Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Playwright Stefan Tsanev refuses "Golden Age" state award

Photo: BGNES

In a letter to the Bulgarian Minister of Culture, Vezhdi Rashidov, eminent poet, writer and playwright, Stefan Tsanev, thanked for the attention he received but refused to accept the "Golden Age" award which had to be presented on January 10 on the occasion of his 80th birthday, BTA informed.

"Golden Age" is awarded by the Ministry of Culture for outstanding contribution to Bulgarian culture and the development of cultural cooperation. The poet recalled that in 2016 the same award was given to "one of the senior officers of the State Security - the most sinister repressive institution of the former totalitarian regime."

"State Security is to blame for thousands of lost lives, including those of many artists. Giving the highest award of the Ministry of Culture to one of State Security's top executives is a mockery with the memory and suffering of the victims," Stefan Tsanev wrote. In response, Minister Rashidov said there truly was a proposal for giving the award to StefanTsanev, but the minister had not yet signed it.




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Foreign Minister Georg Georgiev

Victims of the communist regime honoured on remembrance day

Cabinet members, public figures and members of the public honoured the memory of the innocent victims of the communist regime in the country following the communist coup in Bulgaria on 9 September, 1944. February 1, Day of Remembrance and..

published on 2/1/25 4:25 PM

Bulgarian fighter pilots to undergo training for F-16 Block 70 aircraft

Bulgaria received the first F-16 Block 70 aircraft at the Lockheed Martin production facility in Greenville, USA. With this act the country’s strategic partnership with the US in the sphere of defence continues its upward development, said PM Rosen..

published on 2/1/25 1:29 PM

57% of Bulgarians are against the adoption of the euro in principle, 39% are for: survey

25.7% of Bulgarians support the adoption of the euro as of 1 January, 2026, and 30.8% accept it as an indispensable condition of the country’s membership of the EU but want it to happen later. According to a survey by Myara sociological agency, in..

published on 2/1/25 1:04 PM