“One of the most beautiful minds of Bulgaria”: Prof. Kiril Topalov with the “St. Paisius Hilendarski” award

Prof. Kiril Topalov received the annual state award “St. Paisius Hilendarski” at a ceremony in the Council of Ministers. The award was presented to him by the Prime Minister Academician Nikolay Denkov.

“What unites us all is the assessment that this award goes to one of Bulgaria’s most beautiful minds. With his intellect and modesty, he showed Bulgaria what an intellectual who cares about principles and morals should look like,” said Prime Minister Denkov when presenting the award. He quotes the words of Prof. Topalov, who says that the most important thing is that “a person should not enter into stupid battles”, but only in the important ones in which he has to defend himself, his family, another person, his principles or his homeland .

The ceremony was also attended by the Minister of Culture Krastyu Krastev, who also gave a welcome speech, and the chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Academician Julian Revalski.

“Prof. Topalov is one of the greatest figures in contemporary Bulgarian spirituality,” Minister Krastev pointed out. He recalled moments from the biography of Prof. Kiril Topalov and pointed out that with his long-term activity he earned the authority of a Renaissance personality.

This is the highest state award in the field of culture and spirituality. The jury was faced with a difficult task because the applications were numerous and very worthy, Academician Revalski noted.

For his part, Prof. Kiril Topalov thanked him for the honor and noted that this is the award that pleases him the most, since he has dedicated his life to Renaissance history and literature. “The nation is like an individual, erase his memory and he becomes a different person,” he remarked to those present at the ceremony.

Prominent writer, playwright, screenwriter, literary historian and critic, translator, diplomat and public figure Prof. Kiril Topalov is honored for his outstanding contribution to the development of national cultural identity and spiritual values.

The state award “St. Paisii Hilendarski” was established by a Decree of the Council of Ministers dated July 28, 2000. This year’s winner was determined by a committee headed by Academician Julian Revalski, President of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The winners of the prize so far have been Prof. Vera Mutafchieva, Academician Svetlin Rusev, Prof. Stefan Danailov, Yordan Radichkov, Bogomil Raynov, Valeri Petrov, Dimitrina Georgieva Gyurova-Savova, Nadezhda Dragova, Academician Lyudmil Staykov and others.

At the end of October, the National Library “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” marked the 80th anniversary of Prof. Kiril Topalov with the presentation of two books – his autobiographical novel “Life by Inevitability” and the collection “Horizons of the Word”.

In September, Prof. Topalov became the recipient of Sofia’s special award for outstanding achievements in the field of culture.