Rusev, Svetlin Valchev (June 14, 1933 – May 26, 2018). Academician Svetlin Rusev was born in 1933 in Pleven. In 1959, he graduated from the Art Academy in Sofia under Prof. Dechko Uzunov. Since 1967 he lives and works in Sofia. He is the winner of many awards. From 1975 he was a professor at the Academy of Arts, and from 1973 to 1985 he was the chairman of the Union of Bulgarian Artists. He was the director of the National Art Gallery from 1985 to 1988. In 1985, he presented his hometown with a large collection of contemporary and classical Bulgarian art, Eastern and African art, which was opened as a permanent gallery.