Bulgarians Need Their Heroes So They Compare Themselves with Them, Says Sofia University Rector

BTA correspondent Nikolay Venkov, Kaloyan Kirilov

Sofia University Rector Prof. Georgi Valchev (left) and BTA Director General Kiril Valchev during a conference dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the 1876 April Uprising at the BTA National Press Club in Veliko Tarnovo, March 22, 2026 (BTA Photo/Biser Todorov)

Veliko Tarnovo, Central Bulgaria,

22.03.2026 20:47

(BTA)

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Bulgarians need their heroes so that they can compare themselves with them, Sofia University Rector Prof. Georgi Valchev said during a conference dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the 1876 April Uprising at the BTA National Press Club here on Sunday.

"Through these heroes we must realize that by working for ourselves and for our own prosperity, we also need to work for the prosperity of society and the state," he emphasized and stressed that people must stop hiding behind the platitudes of words and restore their true meaning, so that when a person says something, they stand behind it.

"Nowadays we are witnessing a hollow and stereotyped language that floods us from everywhere, and this distances us from each other,” the university rector said. He noted that among the guests of the event are cadets from the National Military University in Veliko Tarnovo, as they are the ones who will yet bear responsibility for Bulgaria.

Regarding the national heroes of the April Uprising, Valchev noted that they had qualities that should build contemporary models in Bulgarians and especially in the representatives of the modern Bulgarian army. "We must realize that the great meaning of remembering them is to measure ourselves with them. They are not some unattainable images that walked unwaveringly," he noted.

Valchev addressed the young people in the BTA press club, saying that they have a difficult path ahead of them, on which they will build themselves as specialists and will have to look up to these heroes. He expressed hope that the conference and the celebration of the anniversary are indeed different from the usual ones and will lead to better results.

BTA's series of conferences are part of a joint initiative with Bulgarian National Television (BNT) and Bulgarian National Radio (BNR), called “14 Centuries of Bulgaria in Europe”, aiming to commemorate anniversaries in Bulgarian history that are significant for European history through to 2032, when 1,400 years will be marked since the establishment of the first Bulgarian state in Europe - Old Great Bulgaria. The most interesting moments from the conversations will be included in the April issue of LIK magazine, which BTA will dedicate to the 150th anniversary of the uprising.

/IV/