Bulgaria’s capital Sofia is celebrating the 144^th anniversary since its liberation from Ottoman rule. A thanksgiving service was held at the St. Nedelya episcopal church commemorating the fallen soldiers. The traditional icon-bearing procession took place, reaching the monument to the Tsar-liberator Alexander II.

“We express our gratitude to all Russian, Ukrainian, Romanian, Finnish and Serbian soldiers who laid down their lives in the fields of Bulgaria for the liberation of the city, and, of course, to the Bulgarian volunteers. We thank the foreign consuls – of Austria, France and Italy, who did everything they could to stop Sofia from being set fire to, as had been ordered,” said Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova.