Евреи, избягали от гетата и лагерите на територията на окупирана Полша в периода 1942 – 1945 г.

Author(s): Grzegorz Berendt / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2017

This article deals wiht the phenomenon of Jews that managed to escape from the ghettos and the camps in the territory of German-occupied Poland. In the analysis of the data from the encyclopaedia of the ghettos, published by the Institute Yad Vashem, as well as from the literature on the subject, the author found that at least 60 000 Jews has fled to the so called Aria area in occupied Poland.

Печалният завършек на Новото славянско движение, 1947 – 1948

Author(s): Biser Petrov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2021

The article examines the activities of the established at the end of 1946 Pan-Slavic Committee in Belgrade which, however, lasted only a year and a half. The Committee was created with the intention of being the centralized and ruling body of the Kremlin-born Slavic Movement after June 22, 1941. The emergence of the Committee came at a time when relations between the partners of the Anti-Axis Coalition had begun to deteriorate, and this circumstance inevitably made a direct impact on the tasks it was assigned. After the final bloc division of Europe and the Tito – Stalin split, the very existence of the Pan-Slavic Committee became meaningless, since the political exploitation of the idea of Slavic unity no longer fitted into the new realities and this resulted in its abolishment in the mid of 1948.

Към политическата икономия на Aприлското въстание 1876 г.

Author(s): Pencho D. Penchev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2021

Based on a politico-economic analysis, the paper provides answers to important questions about the April Uprising of 1876: why the Bulgarians revolted, why many Bulgarians did not revolt, and why the uprising was relatively short as a time-span. According to the available primary sources the Bulgarians who revolted in April 1876 revolted because they were relatively wealthy and as such they had something to lose. Revolutionary sentiments, however, did not prevail in their political views concerning the Bulgarian question. Here comes the role of the propaganda lie about the authority planned massacre of the Bulgarians. As a result, live and property of the future rebels, were considered as endangered. The response to the threat is a risky and desperate anti-state uprising. The organizers of the uprising did not overcome the free-rider problem. The population in the insurgent settlements was left to pay the price of putting the Bulgarian question before Europe. Additional difficulties in the implementation of a relatively mass riot pose the short deadlines for its preparation. They resulted in high prices of and do not allow the supply of larger quantities of weapons and gunpowder.

Międzynarodowe okno pogodowe dla polskiej transformacji

Author(s): Roman Kuźniar / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2021

The main thesis of this essay is the assertion of the concurrence of the Polish transformation after 1989 with the world switch towards the liberal international order at that time. Poland was among initiators of these changes and hugely benefited from them. It applied to the establishment of the regime of the rule of law and the open market economy. The success of the Polish transformation and the rapid economic growth would have not been possible or they would have been limited without this external support.The main although not the only theoretical explanation framework to these processes is the liberal school of thought. Democratic regress in Poland (since end of 2015) and a turn to authoritarianism coincide with backsliding of the international liberal order. Unfavourable internal changes incapacitate Poland’s foreign policy as well as its international standing.

Z Adamem Michnikiem o PRL, przełomie ustrojowym i politycznej roli kilku uczonych rozmawia Jacek Raciborski

Author(s): Jacek Raciborski,Adam Michnik / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2021

Some reminiscences of Adam Michnik on Jerzy J. Wiatr and Zygmunt Bauman and some other public scholars at the time of the Polish People’s Republic and after its peaceful demise in 1989/1990. Main topics of the discussion between Adam Michnik and Jacek Raciborski concern the dynamics of the social and political changes that led to the regime change, the tension between their spontaneity and their conceptualization, social and psychological contexts of decision making at that time, and the issue of responsibility of people handing over power peacefully: if and how let them be a part of the transition without punishing them for previous crimes.

