"Гордо знаме ни е Ботев, пръв учител - Димитров": социалистически визии за възрожденските

The paper aims at analyzing the images of the Bulgarian National Revival heroes in the Grand narrative, manufactured during the socialism. The heroes of the National Revival epoch were re-thought as predecessors of the socialist activists, using various propaganda procedures: neutralization of the attempts, made by the previous regime for establishing intellectual genealogy between it and the heroes from XIX c.; forging of particular slogans; re-shaping of school and university curricula; introducing anniversaries and commemoration practices; even founding research institutions. In the period of so called mature socialism, the national heroes were successfully integrated and re-used for the purposes of the new, nationally-oriented phase of the regime. Post-socialist attempts to re-think the national pantheon were not able to re-fashion the National Revival part of the narrative, whose kernel kept on being marked with unparalleled dignity, high moral and selflessness.