SEPARATISM TODAY: THE GEOPOLITICALLY SIGNIFICANT CASE OF CATALONIA

Author(s): Anamaria MANOLE / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

Catalonia’s national identity has its roots in the Middle Ages and Early modern times. In the 19th century, the Catalonian search for independence was encouraged by romantic and revolutionary concepts spread across Europe. After the First World War, we can notice a significant increase of political actions as regards the Catalonian nationalists-separatists, including violent episodes and riots in main cities. As for the contemporary period, the financial crisis in 2007-2008 acted as a new booster for nationalist-separatist ideas leading eventually to referendums in 2009 and also in 2017. The present study is exploring in a historical register the process of Catalonian’s independence. In doing so, I intend to identify and examine theCatalan’s main reasons in claiming complete political independence. The study tackles particularly recent interviews presenting opinions of several Catalonian citizens, some of them with political or administrative responsibilities, concerning regional independence and its potential consequences.

THE REGIME AND EFFECTIVENESS OF 2022 ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION

Author(s): Cristian Băhnăreanu / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In the early 2022, the world economy is recovering from the decline caused by Covid-19 pandemic –the central banks being prepared to gradually withdraw fiscal and monetary support. The Russian military’s invasion of Ukraine and subsequent sanctions have reversed this trend and risks and uncertainty have suddenly returned amid rising energy, food and other important commodity prices, inflationary pressures, deterioration in financial and labor market conditions. This paper outlines the general framework of economic sanctions, reviews the sanctions adopted by the international community against Russia in the first 100 days of brutal, unjustified and unprovoked illegal military aggression against Ukraine, and identifies their effectiveness and impact on Russia’s economic and financial system.

THE IMPACT OF THE UKRAINIAN REFUGEE WAVE ON REGIONAL SECURITY. RISK ASSESSMENT AND EVOLVING SCENARIOS

Author(s): Teodora-Ioana MORARU / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

In today’s society, instability and conflict are growing more prevalent, with citizens fearing for what is next, for what some state actor might do, and its impact on our lives and our children. The ongoing Russian-Ukrainian conflict presents a gloomy scenario in which all our beliefs, as European citizens, seem only to survive as glimpses of hope. The probability of such an impactful conflict and the unlikely military conventionalism related to it makes every citizen of any European country to doubt the safety net in which we thought to be, so far. The most devastating effect, specific and real at this moment, of the near conflict in Europe is an economic one since a new refugee wave threatens to destabilize all societal equilibrium. On the other side of the barricade, Russia's position is mainly due to the internal challenges it faces, as its economy is destabilized by United States sanctions. Low oil prices at the end of the second decade of the 21st century is causing serious economic problems in the Russian Federation. Thus, the state faces a rather weak demographic outlook in the future, which is why it is looking for solutions for expansion and evolution, both globally and as a major regional player.

REFUGEES FROM UKRAINE. IS THERE A CASE FOR STRATEGIC ENGINEERED DISPLACEMENT?

Author(s): Alexandra SARCINSCHI / Language(s): English Publication Year: 0

The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for analyzing the current refugee flow from Ukraine in a manner that goes beyond statistics or humanitarian law towards intentionality and strategic games. The author will use Kelly M. Greenhill’s model of strategic engineered migration to investigate the case of refugees from Ukraine in order to assess the potential intention of Russia to use large masses of displaced people, caused by the illegal and unprovoked war, to achieve some hidden goals apart from the stated ones. The paper is built, first of all, on analyzing the theoretical framework focused on the types of strategic engineered migration, the evolution of the refugee flow, the humanitarian crisis and the implications for transit and destination countries. Also, there will be comparisons with the Russian intervention in the Syrian civil war and the case of the crisis caused by Belarus on its borders with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland as illustrative for the use of refugees and migrants by a state actor in order to achieve specific political goals. In the last section, the author will investigate the opportunity to translate the case of war refugees into the model initially dedicated to the broader issue of migration, and, finally, will use it to the present case of refugees from Ukraine.

