site.btaPrime Minister: We Should Remember Our National Heroes' Courage

On June 2, the day when Bulgaria pays tribute to revolutionary and poet Hristo Botev (1848-1876) and all who died for the nation's freedom and independence, Prime Minister Rumen Radev said in a Facebook post: "We should remember the courage of our ancestors, who passed their test before history."

Radev said: "Every generation bears its responsibility for Bulgarian freedom and defends it through its life and deeds."

"Let us bow before the memory of the worthy, whose conscious self-sacrifice has revived Bulgaria through the centuries," the post concludes.

The Day of Botev and of Those Who Died for the Freedom and Independence of Bulgaria, observed annually on June 2, was commemorated for the first time in 1884 in Vratsa and Plovdiv. It has been officially observed since 1901, when veterans from Botev's rebel detachment attended commemorative ceremonies at Okolchitsa Peak.