Evolution and competition of the myths of origin: Bulgarian and Balkan aspects

Author(s): Nikolay Aretov / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2017

The paper argues that historic myths and myths of origin, being an essential part of national mythology, are neither the first to emerge nor the only one. Furthermore, as a general rule, there are often several variations of the narration about the past of a nation that are evolving and compete for the dominant position.In an attempt to evade the polemics the author analyses some Bulgarian aspects of the crucial problem about the evolution and competition among these variations of national mythology comparing them with analogical Balkan phenomena. In all these countries there are mythical narrations about the ancient times, about Christian Middle Ages and Byzantium, about the struggle for an independent state, etc. They were arguing for primacy in the beginning; later some ideologists of the nation managed to build one relatively stable synthesis.

Okręg kwidzyński w przededniu plebiscytu w świetle niemieckiej broszury dla komisji alianckiej - tłumaczenie tekstu źródłowego z komentarzem

Author(s): Emilia Figura-Osełkowska / Language(s): Polish Issue: 4/2020

This article contains a faithful translation of a German propaganda booklet issued before the plebiscite in Kwidzyn in July 1920. The entire booklet written by the German Committee for Western Prussia is addressed at the Inter-Allied Commission and consists of six chapters informing on the area’s geography, historical conditions, economic structure, current social structure and rivers: Vistula, Nogat and Osa. The passage selected for translation regards the social aspects and describes the inhabitants of Powiśle, area included in the Western Prussian Plebiscite District headquartered in Kwidzyn, in terms of nationality. The publication was created to serve the needs of the German plebiscite agitation and should be approached critically for this specific reason. Nevertheless, this littleknown German document holds great historical value, particularly useful to scholars and persons passionate about the history of the interwar period.

Eštok, G. (2020). (Ne)dávne hľadanie strednej európy.

Author(s): Renáta Bzdilová Dulinová / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2021

Review of: Eštok, G. (2020). (Ne)dávne hľadanie strednej európy. (in English: (Un)Delayed Search For Central Europe). Košice: Univerzita Pavla Jozefa Šafárika v Košiciach, 2020. 192 pp. ISBN 9788081529245.

Odra. Dlaczego tak jest? I co dalej? – zamiast wstępu

Author(s): Marek Zawadka / Language(s): Polish Issue: 92/2023

The Oder river remains a constant issue in the field of journalism as well as political and economic emotions. The article attempts to organise the discussion on the Oder as a waterway and to display the solutions that can initiate the debate about the future of the river. This issue generates plenty of myths and incomplete statements as the Oder is a river that everyone talks about but very few actually care about it. This can be said both when it comes to the quality of the water and its adjustment to the modern water management in the context of the environmental changes.

Materiały z obrad Bundestagu poświęcone ekologicznej katastrofie Odry w 2022 roku

Author(s): Aleksandra Trzcielińska-Polus / Language(s): Polish Issue: 92/2023

In August 2022, the situation on the border river Oder was called an ecological disaster. It manifested in fish dying on a mass scale and the overall destruction of the river’s ecosystem. Both the Polish and the German side aimed at determining the causes of this situation, which resulted in the collaboration in the field of crisis management. The article contains the German and Polish language source materials that demonstrate the activities of the Bundestag members, in particular the Parliamentary Commission of Environmental Protection, parliamentary parties and the federal government’s reaction to the catastrophe.

Jak definovat svůj původ

Author(s): Mychajlo Markanyč / Language(s): Czech Issue: 2/2015

Historickým faktem je, že území Podkarpatské Rusi bylo do 1945 roku součástí mnoha evropských států, tudíž Statní archiv Zakarpatské oblasti (DAZO) spravuje množství dokumentů propojených s dějinami množství zemí evropského kontinentu. Díky tomu je Státní archiv Zakarpatské oblasti nejstarším a nejbohatším archivem na Ukrajině. V depozitářích se nachází více jak 1 360 000 složek popisujících tragický osud lidu karpatského regionu a jeho boj za svoji národní existenci. Obsah dokumentů se dotýká dějin Maďarska, Česka, Slovenska, Rumunska, Polska a ostatních evropských zemí – těch, které měly vliv na historický osud a socioekonomický rozvoj Zakarpatí (Podkarpatské Rusi).

