Hristo Lukov


Hristo Nikolov Lukov was a Bulgarian lieutenant-general, politician, and Minister of War, who led the nationalistic Union of Bulgarian National Legions, an organisation largely supportive of Nazi ideology. Lukov was assassinated in 1943 by two members of the Bulgarian resistance movement, Violeta Yakova and Ivan Burudzhiev.

Military and political career

First World War

Hristo Nikolov Lukov was promoted during World War I to the rank of a major and a commander of an artillery battalion. Abroad he is incorrectly thought to be the commander of the 13th Infantry division during World War I. In fact that was major-general Hristo Tsonev Lukov, a native of Gabrovo.

Interwar period

During the interwar period Hristo Nikolov Lukov became the commander of the Army School of Artillery, of the Training Section of the General Staff's Artillery Inspection, and of the 2nd and 3rd Infantry divisions.
Between 1935-1938 Lukov served as Minister of War, in which position he created close ties to high-ranking Nazi officials.

Second World War

During the Second World War he was a key supporter of the Axis powers, particularly Nazi Germany.
This was largely due to his close relations with the Third Reich and his activities as leader of UBNL. Lukov was considered one of the most prominent advocates of antisemitic ideas in Bulgaria.

Death

Lukov was assassinated by Communist partisans on the 13th of February 1943 in Sofia. According to the book "In the name of the people", he was ambushed by two Jewish resistance fighters in front of his apartment in Sofia. Although struck by one bullet, he fought back one of the partisans, Ivan Burudzhiev, but the second one, Violeta Yakova, fired two more shots and killed him.

Neo-Nazi 'Lukov March'

From 2003 through 2019, the far-right Bulgarian National Union hosted an annual 'Lukov March' to commemorate "fallen heroes of Bulgaria" with a torch march, taking place in February in Sofia. It persistently caused controversy and was subject to multiple court bans. Finally in 2020, the Supreme Administrative Court upheld a ban by the Sofia municipality so that the evening torchlight procession was cancelled, although less than 200 supporters of Lukov's ideology still gathered for laying of wreaths at the house where Lukov was killed. A few hundred people gathered for a counter-protest in central Sofia earlier in the day, promoting “No Nazis on the streets”.

Awards and decorations