Russian politics has never been fair to Bulgaria and Bulgarian history, said the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense, Krasimir Karakachanov, after the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, in a statement said that the Slavic alphabet comes from Macedonia.
Karakachanov, who is the leader of the Bulgarian IMRO party, said that thanks to the Bulgarian alphabet, the Russians are literate.
“The whole cultural project of the Slavic alphabet was created by the Bulgarian state. I expect the Russian President to be more prepared on May the 24th, next year”, said Karakachanov, adding that project Macedonia is a project of the Comintern – under Moscow’s wing.
In the reaction by IMRO – the Bulgarian National Movement to Putin’s statement, they said that Russia should stop creating politics from history.
“Russian imperial policy carries tremendous guilt for creating the ultimate Macedonism. Russia, again encourages similar events. The statement that St Cyril is a Macedonian saint, can only be accepted if it means the same to the Macedonians and Bulgarians. Science has known this for a long time. Let our brothers from Macedonia be proud of the deeds of Saint Clement of Ohrid – we have nothing against a general celebration of our common past. The alphabet reached today’s Russia from the Macedonian country – a country until the mid-twentieth century was just a geographical mark. The name, Macedonia is sacred to all Bulgarians. Our brothers in Skopje have the right to enjoy history, but they should not falsify it”, reads the party’s stance.
Earlier, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov also reacted to Putin’s statement, and said that it is not important who went where and that it is not a European approach.
“What’s important is that nearly 300 million people read and write in Cyrillic and it ultimately enriches european culture. What is the significance of which route they took?” Asked Borisov.
According to Bulgarian historian, Bozhidar Dimitrov, Putin’s statement is scandalous. He said that he first thought the statement was false news.
“The truth is as follows – In the time of Cyril and Methodius, Macedonia had been part of Bulgaria for 200 years. So, what Macedonia, they’re just stories. There is no such thing. What we know as the official Russian position is that the Russian Patriarch said that the alphabet, literacy and Christianity was brought to Russia from Bulgaria”, said Dimitrov.