Každodennost sedláka a jeho rodiny ve vzdělávacích lidových knížkách přelomu 18. a 19. století

Author(s): Vladimír Lukášek / Language(s): Czech Issue: 1/2014

The author tries to reconstruct the intellectual world of everyday peasant life at the turn of the 18th and 19th century base on books of „popular reading“ of Bohemia and Moravia. Individual chapters deal with problems of agricultural production, education, marriage, family and children rearing, sexuality and social role of farmers.

Der Antisemitismus in den nationalen Bewegungen im Teschner Gebiet

Author(s): Václav Štěpánek / Language(s): German Issue: 1/1997

This article examines the phenomenon of antisemitism in the national movements in the Teschen region, a borderland area between the Czech Republic and Poland, in the second half of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. It traces the origins and development of antisemitic ideology in Germany and Russia, and how it influenced the Polish and Czech nationalists in their struggle for the national character of the region. It also analyzes the various forms and manifestations of antisemitism in the local press, politics, and society, and how the Jews responded to the attacks and accusations. The article argues that antisemitism was a significant factor in the deterioration of the interethnic relations and the rise of nationalism in the Teschen region.

ДЕТЕРИТОРИАЛИЗАЦИЯТА: ИМА ЛИ ПОЧВА ТЯ У НАС?

Author(s): Tatiana Tomova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

The article provides an overview of the contents with which the term "deterritorialization" is used in scientific research. It is substantiated that deterritorialization isn’t caused by political ideologies in power but a side effect of technological development. It has a direct impact on the territorial state and its role as the sole subject of public governance. It is precisely because of the process of deterritorialization that the ideas of governance, decentralization, depoliticization, shared governance, functional governance, etc. appear in the theory and practices. They are all just an attempt to accommodate the territorial state to the technology-induced disconnection from it.

THE CLIMATE HISTORY OF EUROPE, OR THE LEGACY OF BRUNO MESSERLI. CHRISTIAN PFISTER - HEINZ WANNER. CLIMATE AND SOCIETY IN EUROPE - THE LAST THOUSAND YEARS

Author(s): Lajos Rácz / Language(s): English Issue: 18/2022

Review of: The climate history of Europe, or the legacy of Bruno Messerli. Christian Pfister - Heinz Wanner. Climate and society in Europe - the last thousand years. Haupt Verlag. Bern. 397.

Uticaj migratornih kretanja na tržište rada u zemljama Zapadnog Balkana

Author(s): Marijana Maksimović / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

Migration is one of the most current topics in the world today. The most common causes include wars, or climate changes, while there are also migrations caused by economic reasons, and their goal is pursuit of better material existence, achieving a higher standard of living, better conditions of employment, education, and therefore better conditions of life. The subjects of this analysis are economic migration and contemporary migration trends, i.e. the immigration and emigration of foreigners to and from the countries of the Western Balkans (WB). Macroeconomic indicators point to the stabilization of labour markets in the second decade of the 21st century, although economies have been stagnating. The question arises whether this is a consequence of a higher rate of economic growth or is it induced by depopulation and reduction of the working population? The aim of the paper is to point out the necessity of managing migration flows in these countries and the need to guide migrants in the labour market. The paper consists of two parts. The first part provides an overview of previous research on migration, the concept and types of migration. The second part of the paper consists of an empirical analysis of migration in the countries of the Western Balkans and Serbia and their impact on the labour market and economic development.

