Day of liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke
Description:
From 1396 to 1878. Bulgaria was part of the Ottoman Empire. As a result of Russia’s victory in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, the country gained independence.
On March 3, 1878, the Treaty of San Stefano between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was signed. On the Russian side, the treaty was signed by Count N. Ignatiev.
By virtue of the Treaty of San Stefano, Bulgaria became the largest state in the Balkans. It was to include South Trakia (with access to the White Sea), all of Macedonia in the southwest and Dobruja in the northeast. In the west, the territory of the country included the eastern territories of present-day Serbia.
In the summer of 1878 in Berlin at the Congress of the Great Forces of Europe at the insistence of Austria-Hungary and England, the Treaty of San Stefano was redrawn, the borders of Bulgaria were reduced. Millions of Bulgarians remained outside their independent state. This was the reason for the adoption of Bulgaria’s national doctrine – the unification of the Bulgarian lands scattered by the Berlin Treaty. For decades to come, the country’s history is closely linked to this doctrine.
On this day, the national flag is raised and wreaths are laid at the memorial to the Mu warrior in Sofia in memory of the Bulgarians who died in the struggle for the liberation of the fatherland. In the evening on the square in front of the National Assembly (Parliament of the country) at the monument to the Tsar Liberator - Alexander II there is a solemn dawn. Appreciative Bulgarians lay wreaths and flowers at the monuments of Russian, Finnish and Romanian soldiers who fell for the liberation of Bulgaria throughout the country.