A street in the Luka Ivanišević settlement in Cetinje has been named after the prominent Bulgarian writer Ivan Vazov since yesterday. The naming of the street is the result of a joint initiative of the Royal Capital of Cetinje and the Bulgarian city of Veliko Tarnovo, according to which the street in Cetinje will be named after Ivan Vazov, while the street in Veliko Tarnovo will be named after Petar II Petrović Njegoš, as a symbol of mutual respect and cooperation between the two sister cities.
The Mayor of the Royal Capital of Cetinje, Nikola Đurašković, recalled the historical ties between Montenegro and Bulgaria, and the importance of the Royal Capital in international relations, as the seat of numerous embassies and diplomatic missions and a place where the interests of great powers intersected and important political dialogues were held.
"It is precisely guided by this spirit of togetherness that today, with a special sense of pride, we name this street after Ivan Vazov - a great man who, through the verses of the poem 'Oslobođenje', recognized Montenegro as a symbol of the unconquered spirit, the fight for freedom, justice and dignity. Based on the above, Vazov was not only a poet of his people - he was a poet of freedom, a voice of the fight against oppression and a chronicler of ideals that are simultaneously rooted in the Bulgarian and Montenegrin being," said Đurašković, according to a statement from the Royal Capital of Cetinje.
The naming of the street was attended by the Bulgarian Ambassador to Montenegro Stefan Dimitrov, Bulgarian Vice President Iliana Yotova, Bulgarian Minister of Culture Marijan Bacev, and the Honorary Consul of Bulgaria in Montenegro Novica Jovović.
Jotova expressed her satisfaction with the naming of Ivana Vazova Street and thanked everyone who contributed to the improvement of interstate relations.
"Ivan Vazov dedicated his poem to the Montenegrin people, and I don't know any other author who speaks of your country with such love. For us Bulgarians, Vazov is not only the patriarch of Bulgarian literature, but something much more - he was a writer not only of one time, from the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, but a writer of the Bulgarian spirit and history," said Yotova.
Ivan Vazov is one of the most important writers in the history of Bulgaria – a poet, storyteller, novelist and academic. His work did not remain indifferent to Montenegro, to which he dedicated one of his poems, thus leaving a lasting mark on the cultural relations between our peoples.
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