site.btaHistorical Reenactment Marks 147 Years Since Radomir's Liberation

A historical reenactment here on Saturday marked 147 years since the liberation of Radomir from Ottoman rule. This was the first edition of the event and was attended by representatives of the Tradition National Society, the Napredak - 1895 and Vassil Levski - 1916 community centres, the Ethnofolk folklore ensemble, and students.

Iliycho Yordanov, head of the local club with the Tradition National Society, told BTA that reenacted were events related to the welcoming of Prince Battenberg in Radomir, which took place a bit after the liberation of the town. He added that Tradition presented authentic costumes and replicas to acquaint the audience with the events that took place on January 14, 1878. Back then, a troop of over 100 people led by Ilyo Voivode and Archimandrite Zenobius managed to push the Ottoman Turks out of town and welcomed a small number of Russian troops.

Yordanov added that, according to historical data, it was questionable whether the towns of Radomir and Kyustendil would have been liberated, as there was no presence of Russian troops in them at that time. The troop of Ilyo Voivode and Archimandrite Zenobius, as well as that of Captain Simo Sokolov, dealt with the Ottoman troops and helped the Russians, who were concentrated in other parts of the country, Yordanov explained.

Over 40 guardians of history and traditions from Radomir, Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, Sofia, Pernik, Slivnitsa, Bozhurishte, and Rila took part in Saturday's reenactment. For the faithful recreation of the events, the organizers relied on historical sources from the Municipal History Museum in Radomir, as well as the biographies of Archimandrite Zenobius and Ilyo Voivode, Yordanov told BTA. He himself played the role of the Voivode.