A long-run perspective on Latvian regional gross domestic product inequality, 1925-2016

Author(s): Ola Honningdal Grytten,Zenonas Norkus,Jurgita Markevičiūtė,Jānis Šiliņš / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

This paper for the first time calculates the historical regional GDP (rGDP) for an Eastern European country by using the methodology of Frank Geary and Tom Stark [2002. Examining Ireland’s postfamine economic growth performance. The Economic Journal, 112 (482):919–935]. The estimates cover the period 1925–1935 and are made for the historical Latvian regions Kurzeme, Vidzeme, Zemgale, Latgale, and Riga as well as within the contemporary NUTS3 units. The results are compared with the GDP disparity of the NUTS3 regions of the restored independent Latvia (2001– 2016). The main findings are that the sigma divergence remained stable. Direct comparisons of regional growth rates indicate that economically more advanced regions were more sensitive to business cycles than less advanced regions. Hence, sigma divergence seems to prevail in times of high growth and convergence in times of low growth.

How the War between Russia and Ukraine Caused a Multi-Cycle in the Polish Housing Market

Author(s): Jacek Łaszek,Krzysztof Olszewski,Hanna Augustyniak / Language(s): English Issue: 1/2024

We examine the effects of the war between Russia and Ukraine on the housing market in the six largest cities in Poland and explain how these effects emerged. Since Poland’s transition to a market economy and its accession to the EU, Poland has experienced normal cycles in house prices, i.e. relatively long periods of increases in house prices followed by similarly long periods of decreases in house prices. However, the combination of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war between Russia and Ukraine created a situation that can be described as a multi-cycle. The pandemic initially halted nearly all transactions on the market, but after a few quarters of fiscal and monetary intervention aimed at saving the economy we observed a housing boom. Just a few quarters later, the Russian aggression in Ukraine caused significant inflation, which required a sharp increase in interest rates, and once again demand slowed down. This was followed just a few quarters later by a resurgence in house purchases in order to escape inflation, with many people using cash for these purchases. This situation has shaken the housing market, while the war has also generated a demographic shock. Construction and transportation workers began returning to Ukraine to help in its reconstruction, while women with children came to Poland from Ukraine seeking safety and creating a demand for rental housing.

ЧОВЕКЪТ ПРИ ПРОМЕНЯЩИТЕ СЕ УСЛОВИЯ НА ЖИВОТ В СЪВРЕМЕННИЯ СВЯТ

Author(s): Vladimir Vlaskov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 11/2015

The modern conditions of life of man on our planet are defined by the big differences between the so called "civilized" and the strongly underdeveloped regions.While in Amazonia, some parts of Africa, in the individual mountain-high and northern territories the way of life of the population has preserved itself almost unchanged, in strongly industrialized regions they start to more and more drastically differ from the natural ones. The impetuous technological development of the bigger part of the human society is based on more and more active use of resources of the planet and in certain areas-megapolises, aglomerations, communicational infrastructure, large scale до hydro-equipments and mining areas leads to consistent, and at more and more places irreversible transformation of unaffected natural environment into anthropogenic.The expansion of technogenic-urbanizational areals is reaching a stage, during which it is defined by scientists as changing natural conditions not only in local, but in global scale. Urbanisationally-technogenic transformations of human residence sharply change its vital environment and apply its rule and way of life uninherent of the experience, traditions and customs of the previous generations. One of the modern directions of geographic research today are connected with research on geomorphological conditions and their changes with the goal of stable development of urbanised areas.

НАЦИОНАЛНОТО ГЕОГРАФСКО ПРОСТРАНСТВО НА БЪЛГАРИЯ КАТО ЧАСТ ОТ ЕВРОПЕЙСКИЯ СЪЮЗ

Author(s): Maria Grozeva,Boris Kolev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 11/2015

The inclusion of Bulgaria and Romania to the European Union enlarged total geographical area of the Union from the Atlantic to the Black Sea. This article gives a definition of what is a national geographical space and makes the understanding of the role and importance of Bulgarian national geographical space already as a part of geographical space of EU. Some of the feasibility and sustain communications with the main centers and poles of socio-economic development in the EU are mentioned.

