Science and technology in Bulgaria
Encyclopedia
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...

 has started to actively develop its own scientific and technological basis. The Liberation
Liberation of Bulgaria
In Bulgarian historiography, the term Liberation of Bulgaria is used to denote the events of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 that led to the re-establishment of Bulgarian state with the Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878, after the complete conquest of the Second Bulgarian Empire, which...

 of the country in 1878 ended a nearly 500-year period of Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 rule, under which Bulgarian science was virtually nonexistent. Despite the political instability in the period between World wars, scientific research expanded with a steady pace until the early 1990s. In the mid-1990s, it came to an almost complete halt, but since the early 2000s Bulgarian science is slowly regaining its growth. Bulgaria has strong traditions in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...

, computer sciences
Computer Sciences
Computer Sciences can refer to:*The general field of computer science*Computer Sciences Corporation, the Fortune 500 Information Technology company...

, aeronautics
Aeronautics
Aeronautics is the science involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of airflight-capable machines, or the techniques of operating aircraft and rocketry within the atmosphere...

, aerospace
Aerospace
Aerospace comprises the atmosphere of Earth and surrounding space. Typically the term is used to refer to the industry that researches, designs, manufactures, operates, and maintains vehicles moving through air and space...

 research and medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....

.

Overview

, 47 universities operate within Bulgaria's small territory, fostering its scientific and technological know-how. The country has a strong tradition in mathematics, astronomy, physics, nuclear technology and sciences-oriented education, and has significant experience in medical and pharmaceutical research. The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy is autonomous and has a Society of Academicians, Correspondent Members and Foreign Members...

 (BAS), the leading scientific institution in the country, employs most of Bulgaria's researchers working in its numerous branches. some of its most significant equipment remains non-operational due to severe mismanagement in the Ministry of Education and Science (responsible for funding scientific projects), such as an electrostatic accelerator, a research reactor
Research reactor
Research reactors are nuclear reactors that serve primarily as a neutron source. They are also called non-power reactors, in contrast to power reactors that are used for electricity production, heat generation, or maritime propulsion.-Purpose:...

 and a neutron generator
Neutron generator
Neutron generators are neutron source devices which contain compact linear accelerators and that produce neutrons by fusing isotopes of hydrogen together. The fusion reactions take place in these devices by accelerating either deuterium, tritium, or a mixture of these two isotopes into a metal...

. The most powerful supercomputer in Eastern Europe (one of the top 100 in the world ), an IBM Blue Gene
Blue Gene
Blue Gene is a computer architecture project to produce several supercomputers, designed to reach operating speeds in the PFLOPS range, and currently reaching sustained speeds of nearly 500 TFLOPS . It is a cooperative project among IBM Blue Gene is a computer architecture project to produce...

/P, entered service in September 2008 at the State Agency of Information Technology. Scientists from Sofia University
Sofia University
The St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia or Sofia University is the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888...

 and the BAS operate the machine. According to MENSA International, Bulgaria ranks 2nd in the world in Mensa IQ test-scores and its students rate second in the world in SAT
SAT (disambiguation)
SAT is a college admissions test in the United States.Sat, SAT, etc., may also refer to:- Aviation :...

 scores.
Also, international MENSA IQ testing completed in 2004 identified as the world's smartest woman (and one of the smartest people in the world) Daniela Simidchieva of Bulgaria, who has an IQ of 200.

In January 2009, the Bulgarian government approved a 10-year plan for funding three main areas of scientific development - Innovative potential sciences (biotechnology, healthcare technology, alternative energy sources, nanotechnology and communications); Sustainable development sciences (ecology) and Scientific studies for the support of industry. Although the BSP government planned an increase of scientific spending for 2010 (from 0.4 to 0.6% of GDP), the financial crisis has caused a decrease of funding in 2009.

Bulgarian scientists have made several notable discoveries and inventions, such as the prototype of the digital watch (Peter Petroff
Peter Petroff
Peter Petroff New York Times: ) was a Bulgarian-American inventor, engineer, NASA scientist, and adventurer. He was instrumental in the evolution of the NASA space program, and was one of the most prolific inventors of the second half the 20th century...

