site.btaObservances: August 5

The world:

- Victory Day in Croatia.

On this date in Bulgarian history:

1918: Diplomatic relations established with Finland at legation level. Upgraded to embassy level on February 1, 1963.

1920: Compulsory labour service is introduced by Alexander Stamboliyski Government.

1946: Youth brigade movement begins with 2,000 youths starting road construction in Hainboaz Pass (Balkan Range).

1947: Bulgarian Agrarian National Union activist Nikola Petkov goes on trial on charges of plotting coup. Executed on September 23, 1947. Rehabilitated on January 16, 1990.

1958: Ancient ruins near Pliska, Madara and Preslav are designated archaeological reserves.

1998: Emil Kostadinov and Ignat Nikolov become first Bulgarian mountaineers to climb Mt Eiger in Swiss Alps (3,970 m) along Northern Face, aka "Murder Wall."