On 3 May, we talked with seventh graders from Chernorizets Hrabar Secondary School about the role of civil society and the residents of Plovdiv in the events surrounding the rescue of the Bulgarian Jewish community from deportation 75 years ago.
Educating students on the chains of the past
The text first appeared on the blog of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. When he enters the classroom his chain rattles in his right hand. In 2014, when the world marked 25 years of the collapse of the Berlin wall, Georgi Saraivanov was 83. Gogo, as his friends called him, had sharp blue eyes and […]
What’s the difference between Intelligence and State Security?
The text first appeared on the blog of the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation. When the archives of the former Bulgarian State Security services were opened, one writer remembered with amazement an odd day of his life. Each of the members of his family, even his neighbors, had been summoned by various state institutions under […]
Visit My Century TV and explore history on camera
Sofia Platform is delighted to bring to your attention My Century TV – one of a kind historical video archive, collecting personal stories about the communist past in Bulgaria and the Balkan region. Just to give you a taste of the rich variety of video material they produce, we selected three special stories. Maestro Alipi […]
Georgi Saraivanov passed away at the age of 85
At the age of 85 Georgi Saraivanov passed away. He was one of the last political prisoners, sentences to death by the communist regime. He spent months shackled with a chain and more than 9 years in the prison in Pleven. In 1972 he ran to Germany; after the fall of the Berlin Wall he […]
Sofia Platform presents research project in Vienna
Sofia Platform, together with our Croatian partners from Stifung Wissen am Werk presented the results from a comparative analysis between Bulgaria and Croatia in the context of the refugee crisis during the conference “Children of Transition. Children of War” which took place on 3-5 November 2016 at the University of Vienna. In the paper “The […]
Lessons from the past: what happened before ’89?
Sofia Platform is proud to announce the beginning of its newest project “Lessons from the past: what happened before ’89?” which started in March 2016 and is conducted under the auspices of the President of the Republic of Bulgaria Rossen Plevneliev. Support for Sofia Platform is provided by the America for Bulgaria foundation. The statements […]
Yordan Sokolov passed away
Yordan Sokolov, a prominent Bulgarian politician, attorney and statesman, passed away today at the age of 83. He was President of the 38th Bulgarian National Assembly and Minister of Internal Affairs in the government of Filip Dimitrov. Yordan Sokolov was one of the most notable persons associated with the Union of the Democratic Forces, the […]
The Transition: Myths and Memories, National Public Opinion Survey
In a national public opinion survey, 25 years of democratic changes in Bulgaria, pollsters interviewed 1200 Bulgarian citizens aged 16 and over. The interviewees represented a cross-section of gender, age and education-levels and came from a representative range of rural, suburban and urban areas. The study was part of the 25 years free Bulgaria initiative […]