ЕТНО-ДЕМОГРАФСКИ ПРОЦЕСИ В СЕВЕРОИЗТОЧНА БЪЛГАРИЯ ОТ ОСВОБОЖДЕНИЕТО ДО НАЧАЛОТО НА ХХІ ВЕК

Author(s): Nadezhda IlIeva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 11/2015

Northeast Bulgaria differs with diverse ethnic structure. In 2011 in this part of the country is concentrated 17% of the Bulgarian population, 45% of Turkish and 22% of the Roma ethnic group. The aim of the study is to trace the demographic characteristics, the territorial location of the ethnic communities in Northeastern Bulgaria, and to clarify the complex of factors affected on the demographic processes in the different historical, socio-economic and political conditions after the Liberation of Bulgaria (1878) to nowadays. Based on changes in the number and share of Bulgarian, Turkish and Roma population, the peculiarities of their natural reproduction, the nature of migration movements, the reasons causing them, the policies towards ethnic groups, three periods in the development of ethnodemographic processes in Northeastern Bulgaria are clearly outlined. From the Liberation to the end of the Second World War - Liberation marked the beginning of large-scale demographic processes in the new political and economic conditions in Bulgaria. The fragmentation of its ethnic territories causes immigration movements. This part of the country accepts half of the refugees in Bulgaria before (1885) and one third of the refugees until the end of World War II. The presence of thousands of 138 refugees have a positive impact on Bulgaria and mixed ethnically areas, as they help to strengthen the Bulgarian character of the settlements. The most general result is the establishment of the ethnic homogeneity in the ethnic structure of the population of Northeastern Bulgaria and the significant increase of the settlements populated entirely by Bulgarians (23 to 39%) and predominantly Bulgarian population (from 20 to 24%). In 1900 these groups settlements are widespread in the areas along the Danube and Black Sea. Until 1946 their territorial distribution, gradually expanded into the eastern parts of South Dobrogea, East Stara planina (east of Gerlovo, Slannik and Tuzluka) and the municipalities west of Ludogorie. - Liberation puts Bulgarian Turks in radically different political, social and economic conditions. Regardless of the tolerant policy that led Bulgarian government, which is confirmed by the adoption of the Tarnovo Constitution, which gives civil, cultural and political rights to all its citizens, free primary education for all, freedom of speech and press and etc. emigration of Bulgarian Turks throughout the period did not stop. The main reasons for this are political changes and change of the position of Bulgarian Turks in the social structure of society. Considering that in the period to the end of the Second World War the Turkish population is in the first phase of demographic transition (high birth and death rates, which define moderately high levels of natural growth), it is clear that external migrations, depending on their nature and intensity are the most important factor influencing the changes in the number and territorial location of the Turkish population in Northeastern Bulgaria. The first period under consideration is characterized by the fastest rates of reduction in the number of the Turkish population and the most intensive processes in the changes of the its number and location. The region of Ludogorie, and historical-ethnographic area Gerlovo, Slannik Tuzluka retain their territorial differentiation, which helps to preserve his number, location and ethnical structure. Throughout the period the group of settlements populated entirely and predominantly with Bulgarian Turks retain their ethnic structure and show an increase in the number of the Turkish population. Territories with less compactness of the Turkish population a significant reduction in the number and its relative share is observed. - Until World War II settlements with presence of Roma constitute an insignificant share in the structure of settlements. For example Bulgarian-Roma settlements constitute 2%; TurkishRoma settlements – 1%; settlements with diverse ethnic structure – 5%. Formation of a territorial concentration of these groups of settlements is not observed. Since the end of World War II until the early 90s - The Socialist period is characterized by increasing of the differences in the demographic indicators between the main ethnic communities. Since the mid 50s Roma and Turkish populations are entering in the second phase of demographic transition, while Bulgarians started the third. The second phase for Bulgarian Turks ends late 80s of the twentieth century, while Roma continued to the end of the 90s of the twentieth century. The fourth phase in Bulgarian started in the mid 80s, and the natural growth is already negative. - During the period, unlike previous, significant changes in the ethnic structure of the population in Northeastern Bulgaria do not occur. There is a spatial diversification of the observed processes. During this period the positive values of the growth rate in the Bulgarian population are distinguished only in regional centers and some Black Sea municipalities. The biggest decrease in the number and proportion of Bulgarians stand out territories with compact Turkish population. In the migration processes, caused by the