A procession in memory of Gen. Hristo Lukov took place in Sofia on Saturday, after a court decision lifted the municipality’s ban on the event. The march began at the intersection of Knyaz Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard and Krakra Street and continued to Trakia Street, where participants stopped in front of a building bearing a commemorative plaque dedicated to Lukov. Police maintained a strong presence throughout the event, and traffic along part of Dondukov Boulevard was temporarily restricted, according to BTA. Those taking part chanted “General Hristo Lukov” and “Banned, but not forgotten,” lighting candles and torches in front of the house where Lukov once lived. Municipal Ban and Court Decision A day earlier, the Metropolitan Municipality announced it had received a notification from the Bulgarian National Union “Edelweiss” on June 10, 2025. The request sought permission to hold the Lukovmarsh on February 14, 2026, along a route starting from the pylons of the National Palace of Culture, passing through Vitosha Boulevard, Patriarch Evtimiy Boulevard, G.S. Rakovski Street, Knyaz Aleksandar Dondukov Boulevard, and ending at 1 Trakia Street
via novinite: Nazi-Linked Lukovmarsh Took Place in Sofia After Court Overturned City Ban
siehe auch: Annual March Held in Sofia in Memory of General Lukov. The annual Lukov March is held in Sofia in memory of Gen. Hristo Lukov (1888-1943). The event is organized by the Bulgarian National Union. A march in memory of General Hristo Lukov (1888-1943) took place in Sofia on Saturday evening. The march covered a short route to the house where Gen. Lukov lived, on which a commemorative plaque is mounted. There was heightened police presence, and traffic on part of the nearby boulevard was briefly blocked. Participants in the march chanted “General Hristo Lukov” and “Banned but not forgotten”. They lit candles in front of the house. The event was organized by the Bulgarian National Union. Lukov was a popular military commander but was also known for his close links to the Third Reich and his activity as leader of the far-right Union of Bulgarian National Legions; Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry calls for annual neo-Nazi ‘Lukov March’ to be prevented. Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry said on February 13 that it categorically opposes the planned holding of the so-called “Lukov March” and called on the responsible institutions to take all statutory actions to prevent it. Sofia mayor Vassil Terziev issued an order banning the march, but the ban was overturned by the Sofia Administrative Court. The event honours Hristo Lukov, leader of the fascist pro-Nazi Union of Bulgarian Legions at the time of the Second World War, and is held annually on the Saturday closest to February 13, the anniversary of his assassination. The “Lukov March” features a torchlight procession though the streets of Bulgaria’s capital city Sofia, and over the years has attracted neo-Nazis from other parts of the world. The organisers seek to portray Lukov as a “patriotic hero”. The organisers of the Lukov March claim that Lukov was not an antisemite – though he led an organisation with nakedly antisemitic stances – on the hoary grounds that “Jews were among his best friends”. Organisers never have offered any plausible explanation why they honour a general who headed a pro-Nazi organisation, to the exclusion of any other Bulgarian generals of the 20th century. The Foreign Ministry said that such manifestations are incompatible with the values and traditions of Bulgarian society and Bulgaria will not allow its territory to be used as a stage for international manifestations of extremism, intolerance, discrimination and hatred. “Such manifestations are used to undeservedly present Bulgaria in a negative light and to overshadow its achievements in the field of human rights,” the Foreign Ministry said.
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