); galantamine
Galantamine
Galantamine is used for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease and various other memory impairments, in particular those of vascular origin...

 (Dimitar Paskov
Dimitar Paskov
Dimitar Paskov is a bulgarian chemist who led the Sopharma team that extracted Nivalin in 1959. The original phytopreparation is an extract of the alkaloid from bulbs of common snowdrop....

); the molecular-kinetic theory of crystal formation and growth
Crystal growth
A crystal is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. Crystal growth is a major stage of a crystallization process, and consists in the addition of new atoms, ions, or polymer strings into...

 (formulated by Ivan Stranski
Ivan Stranski
Ivan Nikolov Stranski was a Bulgarian physical chemist. The founder of the Bulgarian school of physical chemistry, Stranski is considered the father of crystal growth research. Stranski headed the departments of physical chemistry at Sofia University and the Technical University of Berlin, of...

) and the space greenhouse
Greenhouse
A greenhouse is a building in which plants are grown. These structures range in size from small sheds to very large buildings...

 (SRI-BAS).

Bulgaria conducts frequent Antarctic exploration
History of Antarctica
The history of Antarctica emerges from early Western theories of a vast continent, known as Terra Australis, believed to exist in the far south of the globe...

 missions by means of an artificial satellite
Bulgaria 1300
Interkosmos 22, more commonly known as Bulgaria 1300 , is the first artificial satellite of Bulgaria.- Description :The satellite was developed by the Bulgarian Space Agency around the "Meteor" bus, provided by the Soviet Union as part of the Interkosmos program. Assembly took place in Bulgaria,...

 and a permanent research base
St. Kliment Ohridski Base
St. Kliment Ohridski Base is a Bulgarian Antarctic base on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands.The base, originally known as Sofia University Refuge, was named in 1993 "for St...

, which are used to conduct research on the impact of climate change
Climate change
Climate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...

 and biodiversity on the continent.

Computer technology and robotics

Computer technology is among Bulgaria's most advanced scientific branches.
Bulgaria, once known as the Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley is a term which refers to the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area in Northern California in the United States. The region is home to many of the world's largest technology corporations...

 of the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...

, has started to regain its position as a leading centre of high-technology research and development, particularly in information-technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

 (IT) and nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...

 research, development, production and distribution. Bulgaria became one of the first European countries to develop serial production of personal computer
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...

s (Pravetz series 8
Pravetz series 8
Pravetz were Bulgarian computers, manufactured mainly in the town of Pravetz but also components and software were produced in Stara Zagora, Plovdiv and other.- History :...

) in the beginning of the 1980s. According to the Brainbench
Brainbench
Brainbench was founded in January 1998 and was later acquired by PreVisor. Brainbench provides online certifications mainly in the Information Technology field and others in general. The company has provided its services to over 5000 corporate and over 6 million individual clients...

 Global IT IQ report, Bulgaria ranks first in Europe in terms of IT-certified specialists per capita
and 8th in the world in total ICT
Information and communication technologies
Information and communications technology or information and communication technology, usually abbreviated as ICT, is often used as an extended synonym for information technology , but is usually a more general term that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of...

 specialists, out-performing countries with far larger populations.

In 2009 Bulgaria became the first country in Central and Eastern Europe (excluding Russia) to develop a national nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...

 R&D
Research and development
The phrase research and development , according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, refers to "creative work undertaken on a systematic basis in order to increase the stock of knowledge, including knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of...

 centre. The Bulgarian government has signed a partership and cooperation agreement with IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...

 in order to benefit from IBM's experience in this field and to foster the development of new technologies and registered patents at the centre. This represents the first time in IBM's history that the company has signed such a comprehensive agreement with a nation-state and its leading scientific institutions. A nanotechnological components factory was planned, but due to the financial crisis of 2009, the project was cancelled.

