site.btaBolhrad Marks 205th Anniversary of Its Founding

Bolhrad, in Ukraine's Bessarabia region, is marking the 205th anniversary of its founding on Tuesday with large-scale cultural events. A Bulgarian delegation is taking part in the celebrations dedicated to the city, which was founded by Bulgarian settlers in 1821.

The delegation includes parliamentary Tourism Committee Chair Rositsa Kirova, Bulgarian Ambassador to Ukraine Zlatin Krastev, Bulgarian Consul General in Odesa Svetoslav Ivanov, BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad Executive Director Rayna Mandzhukova, and the Consulate General's Third Secretary Ilian Zanev.

The city of Bolhrad is the administrative centre of Bolhrad District in Odesa Region. Three pillars in Bolhrad sustain the Bulgarian spirit in Bessarabia.

The first is the Bolhrad Cathedral of the Holy Transfiguration of the Lord, built in 1838 with funds provided by Bulgarian settlers. It was designed by architect Avram Melnikov and covers a total area of 2,000 sq m. More than 10,000 people took part in its construction. When the building was completed, Emperor Nicholas I donated 12 bells to the cathedral, while many of the icons and other church items were also donated. The church's greatest treasure is an icon of St Nicholas the Wonderworker set in a frame of pure gold. From the day the cathedral was consecrated, services were initially held in Bulgarian, and later in Romanian and Church Slavonic. It was consecrated on October 29, 1838, following five years of construction, and the date is now celebrated as the Day of the Bessarabian Bulgarians.

Another pillar is education - the historic Saints Cyril and Methodius Bolhrad High School, now the Georgi Rakovski Bolhrad High School, which opened in 1858 through the efforts of leading members of the Bulgarian community in Bolhrad. It was the first Bulgarian secondary school of the National Revival period, opening its doors on June 28, 1858, with the support of the Governor of Moldavia, Bulgarian-born Nikola Bogoridi. The school trained some of Bulgaria's first political, educational and cultural figures following the Liberation and the restoration of Bulgarian statehood in 1878. Its alumni include Dimitar Agura, Dimitar Grekov, Georgi Zgurev, Yov Titorov, Aleksandar Malinov, Georgi Todorov, Danail Nikolaev, Aleksandar Teodorov-Balan and Ivan Vulpe, among others.

The Bolhrad Gymnasium became the first Bulgarian general secondary school in the 19th century and developed into an educational centre of the Bulgarian National Revival. Its printing house published textbooks, magazines, newspapers and other literature in Bulgarian.

The Georgi Rakovski Bolhrad High School was revived in 1993. On April 5, 1999, it was officially named after Georgi Sava Rakovski by a resolution of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers. The school was among the initiators of the erection of a monument to its patron. In 1999, a bust monument to Rakovski, created by Bulgarian sculptor Ivan Lazarov, was unveiled in front of the high school's main entrance.

Nowadays, around 450 students from more than ten settlements in Bolhrad District, mainly Bulgarian villages, as well as from other districts in Odesa Oblast, study at the school. Students are motivated to study there by the opportunity to learn Bulgarian language and literature, the history of Bulgaria, as well as the traditions and customs of the Bulgarian people. A dormitory is available for students from outside Bolhrad, while those living in nearby villages are provided with free transport.

At the beginning of the 21st century, on October 20, 2012, a third pillar sustaining the Bulgarian spirit in Bessarabia was added with the unveiling of the Memorial to the Bulgarian Volunteers. It was erected on the initiative and with the support of the Association of Bulgarians in Ukraine and representatives of the Bulgarian community in Ukraine. The memorial was designed by Odesa-based architect of Bulgarian origin Nikolay Bazan. The monument takes the form of an obelisk, with plaques on its four sides bearing the names of Bulgarian volunteers from Bessarabia. Nearly 250 names have been identified.

The participation of Bessarabian Bulgarians in the Bulgarian Volunteer Corps during the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation of 1877-1878 reflected the preservation of their Bulgarian national identity. Historical records show that 7,444 people joined the Volunteer Corps. Nearly 1,000 participants were Bessarabian Bulgarians, of whom 235 have been officially identified.

In present-day Ukraine, Bolhrad has been the administrative centre of Bolhrad District since the administrative-territorial reform of July 17, 2020. The district comprises ten municipalities, where more than 60% of the population is Bulgarian.