"Ten Great Friends of Bulgaria" tells about foreigners who left their mark on Bulgarian history

The book "Ten Great Friends of Bulgaria" by journalist Milena Dimitrova will be presented this evening at 6pm at the Sts. Cyril and Methodius National Library in Sofia. The book recounts the lives of ten people of different nationalities and eras, whose selfless love for Bulgaria and its people changed their destinies and left its mark on Bulgarian history.

Among the protagonists of the book is Prince Alexander I Battenberg (1857-1893), born in Verona, who became the first monarch of the Third Bulgarian State. He is credited with the unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, an important step towards national reunification after Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule.

Another notable figure was the Russian general Ivan Inzov (1768-1845), who headed the Trusteeship Committee for Foreign Immigrants of the Southern Territory of Russia in 1818 and played a key role in organising the Bulgarian colonies in Bessarabia. In 1821 he also founded Bolgrad, now the unofficial capital of the Bulgarians in Ukraine.

The book also draws attention to Emily Ann Strangford (1826-1887), an English noblewoman who came to Bulgaria after the violent suppression of the April Uprising in 1876. Strangford used the nearly £30,000 she raised to establish six hospitals in the worst affected areas, providing vital aid to the population.