Leading
Leadership
Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...

 multinational companies, such as Apple Inc. and HP have set up regional technology development centres, offices and headquarters in Bulgaria. As an example of an existing establishment, Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard
Hewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...

 built its Global Service Centre for Europe, the Middle East and Africa
Europe, the Middle East and Africa
Europe, the Middle East and Africa, usually abbreviated to EMEA, is a regional designation used for government, marketing and business purposes...

 (EMEA) in Sofia in 2006. In 2005 SAP
SAP AG
SAP AG is a German software corporation that makes enterprise software to manage business operations and customer relations. Headquartered in Walldorf, Baden-Württemberg, with regional offices around the world, SAP is the market leader in enterprise application software...

 built its leading R&D laboratories for the development of Java application server, Composite Application Framework
SAP Composite Application Framework
SAP Composite Application Framework is a composition tool in NWDS and runtime on SAP Web Application Server Java for developing, testing, deploying, running and configuring composite applications...

 and NetWeaver platforms in Bulgaria.

Bulgaria also has a full scale humanoid robot project named Kibertron. This humanoid robot is among the most advanced in the world, containing 82 DOF. According to the team(of 23 people, all of them under 25), they are striving towards developing a 'brain' which will be built by a new device in which will be no conventional microprocessors and elements. According to the team, Kibertron will not use binary logic, but will instead utilize chaotic logic and will be able to walk, identify objects and understand voices. In September 2004 the Kibertron project was ranked at 6th position in the chart “World's greatest android projects” by Android World magazine. On 5 October 2004, Kibertron team was awarded with the “European Award for Innovations” during INNOVACT 2004.
The country is also involved in developing automobiles. Bulgaria has built a car - Univers, and is busy developing others (by the company 12B) - the Raven R1, the Reus and the Wildcat
The first digital computer was invented by John Vincent Atanasoff
John Vincent Atanasoff
John Vincent Atanasoff was an American physicist and inventor.The 1973 decision of the patent suit Honeywell v. Sperry Rand named him the inventor of the first automatic electronic digital computer...

, who, through his father, was a half Bulgarian (his mother being American).
A Bulgarian, Koycho Mitev, is at work inventing a new unique translation method, involving a chip, which he says could be inserted into any phone and will translate a given language into another. Mitev said: “the invention is based on an in-depth analysis of the structure of human speech. We succeeded in creating a tool which records human speech by means of the digits from decimal system regardless of the speaker’s mother tongue. The same 10 digits are used to record all articulate sounds uttered by homo sapiens.” He went on to note: “the program will automatically convert digital codes from one system to another, thus reproducing the text in the recipient’s language. You can speak Bulgarian, while at the other end — in Norway you’ll be heard in Norwegian with your own voice.” Important questions being asked thus far are: what does it do for disambiguation? , can the parser understand intonations that can change the meaning? and so on.

Space exploration and aerospace research

Bulgaria is the 6th country in the world to send a man in space: Georgi Ivanov
Georgi Ivanov
Major general Georgi Ivanov Kakalov is a retired Bulgarian military officer and the first Bulgarian cosmonaut. He was a member of the National Assembly of Bulgaria in 1990.-Early life and military career:...

 flew on Soyuz 33
Soyuz 33
-Backup crew:-Mission parameters:*Mass: *Perigee: *Apogee: *Inclination: 51.63°*Period: 88.99 minutes-Mission highlights:...

 in 1979. In 1988 Aleksandar Aleksandrov
Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov
Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov is a retired Bulgarian cosmonaut. He is the second Bulgarian to have flown to space behind Georgi Ivanov.-Biography:...

 became the first Bulgarian to conduct experiments on a space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...

. Bulgaria also supplied many scientific and research instruments for the Soviet space program
Soviet space program
The Soviet space program is the rocketry and space exploration programs conducted by the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics from the 1930s until its dissolution in 1991...

. Currently the country participates in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

's lunar exploration mission, Chandrayaan-1. In 1981 Bulgaria designed and constructed its first artificial satellite: Bulgaria 1300
Bulgaria 1300
Interkosmos 22, more commonly known as Bulgaria 1300 , is the first artificial satellite of Bulgaria.- Description :The satellite was developed by the Bulgarian Space Agency around the "Meteor" bus, provided by the Soviet Union as part of the Interkosmos program. Assembly took place in Bulgaria,...

