At my age, awards do not excite me much. I would probably be more happy when I was younger, but now I know that everything is temporary and passes.
This is what Prof. Kiril Topalov - diplomat, screenwriter, literary critic, translator and writer, said on the occasion of being awarded the "Stara Planina" Order by the President to FOCUS.
"The proposal came from Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski", to which I have given more than half a century of my life. Then it was approved by the Council of Ministers under the then Prime Minister Glavchev and the Minister of Culture Mr. Todorov. The final institution is especially important - the presidential institution. I was the secretary of culture in the presidency and I know that the president can accept, but can also refuse such an offer,“ he explained.
According to the diplomat, a person should work on what he is good at and enjoys doing. “Life is so complicated, as is our attitude towards it, and its attitude towards us,“ he added.
Prof. Topalov commented on the war in Ukraine and the current Russian president: “I am shocked by what I see and what is happening. Vladimir Putin has always struck me as a hooligan, an ill-mannered person, but I attributed it to his artistry. I did not assume that such a person could be born in Russia. It is not excluded that he is bluffing, because business is like poker – you have to know how to bluff so that they are afraid of you and you can push through your decision“, the literary critic believes.
"This aggression of Russia towards Ukraine is just as absurd and inexplicable as the position of this red-haired hooligan“, he added. And he explained that in politics the most vile means are used.
Prof. Topalov concluded that the only lesson from history is that no one learns from it. "Humanity does not learn, it repeats the same mistakes. It does not want to become better. It wants to starve, it chooses to destroy“, the diplomat added.