ЕТНІЧНА ІДЕНТИЧНІСТЬ БОЛГАРСЬКОГО НАСЕЛЕННЯ ПІВДНЯ МРСР ТА ІЗМАЇЛЬСЬКОЇ ОБЛАСТІ УРСР У ПОВОЄННИЙ ПЕРІОД 1944 – 1954 РР.
ETHNIC IDENTITY OF THE BULGARIAN POPULATION OF THE SOUTH OF MOLDAVIAN SOVIET SOCIALISTIC REPUBLIC (MSSR) AND IZMAIL REGION OF THE UKRAINIAN SOVIET SOCIALISTIC REPUBLIC (USSR) POST-WAR PERIOD 1944-1954 YEARS

Summary/Abstract: The article considers the peculiarities of the development and preservation of the ethnic identity of the Bulgarian population of the south of the MSSR and Izmail region of the USSR post-war period 1944-1954 years. The urgency of the research is proved, first of all, by the lack of knowledge of this question, insufficient number of documents available for scientific community. The topicality of this investigation is caused by the attempt to analyze the achievements of the Bulgarian Diaspora on the way to preserving its ethnic identity separately from other nationalities. The author points to the positive changes in the national, cultural and educational development of the Bulgarian Diaspora in the post-war period. The specific features of the education of the Bulgarian population during the Soviet era and the role of education in preserving the ethno social identity, the development of the national consciousness of the Bulgarians are revealed. The author states that the Bulgarian language remained in wide use only at home in the post-war period. The learning process was held on Russian. However, this contributed to the fact that the Bulgarian youth became competitive in entrance exams, and eventually they were able to work and occupy various positions in Ukraine, Moldova and also abroad. The article also analyzes the state policy in relation to the ethnic minorities. The important consequence of the state education policy became the formation of a new Bulgarian educational intelligentsia, which could not but affected the ethno cultural development and preservation of the ethnic identity of the Bulgarian population of the region. The government contributed to the creation of a number of Bulgarian art groups, they were formed on the state account and initiative. In addition to the organization, the financing of the art collectives was also performed by the government. The professional music schools and their branches were also opened in the regions with the Bulgarian population. Further, the author specifies the achievements of the Bulgarian population in the field of culture. The participation of the Bulgarians in the social and cultural life of the Izmail region and the south of the MSSR is researched. The author claims that it was the cultural sphere where the national identity of the Bulgarian ethnic group of Ukraine and Moldova was preserved. The role and place of amateur folk art in preserving the language, folklore and ethnographic heritage of the Bulgarian people in consolidation with the Bulgarian ethnic group, as well as renewing and strengthening the social and cultural connections of the Bulgarian Diaspora with Bulgaria are also revealed. However, numerous direct contacts were established only in the post-Stalin period. It was considered that the Bulgarian people were not indifferent to the national culture and its development. In disregard the ideological, political, ethnic turmoil that apprehended the Bulgarian population of southwestern Ukraine and the south of Moldova in the post-war period, they preserved the inherent peculiarities in language, culture, ritualism and religion. It should be noted that national identity, originality and uniqueness are better preserved in the spiritual sphere than in the economic field. Thus, the article of I.I. Tatarko provides important inputs to the study of the most urgent problems and issues of historiography in Eastern Europe – the postwar period and the policy of the Soviet Union towards ethnic minorities.

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