The conference is part of the Programme of the National Committee for commemorating the 135th anniversary of Bulgarian Liberation and restoring the Bulgarian country, under the patronage of the Chairwoman of the National Assembly of Bulgaria.

The opening speech of the event was delivered by the dean of the Faculty of History, Assoc. Prof. Plamen Mitev. He noted that the conference gathers the best academic centres in Russia and Bulgaria. He stated that researchers of different humanity fields, such as history, but also philology, philosophy and political studies, will offer an interdisciplinary approach to the relations between Bulgaria and Russia 135 years later.

Prof. Pantev, Chair of the National Committee for commemorating the 135th anniversary of Bulgarian Liberation, noted in his opening speech that the war was the only one to show unity between society and authorities in support of the Bulgarian case.

Speeches were also delivered by the Ambassador of the Russian Federation to Bulgaria H. E. Yuriy Isakov, Prof. Nikolay Tsimbaev, Dr Svetlana Sharenkova, Chair of Forum Bulgaria-Russia, Acad. Georgy Markov, Chair of the Bulgarian part of the Committee of the Historians from Bulgaria and Russia, Prof. Konstantin Nikiforov, Director of the Institute of Slavic Studies with the Russian Academy of Sciences, and Prof. Ilia Todev, Director of the Institute for Historic Research, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The conference will be held on 27-28 February and 1 March 2013, in Sofia University and the Central Administration Building of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

The conference is part of the Bulgarian-Russian project between the Institute of Slavic Studies with the Russian Academy of Sciences and Evrasia Centre: VIA EVRASIA with the Faculty of History, established under the project Young Scientists 2011.

Guests from Russia, Ukraine and Kazakhstan will participate in the event.