site.bta Trakia University in Stara Zagora Unveils Statue of William Gladstone

A monument to British statesman William Gladstone was unveiled at the Trakia University in Stara Zagora on Friday to mark the 150th anniversary of the April Uprising.

The full-length bronze statue stands in a special university exhibit featuring books, portraits, a relief sculpture, and an original 1870 letter by Gladstone. Trakia University Rector Miroslav Karabaliev described Gladstone not only as a four-time British prime minister and reformer, but as the voice of conscience who condemned the atrocities following the uprising when much of the world remained silent.

Karabaliev noted that Metropolitan Methodius of Stara Zagora was among the first to document the massacre in Batak and relay reports abroad, helping bring the tragedy to Gladstone's attention. He said the monument symbolizes gratitude and the power of moral courage.

The 1 m tall, 50 kg statue is a bronze replica of a work of 1882 by Albert-Bruce Joy. It was donated by Gladstone's descendants and Bulgarian patriot Stoyan Radkov, one of whose ancestors survived the Batak massacre. Dr Radkov, who is a European patent attorney and lives in England, said the scarcity of Gladstone monuments in Bulgaria inspired him to support the project.

British Historian Peter Truesdale, a guest at the ceremony, praised Gladstone as one of Britain's greatest political figures. A documentary titled Mr. Gladstone and the Bulgarians (2010) was also screened during the event.

William Ewart Gladstone (1809-1898) was Prime Minister of Great Britain in 1868-1874, 1880-1885, February-July 1886, and 1892-1894. He was a staunch champion of the Bulgarian cause after the April 1876 Uprising, including through his historic pamphlet "Bulgarian Horrors and the Question of the East". Gladstone spearheaded a campaign known as "the Bulgarian agitation" that overturned British policy towards the Ottoman Empire and contributed significantly to the international response and support for the liberation of Bulgaria.