Every year on March 3, Bulgaria celebrates the national holiday — Day of Liberation from Ottoman oppressors and the resurrection of the Bulgarian state (Bulgarian). Den on Liberation to Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke).
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 peace Treaty of San Stefano was signed between Russia and the Ottoman Empire. On the Russian side, the agreement was signed by Count N. Ignatiev.
By virtue of the Treaty of San Stefano, Bulgaria became the largest state in the Balkans. Its borders were to include Southern Trakia (with access to the Black 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 what is now 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 redone, the borders of Bulgaria — were cut. Several million Bulgarians remained outside their independent state. This served as the reason for Bulgaria's adoption of the national doctrine —, the unification of the Bulgarian lands scattered by the Berlin Treaty. For several decades to come, the country's history is closely linked to this doctrine.
Memorial of the Unknown Warrior in Sofia (Photo: fritz16, licensed from Shutterstock.com)
Currently, on March 3, the national flag is raised and wreaths are laid at the Unknown Warrior memorial 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 People's Assembly (Parliament of the country) at the monument to the Tsar Liberator — Alexander II —, a solemn dawn is breaking. Appreciative Bulgarians lay wreaths and flowers at monuments to Russian, Finnish and Romanian soldiers who fell for the liberation of Bulgaria throughout the country.