Bulgarian Military Museum Director Petko Yotov Has Died

The Director of the Bulgarian National Miltary History Museum Petko Yotov has passed away on Tuesday at the age of 62.

Making the announcement, Marieta Staneva, the museum’s press attachée, said that Petko Yotov had recently undergone a serious operation followed by chemotherapy.

His condition had deteriorated on Monday, and he had been admitted to the Sofia Military Medical Academy (VMA), where he had passed away.

"We have lost the man who warmed us with his smile. To him the museum was vocation, and love, and self-devotion", stated Staneva.

“As a long-standing director of the Military History Museum, Colonel Yotov had a contribution of inestimable value for reviving it - from a ruin, it turned into one of the leading cultural institutions in the country,” she added in her tribute.

Colonel Yotov was born on Sept 2, 1947, in Pleven. He graduated from the Bulgarian Military Academy in 1976. He was the author of many articles and books on military history.

Later, he had spent 13 years as a professor at the Airforce School in Dolna Mitropolia and at the "G.S.Rakovsky" Military Academy in Sofia. He became Director of the Military History Museum in 1989.

“He educated in a spirit of esteem and respect for military glory. There was no parade or a military ceremony that would be done without his participation", Marieta Staneva stated.

He is survived by two daughters and three grand-daughters.