Bright commemorative events were held on the occasion of the 60^th anniversary of the Hungarian revolution and the fight for freedom in Hungary and around the world. The programs for them were coordinated and sponsored by the specially created Memorial Initiative Committee.

The Hungarian Cultural Institute /UCI/ Sofia offered us a series of events on this occasion in October. Chronologically, the first event was held on the 19^th at the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". Dr. Ferenc Bodi, researcher at the Institute of Political Sciences of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences, delivered a lecture entitled "Courage in politics. Revolution in 1956 - Mission Impossible".

A commemorative evening was held the same day at the Hungarian Cultural Institute; and it brought together three events in one. The first was the opening of the documentary exhibition "1956 - Freedom and Independence". H. E. Ms. Tekla Harangozó, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Hungary in Bulgaria, presented the idea and the message that it communicated. She noted the importance of the Hungarian revolution and the fight for freedom in 1956 that cracked the order created by the Great Powers after the Second World War and proved that the Hungarian nation is able to take their fate into their own hands. Her Excellency recalled the courage of the "Budapest boys" who grabbed a weapon to fight for their freedom, and many of them died for it. In fact, with this bilingual exhibition the museum "House of Terror" pays homage to those boys and to their zeal for freedom. "1956 - Freedom and Independence" was shown in other places as well - on October 23^rd at the Sofia Opera and Ballet, and on the 25^th - in Plovdiv, at the House of Culture.

The event continued with a literature evening in memory of the Bulgarian poet Jordan Ruskov. His work was presented by Ivan Pehlivanov and Plamen Doynov, with the participation of the actor Veselin Mezekliev. Inspired by the events in Hungary in October 1956, the poet Jordan Ruskov (1926-2010) wrote the poem "Cry Freedom", signed with the pseudonym Rumen Drumev. After nearly two years of investigation of the author and many suspected poets and writers, Jordan Ruskov was arrested on the 20^th of January, 1959, then he was sentenced to seven years in prison, of which he served nearly 3 and a half years.

In the evening the issue of the magazine "Europe 2001", dedicated to the events of 1956 was presented by its editor – Veneta Gencheva.

During the day the documentary "Let's Play Quietly" - 1956 (dir. Ferenc Tyoryok), 2011 was shown in UCI. The documentary presents the path that led to the revolution and describes the history of Hungary till the change of the political system in 1989.

The events of 1956 are also the topic of the feature film "Freedom - Special Flight" /2013/ by the director Peter Fazekas, shown on the 17^th of October at NATFIZ and on the 24^th in UCI.

On the 20^th of October, the memorial wall of Jordan Ruskov on the walls of the Hungarian Embassy in Sofia, was decorated with ceremonial wreaths.

Undoubtedly the biggest event on the occasion of the 60^th anniversary of the 1956 revolution was the visit of the Szeget modern ballet in Bulgaria. It gave two performances - on October 23^rd at the Sofia Opera and Ballet, and on the 25^th in Plovdiv, House of Culture "Boris Hristov". The show, a joint production of the Szeget modern Ballet and the National Ballet of Hungary, consisted of two works –the "Dance Suite" and the "Ritual". The first one was designed specifically for the 60^th anniversary of the revolution and recreated moments from the struggle for freedom of the Hungarian people and paid tribute to its heroes.

Organizers of the event were the Embassy of Hungary in the Republic of Bulgaria, the Hungarian Cultural Institute; its sponsors were: the National Cultural Fund of Hungary, the Hungarian Academy of Arts, the Ministry of Human Resources, Balkancarpodem, DSK Bank, Sofia Municipality, the Initiative Memorial Committee 1956.

Photo: „Diplomatic spectrum“