10.12.1877 - 10.12.1997

The Russian-Turkish war is one of the most significant events in the recent history of Bulgaria. It is a consequence of the centuries-old struggle of the Bulgarian people for national liberation and is provoked by the bloody suppression of the April uprising in 1876 which marked the climax of the Bulgarian revolution for national liberation.

Notably popular and permanently stored in the memory of the Nation are the military operations in the surburbs of Pleven in 1877, known as the Pleven Epopee. This was the place where a great number of military forces were concentrated - artillery, cavalry, land forces, military engineers and doctors as well as other divisions and services, all involved in large and very important hostilities. The allied Russian-Roumanian army reached the number of 130 thousand people and that of the Turkish army - 67 thousand people.

The military operations ih the surburbs of Pleven were held into two stages. The first ( July 19 - September 12, 1877) was determined by the efforts of the Russian army to seize the town striking a front blow on and directly attacking the Turkish positions. The second stage ( September 13 - December 10, 1877) in which the Russian army was under the leadership or the military engineer- general Totleben, marked the beginning of the siege of Pleven and the total blockade of Osman Pasha army within the town of Pleven. These operatoins resulted in the absolute defeat and the unconditional surrender of the Turkish army.

The battle victory in Pleven and the capture of Osman Pasha army, appeared to be of crucial importance for the further successful outcome of the war. Fifty days after, the Russian army reached the suburb walls of Tzarigrad and the Ottoman Empire was compelled to suspend the military operations and to sign the Peace Treaty in San Stefano on the 3d of March 1878 proclaiming the restoration of the Bulgarian sovereignty after a five-century perion of Turkish domination.

The significance of the military events around Pleven town defined the great interest raised by the public and the close watch kept on them on behalf of politicians, diplomats and statesmen. They were a subject of tremendous comments in the World press, where extensive reports and detailed informations about them were published provided by more than 70 correspondents attached to the Headquarters of the Russian army from all over the World.

In token of gratitude towards the victims of the war and those more than 30 thousand killed and injured soldiers of the Russian army and 45 hundred soldiers of the Roumanian army who sacrificed their lives for the liberation of Pleven, the grateful people built over 140 monuments, museums and mausoleums in the center and the vicinity of Pleven. The most attractive one is the "Pleven Epopee 1877" Panorama.

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