За „Кратко изложение за соединението на двете училища Свищовски, училището на божественното преображение и свети Апостоли“ на Емануил Васкидович, или първият публикуван общински устав на български език

Author(s): Dora Savova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 6/2021

The publication of Emanuel Vaskidovitch „Kratko izlozhenieza saedinenieto na dvete uchilishta Svishtovski“ is known to the researchers, as an application of “Hristiyansko pouchenie ili sokrashtenie na Sveshtenniyata katihisisa” however to this day no researcher has commented upon the master copies which have been used for the making of the publication. „Kratko izlozhenie“in essence, it’s the first printed draft for the communities` statute in the Bulgarian language. In the present article i demonstrate my thesis, that the author adjusts the only known published statute of Greek Orthodox community from the early19th century „Sistyma i diatagai“, compounded from Melenikon’s citizens in 1813is made known to the Bulgarian public. Source of unmatched value, this statute provides us with precious information for the development of the subsidiarity, for the entry of social elements in the Melenikon’s administration, as for the rules which this happens.

Bulgarian Blagoev Commune in the Context of the Formation of the Soviet Totalitarian System (1920s – 1930s)

Author(s): Mykhailo Zhurba,Viktor Dotsenko,Nataliia Chernihovets / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2021

Based on the analysis of the sources and academic literature, the article comprehensively presents a critical analysis of the activities of the Bulgarian Blagoev Commune. The article covers the details of the organisation and functioning of the collective, the tasks set by the Bolshevik authorities. The article characterises the process of adaptation to a different country, the relations of the members of the commune with the local population and ties to Ukrainian associations. The results and consequences of the economic and financial activities of the international commune on the territory of Ukraine are generalised. The authors draw attention to the fact that the conscientious work of the members of the commune was used by the political regime under the slogans of building a bright future for the sake of an unrealistic socialist goal. Special focus is put on the party and public activities of the members of the commune. The contradictory nature of the position of the Soviet government regarding the newly created collective, the evolution of its party and state policy and the tragic fate of the leadership of the commune in the 1930s are discussed. The article outlines the recommendations on the practical application of the historical experience of the international collective in the context of international cooperation.

Ново изследване за руската позиция към Балканските войни 1912 – 1913

Author(s): Hristo Berov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 6/2021

Гробът на Хаджи Димитър e под връх Хаджи Димитър в Стара планина

Author(s): Vera Boneva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2022

The article presents archival materials and other historical sources which keep primary information about the death and funeral of the famous Bulgarian rebel leader Hadzhi Dimitar Asenov (1840 – 1868) who originates from the town of Sliven. The widely accepted thesis that Hadzhi Dimitar was deadly shot during the Buzludzha battle (18th July 1868) and was buried at the place of the battle has been proven once again by bringing new motives and logical arguments. The funeral of the famous revolutionary on the Buzludzha peak (named in 1942 Hadzhi Dimitar peak) has been confirmed with memorial and archaeological pieces of evidence. Both re-burials of the fallen heroes (1898 and 1961) provide additional data in that direction. Despite scientific argumentation of the said thesis, the article also interprets some uncertain and contradictory evidence about the eventual death of Hadzhi Dimitar on the Kadrafil peak, located in the Sredna gora mountain – 50 km away from Bualudzha peak in the Stara planina mountain. Neither factual nor logical arguments of this legend withstand scientific criticism. Nevertheless, they are persistently popularized by local patriots, originating mainly from the village Svezhen (formerly called Ajar – until 1934). Furthermore, supporters of the so called Adjar's legend are trying to give national status of their unscientific claims about the death and burial of the famous revolutionary leader Hadzhi Dimitar Asenov. Their unjustified actions are conceptualized in the scientific context of the cultural memory theory. The dispute between the scientific version and the Adjar's legend is explained by the different approaches of historical science and cultural memory toward a single fact from the past – the last moments of a national hero's life. The professional historiography works with objective facts, scientific methods and logical arguments. Cultural memory attracts convenient hypotheses, mythological plots and unprovable local memories.

РЕЦЕПЦИЈА И РЕПРЕЗЕНТАЦИЈА ХОЛОКАУСТА У ИСТОЧНОМ БЕРЛИНУ И БЕОГРАДУ НАКОН ДРУГОГ СВЕТСКОГ РАТА

Author(s): Milena R. Nešić Pavković / Language(s): Serbian Issue: 75/2021

The goal of this paper is to investigate the memory of the Holocaust, i.e. the reception and representation of the suffering of the Jewish population during the rule of the Third Reich (under Nazi rule and occupation) in the capitals of the states constituted after the Second World War - in East Berlin, GDR, and Belgrade, SFRY, during the period from 1945 to 1989/1991. Relying on the achievements of memory studies and analyzing the political moods of that time and the ways of constructing official narratives about Jewish suffering in selected post-war Communist countries, the similarities and differences in the policy of representing Jewish suffering in these two countries and the memory of Jewish victims in places of remembrance and in the practices of remembrance in their capitals will be pointed out.