Култът към Св. Иван Рилски в търновската агиография

Author(s): Venelin Grudkov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The research focuses on the main texts of the Old Bulgarian hagiographical cycle about Saint John of Rila. Text analysis of the post-biographical parts leads to the conclusion that the relics of the Rila saint extremely actualize their impact in historical periods that are dramatic for the ethnic destiny.

Средновековният текст – проблем на нашето време

Author(s): Kiril Kabakchiev / Language(s): Bulgarian,German,Old Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

Сбирката от старопечатни книги на манастира „Света троица“ в Ново село, град Априлци

Author(s): Maria Polimirova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

This article presents an unknown until now old printed books collection of the “Holy Trinity Monastery” in Novo Selo, Apriltsi. It contains 18 printed books, most of them are Russian liturgical books, the earliest of which are the Gospel and the Apostle, published in the Kievo-Pechorian Lavra in 1752. Rare editions of engravings are presented and is given the content of the contributions, which gives information about the books themselves, about their owners and about the history of “The Holy Trinity Monastery” in Novo Selo. Particular attention is paid to an unknown note from the famous Bulgarian Revival writer Stoyan Kovanlushki.

Към въпроса за словното богатство в произведенията на Патриарх Евтимий

Author(s): Tatyana Ilieva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian,Old Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The article summarises the author’s work on the excerpt of Letter N from the Glossary of Patriarch Euthymius. It presents a preliminary observation of part of the vocabulary in the writings of this 14th-century Bulgarian man of letters. The statistical structure of the Glossary is presented in summary – the letter N and the dissemination of the words beginning with N on the micro- and macro-level both in the works by this author and in the Medieval literature with a view to following the continuity of the language and influence of the Cyrillo-Methodian tradition on the writers associated with the Literary School of Tarnovo. A general characteristic of the Glossary is made in relation to the grammatical and semantic category of the constituent lexemes in comparison with the word-forming tendencies in the Old Bulgarian as well as with regard to the origin and functional delimitation of words. Special attention is paid to the vocabulary which has not been lexicographically described so far, as well as to the lexis which is considered diagnostic when ascribing this precise author to a particular literary tradition.

За лексиката с чужд произход в оригиналното творчество на Патриарх Евтимий

Author(s): Mariyana Tsibranska-Kostova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian,Old Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The study is an essay to draw a classification of the lexemes with foreign origin, mostly Greek and Latin, according to the 13th original works of Patriarch Eythymius. Those lexical strata englobe multifunctional and nonhomogeneous unities, dispersed in different textual contexts. They are just a nuance, not the base of the vocabulary, but perform important historical, cognitive, and stylistic functions, rising the prestige of the lexical richness, and crediting it with international dimensions in basic conceptual spheres of Christianity.

Причастията в дионисиевия превод на словата против аномеите от св. Йоан Златоуст

Author(s): Kamen Dimitrov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian,Old Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The survey hereby focuses on the peculiarities of the participles in a hitherto linguistically unexplored text, namely the Middle Bulgarian translation of Contra Anomoeos („On the Incomprehensible Nature of God“) by John Chrysostom. It consists of six sermons, comprising the first part of the book Margarit (Pearl), a crucial component of the Slavic handwritten tradition. The study of the Slavonic translation of Margarit is very important for outlining the translation practice of the scholars of the literary circle around Theodosius of Tarnovo. The survey is based on the earliest Bulgarian transcript – manuscript F.I.197, kept in The National Library of Russia, Saint Petersburg – written in the middle of the fourteenth century. The manuscript is considered to have been composed during the lifetime of his translator – the scholar Dionisiy Divniy. The article highlights a high degree of similarity between the linguistic devices used by Dionisiy Divniy and by the other representatives of the Turnovo Literary School from the fourteenth century.

