site.btaBulgarian Antarctic Expedition "Looking Forward" to LIK Issue on Its 60th Anniversary

Commander Nikolai Danailov, the commanding officer of the first two polar expeditions of the Bulgarian naval research ship Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421), sent a video message on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the first edition of LIK, the BTA's magazine for art and culture on Thursday. He said the members of the Bulgarian expedition on Livingston Island are looking forward to the January issue of LIK, that it dedicated to the anniversary. "It is a great honour and pleasure to be able to share with you this event - 60 years of LIK - from aboard our Bulgarian naval research ship in the icy waters of the Southern Ocean," he said.

"I wish you every success in the future and that you at BTA and LIK continue to report the real news as it is. I am very grateful on the occasion of your 60th anniversary that you have been so helpful and kind to cover in two LIK issues the voyage of our ship and also to cover all the research projects that have been carried out on board the ship. Bulgaria continues to do research in the Antarctic. [...]This would have been hard without your help, without your objective reporting and without your wonderful articles that we read almost every day on the ship," he said.

For 60 years, LIK has been a symbol of Bulgarian science, history, and culture, inspiring generations with its contribution to the spiritual wealth of the nation, said engineer Tsvetan Parov from the national press club of BTA on Livingston Island. He is part of the 33rd Bulgarian Antarctic expedition. Parov recalled the issue of LIK dedicated to the historic first voyage of RSV 421 to Antarctica and emphasized that Bulgarian expeditions play a key role in international Antarctic research.

With 33 successfully completed missions, the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, led by Prof. Christo Pimpirev, have strengthened Bulgaria's presence in Antarctica through scientific activities and the development of the Bulgarian base on Livingston Island, Parov added. "May the magazine continue to be an inspiring voice of Bulgarian culture, history, and science, sparking curiosity and enriching the minds of future generations," he said.

In June 2023, BTA published a special issue of LIK, titled "To Antarctica and Back Under the Bulgarian Flag," in English. In May 2024, BTA released an issue of LIK dedicated to Bulgarian science in Antarctica, which is freely available in electronic format. The issue has also been translated in Spanish.