General Nikolai Grigoryevich Stoletov continues to be revered to this day as a national hero in Bulgaria.
Five years following the end of the Russo-Turkish War, in 1883, during the reign of the first independent ruler of Bulgaria, Alexander of Battenberg, Nikolai Stoletov was awarded the Order of Bravery II Grade and the Princely Order of Saint Alexander 1st Class. Subsequently, the general received two orders “For Military Merits” 1st Class. He attended celebrations commemorating the 25th and 30th anniversaries of significant battles of the Russo-Turkish War.
There are streets and avenues named after Stoletov in 17 out of 28 Bulgarian regions, with a total of approximately 30 settlements. There are two villages called Stoletovo: in Karlovo of Plovdiv Province and Opan of Stara Zagora Province. The village of Stoletovo in Karlovo received its name in 1935, and in 2005, a bust of General Stoletov was installed on the central square, made by Dimitar Rashkov. A replica of this bust can be found at the Alexander and Nikolai Stoletov Vladimir State University. There is also another bust of the physicist Alexander Stoletov, created by Rashkov.
General Stoletov’s birthday is commemorated annually in Stoletovo and other parts of Bulgaria. In Russia, a street in Sevastopol has been named after Nikolai Stoletov to honor the fact that the general fought for that city during the Crimean War. The exhibition displays a road name sign from Gabrovo because Stoletov received the honorary citizenship of that town in 1903.
In 1974, the road name sign “Stoletov Boulevard” was presented as a gift by the Gabrovo Town Council, with the participation of the Deputy Chairman of the Council, Tsanko Kolev. This occurred during a period when active work was being undertaken to establish the museum and build up its collection. Naturally, the museum staff would not have been able to complete their task without assistance from the Bulgarian authorities in this regard. For the future exhibition, Bulgarian museums contributed items of uniforms, weapons, documents, decorations, and books, while residents of the village of Stoletovo donated traditional costumes and pottery.