Ново изследване за американското разузнаване и България (1941 – 1991)

Author(s): Simona Samuilova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2022

Научни форуми

Author(s): Emiliya Voleva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 45/2022

Data about scientific events in the field of the humanities in Bulgaria in the second half of 2022

ПАЛОМНИЧЕСТВА ЮЖНЫХ СЛАВЯН НА СВЯТУЮ ЗЕМЛЮ В XVI – XVII ВВ. И СОЗДАНИЕ ОБЩЕГО ПРАВОСЛАВНОГО ПРОСТРАНСТВА ОСМАНСКОЙ ИМПЕРИИ

Author(s): Dmitry I. Polyvyannyy / Language(s): Russian Issue: 3/2023

After 1517 the Holy Places of Jerusalem, Palestine and Sinai as well as the three ancient Eastern Patriarchates of Alexandria, Antiochia and Jerusalem were included into the imperial domain of the Sublime Porte thus connecting its Orthodox subjects in Rumelia, Greek islands, Asia Minor and the Danubian Principalities to the most worshipped common Christian shrines. In the following two centuries the number of the pilgrims to the Holy Land from the Ottoman Balkan provinces was permanently increasing. The South Slav pilgrims’ glosses and travel notes reveal the shaping of the common orthodox space, the parts of which were the visitors’ living places, sacral centers, monasteries and travel communications. The pilgrimage to Jerusalem and the return back lead them across administrative, canonical, ethnic and territorial metes and bounds creating in their minds the image of the Ottoman Empire as mighty world power with multinational and multi-confessional population thus laying foundations for the development of protonational identities.

Политико-дипломатическите отношения между България и НАТО в периода 1992 – 1994 г.

Author(s): Hristian Yotov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2s/2024

The main goal of the present study is to show for the first time the nuances of the political-diplomatic relations between Bulgaria and NATO in the context of the difficult first years of the democratic changes in the country. The text is based on a large amount of newly released archives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Central State Archive, thus claiming a high degree of objectivity.

Подцененият казус. България и статутът на Света гора (Атон) в дипломатическия контекст на Балканската война (1912 – 1913)

Author(s): Goran Blagoev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2024

The status of Mount Athos during the First Balkan War and the accompanying peace negotiations was a major issue for Russia, Greece and the Western Great Powers. Paradoxically, Bulgaria, which is one of the countries in the Balkan Union, shows almost no interest in this problem. Bulgarian diplomacy perceives it as a private case that has much more background positions than the big and important problem related to the territorial expansion in the White Sea region and Macedonia. The article answers the question why Bulgarian politics underestimates the importance of the problem related to the status of the monastic territory on the Athos peninsula and its importance for the international prestige of the state, as well as its geostrategic positioning on the Balkans.

THE WAR IN UKRAINE AMONG CONTEMPORARY ARMED CONFLICTS

Author(s): Anton Bebler / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

The war in Ukraine is the biggest, bloodiest and longest war in Europe since 1945. Its initial stage holds similarities with several other armed conflicts and wars in the last 50 years on Cyprus and in the territories of the former Soviet Union and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). Among the cases in ex-Yugoslavia the greatest similarity is seen with the war in Croatia (1991–1995). These conflicts stemmed from almost simultaneous breakdowns of two multinational „socialist federations” and their communist regimes. The dissimilarity of the second stage of the war in Ukraine and the war in Croatia is primarily due to the processes of NATO and EU enlargement coupled with the USA’s policy of using NATO enlargement and Ukraine as tools to harm and weaken Russia. The conflict about Ukraine developed into an indirect war between Russia and the US-led West, where Ukraine is the West’s proxy and the main victim. The final outcome of the war in Ukraine will be decided on the battlefield and not around a diplomatic table. Still, it will be very different from that in Croatia. Responsibility for the war in Ukraine and its consequences must be shared between the two direct belligerents, the co-responsible USA and other NATO members.

