site.btaBTA to Present LIK Magazine Issue on April Uprising in Koprivshtitsa

BTA Director General Kirill Valchev announced that the April issue of LIK magazine, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the April Uprising, will be presented on April 20 in the south-central town of Koprivshtitsa, together with a related publication by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). The event will be connected online with 33 cities and will involve students. 

The issue will feature archival materials showing how anniversaries of the uprising have been commemorated since 1898, as well as coverage from BTA’s archives. 

The struggle of the Bulgarian people against the five-century Ottoman rule and for national independence culminated in the uprising, which broke out on April 20 (May 1 New Style), 1876. It was essentially an attempt at a bourgeois democratic revolution against the Ottoman feudal system, intended to clear the way for Bulgaria's capitalist development. The brutal suppression of the uprising made the Bulgarian question a European concern and led to the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish War resulting in the restoration of Bulgaria's statehood.

Valchev also said a memorial plaque for Dobri Chintulov will be unveiled in Odesa on April 15 to mark 180 years since his birth, and that the 205th anniversary of Georgi Rakovski’s birth will be commemorated at the Bolhrad High School. Chintulov was the poet and composer of songs dedicated to the April Uprising. He graduated from the seminary in Odesa and earlier studied at a high school there. “There is currently no memorial sign for Dobri Chintulov, and we are almost ready with the plaque and will install it,” Valchev said. At the Bolhrad High School, the 205th anniversary of the birth of Georgi Rakovski will also be commemorated, Valchev added. 

BTA plans additional forums later in the year in Bucharest, Belgrade and Odesa, as well as in several Bulgarian cities linked to the April Uprising. BAS President Evelina Slavcheva expressed confidence that BTA will actively cover events marking the anniversary. 
 
BTA is Bulgaria’s state news agency and serves as a natural platform for all events organized to mark the 150th anniversary of the April Uprising, Valchev said, adding that he was extremely grateful to BAS for taking on the coordination of all related initiatives. 

BAS President Corresponding Member Evelina Slavcheva presented the Academic Organizing Committee responsible for coordinating initiatives marking the 150th anniversary of the April Uprising.