2 Leva Liberation from Turks

Issued to mark the 90th anniversary of Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule following the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, this commemorative was produced under the Zhivkov government at a moment when the People's Republic was actively mobilizing national historical memory to legitimize communist rule. The San Stefano treaty and subsequent Congress of Berlin — which dramatically reduced the Bulgarian territory initially promised — remained sensitive political territory even ninety years on.