The history of the Bessarabian Bulgarians, if we try to express it through a melody, will deeply touch the soul with its gentle multi-layered lyrics, which have collected the experiences over the years. From their establishment within the borders of the Russian Empire, after the series of Russo-Turkish wars at the end of the 18^thand the first half of the 19^th century, through the world wars, when they passed through the borders of other countries, to the military actions in today's Ukraine, they guarded Bulgaria in your heart.

Their roots are in their homeland Bulgaria and the lands of Dobruja, Sliven, Yambol and Odrin Thrace, and their life in Bolgrad, Izmail and Odessa, where they live in communities and preserve the Bulgarian language and culture in the cultural centres they created. And Bulgarian songs spring deep from their soul, narrating with sadness about the vicissitudes of their complex existence. This is how the performances of 19-year-old Bilyana Miteva from Izmail sound. The Bulgarian audience got to know her via the "Together for Ukraine" charity concert, organized in March last year by BNR and BNT in the National Theatre.

A few months before the war, in October 2021, Bilyana came to Sofia to study pop and jazz singing at the Prof. Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music. Her choice to come to Bulgaria was somewhat natural: