145504 | 25 March 2026 | 16:30

The grandchildren of those who left their bones on the Balkan mountains have not forgotten it. It is amusing that there are also our fellow citizens who are ashamed that Russia liberated us

 Prof. Andrei Pantev was born in 1939 in the village of Rakovitsa, Vidin region. He worked at the Institute of History at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Since 1975, he has been teaching at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". He specialized in England and the USA, where he also taught. He is a specialist in "New History of Bulgaria" and "History of International Relations 19th-20th century". Prof. Pantev was a member of parliament from the "Coalition for Bulgaria" for three terms. The professor was born on the eve of Annunciation, but since it was a Sunday, they couldn't register it in the official records, so his documents state that he was born on March 26. He shared with me that he is happy to celebrate his birthday on two dates. We conducted the interview on the first anniversary of his personal holiday.

 Highlights from the interview:

 *I do not approve of the idea of Minister Ignatov making April 20 our national holiday. Tomorrow someone may come who decides that our entry into the Triple Pact can be a national holiday and so on.

 *Historical memory is unshakeable.
 * There is moral degradation and erasure of eternal values for the human race and Bulgarian moral health.
 * It is impossible today to change the songs and say "the empty valleys have become NATO members, and the people of Panagyurishte have become Atlanteans".

 - Professor Pantev, our calendar reminds us that we will soon celebrate 150 years since the April Uprising. Are there any messages from that time that are still true and valid for us, the Bulgarians, and how do you feel about the idea of the caretaker Minister of Education, Sergei Ignatov, that April 20th could be our national holiday?

 - The chronological boundaries in historical time are conditional because there are no exact coincidences or complete analogies with events from the present. For us, the April Uprising is the beginning of a long journey towards Unification, after which we stopped being seen as mere peasants, laborers and obedient Christians, as Grigor Nachovich writes to Konstantin Irechek, "the world now sees us in a completely different way". In this regard, Bulgaria becomes a subject in world history. The event itself, though local and not grandiose, begins to take us out of the path where we were only occupied with writing petitions, memoirs, diplomatic requests, etc. The uprising is part of the history of the Great Balkan Crisis from 1875 to the Russo-Turkish War. It can also be defined as a revolt of the impatient, the doomed, because the revolutionaries of that time knew, they were not ignorant people, that they could not swallow the Ottoman Empire, standing on three continents at that time, with a cherry bomb. But they wanted to shout out to be heard for Bulgaria. At that time, only the knowledgeable of the Eastern Balkans were aware of the spiritual grandeur of our country. But with this effort, thanks to the press and martyrdom, we make a claim for a solid action of state independence.

 As for the proposal of the current Minister of Education for April 20 to become our national holiday, I will just say that this is not the way to focus on his persona. Historical memory is unshakable. Many French people do not approve of the bloodshed during the French Revolution, but they do not suggest changing their holidays and even their anthem, which is not particularly peaceful. We must preserve the historical immutability of symbols, victims, and what we have learned in early ages. Basically, I do not approve of the idea that Minister 20 April should be our national holiday. Tomorrow, someone may come and decide that our entrance into the Triple Pact can be a national holiday, etc.

 - 150 years ago, part of the Bulgarians rebelled because they felt oppressed that they did not have a state despite their past. Today, do you feel such oppression among our compatriots that can give a charge for positive change forward?

 - Oppression is not a collective feeling. The desire for our Liberation was not also widespread - it is known that some of our compatriots at that time willingly accepted positions and money from rulers. So, the successful end of an oppressive feeling and effort often come with different fates. It is important to remember that behind big ideals do not stand desires for money, material possessions, food and drink. Enlightened Bulgarians were not few at that time and they were the foundation of the rebellion then. Such individuals drive societies forward towards progress and prosperity. I am optimistic that even now in our society there are such individuals. I do not want to be like those older people who always say "oh, what it used to be like!" But I cannot deny that there is moral degradation and erasure of eternal values for the human race and Bulgarian moral health. Thank God, Bulgaria is not a poor country. As I have shared before, my biggest concern is the social divide and inequalities in our society, and the fact that revolutions have erupted not in poor countries, but in those with huge inequalities between different social classes.

 Considering your rich teaching experience, how would you attract the interest of today's students or pupils towards the events of the April Uprising, given that they cannot detach themselves from their phones, tablets, and the internet?

 - It's difficult, but I believe there should be no separation in the upbringing between what parents, grandparents, and elders do for young people and what is done in school. Unfortunately, there is already a divide in this regard. I will give an example to illustrate my point - I had a classmate who used to say: "When I get a bad grade, first my teacher beats me, and then my father beats me at home." Children should not be allowed to fall into conflicting situations, created by adults - to admire a historical feat or personality, but also to see their parents or teachers doing the exact opposite. The drama lies in the fact that if you raise your child to be well-behaved now, you condemn them to a heap of problems in our sick society, which will burden them later on. I believe we theorize too much about education. It is a complex activity that involves knowledge, understanding, and morality. To be taught to know, but also to understand. This also happens with your own knowledge, which you bring into the classroom, not necessarily just through preaching. I have been a teacher for a long time and I have heard all kinds of definitions about teachers. For example, when the lecturer has a serious demeanor, this shows that he is good, but if he jokes around, he is considered unserious. Now, it's exactly the opposite - with monkeys thinking that they can build what Simeon Radev quotes as an Arab proverb: "From the cradle to the grave, hold onto knowledge, science."

