I think it is important for a nation and a state to know approximately, not only where it is going, but why it is going there. Because, not on documents, we are moving confidently in a European direction, towards civilization, but we want to be humiliatingly splayed between the Alps and the Urals, advises historian Prof. Petar Stoyanovich, former Minister of Culture, in an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio.
In the program "Nedelya 150" he commented on tomorrow's Independence Day of Bulgaria – the proclamation of independence on September 22, new style October 5, 1908.
"No matter what we say, we will end up with a cliché. The independence of Bulgaria, although it is the de facto beginning of a truly liberated Bulgaria, this holiday continues to be "another day off". For many Bulgarians, it is to roast a lamb, go to the vineyard and close a jar,", hinted Prof. Stoyanovich about the mentality and attitude of many Bulgarians towards the historical date.
"Sooner or later we must be aware that there is no way we can avoid the bar from cracking if our head is not in the right place. There is no way we can be with Gorbachev and Brezhnev, to lie to the big brother, regardless of whether he is Russian, American or Chinese. On a global level, you should know how to make the choice with conviction. I doubt the speed of this process, but it will leave us with no alternative. We must make a firm decision", said the former Minister of Culture.
He admitted that he was somewhat surprised by the claims that the declaration of independence leads to national catastrophes:
"Although I am not against the historical community being able to somehow promote its own theses, I do not see a direct connection. I see a greater connection between the self-confidence with which Bulgarians emerge from the Unification, which gives them the wrong idea that this work is done easily and bloodlessly. I believe that the Bulgarian political class, diplomacy and the palace showed a level of maturity with Independence to the whole world."
According to Prof. Stoyanovich, the term "national catastrophe" leftist, used by 2 parties - BZNS and then by the communist regime.
"In these 20 years, between Unification and Independence, almost a generation in Bulgaria has walked its extremely clear, purposeful path of modernization – Europeanization as a process. This is the real accession of Bulgaria to the civilized world, modern Europe. In this process, the Bulgarian governments – first Stambolov, used several times the threat of declaring independence if a number of requirements regarding Bulgarian national interests in Macedonia were not met. This card was played by a small Bulgaria against large powers, led by the Ottoman Empire, successfully. This happened in 1908 as part of the Bosnian crisis," explained Prof. Stojanovic.