SHERIDAN KALORAMA: Discovering an Apostle

I stumbled up on a new monument yesterday afternoon outside the Bulgarian Embassy on 22nd Street NW, a monument to Vassil Levsky, a Bulgarian hero known as the Apostle.

Before this, I had never heard of Mr. Levsky and there isn't too much information online about him, but here's a Bulgarian website detailing the "Apostle of Freedom." To sum his life up, he established the Bulgarian underground in the late 1860s, with the aims of kicking the Turks out and establishing a republic. In 1872, when the Turks caught wind of what was going on, there was a disagreement within the Bulgarian underground.

Karavelov and other revolutionaries wanted the uprising to begin immediately. But Levsky did not agree with them. He headed to Roumania in order to avoid rash actions. On his way, a mean betrayal led The Apostle right into the hands of the police.

He was hung near Sofia in February 1873 and "[o]ne of the greatest Bulgarians ever was no more."

So there you have it.

In other recent Bulgarian news, via the embassy's website:
"EU Human Rights Court Fines Bulgaria"
"Bulgarian School Uniforms Inspired by Harry Potter"
"Bunny Girls Welcome Sheraton Sofia Guests"