PRESENT AND FUTURE GEOPOLITICAL ROLE OF RUSSIA IN PUBLIC OPINION AND MEDIA DISCOURSE

Author(s): Nataliya M. Velikaya / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

The problems of constructing a new national identity and preserving Russia’s influence in the post-Soviet space have become now particularly relevant in the framework of the global confrontation with the West and special military operation in Ukraine. The purpose of the article is to analyze public opinion and political discourse regarding the geopolitical future of Russia in the context of modern conflicts of a regional and international nature.The empirical basis of the article is the results of the sociological monitoring How are you, Russia (1992–2024) and the data of content analysis of mass media during 2014 and 2022. The sociological monitoring survey allowed to study the dynamics of citizens’ perceptions of the geopolitical future of the Russian Federation and to trace the connection of the main trends with the indicators of consolidation of society included in the toolkit. The mass media discourse showed the strengthening of neo-imperial topics and allusions. The preservation of the integrity of the Russian Federation and its sovereignty in the long term does not cause doubts among population, even in the conditions of a crisis and an uncertain future associated with the formation of a multipolar world. Optimistic scenarios are considered, emphasizing the strengthening of Russia’s role in the new world order, and pessimistic ones, reflecting isolation models of development. Russia’s powerful progressive development in the future is associated with arguments and ideologems about Russia’s special path, the uniqueness of Russian civilization, which became one of the main topics in the Russian political discourse.

CHINA VS THE UNITED STATES: STRUGGLE FOR HEGEMONY OR THUCIDYDES’S TRAP

Author(s): Roman Kuźniar / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

This article discusses the prospect of the transition of the Chinese-American rivalry into an open, all out war. The problem arises from the experience of history – two leading powers eventually refer to war in order to assume their, one of them, strategic and political primacy within the relevant international order of their time. The present situation – after a demise of the international liberal order – of confrontation between the US and China is being compared to the so-called Thucidydes’s trap, which is the reference to the Peloponnesian war. The author is challenging both the comparison and the inevitability of the war between the Big Two, without however totally excluding the possibility of some military demonstrations of their resolve to push for or to defend their global status. Reasons for such an assessment are based upon negative (nuclear capabilities) and positive (economy, development) interdependence factors between the only two superpowers and the nature of the contemporary international environment, complex and tight, which will be preventing the Big Two from sliding into the world war, disastrous for all.

THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC) AND THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF INTERNAL CONFLICTS

Author(s): Peter Anyang Nyongo / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

From the time it was colonized to the present day, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has neither experienced democracy nor lasting peace and stability. Instead, it has all the qualitative attributes of a fragile state. Empirically, the beginnings of a fragile state are linked to rebellions which led to civil wars and thereafter took on a long-run trend with the capture and exploitation of resources. For example, diamonds in Sierra Leone, oil in Sudan and South Sudan and rare metals in DRC. Fragility stems from being in conflict repeatedly, a sign of a vicious cycle where conflict generates grievance and grievance generates further conflict. However recurring conflicts are also often driven by greed for resources whose control can fund a conflict ad infinitum especially if the resources are in demand globally. Hence the conflict becomes internationalized. The entry of international players is based on predatory opportunities to control commodity exports. Because the conflict also displaces people (and creates a rebellious diaspora), especially those with influence and money, these grievances fuel the discontent of diaspora which mobilizes funds to finance the conflict further.

ARMENIA AND NAGORNO-KARABAKH: THE HISTORY OF AN UNSETTLING RELATIONSHIP

Author(s): Stephan Rindlisbacher / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

The Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict has been a visible constant on the international stage since 1988. On the Armenian side, the commemoration of the genocide of 1915 and the Soviet decision to attach Nagorno-Karabakh to Azerbaijan in 1921 appeared to be the main drivers to produce and reproduce „groupness”. Whereas Armenian nationalist narratives had first been silenced and then mitigated during the Soviet era, they have become decisive since the dissolution of the USSR. Armenian ethnopolitical entrepreneurs exploited them to establish a new political legitimacy. With the wars in 2020 and 2023, the tide turned in favour of Azerbaijan, as it managed to reconquer Nagorno-Karabakh and expel its Armenian population. Now, Azerbaijan appears as the main driver of the conflict when it utters claims for a corridor to Nakhchivan through the Armenian territory.