The celebrations of the National Holiday March 3 for another year are “under the Russian flag”. Dozens of Bulgarians wave the flag of Russia on Mount Shipka, where the celebrations are traditionally concentrated.
There was also a Russian action in the center of Sofia, just meters away from the official ceremony of the Monument to the Unknown Warrior with the participation of President Rumen Radev. Russian flags were also flown at the celebrations in Plovdiv.
Bulgaria celebrates the 145th anniversary of the Liberation on March 3, and the date was declared a national holiday in 1990. On March 3, 1878, the San Stefano Peace Treaty was signed, ending the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878.
The ceremony before Monument to the Unknown Warrior in Sofia officially kicked off the celebrations. Representative formations of the National Guard unit and the Guard’s representative brass band took part in the ritual.
The President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces Rumen Radev accepted the report of the head of the honor guard and saluted the guards. The national flag was solemnly raised to the sounds of the national anthem, and an artillery salute of 20 volleys was performed, which marked the official beginning of the celebrations on the occasion of March 3.
The head of state laid a wreath in front of the Monument to the Unknown Warrior. The memory of those who died for the freedom of Bulgaria was honored with a minute’s silence.
During the national flag-raising ceremony, chants were also heard against Radev, who is one of the few European leaders to take pro-Russian positions since the start of Putin’s war against Ukraine.
At the celebrations on Mount Shipka, acting Prime Minister Galab Donev said that our national goal, which we must achieve, is a Bulgaria where our children can stay and live.
“Our country needs its militiamen in spirit and its idealists in soul, who will renounce and put aside their personal interests and aspirations and devote themselves to the national cause of a free, independent and strong Bulgaria”he pointed out.
“Mt. Shipka is that peak from which the future Bulgarian days can best be seen, where our future depends on our efforts to stand by each other and determine the common direction of our development as a society, to draw the path – fair and honest, along which we will undertake together in order to achieve our national goal – a Bulgaria where our children can stay and live. A Bulgaria that our children can choose”Donev said.
BSP leader Kornelia Ninova also took part in the celebrations on Mount Shipka on the occasion of 145 years since the liberation of Bulgaria.
“Let’s not allow modern events to rewrite our history. It is ours, common, Bulgarian, suffered and paid for with a lot of blood and sacrifices. I wish on the day of our national holiday not to be divided into fili and phobe. “Let no one politicize and appropriate it. Let wisdom and courage prevail. Let the Bulgarian national interest guide us. I wish in these difficult times of divisions, on this very day, right here, to be together, all statesmen and women, all party leaders united for Bulgaria”she stated.
The national holiday was honored with various events across the country.
Dozens of enthusiasts took part in a “running demonstration” in Burgas, wearing tricolors. In Varna honored March 3 with the raising of the national flag, a motorcycle procession and a solemn dawn-check. The new memorial plaques of the fallen militiamen from Shumensko in the Russo-Turkish war of liberation in front of the Orthodox church “Holy Ascension” in the regional city were solemnly opened on the national holiday.
Many people gathered in front of the Freedom Monument in ruse, to mark the national holiday. The residents of Lovech celebrated March 3 with a civil pilgrimage and a solemn military ritual in front of the Todor Kirkov monument in the city. Yambol celebrated the 145th anniversary of the Liberation of Bulgaria with a solemn city-wide ceremony, a military ritual, a procession, a thanksgiving prayer and a funeral prayer in memory of the heroes who gave their lives for the freedom of the homeland. IN Haskovo a procession was held, led by cheerleaders, the municipal brass band and an honor guard from the army unit 52 740. The national holiday began with the raising of the Bulgarian tricolor flag in front of the municipality building and ended with a folklore program and a large city-wide choir.
