Johann Carl Zinner

Author(s): Peter Winkler / Language(s): German Issue: 2/2015

The study presents a brief biography of university teacher, scientist and intellectual Carl Johannes Zinner († around 1810). His activities are connected in a special way with Košice, he worked at the Royal Academy. Interest in the modern history of the United States led him to make contact with Benjamin Franklin. In consideration of this he obtained a special position in the history of Hungary and belonged to the important persons of history at the late 18th century. The study maps Zinner's life, work as well as scientific and political thoughts of Zinner to the recent or past events.

Slovjacké regionálne hnutie v rokoch 1907 – 1918

Author(s): Veronika Gayer / Language(s): Slovak Issue: 2/2014

The aim of the paper is to investigate the regional elite of Šariš and its weekly, Naša Zastava which was published in an Eastern Slovak dialect between 1907 – 1918. A considerable amount of Slovak and Hungarian works has been already published on the so-called Slovjak movement. The main sources of research were the documents of the so-called Public Educational Association of the Šariš County. The paper uses this organisation to examine the way how a regional elite contructs the imagined community of Eastern Slovak people before 1918.

Българските общности в Украйна в началото на новото хилядолетие – променящите се погледи

Author(s): Petko Hristov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2016

Зборовете на межата. Междуселищни патронни празници у българските преселници в Бесарабия – наблюдения и хипотези

Author(s): Galin Georgiev,Elena Vodinchar / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2016

One of the typical and relatively stable features of the everyday life of the Bulgarianimmigrants in the historical and cultural region of Bessarabia are the patronal festivalsand customs held within the frameworks of the village, neighbourhood or familyand referred to as zbor/sabor (збор/събор), hram (храм), kurban (курбан), tsarkva(църква), panagir (панагирь), cherkuvane (черкуване), moleben (молебен) etc. Asfor the designation збор (a fair), it is clear that it precedes the Russian designationхрам (a patron saint’s day) which penetrates the region under study later on andwhich is widely used at present. What stirs up bigger interest is the fact that exceptfor village church festivals this term (as well as some of the other above-mentioned) was also used for intervillage festivals held at the landmark of the territories of two,three or more villages – the so-called fairs at the landmark also known as moleben orcherkuvane for rain and good health.As far as the patron saint’s day is a universal Christian phenomenon and stilla general practice in the villages of the region studied here, it could be assumedthat the gathering itself, the making of zbor (or moleben) at the landmark (at theborder between a group of villages), which is neglected today almost everywhere,is a form typical only of the immigrants (Bulgarians and Gagauzians) in Bessarabia.This practice attracts the attention with respect to its nature and development as partof the all-Bulgarian system of patronal village festivals as well as with relation tothe influences, changes and specifics through which it inevitably goes under theconditions of the many-tounged and polycultural environment of Bessarabia and theRussian Orthodox Christianity.The fieldwork materials collected so far do not allow a coprehensive and thickdescription of the phenomena intriguing us as well as a more elaborate analysis.That’s why the article only poses the problem or rather interpretes it in connectionwith some concepts of the kin and family-territorial patronal festivals and customswhich were formulated a long time ago in the Bulgarian science but which are stillrelevant.

„Балканските акценти“ на одеския „Привоз“: към въпроса за етническите компоненти в градската кухня

Author(s): Alexandr Prigarin / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2016

On the basis of written sources and field materials, the article examines the phenomenonof the “Odessa cuisine” as a regional complex of food. In the context of thehistorical dynamics, it shows the role of the Balkan traditions in the formation anddevelopment of the everyday culture of the inhabitants of Odessa. Special attentionis paid to the current state of the trade subculture and, respectively, to the systemof the food traditions in Odessa. In particular, the article shows that there are manyproducts introduced by natives from the Balkans (first of all, Greeks and Bulgarians):eggplants, tomatoes, cheese, corn, mutton, grapes, etc. The regional dishes perceivedas “Odessaian” but having roots in the ethno-cultures of the above-mentioned communities,are developed on this basis. The text shows also the “blue” (eggplants) invarious variations of preparation and the “pshonka” (corn). Beside the national, theprofessional mass cuisine is also analyzed (restaurant); in it the Balkan substratumhas found its place a long time ago along with the Jewish, Ukrainian and Moldavian.In the menu of these institutions, there are surely a number of dishes with Balkanorigins. On the other hand, it is worth characterizing the special national restaurantsof Odessa (Bulgarian, Gagauzian, Greek).

Календарната обредност на бесарабските българи в източници и научна литература

Author(s): Aleksandar Kovalov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2016

Пътят на ромската литература в Източна Европа

Author(s): Sofia Zahova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2017

The article makes a brief historical review of the development of Roma publicationsin the countries in Eastern Europe by emphasizing the processes in each country andthe interrelations between their policies regarding the Roma culture and the Roma literary production. The aim of the article is to show that the development of Roma literature is related to the political, social and cultural context in the country or region of its creation. The comparative historical approach is the most appropriate for the purpose since the tendencies in the development of the Roma literature are related to the policies of identity (in general or directed to the Roma population) in different historical periods and regions.

