Bulgarian Militia

military unit in the Russian Army during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78]. The nucleus of the Bulgarian militia consisted of volunteers from the Russo-Bulgarian Brigade that participated in the Serbo-Turkish War of 1876 and officers who had been transferred from the Russian Army and the participants in the April Revolt of 1876. The unit was begun in March 1877 in Kishinev and then in Ploesti. Originally six detachments (altogether about 7,500 men) were formed under the command of General N. G. Stoletov. The detachments of the first phase took an active part in the operations of the advanced detachment of General I. V. Gurko and distinguished themselves near Stara Zagora (Eski-Zagra), on the Shipka, and near Sheinovo. A part of the detachments of the second phase that were formed later took part in the fighting only at the end of the war. The Bulgarian militia made up the basis of the Bulgarian Army, which was created in 1879.