Костен архиерейски жезъл от затворения комплекс при Църква № 3 на Трапезица

Author(s): Mirko Robov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The prelatic sceptre is a symbol of strength and spiritual power. It imposes the obligation and responsibility to care for the integrity and preservation of the spiritual flock. The sceptre provides the bishop the power to judge and make decisions. The find from Trapezitsa is discovered in the big duplex building, in the civil complex near church № 3, in the Southeastern sector of the stronghold. The find has a biconical shape, with an almost flat upper surface. It’s quite possible that the workmanship is linked to a metropolitan studio. The entire surface features a “bird eye” ornament, applied circumferentially and also radially. Eight relief sheets are placed on the side surface. They are crafted in tall relief. From below the item ends with a bush for the attachment of the wooden stick. It remains an open question as to what kind of a representative of the metropolitan aristocracy was the complex in question meant for – a high-ranking layman or a clerical individual? The bone end of the prelatic sceptre is an important find, which links the new-found civil complex of Trapezitsa with a high-ranking representative of the metropolitan ecclesiastical hierarchy.

Граматикът и неговият статус: монах, църковник или светско лице

Author(s): Bistra Nikolova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The subject of this article is the social status of 22 grammarians known from the medieval Bulgarian sources. The period on which names “grammarians” are found in the Bulgarian Middle Ages is of Xth to beginning of XVth century. One of the goals is to point out what is the status of the “grammarian” in Medieval Bulgaria – is it a service, an alias, a title or an epithet. The places which are connected to these people have been researched. The work of grammarians is mainly connected with copying theological books or with translations from Greek to Old Bulgarian. The Old Bulgarian grammarians are mostly secular persons who work for churches or monasteries. Their work is custom-made or in some cases the work for a fee. The alias “grammarian” in medieval Bulgaria has no official character, it is not a title with designated service. In indicates to certain professional skill, level of education and deserved status higher than the one that an ordinary medieval scribe has.

Женското монашество на Балканите от ХІV до края на ХVІІI век

Author(s): Atanaska Stamboliyska / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

For the existence of women monasteries we lack sources, unlike men monasteries, for which we have plenty of written, archaeological and hagiographical data. Relying mainly on the written sources – building and gravestone inscriptions, bead-rolls and marginal notes – I will try to examine the existence of female monasticism in the territory of the Balkan Peninsula from the period of Christianization till the end of the 18th c. (using the above-mentioned sources). Despite some separate mentions of nuns, it could be traced back through the sources that the development of female monasticism in the Balkans was not interrupted from the period before the Ottoman conquest till the end of the 18th c.

Концептът „воля“ в оригиналните произведения на патриарх Евтимий

Author(s): Vanya Micheva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian,Old Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The semantic realizations of the concept of will in the history of Bulgarian literary language are examined in this paper. The linguistic facts of Old Bulgarian manuscripts, original works of Patriarch Euthimius, New Bulgarian damascenes and modern language are used. The system of phrases and sentences with “will” and its distribution in different contexts are analyzed in a relation with cultural situation in the ХIV c., Christian ideas and strategy of the author.

Ктиторският портрет на митрополит Игнатий и Христовата генеалогия в катедралната църква на Търново „Св. Първоапостоли Петър и Павел“

Author(s): Zarko Zhdrakov,Plamen Orfeev / Language(s): English,Bulgarian,Old Slavonic Publication Year: 0

