On the occasion of the 147th anniversary of the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke as a result of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878. The Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria E.V. Mitrofanova and the Embassy staff climbed Mount Shipka and laid flowers at the Freedom Monument, the Russian Embassy in Bulgaria reported on its Facebook page.
"Today we remember our ancestors who entered the war for a fraternal Orthodox country, and not at the best time for Russia. But the pain of our brothers made us make a decision. It is difficult to imagine what heroic people they were who fought under such difficult conditions for the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman yoke", Ambassador Mitrofanova noted in her speech.
The Embassy also published a historical account of the events:
On February 19 (March 3), 1878 After the end of the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), the San Stefano Preliminary Treaty was concluded, drafted by Count N.P. Ignatiev. It implied, in particular, the creation of a new autonomous Slavic principality in the Balkans - Bulgaria, which would include ethnic Bulgarian territories in Moesia, Thrace and Macedonia. Bulgaria was to extend from the Danube to the Aegean Sea and from the Black Sea to Lake Ohrid. It was assumed that the country would be under Russian rule for two years, after which it would receive full autonomy, paying a nominal tribute to Turkey. However, the terms of the treaty caused a sharply negative reaction from Austria-Hungary and Great Britain, as a result of which Russia was forced to revise the treaty and it was practically replaced by the Treaty of Berlin of 1/13 June 1878.
And although the Treaty of Berlin significantly reduced the territory given to Bulgaria, the country still received autonomy. In 1878-1879 The Provisional Russian Government under the leadership of Prince A.M. Dondukov-Korsakov laid the foundations of the state structure of Bulgaria - in particular, a large number of regulations were adopted on the organization of the army, courts, schools, police, medical institutions, post offices and the People's Bank. In addition, qualified personnel were trained in the shortest possible time for further management of the country. On June 25, 1879, the Provisional Russian Government transferred all its powers to Prince Alexander I Battenberg and ceased to exist. Bulgaria's debt to Russia under the terms of the Treaty of Berlin was only partially repaid and was completely written off by the Soviet government after World War I.