Bulgaria bid farewell to its second cosmonaut, Major General (ret.) Alexander Alexandrov, with a memorial ceremony held at the Central Military Club in Sofia. President Iliana Iotova, military leaders, relatives, colleagues and officials gathered on Monday to pay their final respects to Alexandrov, who died on July 10 at the age of 74.
Among those attending the ceremony were Defense Minister Dimitar Stoyanov, Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov, Air Force Commander Major General Nikolay Rusev and Russia’s Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova. Nearly two hours after the ceremony began, people continued arriving to leave flowers and honor the Bulgarian cosmonaut.
President Iotova described Alexandrov as one of Bulgaria’s modern-day heroes and highlighted his contribution to the country’s reputation in space exploration.
"Bulgaria is bidding farewell to one of its modern-day heroes. He was a distinguished Bulgarian officer, our cosmonaut, a man who dedicated his life to Bulgaria, to its glory and to space science," Iotova said.
She expressed hope that future generations of scientists and astronauts would continue the legacy left by Alexandrov, with support from Bulgarian institutions.
