Standart News

March 3, Bulgaria celebrates its National Holiday, marking the 134th anniversary of its Liberation from five centuries of the Ottoman yoke. The 134th anniversary of Bulgaria's Liberation will be honored with ceremonies, traditionally held throughout the country, particularly solemn in towns and cities boasting victorious battles of Russian and Bulgarian soldiers in the 1877-1878 Liberation War. The Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878, known in Bulgaria as the Liberation War, started in the spring of 1877. Russia was moved to declare war on the Ottoman Turkish Empire after the atrocities against the Bulgarian population during the April Uprising of 1876, which were made known to the world by US journalist working for the British press, Januarius MacGahan. Some 66 000 Russian, Belorusian, Ukrainian, Finnish, and Romanian soldiers were killed and about 140 000 were wounded on the Russian side of the war. About 30 000 Bulgarians were slaughtered by Ottoman troops and irregulars during the fighting. On 3 March 1878, the Peace Treaty of San Stefano (a tiny town near Istanbul) between Russia and the Ottoman Empire was signed, bringing Bulgaria back to the political map. The Peace Treaty of San Stefano marks the revival of the Bulgarian State, dominated by the Ottoman rule since the end of 14th century.