Laureate Of The International Botev Prize.

[Taz]

The Hristo Botev Bulgarian International Laureate Prize medal of Literature, Linguistics and Art. 1st emission.
The prize was made by the Bulgarian Government Mint.
This prize was established in 1976 and its statute strictly says that it can be awarded only once every 5 years and then only to one Bulgarian and one foreigner.
The last award ceremony before communist rule fell was in 1986 and during that period only 6 people received this award prize.
After 1989 when democracy came to Bulgaria the awarding of this prize was temporarily stopped, but was started again during 1996. It was re-established with a State decree and was again awarded during 1996 and 2001 to 4 more people.
However, the new issues are different, as they no longer have the inscription People's Republic of Bulgaria on the reverse.
The prize is gold plated / gilded.
This high award has been given to the famous authors Umberto Eco and the Spanish exiled writer Rafael Alberti.

Eddie.

[Taz]

Khristo Botev
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born Jan. 6, 1848, Kalofer, Rumelia, Ottoman Empire [now in Bulgaria]
died June 1, 1876, near Mount Veslez, Bulgaria.
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Bulgarian poet and patriot. in In 1863 Botev was sent to Russia to complete his education, where he became enamored of socialist doctrine. He sought to promote revolution against the Ottoman domination and was killed in action leading a band of his own organizing. He died a heroic death in the western part of the Bulgarian Range near Mount Veslez on June 1, 1876 as a voevode of 200 rebels who had set out to die for the liberation of their enslaved Fatherland. The inscription chiselled on the granite rock by which he was killed reads: "Your prophecy has come true - you live on!"

His few lyrics and ballads are filled with patriotic fervor. English translations of his work appear as Khristo Botev Selections (1948) and Poems (1955).

POEMS:

Hadji Dimiter
To my Mother
To my Brother
Elegy
Sharing
To my First Love
On Parting
Haidouks
Eloped
The Struggle
Stranger
St. George's Day
A Patriot
In the Tavern
My Prayer
A Cloud of Darkness Has Appeared
The Hanging of Vassil Levski

For the poetry fans - http://slovoto.org/f/en/botev/

Eddie.

[Taz]

Here is a close up of the reverse of the medal. Showing the lion, which is standing over crossed revolver and feather, surrounded by "LAUREATE OF INTERNATIONAL BOTEV’S PRIZE".
Only 12 people were awarded this prize.

[CtahhR]

Here is my "International Laureate Of The International Botev Prize". Some real workmanship has gone into this 23K variant.
The Bulgarian mint also made 14K variants and alloy "wearer's copies" of this award which are almost as difficult to get hold of. Awarded even fewer times than the Order Of Victory! with 12 awardings before the collapse of the PRB.

The 23K variant was minted in the single digits and the 14K variant had a maximum mint run of 30.

It's definitely not just a run-of-the-mill "well done comrade-author" badge.

Awarded four times every five years to the following authors;

1976:
Aleksej Surkov (Soviet Union)
Nicolás Guillén (Cuba)
László Nagy (Hungary)
Pierre Seghers (France)
1981: Rafael Alberti (Spain)
Rasul Gamzatovich Gamzatov (Soviet Union)
Ahmad Al-Ahmad (Syria)
Miroslav Krleža (Yugoslavia)
1986: Dmitro Pavlychko (Soviet Union)
Mario Benedetti (Uruguay)
Nil Simeonovich Gilevich (Soviet Union)
Günter Wallraff (West Germany)

The award was ceased with the collapse of the PRB but has since been re-established.

The final picture is of the 23K mintmark.

[CtahhR]

Here is the "deluxe" case and the title comfortably at home.