site.btaBulgaria Congratulates Bulgarian Community in Izmail

Today, we can proudly say that we all continue to carry the indomitable and strong spirit of our ancestors and the history of our people, a history with deep roots, a congratulatory message reads. It was sent to the Sveta Sofia Bulgarian community in Izmail and its chairman Nikolay Ivanov by the Chairperson of the Scientific Council of the city of Dobrich (Bulgaria) on the occasion of the Day of Bessarabian Bulgarians and the ceremonial unveiling of the renovated monument to Hristo Botev in the Ukrainian city of Izmail. The text was read by Svetoslav Gochev, a member of the delegation from Dobrich attending the celebration.

The letter expresses sincere congratulations and gratitude to the Bulgarian community in Ukraine for its efforts to preserve the language, culture, and traditions.

“I wish you health, strength, and determination in continuing the work of preserving…”

A delegation from Dobrich, consisting of Mihail Stoev, Georgi Kazandzhiev, and Svetoslav Gochev, attended the event in Izmail. For over thirty years, the Bulgarian community in Izmail has maintained friendly relations with the city of Dobrich, and the two cities are officially twinned.

The bust-monument of Hristo Botev in the city of Izmail was unveiled on March 20, 1978, and is the first of its kind on the territory of present-day Ukraine. It is located in front of the main building of the Izmail State University of Humanities.

The unveiling coincided with the 100th anniversary of Bulgaria’s liberation from Ottoman rule. The bust was created by the Izmail sculptor Mihail Nedopak.