How many Times were Diplomatic Relations between Russia and Bulgaria Severed
If we look at history, there are not many cases in which relations between Bulgaria and Russia at the state level were as bad as they are at the moment.
Raise the Glass
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By Despina Koleva
A man sits on the pavement in front of the neighborhood pub and weeps.
"Why are you crying, are you out of money or something," asks an acquaintance passing by.
"No," the man snivels, "I have money, but I don't feel like drinking!"
Funny as it might seem, this joke is to be dramatically reversed in the near future. By 2007 the sight of men weeping in front of pubs because they are desperate for a drink but cannot afford it is likely to be far more common.
For along with bird flu psychosis, mayor elections and the possibility of increasing electricity prices, another calamity has befallen Bulgarians as well. Hard liquor prices will grow substantially if a new alcohol excise duty is officially approved.
Thus, it emerged Monday 0.7 liter bottle of regular Bulgarian rakiya from around the corner shop will cost at least EUR 3.5.
The news has been by no means a surprise. Along with rakiya prices, the cost of electricity, heating, cigarettes and a number of other things has been going up. Only GSM rates appear to be falling but that somehow still remains in the sphere of allegations.
The issue of raising rakiya prices, however, has some subtler aspects stemming from the depths of the wholesale Bulgarian psyche. The magic potion has given regular Bulgarians warmth and light during the periods of undergoing the forced electricity saving system typical for communism and early democracy.
It has cured their maladies when medicine has been scarce or costly. It has given men that seducing fragrance no woman on the TKZS (a state-owned farm in communist times) has been able to resist, far before brands like Old Spice entered the country's market.
Last but not least, the drink has served as a catalyst for social life. Imagine inviting your neighbors for dinner without serving them rakiya and shopsпїЅa salad- outrageous!
Yet, state officials have attempted to deprive a 50 year-old Ivan Ivanov who gets dirty for a living, and the tens of thousands like him, from, among other things, the joy of cursing Bulgarian statesmen over a bottle of rakiya in the godforsaken neighborhood pub.
And if there is yet hope for Mr. Ivanov, who can brew his own rakiya for personal use without being levied with excise for at least a year, there is none for the pub. For the most likely result of raising hard liquor prices will certainly not be facilitating the work of AA but the bankruptcy of such places.
A man sits on the pavement in front of the neighborhood pub and weeps.
"Why are you crying, are you out of money or something," asks an acquaintance passing by.
"No," the man snivels, "I have money, but I don't feel like drinking!"
Funny as it might seem, this joke is to be dramatically reversed in the near future. By 2007 the sight of men weeping in front of pubs because they are desperate for a drink but cannot afford it is likely to be far more common.
For along with bird flu psychosis, mayor elections and the possibility of increasing electricity prices, another calamity has befallen Bulgarians as well. Hard liquor prices will grow substantially if a new alcohol excise duty is officially approved.
Thus, it emerged Monday 0.7 liter bottle of regular Bulgarian rakiya from around the corner shop will cost at least EUR 3.5.
The news has been by no means a surprise. Along with rakiya prices, the cost of electricity, heating, cigarettes and a number of other things has been going up. Only GSM rates appear to be falling but that somehow still remains in the sphere of allegations.
The issue of raising rakiya prices, however, has some subtler aspects stemming from the depths of the wholesale Bulgarian psyche. The magic potion has given regular Bulgarians warmth and light during the periods of undergoing the forced electricity saving system typical for communism and early democracy.
It has cured their maladies when medicine has been scarce or costly. It has given men that seducing fragrance no woman on the TKZS (a state-owned farm in communist times) has been able to resist, far before brands like Old Spice entered the country's market.
Last but not least, the drink has served as a catalyst for social life. Imagine inviting your neighbors for dinner without serving them rakiya and shopsпїЅa salad- outrageous!
Yet, state officials have attempted to deprive a 50 year-old Ivan Ivanov who gets dirty for a living, and the tens of thousands like him, from, among other things, the joy of cursing Bulgarian statesmen over a bottle of rakiya in the godforsaken neighborhood pub.
And if there is yet hope for Mr. Ivanov, who can brew his own rakiya for personal use without being levied with excise for at least a year, there is none for the pub. For the most likely result of raising hard liquor prices will certainly not be facilitating the work of AA but the bankruptcy of such places.
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