A photograph and a color copy of the fresco, made before the earthquake in 1913 have survived as evidence of the ktitor’s portrait. The ktitor is young and has a black beard, he is clad in a splendid bishop’s vestment with Latin crosses and a black monastic koukoulion. In the image, dedicated to the apostles of the Church of Rome Peter and Paul, he is positioned next to the Virgin Mary with Child on throne, above the western entrance of the church, where there had never been other ktitor’s portrait and inscription and, in fact, that gives grounds for the monumental composition to be dated in the same way as the main painting at the time of bishop Ignatius in 1442. The ktitor is depicted to give the model of the church with both of his hands to the apostles of the Church of Rome St. Peter, who presents him before Christ and his Mother, symbolizing the Church. He seems to be smaller than the other figures and his eyes are looking upwards to the Prince of the Apostles Peter – a vision of the Roman claim for supremacy. The ktitor’s model of the church reflects the state of the building with the external gal¬lery before painting the calendar in the sixteenth century, when the big arch-like barred windows were bricked in connection with the painting of the calendar. Most likely, that earlier reconstruction was done in the mid-fifteenth century, when the town of Turnovo was undertaking major buildings – e.g. the bridge and the mosque of Feruz Bey (1435). To identify the Turnovo metropolitan Ignatius, it is the style of the ktitor’s composition that also helps and the accompanying inscription with palaeographic characteristics that are specific for the signatures of the painter Nikolas (e.g. the anagram from 1442). It is known that Ignatius and the Ecumenical Patriarch Joseph II came from the Bulgarian tsarist family and had been in one and the same kellion of the Mount Athos monastery Alipu. That explains the exceptional presence of St. Athanasius of Mount Athos in the altar near the patron of metropolitan St. Ignatius the God-bearer in the diaconicon where the order of dressing was taking place. The Tree of Jesse is contaminated with the Genealogy of Christ and covers the whole space of the church. It unifies the conceptual program by spreading its branches around the Virgin Mary with Child in the apse, the arcade of the triumphant Heavenly Church with the parents of the Mother of God, the martyr priests and warriors, and the scenes from the life of Christ. A painting by Boris Denev painted before the earthquake in 1913 shows the lying Jesse at the southern pillar of the narthex where the stem of the genealogy tree is sprouting out. The vision is related to the genealogy in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, and also in the Hermeneia of Dionysius of Fourna. The Genealogy of Matthew according to his father’s royal line starting from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob is associated with the one of Luke, according to his maternal line from the ancestors of the |Virgin Mary, Adam, Eve, and Abel, who never occupied the throne of the Jews and in this connection there is the unique branch with the righteous women. The origin of the two genealogies was on the western wall of the narthex facing Jesse. The direction of the visual narrative from left to right is indicated by the image of the semi full-face of Tara, the father of Patriarch Abraham, depicted on the western end of the southern wall of the narthex. The genealogy of Luke on the western wall of the narthex over the entrance had been developing north-wise in the narthex and the naos. The images of their descendants are partially preserved on the northern wall of the narthex (Noah with the Ark and his sons Sim and Japheth) and the naos (Nahor, the father of Tara). The genealogy after Mat¬thew on the western wall of the narthex, south of the entrance, spread over the apse with a unique branch, dedicated to the twelve sons of Patriarch Jacob. Further on, there are the sons of Judah, the Patriarch Kings Zar on the northern pillar in the narthex, and Phares on the southern wall of the narthex next to Tara, where it continues eastward reaching Jesse. From there on, the genealogy is continuing on the northern pillar with Patriarch Ravoam and then in the central arch next to Christ. The Tree of Jesse includes also images from the Hermeneia – e.g. the righteous women, the prophet Nathan, and King Joshua in the southern arch between the narthex and the naos, Patriarch Melchizedek at the northern pillar of the narthex and the pointed by him righteous men named Tobit and Tobias with scrolls unfolded in the northern arch between the narthex and the naos. The connection between the Old Testament and the New Testament is achieved along the west-east axis, from the narthex through the naos to the altar. Depicted in the apse is a branch with the Covenant of Patriarch Jacob as a symbol of the Old Testament unity and prefiguration of the Virgin Mary with Child – cf. the ewer with heavenly manna of Levi and Christ in the hands of Judas. Depicted in the central arch between the narthex and the naos is an allegory of the New Testament unity – the Council of Jerusalem, presented by God’s brethren Jacob and Judas, and the leaders of the apostles Peter and Paul, based of the Seven Ecumenical Synods in the narthex. The tree of Jesse is an element of imperial propaganda, as it is an evidence of the power being taken over from father to son. Most kings have their hands covered for the Holy Communion, but some point to the visual text – e.g. king Zar, the first-born son of Judas, points with his right hand the younger brother Perez from whom originates the family line of Jesse, and his great-grandson, King Aminadav, points with his left hand to his son Nahshon who is called upon to lead Judah’s family line before Moses during the escape of the Jews from Sinai. In the central arch, King Jotham points out to his father Uzziah, who during his life, made him a co-ruler, whereas the kings Sadok and his son Ahim, as well as their descendant St. Joseph, point to the Child dressed in golden vestments as in a dream of the prophet Jesse.

