Prof. Kiril Topalov received the "Stara Planina" Order (first degree) for exceptionally great services to science and public life!

"We are proud of your achievements, which set new, high standards and contribute to the progress of our homeland, to its glory far beyond its borders, and are an important Bulgarian contribution in the fields of your creative and applied work. Please accept my congratulations also for the fact that, with your talent and achievements, you have not only established yourself as an inalienable part of Bulgarian spiritual strength, but have invested will and energy in the so-important spiritual unity of the nation.
You have managed to inspire many followers and, most importantly, to make it your mission to build knowledgeable, capable and spiritually rich young people who will continue your work in the name of Bulgaria", said President Rumen Radev.

At the ceremony on 20 November 2025, President Rumen Radev honoured Prof. Kiril Topalov with the "Stara Planina" Order, first degree, for exceptionally great services to science and public life. Since 2002 Kiril Topalov has been a professor of Bulgarian Revival literature at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". His research on the problems of Bulgarian and Greek literature in the 18th and 19th centuries is of great value. From 1998 to 2002 he was Bulgaria’s ambassador to Greece, contributing to the building of trust for the realisation of steps important to our country, including accession to the European Union and NATO.

He is the holder of the Grand Cross of the Order of the Phoenix for his services to the development of Bulgarian-Greek relations. From 2013 to 2019 he was ambassador to the Vatican and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Prof. Topalov is the holder of the highest state orders of the Vatican, the Sovereign Order of Malta and Montenegro.

On the stage of the "Ivan Radoev" Theatre you can watch "Come See Us" by Kiril Topalov, directed by Vladlen Aleksandrov.