, which a Soviet Vostok-2M
Vostok-2M
The Vostok-2M , GRAU index 8A92M was an expendable carrier rocket used by the Soviet Union between 1964 and 1991. Ninety-three were launched, of which one failed. Another was destroyed before launch. It was originally built as a specialised version of the earlier Vostok-2, for injecting lighter...

 rocket inserted into polar orbit
Polar orbit
A polar orbit is an orbit in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited on each revolution. It therefore has an inclination of 90 degrees to the equator...

. The satellite had a launch weight of 1,500 kilograms, and as of 2009, it continues in operation, gathering information for BAS
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy is autonomous and has a Society of Academicians, Correspondent Members and Foreign Members...

. The Bulgarian Space Agency also plans to create and send in space a new light-weight satellite — Balkansat — by 2010.

Bulgaria hosts two major astronomical observatories: the Rozhen Observatory
Rozhen Observatory
Rozhen Observatory is a Bulgarian astronomical observatory, located 90 km south of the city of Plovdiv, Bulgaria. The nearest town, Chepelare, is 15 km away. It is owned and operated by the Institute of Astronomy of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The Observatory is one of the largest in Europe...

, the largest in Southeastern Europe, and the Belogradchik Observatory
Belogradchik Observatory
The Astronomical Observatory of Belogradchik or Belogradchik Observatory is an astronomical observatory owned and operated by Bulgarian Academy of Sciences...

 with three telescope
Telescope
A telescope is an instrument that aids in the observation of remote objects by collecting electromagnetic radiation . The first known practical telescopes were invented in the Netherlands at the beginning of the 1600s , using glass lenses...

s; as well as several "public astronomical observatories" with planetaria
Planetarium
A planetarium is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation...

, focused on education
Education
Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

al and outreach activities. Astronomer Georgi Mandushev headed the team of scientists, which discovered TrES-4b — the largest known planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...

 to date (next to WASP-17b, and that was in 1 May 2009).

Asen Yordanov (1896–1967), the founder of aeronautical engineering in Bulgaria, worked as an aviator, engineer and inventor; he also contributed to the development of aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...

 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. He played a significant role in U.S. aircraft development (mostly bomber and carrier-based aircraft) and took part in many other project
Project
A project in business and science is typically defined as a collaborative enterprise, frequently involving research or design, that is carefully planned to achieve a particular aim. Projects can be further defined as temporary rather than permanent social systems that are constituted by teams...

s. Yordanov created the first Bulgarian airplane, the "Diplan Yordanov-1", in 1915.

Another Bulgarian-American inventor and scientist, Peter Petroff
Peter Petroff
Peter Petroff New York Times: ) was a Bulgarian-American inventor, engineer, NASA scientist, and adventurer. He was instrumental in the evolution of the NASA space program, and was one of the most prolific inventors of the second half the 20th century...

, became best known for his work in NASA
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

. Petroff also invented the first digital watch (1970).

Captain Simeon Petrov of the Bulgarian Air Force
Bulgarian Air Force
The Bulgarian Air Force is a branch of the Military of Bulgaria, the other two being the Bulgarian Navy and Bulgarian land forces. Its mission is to guard and protect the sovereignty of Bulgarian airspace, to provide aerial support and to assist the Land Forces in case of war. The Bulgarian Air...

 invented the world's first purpose-built air-to-surface bomb, which included innovations such as an aerodynamically stabilizing x-tail and an impact detonator. To this day the majority of aircraft bombs in the world follow Petrov's 1912 design. The Bulgarian Air Force deployed the original prototype, thus becoming the first military force in the world to conduct tactical airplane bombing sorties during a full-scale war
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...

 (in 1912).