Зографи от Бока-Которска школа и техните икони (XVIII – XIX век)

Author(s): Plamen Sabev / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

In the second half of the 17th century a Boka-Kotorska icon painting school was formed. Despite its popularity, extensive research and publications have been made on representative personalities. In the museum of the medieval town of Dubrovnik today there are 35 icons belonging to the Boka-Kotor School. The amount of works attributed to the artistic range of the school is not exhausted. In the first decades of the eighteenth century icons appeared in the most elite and high-paying commercial territories, churches and monasteries, which are post-Byzantine. Even in stylistic terms, as I have already said, they have nothing to do with the old masterpieces of the Dubrovnik masters. The first distinctive feature is that the models and models of iconography that will be used in the work of this school are of post-Byzantine origin. For example, the composition “Deisis”, which is strongly represented in the work of some generations of masters, is indicative. Of course, Western prototypes, decorative elements characteristic of Baroque painting, are coming into the art of later periods. The Tryavna iconographic school, despite its individual characteristics, also follows the traces of naivetry and the shaping of shapes. Undoubtedly, there are long distances, distant centres developing independently of each other. But, on the other hand, the boundaries of art come closer, even cross, especially when it comes to religious-popular ideas and the progression of visual rhythm and reflection of creative consciousness. The present study is devoted to these issues and a comparative analysis of various inscriptions and stylistic features.

Лексикални разночетения и география на средновековните текстове (за един молдовски препис на Псевдозонариния номоканон от XVI век)

Author(s): Mariyana Tsibranska-Kostova / Language(s): Bulgarian,Old Slavonic,Old Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The article is dedicated to the practically unknown copy of the so-called Pseudo-Zonaras Nomocanon kept in the Library of the Saint Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Bucharest under signature BSS Ms.sl.II 267. The historical context of its emergence and the metadata of the manuscript are studied in comparison with the traditions of this nomocanon in Wallachia and Moldavia after the 14th century, when the Bulgarian translation appeared. Separate Greek words and lexical variations are commented on, such as факеол-венец-савон; посадница, палакида, кавка, накато, some of them with a status of occasional readings for this special Moldavian copy. The author highlights the role of the 16th century Moldavian literature for the preservation of the Middle Bulgarian written heritage.

Изключването и приобщаването на другите в историята на българския език и култура

Author(s): Kalina Micheva-Peycheva / Language(s): Bulgarian,Old Slavonic,Old Bulgarian Publication Year: 0

The object of study are specific realizations of otherness: heathens, heretics, people with disabilities, borderline women. Their exclusion and inclusion to their own is carried out primarily through verbal practices in medieval writings and through rituals in traditional culture. The surveys conducted among present-day Bulgarians enrich our understanding of the concept of others.

Унгарски заемки в роднинската терминология, представена в Общославянския лингвистичен атлас

Author(s): Kiril Kirilov / Language(s): Bulgarian,Hungarian Publication Year: 0

The study is dedicated to the Hungarian loanwords in the Slavic kinship terminology. The linguistic material is collected from Volume XI Degrees of Kinship prepared by the Bulgarian National Commission as part of the Slavic Linguistic Atlas. The object of analysis are the loanwords of Hungarian origin in the Slavic dialect kinship terminology. The aim of the research is to show the source of the borrowings, the particularities of their adaptation, dialects where they are found. Special attention is also paid to Slavic loanwords adopted in Hungarian that have later been reborrowed into various Slavic dialects.

Из актуальных результатов совместных словацко-болгарских аксиологических исследований

Author(s): Peter Žeňuch / Language(s): Slovak,Bulgarian,Russian Publication Year: 0

The paper presents the results of several years of ethnolinguistic research carried out in cooperation between Slovak, Bulgarian, Russian and Serbian slavicists. It provides a picture of the perception of the relationship between truth, right, good and evil in the context of linguistic thought. It not only highlights language as a tool of communication but also explains the perception of language as an important feature of cultural and ethnic identity. The paper specifically addresses the issue of research on language as a source of deeper understanding of the study of the history of the language community. Language is also presented as an instrument of value formation for the cultivation of the individual and the community. Тhe study also outlines other areas of cooperation in the field of international linguistically-oriented Slavic studies.