 - What is the historical value of the sacrifice of the apostles from the April Uprising, which was not successful in military terms, as it is well known?

 - It was not militarily successful, I call it a triumph of a failed war. Because thanks to the idealists from the April Uprising, as I have already noted, the world is talking about us and the path towards our Liberation is beginning.

 - After the events of that time and the suppression of the uprising, the West sympathized with our tragedy and suffering, especially among some circles of the English, but only Russia helped us achieve our Liberation - why?

 - Because they have steadfast and unchanging beliefs about our national identity and self-awareness. It is impossible today to change the song and say "the empty Klisura became NATO, and the Pazardzhik became Atlantic." Those April martyrs up there will not rest if they learn about the capricious turns in the thinking of some of our contemporaries. Russia not only helps us, it liberates us. One thing is to shed a tear, another is to shed blood. The grandsons of those who left their bones on the Balkan mountains have not forgotten it. It's funny that there are fellow citizens of ours who are ashamed that Russia liberated us. Gratitude does not mean servility, submission and subordination. All other nations on the Balkans have received Russian aid for their freedom, but in our case it was on a larger scale.

 - What is the most striking speculation, lie about the April uprising, which you have heard being interpreted in the way "The devil reads the gospel" in our society and sincerely angers you?

 - All kinds of efforts to be different just for the sake of being different have been observed in recent years and give rise to all sorts of interpretations of historical facts. For example, the greatest evil was that Russia chased away the Ottomans from our lands. They say that brotherly love is strong, but brotherly hatred is even stronger. Recently, a terrible scandal erupted on a TV show about the role of Count Ignatiev in our history, specifically about a journalist who strongly claimed that Ignatiev "worked towards the hanging of Vasil Levski". What is the historical truth on this issue and why do such speculations find fertile ground among certain groups in our country? It is trendy now to mock Russia, but let me remind you that the street with the same name, which a mayor in Sofia wants to rename, was not named after the Count by order of the Comintern, but as a gesture of gratitude. Count Ignatieff has a real and significant contribution to our Liberation, regardless of his aristocratic and imperial background. It is not true that Ignatieff had a hand in and worked towards the hanging of the Apostle, these are interpretations and distortions of historical facts. In fact, it is not true that Churchill hated Bulgarians, as claimed. He even insisted in the beginning that Bulgarians have access to the port of Kavala.

 - Do you follow what is happening in our country before the elections and how would you comment on the fact that we now have elections every year, and sometimes even twice a year?

 - I find it amusing when in rare cases I decide to listen to them and I realize that they parrot the same memorized phrases and empty concepts, the meaning of which they neither know nor understand. No Bulgarian hero has ever gone into battle with pompous phrases like "for the Bulgarian national interest" and so on. The word "interest" itself is quite vulgar. People do not shed their blood for that, but for the invisible, irrational state called Bulgaria, no matter how abstract and artistic it may sound. Today, everyone swears they do it for the Fatherland, but in reality, they do it for themselves. This was not the mentality of those we celebrate as our heroes.

 What is the destructive force that is ruining and destroying our society, our country, according to you?
 
 - Envy. The saying that "if a genius is born in Bulgaria, it will be the genius of envy" is not without reason. The strong party passions are based on this destructive and degrading feeling. In the end, this is one way to dress in a party or ideological cloak your ideas and ambitions.

 - Are you still voting?

 - No, it's physically difficult for me now, and spiritually even more humiliating. Our politicians don't come from Venus or Saturn - they come from within us. This brings me great disappointment.

 - What broke, professor, that governing countries in the old way seems impossible, especially in the countries on the Old Continent where it seems to be getting harder and harder - everywhere there are problems, not just with us?

 - I fear the conclusion of many here that "we can do so much". Every generation tends to idealize its past. I'm not saying there weren't players and charlatans before, but it wasn't so terrible that they triumphed over the rest of our society. I think Nekrasov once said "There have been worse times, but not more cowardly", to paraphrase. When you think about it, who has not tried to change our fate - reformists, democrats, royalists. But to a large extent, and at least declaratively, only the Bulgarian Socialist Party spoke about social justice - about that immortal instinct in human nature.

 The world has experienced and will continue to experience periods of decline like the current one. But can you name me at least one artist, writer, philosopher who has the weight and authority of those before World War II! There are pre-war moral declines like the current one - they are scary. In the film "Cabaret" and in the novel "The Black Obelisk" by Remarque, the image of people supporting the most cruel and bloodthirsty dictators out of helplessness is best portrayed through artistic means.

 Is there a way out of this enchanted circle specifically for us and what is it, according to you, because people think that politicians hate each other, suspect and accuse each other and cannot unite in a coalition, even because of our cherished national ideal from April 1876?
 

 - At that time there was a specific ideal - our country, our parliament, our flag and anthem and so on, and it was shared even passively. Our future will be determined by our children and grandchildren, but few of them are up to this responsibility. I am concerned about this. I cannot specifically answer your question, I don't know if anyone could, but let's say that there is a natural development awaiting us. We have our country and when we return from a trip here, we tremble with excitement and joy that we belong to Bulgaria. This feeling - to be Bulgarian - is priceless and immortal. It is not just an ethical category, but an ethnic one, but there is an undeniable moral element in our origin. Nevertheless, something remains here, something will develop and the hope of every generation never dies - that our children and grandchildren will be happier...