collectivization of agriculture and rapid industrialization of the country takes part predominantly Bulgarian population. Resulting 139 in a decrease of its number in villages and in areas with mixed ethnic structure. Its growth only in the urban and municipal centers is observed. As a result of these processes has been a significant reduction in the group settlements populated entirely with Bulgarian population (from 29 to 19%) and settlements with predominantly Bulgarian population (from 24 to 12%). - Policy towards ethnic groups in the country is characterized, similar to the previous period, with too much inconsistency regarding the status of ethnic groups. At the same time plays an important role in the policy pursued by Turkey, which seeks to regulate the number of Turkish ethnic group, by limiting the number of immigrants from the country. The losses of Turkish population due to inflow in 1950-1951, the 1969-1978, the so-called. "Great trip" in the late 80s are compensated by the high levels of population growth. As a result the number is growing compared to the end of World War II. Regardless of the policy of industrialization in the country, the regions with mixed population perform secondary functions in the national economy. Despite their progress in the socio-economic development, they continue to evolve significantly less than other parts of the country, and therefore remain predominantly agrarian character. In areas with mixed ethnic structure the rate of urbanization is weake and low intensity of migration to the cities of the Turkish population is observed, which mainly deals with agricultural activities and stays to live mainly in the villages. Unlike the years before the Second World War most affected by the emigration of the Turkish population (especially during the so-called "Revival process") are distinguished areas with the greatest territorial compactness of Bulgarian Turks – Ludogorie, Eastern Stara Planina which is in line with the policy of the Bulgarian government to reduce the number and compactness of the Turkish population in these areas. Unlike previous periods municipalities with a higher proportion of the Turkish population is observed the highest rates of decrease. Most affected by emigration are the municipalities with the highest percentage of the Turkish population. Regardless of the observed processes the desired results are not achieved. The rapid reduction of the Bulgarian population in villages as a result of ongoing migration from villages to the towns and the negative rates of natural growth not only helps to preserve the compactness of the Turkish population, but also to increase its share. Unlike the previous period, an increase of villages entirely inhabited by Turkish population (from 9 to 17%) at the expense of the villages with predominantly Turkish population (from 17 to 12%) is observed. - An increase in groups with presence of Roma population is observed: Bulgarian-Roma settlements from 2 to 6%; settlements with diverse ethnic structure from 8 to 20%; for the first time group with predominantly Roma population is occur, which in 1992 accounted 2 % of the settlements in Northeastern Bulgaria. - Since the early 90s until the beginning of XXI century - Constitution adopted in 1991, which enshrined the most important legal foundations, provide full civil and political rights of all citizens regardless of their ethnic identity. The severe social and economic crisis occurred after 1989 led to an accelerated rate of development of demographic transition and reduction of fertility in all three ethnic communities country. - Socio-economic problems that accompany the transition period are crucial to make a decision to emigrate for the three ethnic communities and displace the influence of the political factor that is leading in previous periods. The greatest intensity of emigration at the beginning of the period is typical for the Turkish population, while the Roma emigration reached after the accession of Bulgaria to the EU in 2007. All these factors have a decisive influence on the formation of their number in Northeast Bulgaria 140 - The negative natural growth, in combination with the aging age structure and emigration, are the reasons for the rapid reduction of the Bulgarian population after 1989. The main factor for the negative growth rate in the Turkish population between the last two censuses is emigration, mainly to Turkey. The Roma high positive natural growth, in combination with poor mobility due to immigration restrictions imposed on them, favoring the increase of its number. - All these processes determine the changes in the ethnic structure of municipalities and individual settlements. In most municipalities there is an increase in the share of Turkish and Roma population. After the detailed analysis of the spatial characteristics of the changes in the number and location of Bulgarian, Turkish and Roma population the following conclusions can be formulated: despite the reduction in the number of Turkish population, its territorial dislocation does not change, but on the contrary – there is an increase in settlements entirely populated and predominantly by the Turkish population; reducing the share of settlements with diverse ethnic structure; increase in settlements with predominantly Roma population (absolute number has doubled from 22 to 42 villages).

