Cover photo for the special edition of LIK by Valeri Gaydarzhi
SOFIA – The February issue of Bulgarian News Agency’s (BTA) LIK magazine themed “The Voice of Bulgarians in Ukraine” was published in English translation and will be presented by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev and by Ioana Krasteva, editor with the BG World directorate, on June 24 during the official opening of the BTA’s National Press Club in Odessa.
The magazine is visiting the Ukrainian city for the second time. On March 3, the Bulgarian edition was presented at the Bulgarian Cultural Centre in Odessa. On March 6, LIK had its premiere in the House of Culture in Bolgrad, Ukraine.
Kiril Valchev, Director General of BTA, Yulia Hristova, Deputy Director of BG World, and LIK Editor-in-Chief Yanitsa Hristova spoke about the publication to the Bulgarian community in both cities.
The articles in LIK "The Voice of the Bulgarians in Ukraine" trace moments from the everyday life, lifestyle, traditions and art of Bessarabian Bulgarians.
The leading authors of the issue are Anya Terzivets, Svetlana Dragneva and Maria Popova. They are Bessarabian Bulgarians, originally from Ukraine, who collaborate with BTA, telling about the development of their community in BTA’s "BG World" section.
The translated issue of LIK features conversations with Snezhana Skorich, principal of Bolgrad High School "G. S. Rakovski" - the first Bulgarian secondary school outside the borders of Bulgaria; with Galina Ivanova, director of the Regional Centre for Bulgarian Culture, which last December celebrated 25 years since its establishment; with Professor of history Nikolay Chervenkov, poet Niko Stoyanov, painter Alexander Kara, famous for his "Bessarabian Madonnas", which earned him the nickname "Bessarabian Modigliani".
Folk singer Liliya Semkova, who gained popularity in Bulgaria with her participation in various television formats, said in an interview with the magazine that she identifies as a Bulgarian.
"No matter where I was born and where I grew up - I am Bulgarian and proud of it," she said.
The article about the Bulgarian fairs and festivals in Ukraine shows the strong connection of Bessarabian Bulgarians with folklore and amateur artists in modern conditions promoting original Bulgarian traditions and customs, and passing them on to the younger generations.
The magazine also features the stories of Vadim Mitkov, who has been painting on fragments of rockets and shells for two years, and Iona Tukuser, who depicts in paintings the tragedy of the Bessarabian Bulgarians and the famine of 1946-1947.
Other interesting interviews and curious stories in this issue include an article about the Bulgarian banitsa from the village of Zaria, which entered the national list of intangible cultural heritage elements of Ukraine in 2022. In Bessarabia (the southern part of the Odessa region), banitsa is also called milina, and the recipes for it have been passed down from generation to generation for more than two centuries.
LIK also talks about the premiere of Yordan Eftimov's book "Before They Washed the Blood" - the first book of poetry in world literature about the war in Ukraine.
The translated version of the magazine also features news about the Bessarabian Bulgarians published in the English-language edition of BTA, which discusses not only the occasions for joy, but also the topics that cause sadness in the life of the community after the beginning of hostilities on the territory of Ukraine. (BTA)
