site.btaSofia Mayor on Day of Homage to Victims to Communist Regime: Freedom Is Supreme Value, Democracy Requires Courage

Sofia Mayor Vassil Terziev issued a statement on Sunday on the occasion of the Day of Gratitude and Homage to the Victims of the Communist Regime in Bulgaria. “Some time ago my children asked me a question that makes every adult stop and think – how should we think about the relationship between the past, the present, and the future,” he said, quoted by the Sofia Municipality press center.

“The present is the most important thing – because it is all we truly have. It is where we make our choices and decide how to live. But for today to have meaning, we must have direction – something we consciously strive toward,” the statement reads.

“The past is a source of lessons. It shows us what went wrong and which mistakes we must not repeat. But only if we have the courage to look at it honestly,” Terziev added.

The Mayor emphasized that on this day tribute is paid to the people whose lives and dignity were taken away because of their beliefs, faith, and free spirit. “History teaches us what happens when human dignity is ignored – when brave and thinking people are crushed. This must not be repeated. Ever,” he said.

According to him, this day is not only a moment of remembrance, but also a clear public stance that freedom is a supreme value, democracy requires courage every single day, and humanity must guide people’s decisions, even when it is difficult.

“This is what we owe to the past. This is what we owe to our children. And above all, to the future,” Terziev stated.

On February 1, Bulgaria honors the memory of the victims of the communist regime. The date was declared the Day of Gratitude and Homage to the Victims of the Communist Regime by a Council of Ministers decision of January 20, 2011, published in the State Gazette on January 28 the same year. On February 1, 1945, death sentences were handed down to those convicted by the First and Second Panels of the People’s Court, and 2026 marks 81 years since those events.