ПРОМЯНА В БРОЯ НА НАСЕЛЕНИЕТО В ОБЩИНИТЕ АВРЕН, ДОЛНИ ЧИФЛИК И БЯЛА ЗА ПОСЛЕДНИТЕ ПЕТНАДЕСЕТ ГОДИНИ

Author(s): Milen Penerliev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 11/2015

The paper treats territories in Bulgaria, which have been spared from depopulation. The parameter of the research is growth rate. Favourable trends are registered in the sea-side districts Avren, Dolen Chiflik and Byala.

ИСТОРИЯ И РАЗВИТИЕ НА АНТРОПОГЕОГРАФИЯТА ВЪВ ВОДЕЩИТЕ ГЕОГРАФСКИ ШКОЛИ И БЪЛГАРИЯ

Author(s): Velimira Stoyanova,Gergana Metodieva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 11/2015

The article presents a brief history and the development of anthropogeography in leading geographic schools and in Bulgaria. By the end of the 19th and in the early 20th century geographers around the world put the human in the focus of the geographical research and started studying the connections and relations between people and the natural components (terrain, climate, water, etc.). In 1882, following the publication of the Ratzel’s work titled - "Anthropogeography" the foundations of a new branch in the system of geographical sciences were laid, which was called "anthropogeography" ("human geography"). Today more and more frequently in Western Europe, the USA etc. Germanic and Romance languages-speaking countries, along with the concept of anthropogeography, the synonymous term "human geography" is used (in German - Die Humangeographie , in Spanish - geografía humana, in Italian - geografia antropica, in French - géographie humaine, etc.). It is perceived as a science studying the spatial organization of the economy and the relations between the society and the environment. General anthropogeography is divided into: geography of the population; historical geography; political geography; geography of settlements - urban geography and geography of rural areas; social geography; economic geography - primary, secondary and tertiary sectors; cultural geography, geography of the religions. In Bulgaria and in other former socialist countries (Russia, Poland etc.) neither of the two terms - anthropogeography and human geography are used. Instead, the term socioeconomic geography (social and economic geography, economic and social geography) is used, which includes social geography - geography of the population and settlements; economic geography - primary, secondary and tertiary sector etc. In leading geography schools: the German ("Anthropogeography"), the French (sociogeography - "Human Geography"), the Anglo-American and the Russian, different approaches for characterizing and analyzing the interaction between nature and man are used. The basic approach used in the German geography school since the end of the 19th till 186 the mid-20th is connected with the so-called geographical determinism (from Latin determinare - "define"). In France, unlike Germany, the main approach used in studying the interaction between man and nature is that of the so-called geographical possibilism (from Latin possibilis – “possible”). Geographers from the Anglo-American school basically adopted the ideas of the German geographical determinism, but also some of the ideas of the French geographical possibilism. Conditionally speaking, the anthropogeographical research in Bulgaria can be divided into three periods: the first period – the period of the Bulgarian Renaissance until the late 19th century, the second period - from the late 19th century to the mid-1940s, and the third period - from the mid-1940s to the mid-1950s.

НЯКОИ АСПЕКТИ ОТНОСНО СЪВРЕМЕННИТЕ КОЛЕБАНИЯ НА КЛИМАТА

Author(s): Pero Elenkov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 11/2015

The Earth`s climate is presented as a complex multifactorial dynamic system. The factors and causes that have impact on it are viewed and a considerable attention is paid to the problem of lithosphere`s plates mobility. The modern methods (isotopic, pollenqec) for analysis of climatic changest in the last millennium are given. The problem of climate`s definitiveness (sustainability) is presented taking into consideration the La-place theory. The global system for climate observation of World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is also presented.

ПОПИС 2022. ДЕМОГРАФСКИ ИЗАЗОВИ И ПЕРСПЕКТИВЕ СТАНОВНИШТВА СРБИЈЕ

Author(s): Daniela Arsenović / Language(s): English,Serbian Issue: 189/2024