Mathematics and physics

The country also has a strong tradition in mathematics. At the Tokyo International Mathematics Olympiad in 2003 Bulgaria finished in first place from a total of 82 participating countries. Bulgaria beat China (2nd place finish), the USA (3rd place finish) and Russia (4th place finish), countries that have respectively 184, 39 and 18 times its population. Bulgaria also became one of only four countries in the history of the International Mathematics Olympiad to win that competition by having all six of its team members finish with gold medals. It also set a new record by becoming by far the smallest country in the world to have accomplished this. (The other countries that have done this have populations significantly over 100 million, as opposed to Bulgaria's mere 7.6 million.)

Ivan Stranski
Ivan Stranski
Ivan Nikolov Stranski was a Bulgarian physical chemist. The founder of the Bulgarian school of physical chemistry, Stranski is considered the father of crystal growth research. Stranski headed the departments of physical chemistry at Sofia University and the Technical University of Berlin, of...

 (1897–1979) developed the molecular-kinetic theory of crystal formation and crystal growth
Crystal growth
A crystal is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. Crystal growth is a major stage of a crystallization process, and consists in the addition of new atoms, ions, or polymer strings into...

. The results of his work on crystal structure and behaviour have had wide application in the areas of physical chemistry
Physical chemistry
Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic, atomic, subatomic, and particulate phenomena in chemical systems in terms of physical laws and concepts...

, metallurgy
Metallurgy
Metallurgy is a domain of materials science that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. It is also the technology of metals: the way in which science is applied to their practical use...

 and mining
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...

. Georgi Nadjakov
Georgi Nadjakov
Georgi Nadjakov is a famous Bulgarian physicist. He became a corresponding member of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences , member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and member of the Russian Academy of Sciences...

 was among Bulgaria's top physicists, and became known for his experiments on the photoelectric effect
Photoelectric effect
In the photoelectric effect, electrons are emitted from matter as a consequence of their absorption of energy from electromagnetic radiation of very short wavelength, such as visible or ultraviolet light. Electrons emitted in this manner may be referred to as photoelectrons...

 and most notably, the discovery of photoelectrets. Nadjakov's discoveries are now widely employed in photocopier
Photocopier
A photocopier is a machine that makes paper copies of documents and other visual images quickly and cheaply. Most current photocopiers use a technology called xerography, a dry process using heat...

 machines.

CERN
CERN
The European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...

 employed more than 90 Bulgarian scientists, and about 30 of them will actively participate in the Large Hadron Collider
Large Hadron Collider
The Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected to address some of the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing the understanding of the deepest laws of nature....

 experiments.

Antarctic exploration

Since the 1980s, Bulgaria maintains an active exploration program of the Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...

 region. Following an unsuccessful landing attempt at Cape Vostok on the northwestern extremity of Alexander Island
Alexander Island
Alexander Island or Alexander I Island or Alexander I Land or Alexander Land is the largest island of Antarctica, with an area of lying in the Bellingshausen Sea west of the base of the Antarctic Peninsula, from which it is separated by Marguerite Bay and George VI Sound. Alexander Island lies off...

, two prefabricated huts were assembled on Livingston Island between 26 and 29 April 1988 by a four-member Bulgarian party supported logistically by the Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

 Research Ship Mikhail Somov. The facilities were later refurbished and inaugurated as a permanent base on 11 December 1993. An expansion programme at St. Kliment Ohridski including the construction of a new multi-purpose building was carried out between 1996 and 1998 and subsequently.

Some of the expeditions resulted in the publishing in 2009 of a comprehensive topographic map, including Greenwich
Greenwich Island (South Shetland Islands)
Greenwich Island is an island long and from wide, lying between Robert Island and Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Surface area...

, Snow
Snow Island (South Shetland Islands)
Snow Island or Isla Nevada is a completely ice-covered island, in size, lying southwest of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Surface area...

, Robert
Robert Island (South Shetland Islands)
Robert Island or Mitchells Island or Polotsk Island or Roberts Island is an island long and wide, situated between Nelson Island and Greenwich Island in the South Shetland Islands. Robert Island is located at . Surface area...

 and Smith
Smith Island (South Shetland Islands)
Smith Island is long and wide, lying west of Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands of the British Antarctic Territory. Surface area ....

islands.
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