliament in February 2009 because he had been convicted of:
a. Property fraud
b. Sexual abuse of a minor
c. Drunk driving

21. In the new Parliament elected in July, who is deputy chairperson of the committee on culture, civil society and the media?
a. Volen Siderov
b. Emel Etem
c. Stefan Danailov

22. In July, two women, assisted by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, said that they were taking the Bulgarian military to court. Why?
a. Women are not allowed combat roles
b. Women are not admitted to the National Guard
c. Women are not allowed to drive tanks

23. Velingrad’s former mayor Fidel Beev, found guilty in July on two counts of malfeasance in office, was sentenced:
a. To pay a fine of 200 000 leva
b. To six months in jail
c. To three years and six months in jail

24. Former rap artist Todor Yossifov was elected as an MP for GERB but declined to take up his seat. What was his nickname?
a. The Hamster
b. The Maniac
c. The Crocodile

25. "Good ideas mean nothing when they do not lead to good deeds" was the national parliamentary election slogan of:
a. GERB
b. Ataka
c. Plamen Galev of the Galevi Brothers

26. A Bulgarian Border Police officer made the news on July 2 by:
a. Being arrested for accepting an 800 euro bribe
b. Being arrested for paying an 800 euro bribe
c. Refusing an 800 euro bribe

27. What time are the daily news bulletins in Turkish on Bulgarian National Television?
a. 4pm
b. 5pm
c. 6pm

28. A report by Eurostat released on December 16 said that the number of foreigners living in Bulgaria was:
a. 24 000
b. 42 000
c. 82 000

29. The Dossier Commission said that Frognews editor Ognyan Stefanov had worked for Bulgaria’s communist-era state security. What was his codename?
a. Academic
b. Angel
c. Anvil

30. After Meglena Kouneva gave up her place as head of the National Movement for Stability and Progress ticket in the European Parliament elections, who succeeded her there?
a. Hristina Hristova
b. Antonia Purvanova
c. Gergana Passi



Answers: 1c 2b 3c 4c 5c 6a 7b 8a 9c 10c 11b 12b 13b 14b 15c 16b 17b 18c 19b 20b 21b 22b 23c 24b 25c 26c 27a 28a 29a 30b