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This study is a translation of a report, sent by Russian Embassy to their headquarter, about the Pan-Islamic activities of Committee of Union and Progress in the period that followed the Abdulhamid II’s reign. The report was taken from the Russian archives and is important in terms of showing us Russia’s approach to the Pan-Islamic activities of the Ottomans. It demonsrates that the Pan-Islamic activities of the Ottomans continued in the aftermath of Abdulhamid II’s period and Russia was not satisfied with this situation. Russia's dissatisfaction arose from the fear that theese activities would affect the Muslims within its borders in a negative way.
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The article examines the execution of Nogay’s oldest son Chaka at the turn of the 14th c. The events in Tarnovo are analyzed in a broad comparative perspective in order to answer the question why Theodor Svetoslav chose the method of strangulation for the elimination of his brother-in-law. A number of other killings and executions of persons with royal blood throughout Mongol Eurasia are surveyed and juxtaposed with various diachronous parallels. It is argued that by strangling Chaka, Theodor Svetoslav kept an ancient steppe taboo that prohibited the shedding of royal blood. Thus, a conclusion is drawn that the Bulgarian Tsar followed a standard Mongol practice for elimination of Chinggisids.
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The imposing of the Balkan trend as a priority in Rome's strategic plans in the early 20th century created the premises for enhancing the relations between Italy and Bulgaria.The new stage in these relations coincided with the most decisive and dramatic period in the development of the national liberation movement in Macedonia and the region of Adrianople, as well as with the persistent attempts of the new government of the National Liberal Party to engage the Western powers with the idea for autonomy to the region.
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The article examines the origins and evolution of the European system of collective security after the end of the First World War until the mid-1920s and the Locarno Treaties. Based on the analysis of international documents and literature, this study traces the development of European collective security through the League of Nations and by examining the impact of the Locarno Treaties.
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Între 1877 și 1914 există o punte de generații, fiecare cu propria experiență politică, diplomatică și militară. Alături de monarhii României, o serie de oameni politici și diplomați (Ion C. Brătianu, Mihail Kogălniceanu, Lascăr Catargiu, Alexandru Lahovary, Ion I.C. Brătianu, Constantin Stere, Alexandru Marghiloman etc.) unii bătrâni, alții tineri, au luat parte la acțiuni decisive pentru soarta României. O mare parte din elita militară românească, cu pregătire în Franța – generalii Ion E. Florescu sau Iacob Lahovary, Constantin I. Brătianu – s-au remarcat în domeniul militar, cultural, național și academic. Vreme de patru decenii aceste generații au dezbătut cele mai optime soluții privind intrarea în alianțe politice și militare sau au participat la dezbaterile diplomatice, care au încercat să armonizeze interesele divergente ale statelor europene. Perioada 1877-1914 a fost marcată de izbucnirea unor războaie cu consecințe importante pentru România. În ambele războaie, – unul de independență, celălalt pentru întregirea neamului – au fost prioritare interesele naționale ale țării. Deciziile autorităților politice au fost susținute de opinia publică românească. Schimbarea alianțelor militare nu a fost ușoară, trecerea de la Tripla Alianță la Antanta fiind dictată de scopurile naționale ale României privind Transilvania, Banatul Basarabia și Bucovina. Generațiile războiului au fost consecvente în fermitatea cu care au susținut revendicările României în fața intereselor marilor puteri.
