On April 16, 1925, the bloodiest terrorist act in our history was committed. A bomb exploded in the cathedral "St. Nedelya" in Sofia. Over 150 people were killed, more than 500 were injured. Later, more people died from their wounds and the number of victims exceeded 200.
Among the killed were 13 generals - more than in all the wars that Bulgaria had fought before, 13 colonels, 6 lieutenant colonels, many other officers, the mayor of the capital Paskal Paskalev, prominent public figures and many ordinary citizens, including women and children. The direct perpetrators of the attack were Petar Abadzhiev (technician) and Petar Zadgorski (a bricklayer), and the organizers – Kosta Yankov, Ivan Minkov, Marko Fridman, Dimitar Grancharov, Nikola Petrini. Zadgorski, Fridman and Georgi Koev were convicted and publicly hanged on May 27, 1925. Kosta Yankov and Ivan Minkov committed suicide. Several found refuge in the Soviet Union, including the main organizer Petar Abadzhiev.
The powerful explosion destroyed a large part of the roof and part of the southern temple wall of the cathedral “St. Nedelya“. The temple was rebuilt according to a design by architects Ivan Vasilyov and Dimitar Tsolov. It was officially consecrated on April 7, 1933. Today, only a memorial plaque placed on the wall of the church reminds of the death of hundreds of innocent victims.
The attack was the apogee of the civil war in Bulgaria that began in 1923. Its beginning was set by the populist rule of Alexander Stamboliyski, which led to a coup, followed by an attempt at an agrarian uprising and ended with an attempt at a communist uprising in 1923.
After the attack in “Sveta Nedelya” the authorities began a large-scale terror against the left. On May 15, 1925, the poet Geo Milev was summoned to the police for questioning and disappeared without a trace.