With a series of solemn events, Sofia has marked 140 years after its liberation from Ottoman rule. On January 4, 1878, the troops led by General Iosif Gurko captured the city in one of the last battles of the Russo-Turkish War.

On the occasion of the anniversary, Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte served a thanksgiving prayer. The Mayor of Sofia, Yordanka Fandakova and Russia's Ambassador to Bulgaria, Anatoliy Makarov, identified the celebration as a very important event in relations between Russia and Bulgaria.

"The events that took place 140 years ago were not a gift, but a result of a long and bloody struggle for freedom and the right of Bulgaria to determine its own destiny," Ambassador Anatoliy Makarov said.