The Bulgarian government is as unstable as…

The Bulgarian government is as unstable as it had been in its first year, Alexander having left behind a three-man regency headed by Stefan Stambolov.

A Russian-educated liberal, Stambolov becomes prime minister in 1887 and ceases tailoring Bulgarian policy to Russian requirements.

The tsar's special representative in Bulgaria returns to Russia after failing to block a subranie called to nominate a new prince.

Russo-Bulgarian relations will remain chilly for the next ten years, and this break will further destabilize Bulgarian politics and society.

Stambolov brutally suppresses an army uprising in 1887 and begins seven years of iron control that often bypass the country's democratic institutions but bring unprecedented stability to Bulgaria.

Meanwhile, Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, a Catholic German prince, accepts the Bulgarian throne in August 1887.