Политически и научни репресии – случаят Хайрие Мемова-Сюлейманова
Political and Scientific Persecutions – the Case of Hayrie Memova-Suleymanova

Summary/Abstract: The research is focussed on the scientific carrier and life destiny of Hayriye Süleymanoğlu Yenisoy, lecturer of Turkish language at Sofia University, interpreted in the wider frame of the policies of the communist regime to Turks in Bulgaria. We followed how the political events in the second half of the 20th century in communist Bulgaria played a decisive role for the professional carriers of Turkish scientists and lecturers in the country. Their destinies were not exceptions on the background of the persecutions of ideologically unhandy persons by the regime. Our research is related to the entirety of scientific life in the totalitarian Bulgaria, but is focussed on the mechanisms of repressions of Turkish intelligentsia in the context of the policy of the communist power to Turks and other Muslims in Bulgaria. The paper considers the means of destruction of the educated Turkish elite after 1944 and the efforts of the communist regime to create politically loyal new elite among the Turks. But the short flirt of the communist power with the Muslim minorities finished up with the persecution of the elite of the Turkish community who suffered mostly of the increasing assimilation efforts. The regime did away with many representatives of this elite requiring impossible loyalty from them – refusal of their ethnic identity, changing their Muslim names, falsification of scientific facts. The Bulgarian – Turkish thematic dictionary created by Hayriye Memova was convicted of being espionage order from Turkey. She was dismissed from the academic institutions and compelled to survive by working as cleaner in a factory for 4 years. Against her an investigation was initiated by the State Security which lasted for 7 years and included 19 secret agents most of them her colleagues, students and random acquaintances. Nevertheless she defended her PhD and habilitated in Bulgaria, in Turkey where she emigrated in 1989 with thousands of Turks who were expelled from the country, her scientific degrees were not acknowledged and she had to habilitate again in Baku. Following the scientific and personal trajectory of Hayriye Memova who is a representative example of the resistance we followed the policies of the regime to scientific community focussing on the control of the repressive apparat of the regime over the Sofia University.

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