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Kazashko Today: Community Centre, Kalinushka Folk Group and Cossack Culture Centre
The smallest village in Varna Municipality has a community centre, a folk group, a museum and its own ataman. Here is how a small community preserves its big history.
The Mikhail Sholokhov community centre
The community centre (chitalishte) was founded in 1958 and bears the name of the Russian writer Mikhail Sholokhov, author of “And Quiet Flows the Don”. It was the Don Cossacks that he wrote about. The community centre organises the village's festivals, including Sailors' and Fishermen's Day, and is home to the amateur ensembles.
Kalinushka
The Kalinushka folk group performs the old Cossack and Old Believer songs at every festival: church, Cossack and village-wide. It also takes part in festivals outside the village. The group is one of the liveliest faces of Kazashko.
Kalinushka is a laureate of the First Moscow Folklore Festival (2006) and winner of First Prize at the international festival “Thrace, the Land of Orpheus” (2023). For many years the group sang with the accordionist Stoyan Gamolov, may he rest in peace, the author of the collection of its songs. With him it also appeared on “Slavi's Show”.
The Centre for Cossack Culture
On 14 October 2019, on Cossack Day, the Centre for Cossack Culture opened its doors. Its museum collection includes traditional costumes, old photographs of bearded Cossacks, church objects and a model of the old white Old Believer house with a blue window.
The Kazacheta Sunday school
A Sunday school runs in the old school building, as part of the Centre for Cossack Culture. Children learn Russian, faith, songs and dances. In 2021 BNR (Bulgarian National Radio) reported that the school had 13 children. The children of the Kazacheta club take part in the festivals: at the Old New Year they go round the village with blessings, and they recite and dance at the concerts.
The mayor and ataman
The village's long-serving mayor, the ethnologist Gergana Petkova, is the only woman in Bulgaria to hold the Cossack rank of esaul. She is also called the village's “ataman”. She has been mayor since 2000. She holds a master's degree in theology and is the author of the book “Kazashko – minalo, nastoyashte i badeshte” (“Kazashko – Past, Present and Future”, 2016). In 2000 she also created the village festival in its present form. Under her leadership Kazashko has developed its cultural life and begun to attract tourists, ethnologists and linguists.
Twinning and ties
In 2019 Kazashko was twinned with the Cossack stanitsa (village) of Natukhayevskaya in the urban district of Novorossiysk, which in turn is a twin town of Varna. The agreement was approved by Varna Municipal Council in June 2019, and the treaty was signed on 21 September 2019. Letters of greeting arrive from Novorossiysk for the village festivals.
A park on the shore
A park with an outdoor gym, a children's playground and a stage has been built on the lake shore. The festival concerts take place there, and on ordinary evenings it is the best spot for the sunset.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the community centre in Kazashko called?
The Mikhail Sholokhov – 1958 community centre (chitalishte).
Which settlement is Kazashko twinned with?
With the Cossack stanitsa of Natukhayevskaya near Novorossiysk, since 2019, with the approval of Varna Municipal Council.
Published: 27 September 2026
Sources (8, mostly in Bulgarian)
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- „Варненско село говори на руски и пази казашки традиции“, Fakti.bg
- „Един есаул пази наследството на донските казаци край Варна“, Е. Василева, Dnes.bg
- Казашко - Варна, официална страница във Facebook
- „Гергана Петкова – една необикновена жена“, М. Игнатов, Blitz.bg
- „На гости на казаците в староверското село Казашко“, БНР
- „Кметица атаман командва във варненското село Казашко“, Moreto.net
- „Филм представя колорита на казашката общност“, Ти и Lidl