A unique book will be presented on October 23 at 6:00 p.m. at the Regional Historical Museum in Ruse. The work in question is by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Kolev, titled “Ruse Priorities – Dates, Events, Innovations. Created for the First Time in Ruse and in Bulgaria, and by People of Ruse Around the World.”
The printed edition, released this year, is the 31st version of the book. It comprises over 250 pages, divided into six main chapters. In summary, the book contains nearly 360 “firsts” that have occurred in the Ruse region from the 1220s to the present day.
One of the earliest events described in the book is the founding of the largest rock monastery (lavra) in Bulgaria – St. Archangel Michael, also known as the Rock-Hewn Churches of Ivanovo, established by the monk Joakim, who later became the first Patriarch of Tarnovo.
The book also dedicates special attention to events that have been incorrectly claimed to have happened for the first time in Ruse – a detail that will surely intrigue every reader.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Atanas Kolev was born in 1943 in the village of Vinograd, Veliko Tarnovo region. He graduated in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Sofia and later taught at Ruse University. He is the author of numerous scientific works and studies in his field, as well as many historical and literary publications dedicated to the past and cultural history of the Danube city, and to notable figures – among them, a central place is given to the writer Zmei Goryanin (1905–1958), a prominent name from the interwar period.
Today, Assoc. Prof. Kolev serves as the Chairman of the Ruse Society for Cultural and Historical Heritage “Zmei Goryanin.”
