On the occasion of the National Holiday – March 3, the Bulgarian History Museum (NIM) congratulates you with the symbol of the Bulgarian militia – the “Samara Flag.”

„This is our Bulgarian treasure! You have done well, Professor, to paint it. May this painting remind young and old alike that when we fought with this flag in our hands, we were fighting for Bulgarian soil! ” – These are the words of Nikolay Korchev, a militant, depicted in the painting “The Samara Flag,” when it was painted in Jaroslav Věšín’s studio in 1911.

Jaroslav František Julius Věšín (1860-1915) was a master painter of Czech origin who lived and worked in Bulgaria, making it his second home. He arrived in Bulgaria in 1897 at the invitation of the Minister of Education Konstantin Velichkov and until 1904 he was a teacher at the State Art School (today the National Academy of Arts). In 1904, he joined the Ministry of War as an artist and created his masterpieces in battle painting there.

The Samara Flag, one of the greatest relics of the Bulgarian army, attracts the artist’s attention. Embroidered by nuns in Samara, Russia, it was donated to the Bulgarian militia in 1877 in Ploiesti, Romania. The flag participated in the battles of Stara Zagora and Shipka, was saved at great cost, and is the only flag in Bulgarian history to be awarded the Order of Bravery. It became a symbol of Bulgarian liberation and the heroism of the militia during the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878). As early as 1902, Věšín shared his intention to immortalize the hero-militant with the Samara flag in his hand. During the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the battles of Shipka, Jaroslav Věšín met General Stoletov and General Dragomirov. These personal meetings, as well as emotional conversations with Ivan Vazov and the volunteers, gave impetus to Věšín’s idea. However, the realization of his plan took place about nine years later. Jaroslav Věšín managed to obtain permission to paint the Samara flag from life. It is interesting to note that when it was first transferred from the Armoury and Flag Hall at the Palace, where it was kept, the flag was accompanied by a guard of honour, military music and ceremonies.

After so many years, volunteer soldier Nikola Korchev once again holds the Samara flag in his hands. In Věšín’s studio, he embraces and kisses the sacred object. While being painted, Korchev recounts: “One after another, two Unteroffiziers took the flag, and both fell. In a decisive battle, I managed to take the flag, and surrounded and guarded by several of my fellow volunteers, on the orders of our staff captain Popov, we quickly withdrew. When I took the flag, I noticed that its pole had been broken by bullets. The battle was terrible: of our 3rd company, which before the battle numbered 700 militants and 12 officers, only 120 men and two officers remained” … “At a very critical moment, when we were surrounded almost everywhere by the Turks, General Stoletov ordered us to be very careful, and if we were completely surrounded, to burn the Samara flag… But we saved it.”

Jaroslav Věšín’s painting immortalizes the volunteer soldier with the holy relic in his hands and, like the flag, becomes a symbol of the heroism and self-sacrifice of the Bulgarians in winning the freedom and independence of their homeland.

“A foreigner in Bulgaria is someone who looks at it but does not see it,” says the artist himself, who has accepted and loved Bulgaria as his homeland.

Happy National Day!

Text: Iva Stoyanova