site.btaParliamentary Committee Chair Kirova Begins Her Visit to Bessarabian Bulgarian Village of Kulevcha in Odesa Region

Rositsa Kirova, Chair of the parliamentary Committee on Direct Participation of Citizens, Citizens’ Complaints and Interaction with Civil Society, began her visit to the Bessarabian Bulgarian village of Kulevcha in Odesa Region on Monday.

Kirova is accompanied by Svetoslav Ivanov, Consul General of Bulgaria in Odesa. Their visit comes at the invitation of Mikhail Popov, Mayor of Kulevcha Municipality in the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi district.During their stay in the village - where 95% of the population are ethnic Bulgarians, descendants of settlers from Kulevcha in Shumen Region - the official guests will join local residents in celebrating Bulgaria’s national day.

A Bulgarian Sunday school operates within the local state school. At the end of 2025, it was officially approved and received financial support from Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry. Later on Monday, a new language laboratory equipped with computers and multimedia technology will be inaugurated.

The village of Kulevcha was founded in 1830 by Bulgarian settlers from Kulevcha, Shumen Region. By 1835, it had a population of 134. The surnames of the first settlers included Popov, Alaybov, Bratinov, Samokish, Karaulan, Stoyanov, Dimov, Petrov, Pilev, Petkov, Velkov, Minchev, Stanchev, Raynov, Hristodorov, Nikolov, and Galyurov. A monument honouring the first founders was unveiled in the village in 2010. Kulevcha is also home to a church dedicated to Saint Nicholas, the Wonderworker, renowned for its miraculous icons. Today, the village has a population of more than 4,000 people who continue to preserve their Bulgarian identity, traditions, and customs.

On Sunday, on the occasion of Bulgaria’s national Day, March 3 - Liberation Day - the Consulate General in Odesa organized a meeting with 160 representatives of the Bulgarian community from the Odesa, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions.