Leaders, former dissidents and ordinary citizens across Eastern Europe expressed gratitude to Ronald Reagan for helping to end decades of "evil empire" communism and Cold War-era oppression.

According to Petko Bocharov, a Bulgarian journalist, the fact that today Bulgaria is a member of NATO could happen only after the efforts of this great American president.

Most of the region threw off communist rule in 1989, the year Reagan retired from a presidency marked by determination to loosen the grip of the Soviet Union through diplomacy, an intimidating space-based nuclear missile defense system and unrelenting appeals to the masses via Radio Free Europe.

As the world paused to remember the sacrifices of Allied troops 60 years ago on D-Day, leaders such as former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban reminded Reagan's influence in bringing democracy to those starved for it behind the Iron Curtain.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!