QSL No. 4: 1935 – Sirak Skitnik, the first director of the BNR

In 2026, Radio Bulgaria is issuing a new series of 12 QSL cards to confirm listeners’ reception reports. Each card highlights a key historical moment from the history of Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and the Radio Bulgaria programme. At the beginning of each month, a special publication will share interesting facts related to the images featured on the cards.

• Our new QSL cards: 90 years BNR and 90 years Radio Bulgaria

The fourth QSL card for 2026 is dedicated to the first director of the Bulgarian National Radio, Sirak Skitnik.

At the beginning of 1935, the Council of Ministers adopted the Statutory Ordinance on Radio in Bulgaria, which declared broadcasting a state monopoly. Tsar Boris III signed the decree on 25 January of the same year. Radio programming organised by the state began with the entry into force of this law. Panayot Hristov (Sirak Shitnik) was appointed head of the programming activities of the new state-owned "Radio Sofia".

As the first Director of Radio, a position he held until his death, he played a key role in establishing it as a culturally significant institution. He achieved this by developing programming with a strong cultural focus, maintaining a broad network of contributors with diverse political views, and creating educational programmes, radio theatre and broadcasts abroad. Under his leadership, the radio station became a cultural institution that brought together the finest musicians, writers and scholars.

Panayot Hristov (1883–1943), who adopted the artistic pseudonym Sirak Skitnik, was a journalist, public figure, poet, writer, artist and theatre critic. Born in Sliven, he graduated from the theological school in Sofia in 1902. After working briefly as a teacher, he left for Saint Petersburg in 1908 to study painting alongside Marc Chagall and Wassily Kandinsky.

After returning to Bulgaria, he fought in three wars: the First and Second Balkan Wars and World War I.
Sirak Skitnik became one of the most prominent figures in 20th century Bulgarian cultural life, working to integrate Bulgarian culture into modern European trends.

He was the first chairman of the General Society of Artists (today the Union of Bulgarian Artists). In the 1920s, he became a playwright and the artistic secretary of the Ivan Vazov National Theatre. He left behind dozens of poems, hundreds of articles, and numerous paintings, sketches, and illustrations.

In 2001, Bulgarian National Radio established an annual award in his name for contributions to its development as a public media outlet.

To receive a QSL card, listeners should send a reception report indicating the date and language (for Radio Bulgaria) or the date, time and frequency of the broadcast heard (for other BNR programmes), along with details of the programme content.
Reports can be sent via a channel convenient for you:
• by e-mail: reception.report@bnr.bg
• by mail to the following address: Bulgaria, Sofia, 1040, Dragan Tsankov Blvd. 4, BNR, Desislava Semkovska
It is mandatory to provide a postal address for feedback.

We remind you that BNR also confirms reception reports with old series of QSL cards. If you wish to receive any of them, please indicate it in the report.

See also:

• QSL No. 3: 1930 – The first union of radio enthusiasts in Bulgaria
• QSL No. 2: Commemorating Bulgaria’s first radio signal

Editor: Elena Karkalanova