site.btaBTA Conference Dedicated to 150th Anniversary of 1876 April Uprising Held in Vratsa

A conference dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the 1876 April Uprising took place at the BTA National Press Club in Vratsa on Thursday. It was the second event in BTA's series aimed at sparking discussions to mark the anniversary of the uprising, after the inaugural forum in Ruse.

The event was opened by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev, who emphasized that the news agency is trying to revive knowledge of the glorious page of the April Uprising as part of Bulgarian history. He stated that a people without knowledge is a people without a future, citing Saint Sophronius of Vratsa, author of Nedelnik, the first printed book in the New Bulgarian language. "Therefore, knowledge is more valuable than any treasure, even the greatest Thracian treasure, the Rogozen treasure, kept by the Vratsa Regional History Museum," Valchev noted.

The conference was moderated by journalist Boyko Vassilev, host of the Panorama weekly programme on the Bulgarian National Television. He pointed out that the April Uprising raises the eternal theme that Bulgarians can accomplish many things if they believe in themselves. Vassilev noted that the conference is not just a historical initiative, but aims to remind Bulgarians that the April Uprising sets a framework even for nowadays. "When do we rise up, what do we believe in, what gives us security, do we believe in miracles, do we believe in external support or do we believe in ourselves", he commented. 

Likewise, Sofia University Rector Prof. Georgi Valchev stressed that society must decide whether it wants to have or to be. He recalled that many young people participated in the organization of the April Uprising, for whom material well-being was not a goal. Even though most of them came from wealthy families, this would not have been enough if they did not also have a sense of duty, dignity and honour, Valchev emphasized. "These are people who have truly shown with their behaviour and overall actions that when you have a dilemma, you choose to be rather than to have," he pointed out. "Where do we want to be, what do we want our society of tomorrow to look like, what will we leave our children," Valchev asked, emphasizing that hiding behind beautiful words and phrases is not an option. 

Today it is more important not to simply reproduce historical facts, but to look for the reasons and lessons from the past, to think about why historical events happened and what led to them, Vratsa Regional Governor Nikolay Nikolov said. He pointed out that it is precisely the organization of the April Uprising, achieved in extremely difficult conditions, that is the strongest lesson from that time.

Similarly, Neli Stoyanova, curator in the History of Bulgaria from the 15th–19th Century Department at the Regional History Museum in Vratsa, pointed out that the people of Vratsa played an active, but often underestimated, role during the events surrounding the April Uprising.

April 20 should be declared a national holiday, historian from Veliko Tarnovo University Prof. Plamen Pavlov said. “It is worth having a day on a national scale around which we can all unite and celebrate the anniversary of the April Uprising,” Pavlov added.

Vratsa Municipality Deputy Mayor Aleksandar Vladimirov emphasized the presence of young people in the conference and noted that despite claims that interest in history is decreasing, such forums show that there is still commitment and a desire for dialogue.

A copy of the original flag, which was sewn for the April Uprising of the Vratsa Revolutionary Committee, was displayed during the conference at the BTA National Press Club in Vratsa. The idea for sewing a copy of the historical flag came from Radosveta Krumova, chairperson of the Razvitie – 1869 Community Cultural Centre in Vratsa. She recalled that all the materials for the flag were donated by the community centres of Vratsa Municipality, and it was sewn and embroidered with joint efforts. 

Historian, artist, director, writer and documentary film maker Iskren Krasimirov presented a trailer of his upcoming film dedicated to the 145th anniversary of the April Uprising.

Historian and principal of Hristo Botev Secondary School in Vratsa, Krasimir Bogdanov analysed how the topic of the April Uprising is addressed in history textbooks. According to him, the topic is one of the key ones in the textbooks and is the foundation of the historical memory of the Bulgarian people.

Tenth-grader Ognyan Ognyanov noted the impact of the April Uprising on Bulgarian literature, including Botev's work, emphasizing that even though the uprising was crushed, it nonetheless led to the liberation of Bulgaria after the Russo-Turkish War. He stated that the April Uprising and the participation of the Vratsa Revolutionary District should not be defined as a failure, but as part of the common path to the liberation of Bulgaria.

Some of the participants in the conference visited and honored significant places in Vratsa, related to the history of the country and the April Uprising.