After more than six decades, the mortal remains, which are identified with the Bulgarian Tsar Samuil, are returning to Bulgaria.
On October 3, they will be officially handed over by the Greek side to Thessaloniki and transported to Bulgaria by a “Spartan“ plane. Then they will be greeted with a state ceremony in Sofia and laid in a special sarcophagus in the “St. Sophia“ church. Along with the remains attributed to Samuil, Bulgaria will also receive the remains of two more sarcophagi associated with Tsar Gavril Radomir and other members of the royal family.
The news was announced on September 29 by Prime Minister Rumen Radev.
“After intensive negotiations, Bulgaria and Greece reached a historic agreement“, Radev said, thanking Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis for the political will and statesmanlike approach.
But who is actually behind the resolution of this case?
The answer is more complicated than the usual political attribution of merit.
PP: „We raised the question“
Since „We continue the change“ they have already begun to recall the role of the government of Kiril Petkov.
In 2022, during his rule, the topic of returning the remains of Tsar Samuil was raised again at a political level. Then the MP from the PP Venko Sabrutev publicly stated that the return of Samuil's bones could be requested as a gesture from North Macedonia to Bulgaria. However, there is a significant factual problem in the statement - the remains are located in Greece, not in North Macedonia.
In parallel, Kiril Petkov personally set the task for Bulgarian historians to seek a solution with Greece for the return of the remains. During his visit to Thessaloniki in June 2022, he participated in a high-level dinner within the framework of the South East European Cooperation Process.
There are still four years between the then government and today's decision.
The story begins in 1969.
Then the Greek archaeologist Prof. Nikolaos Moutsopoulos carried out excavations in the Basilica of “Saint Achilles“ on the island of St. Achilles in the Little Prespa Lake.
Four rich burials were discovered. Moutsopoulos associates one of them with Tsar Samuil, and the others – with members of his family.
After the discovery, the remains were examined by Greek and Bulgarian specialists and moved to Thessaloniki. The scientific identification is not indisputable – it is based on the archaeological context, anthropological characteristics and historical data, and not on an inscription on the grave itself.
Thus begins one of the most unusual cultural-diplomatic cases between Bulgaria and Greece.
2014: 1000 years since the death of Samuil
The case gained new popularity around the 1000th anniversary of the death of Tsar Samuil in 2014.
Public initiatives for the return of the remains are starting in Bulgaria. Petitions were organized, and the topic entered the political agenda.
It was then that the remains were shown to Bulgarian officials during their visits to Greece.
Rosen Plevneliev: “We have a historical responsibility“
In 2015, President Rosen Plevneliev also raised the issue publicly.
At the inauguration of the monument to Tsar Samuil in Sofia, Plevneliev stated that his generation had a historical responsibility to do everything possible to ensure that the remains were returned to Bulgaria.
The President defines their eventual return as a symbolic act of historical reconciliation between the Bulgarian and Greek people.
And why haven't the remains been returned so far?
The main obstacle turns out to be not archaeological, but diplomatic.
According to publications from previous years, the Greek side has raised the issue in the context of Bulgarian cultural values and Byzantine manuscripts found in Bulgaria.
This makes the return of the remains part of a larger dispute over cultural heritage between the two countries.
Former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov has publicly rejected the idea of Bulgaria handing over valuable manuscripts and church relics in exchange for the remains of Samuil.
Thus, the case remains blocked.
2021: Citizens' Initiative
In February 2021, Viktor Stoyanov, known for the initiative “Send a Bulgarian Book to Macedonia“, launched a national initiative and petition under the motto “Let's Return the Bones of Tsar Samuil“.
In the same year, archaeologist Prof. Nikolay Ovcharov also insisted that Bulgaria again ask Greece to return the remains.
2022: Kirill's government intervenes Petkov
Under the administration of Kiril Petkov, relations with Greece have intensified in a number of strategic directions – energy, electricity connections, infrastructure, ports and logistics.
It is in this context that the issue of Samuil has once again been raised in political discussions.
Greek publications from September 2026 also indicate 2022 as the moment when the initiative was reactivated in bilateral relations, explicitly mentioning Kiril Petkov and Asen Vassilev.
2025: the process is not yet over
In May 2025 The Ministry of Culture states that it has no data on official talks or correspondence between Bulgaria and Greece regarding the return of the remains of Tsar Samuil.
2026: the final stage - the decisive phase
In June, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis visits Sofia and holds talks with Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev. The Bulgarian government defines relations with Greece as a strategic partnership.
Subsequently, intensive talks began that led to the current agreement.
On September 29, Rumen Radev officially announced the result: Bulgaria and Greece have reached an agreement on the return of the remains.
This time it is not about an intention, initiative or petition.
Whose credit is it?In the end, can it be said who “returned“ Tsar Samuil? If we talk about raising the issue and resuming the political conversation, the government of Kiril Petkov in 2022 also contributed. If we talk about the decision that led to the actual transfer of the remains, it is the result of the final negotiations between Bulgaria and Greece in 2026, led by the government of Rumen Radev and Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis.
Therefore, it would be exaggerated to present today's result as a sole merit - regardless of whether it is the PP, Kiril Petkov or the current government. The case is more than half a century old and over the years presidents, governments, diplomats, historians and public figures have participated in it.
The more precise question is not “who brought Samuil back?“, but “which government brought the long-standing process to a real result?“ The answer to this question is clearer: the final agreement and the specific transfer of the remains were reached under the current Bulgarian government and the Greek government.