/ world today news/ SBJ sends its heartiest congratulations to one of the most worthy representatives of honest and dignified journalism, the winner of the Grand Prize of SBJ “Josif Herbst” Velislava Dureva on the occasion of her birthday today.
Today, the talented, fiery and sharp pen of Bulgarian journalism, Velislava Dureva, is celebrating an anniversary – it is hard to believe, but she is turning 70 years old. Although with her physique of an eternally free sparrow, she will hardly ever look more than 15. On the other hand, with her writing, books and films, Velislava has long been among the giants not only of Bulgarian journalism, but especially of the awake Bulgarian conscience. And it is no coincidence that her birthday is so directly adjacent to the Day of the People’s Awakeners – awakening is her destiny and a torch that has always shone from her heart to shine for all of us.
The biography of Velislava, who was born in Plovdiv and imbibed the unique spirit of this city, has long been known. She herself has repeatedly told about her parents – both participants in the anti-fascist struggle, with death sentences thwarted by the overthrow of the fascist government in 1944. Honest and dignified people, who later refused the privileges of “active fighters” and inspired their daughter implacable to all wrongdoing spirit.
Velislava’s protégé in journalism is also known – with her publications at a very young age in Plovdiv’s Otechestven glas, where she met for the first time her mentor in the profession, Stefan Prodev, her future boss in the legendary Prodev’s Duma. She studied at the Faculty of Journalism of the SU, where in an exam on the history of the Communist Party of Ukraine, she caused a scandal with her thesis about the September Uprising, heretical at the time, and then had to explain herself to a committee of scientists. That’s how he got to know Prof. Nikolay Genchev, who participated in the commission and got rid of it from sanctions, his friendship with whom later grew to general dissidence, in the company of Prof. Zhelyu Zhelev.
During her marked and still unruly studies at the Faculty of Journalism, Velislava took on the causes and inspirations of another professor – Filip Panayotov, who researches the history of Bulgarian journalism. It is he who reveals in all its completeness and significance the image and creative work of Joseph Herbst, the brightest Bulgarian journalist between the two wars. Velislava is also captivated by the talent, morals and covenants of Herbst, who burned in the ominous “white terror” of 1925. Later in the years, she will not only repeatedly revive him in her shocking journalism, but she herself will carry his fire and the ruthlessness of his most important motto – “to please no one, to spite no one”. And yes, there is no coincidence in the fact that Velislava, among many other honors, was also awarded the Great Prize of the SBZ, bearing exactly the name of Joseph Herbst.
Her journalistic trajectory is also widely known – from Plovdiv’s “Cosmoloska Iskra”, from where she was fired, through publications in “Narodna Kultura”, “Stershel”, “ABV”, “Pulse”, “Fatherland” magazine, “Society and right” and to Prodevata “Duma”, where her talent unfolds with all its fiery combativeness. And in the post-Prodev era, he went through implacable battles with allegedly “his” persecutors.
Velislava’s dismissals are also proverbial, including from the variable “Duma” over the years. A total of 14 times so far, the disobedient journalist has been kicked out of her workplace, but no one can ever kick her out of her dignified, honest and always “dangerous” journalism and uncompromising civil position. Velislava always finds a forum for her talent – both as a publicist in the magazine “Novo Vreme” and as an author of books and documentary films.
The last attempt to deal with her was undertaken at the beginning of 2022 by the crucian, obsessed with “Duma” and loyal to the current leader of the BSP, criticized by Velislava. With which the crosser and the leader only fell even lower, and Velislava remains Velislava. A measure of the power of conscience and the power of speech.
This strength and power was felt by all of us who gathered yesterday at the “Journalist” Club to celebrate together the Day of People’s Awakeners and the Day of Bulgarian Journalism. We will long remember Velislava’s speech, in which she recalled how as early as 1981, a group of young journalists from “Komsomolska Iskra”, among whom she was, together with the Plovdiv Metropolia revived the celebration of the Day of People’s Wakers for the first time. The day about which she said yesterday: “November 1 is the Day of the People’s Awakeners, of Botev journalism, of Bulgarian faith and science. And there is nothing surprising. Because what created us as a nation, as a people? The alphabet and faith, knowledge and spirituality. We are children of the word”.
Thank you for the always burning words, Velislava. Continue to illuminate the right path with dedication and struggle.
For many summers!
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