Among the grass in front of the beautiful building of the Faculty of Biology of the University of Sofia, there is the Monument to the Agronomists. It is a large moraine with a metal pentacle and engraved names of communist agronomists who died in 1923 (workers’ riots and 1942-1944 in actions of the partisan movement), defending the ideas of communism. The monument is picturesquely shaped with smaller stones scattered around and low vegetation, and the imprint of the years on the central monolith also contributes to achieving a natural yet imposing presence, as if it had risen from the ground itself rather than being placed by human hands . A part of the inscription written in metal letters still stands: “In memory of the agronomists who fell in the fight against…”, the last word has probably been melted down long ago, but the stone keeps its imprint – “fascism”.
To what extent this monument reflects the historical truth and to what extent it is distorted for propaganda purposes, everyone can judge for himself. One thing, however, is undoubtedly a fact: these young people (all but two under 30) lost their lives because they stood up for their convictions, and they probably did it with a pure heart, with the sincere belief that stand for something true. Although the passage of time has proved their error and their ideas have brought their decline above all else, if we try to put ourselves in their place in those times, we can imagine that they dreamed of a completely different future.