Мила Маева. Българските емигранти в Англия – минало и съвременност. София, 2017

Author(s): Anelia Kassabova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2017

Отношенията между държава и религиозни институции: българският случай

Author(s): Maya Grekova,Iva Kyurkchieva,Maya Kosseva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2017

The objective of this article is to outline the basic tensions in contemporary Bulgarian society concerning the intertwining of religion and secularism through the prism of relations between national state and different religious organizations and individuals.The general goal is to combine the presentation of national historical context, existing legislation and the current social debate based on anthropological fieldwork.

На бойното поле на символите: безследно изчезналите в Косово между паметта и историята (Част 1)

Author(s): Dimitar Atanasov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 2/2018

The paper is the first part of a research, dedicated to the problem of how national identity of Kosovo is forged. It is analysed from the point of view of a particular case study – the missing persons and how their character is represented in the public discourses of Prishtina, Belgrad, and how the international community is involved.The problem of national identity building is considered in its complexity, taking into account numerous rival projects. The museum exhibition, dedicated to missing persons and cultural heritage artifacts could be regarded as case study.All the actors on the terrain apply their own ideological strategies, which could be identified in the concept of the “Missing” exhibition: how the personal memory is being domesticated and turned into history of the nation, how the transition from text to action was carried out, how memory, oblivion and history were (ab-)used as social building ideological toolkits. Particular attention was paid to the problem of the conceptualization of the recent past: how it was interpreted and attributed signs of prestige by the social actors involved in accordance to the interests of each of them.The ethnic conflict paradigm as a key concept widely used in contemporary humanities for explaining the Kosovo case as well as the disintegration of Yugoslavia is put under question. The history of the Museum of Kosovo is also involved, the debate between Belgrade and Prishtina for returning 1247 initially taken artifacts transported to Gračanica monastery and then to Belgrade in 1998 along with the withdrawal of the Yugoslav administration of the region is traced in its history and ideology, establishing references to the Kosovo myth, based on the folklore epics which were first published by Vik Karadžić in the 1820s and later became a canonized version of late medieval Serbian history.

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.

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.

Kultúra és kapitalizmus

Author(s): Virág Buka,Kristóf Nagy,Márton Szarvas / Language(s): Hungarian Issue: 30/2022

Our study demonstrates that the analysis of culture should be embedded into the history of capitalism. Through this understanding of culture's materiality, we highlight that culture is not only a spiritual but also a materially embedded phenomenon. We argue that this analysis is also essential to outline culture's role in a post-capitalist world.Our study offers four perspectives to analyze the diverse, often indirect, relationship between culture and capitalism. We show how the diversity of culture is more than heterogeneity but rather part of class conflicts and struggles. By examining the cultural institutions, our paper points out that they play a crucial role in the reproduction of the laborforce. It also points out that global and nation-state-led cultural production are not contradictory but entangled phenomena. Finally, our paper emphasizes that the relationship between culture and capitalism cannot be understood as abstract laws but must also always consider the social trajectories of professional cultural producers, who are a central but often invisible dark matter.

„Етничният синдром“ четвърт век по-късно – едно научно откровение за народа, паметта и историята

Author(s): Elya Tsaneva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2021

For almost three decades now, there is an ongoing, but also inconsistent search for a new conceptual framework for the study of ethnicities and identities. Against this background, the article offers an interpretation of a fundamental monographic text on this subject from the recent past, a contemporary evaluation of a book from the arsenal of ethnic/national dialectic theory. Written by an insightful connoisseur of culture and history, the book presented some innovative and provocative ideas about the relationship and the dynamic combination of the most important phenomena and characteristics of the ethnonational process. The author shares some thoughts about the ways in which these ideas can be interpreted from the point of view of today’s methodological explorations.

За дуалистичния характер на българския граждански празничен календар

Author(s): Grigor Har. Grigorov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2022

The paper puts forward the proposition that today’s Bulgarian civic festive calendar may be examined as a system composed not of individual holidays but of corresponding holiday pairs (3 March – 2 June, St. George’s Day – St. Michael the Archangel’s All Soul’s Day, 24 May – 1 November). The holiday pairs have been formed gradually, and in the course of time a ‘strong’ and a ‘weak’ holiday came to exist, the former – honouring a supreme community value, whereas the latter – paying respect to the memory of the heroes who devoted their lives to its achievement. The paper makes an attempt to substantiate the thesis that dualism is the leading trend in the development of the festive calendar, which might be observed in its past historical stages as well.

Научна периодика 2023

Author(s): Emiliya Voleva,S. Yu. Strashniuk / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 47/2023

Content of the main Bulgarian scientific journals for the current year in linguistics, literature, history, folklore, ethnography, archaeology and art studies.

Книги 2023–2024

Author(s): Emiliya Voleva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 48/2024

Selected bibliography in the field of Bulgarian Studies published in the current year.

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 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.