The siege of Pleven
As I entered the Pleven Panorama, a 360° cyclorama situated in the historical museum in Pleven, northern Bulgaria, I was reminded of the critical siege strategy in the history of warfare. This military tactic involves isolating and encircling an area to deny the enemy access to supplies, ultimately compelling them to surrender. The Siege of Pleven, also known as the Siege of Plevna, was such an event in 19th-century Europe, occurring during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878. It played a crucial role in Bulgaria's liberation from Ottoman rule.
The siege lasted nearly five months, from July 20 to December 10, 1877. Approximately 43,000 Ottoman troops were captured. Key figures in the siege included General Osman Nuri Pasha (Ottoman), General Eduard Totleben (Russian), General Nikolai Kridener (Russian), General Mikhail Skobelev (Russian), and Prince Carol I of Romania, who commanded the Romanian troops allied with Russia.
After crossing the Danube, Russian forces aimed to advance toward Constantinople but were halted by Ottoman defences at Pleven. The Russians launched three major assaults on July 20, July 30, and September 11-12. After incurring heavy casualties, the Russian command opted for a prolonged siege, cutting off supplies to the city. On December 9, Osman Pasha attempted a breakout but was wounded and forced to retreat. He surrendered the following day. The fall of Pleven marked a turning point, allowing Russian forces to advance deeper into Ottoman territory.
Several significant landmarks in the city commemorate the Siege of Pleven. One of these is the Pleven Panorama, which opened to the public in 1977 and depicts the third and bloodiest assault of the siege. This panorama is among the largest in the world. It is located in Skobelev Park, one of the battlefields where Russian and Romanian forces confronted Ottoman troops.
The architects of the museum, led by chief architect Ivo Petrov and a team of Bulgarian designers, drew inspiration from the Panorama of the Battle of Borodino in Moscow. The building features a Brutalist-modernist style, incorporating elements of monumental realism into its architectural design. It boasts a cylindrical structure with a diameter of 40 meters and a height of 17 meters, comprising four levels. The panorama painting, measuring approximately 115 meters in length and 15 meters in height, was created by a team of Russian and Bulgarian painters. The architects employed perspective illusion to blend 3D objects such as soldiers, weapons, trees, soil, and war equipment with the painting. When one stands at the centre as a viewer, it feels as though the scene surrounds them.
As I left the museum, several historical sieges came to mind, including the Allied forces’ seizure of Normandy during D-Day in World War II in 1944 and the siege of Sarajevo during the Bosnian War in the 1990s.
(Arun Kumar Sahu is the Ambassador of India to Bulgaria and North Macedonia)
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