site.btaWriter Hristo Karastoyanov, Former PM Ivan Kostov Archives Win National Donor Award

The personal archive of writer Hristo Karastoyanov, donated to the Yambol Regional State Archive by his wife Sofiya, is one of the two recipients of the 2024 Donor Award of the Archives State Agency, Yambol Archive Director Svetlana Bachvarova said on Wednesday.

The national distinction this year is jointly awarded to the archive of the writer and the donation of former Bulgarian Prime Minister Ivan Kostov.

“This is the first time that a donation received by a provincial archive has been selected for the national annual award,” Bachvarova noted. The annual awards are presented on the occasion of International Archives Day, June 9. The award for Donation of the Year is determined by a specialised committee. “Usually, the distinction goes to personal archives submitted to the Central State Archive, such as those of Zhelyu Zhelev, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, or the family of Ivan Stanchov,” Bachvarova explained.

She said the evaluation was based on the richness and meticulous organisation and systematisation of the donated documents. “Hristo Karastoyanov kept absolutely every scrap of paper, every item related to a particular subject, and it is all arranged chronologically,” Bachvarova added.

The writer’s personal collection also includes a valuable assortment of his own caricatures and drawings, along with portraits and caricatures gifted to him by friends, Bachvarova further said.

The Donor Award for 2024 will be formally presented to the writer’s wife on Monday, June 9, in Yambol, Southeastern Bulgaria, during a joint event of the Yambol Regional State Archive and the Regional History Museum.

In Sofia, the official ceremony for presenting the distinctions for contributions to the state archives in the categories “Donor”, “Reader” and “Friend of the Archives” will be held on the same day in the Archives exhibition hall. The awards will be presented by Archives State Agency Chair Mihail Gruev.