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Universitatea românească din Cluj a fost inaugurată, în mod festiv, în zilele de 31 ianuarie-2 februarie 1920. Consiliul Dirigent a fost inițiatorul organizării Universității clujene și unul dintre marii organizatori ai festivităților inaugurale. Oficialitățile universitare, studențimea și edilii Clujului s-au pregătit să întâmpine pe cei mai importanți oaspeți ai serbărilor, Majestățile Regale și pe invitații lor din țară și străinătate. Au venit la Cluj reprezentanți ai marilor state, oameni politici, diplomați, rectori, decani și profesori și academicieni. Regele a ținut o cuvântare solemnă în somptuoasa Aulă a Universității. A transmis publicului cuvinte de laudă și încurajare la masa oferită, în cinstea sa, de rectorul Universității clujene. Regele s-a oferit să participe la o ședință festivă a Societății Studențești „Petru Maior” din Cluj. Majestatea Sa a încurajat tineretul clujean să contribuie, cu devotament, la dezvoltarea științei și culturii românești. Serbările inaugurale au avut o însemnătate culturală, națională și politică. Ele au fost o ocazie pentru demonstrarea interesului statului pentru instituțiile Transilvaniei, chiar înainte de încheierea Tratatului de Pace de la Trianon, în 4 iunie 1920. Succesul și fastul sărbătorii s-au datorat unei organizări excelente din partea membrilor Consiliului Dirigent și a unei Comisii de profesori ai Universității. Aceștia au lucrat temeinic la detaliile serbării, la primirea și omagierea invitaților. Participarea publică a fost impresionantă. Presa clujeană și națională a semnalat cu entuziasm evenimentul grandios și elegant. Alături de Universitățile din Cernăuți, București și Iași, Universitatea clujeană își confirma rolul de laborator al energiilor științifice, culturale și intelectuale ale României Mari.
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This article analyzes the local and transnational entanglements of interwar liquor contraband operations to show how smuggling in the Baltic Sea region grew from small-scale coast-to-coast operations to a large-scale trade organized by transnational syndicates moving millions of liters. It examines transnational smuggling networks, the use of flags of convenience and large base ships to argue that the framework of the “Helsinki Convention for the Suppression of the Contraband Traffic in Alcoholic Liquors of 1925” led to professionalization and trans-nationalization of contraband operations and a significant growth in liquor smuggling. The analysis of the Free City of Danzig (Wolne Miasto Gdańsk), where the boundaries between small-scale smuggling and professional contraband operations were fluid, provides insights into the local elements of liquor smuggling operations. This part of the argument focuses on the weak governmental control and the tax-free area in the Danzig port, which provided the necessary infrastructure for large-scale smuggling and enabled the city-state to become a major hub for liquor smuggling operations.
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Review of: Andreas Kappeler: Ungleiche Brüder. Russen und Ukrainer vom Mittelalter bis zur Gegenwart. C.H. Beck. München 2017, 267 S., graf. Darst., 4 Kt. ISBN 978-3406-71410-8. (€ 16,95.). Reviewed by Torsten Wehrhahn.
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The main purpose of this study is to consider the requirements of the laws that applied in medieval Bulgaria after the conversion, on which the lawfulness of lay marriages depended, as a prelude to the study of the validity of rulers’ marriages in medieval Bulgaria. Laws and canons included in various collections, preserved from the medieval past of the Bulgarian tzardom after the conversion, are discussed, such as the Synagogue of Fifty Titles by John Scholastic (also called Nomocanon of Methodius), Nomocanon of Fourteen Titles, Kanonarion of John Nesteutes, the Zakon Sudnyj Ljudem or The Penal Code for Laymen, canons of the Holy Fathers, Agricultural Law, the Ecloga, Slavic Pseudo-Zonar (Nomocanon of Cotelerius) and the Prochiron. The following legal restrictions have been established, the violation of which made a marriage illegal or invalid: kinship, disparity of cult or different denominations, marriage age, as well as the number of previous marriages and their legal termination. After extensive scrutiny, it is concluded that although these restrictions were not numerous, they did include too many people the marriage with whom was considered unlawful, which in all likelihood led to difficulties in applying the law in practice. Only a study of the actual application of the laws in question in the marriage life of medieval Bulgarian rulers will show to what extent the law was able to influence the marriage policy of statesmen.
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The issues related to the status quo of the Ragusan Consuls, fulfilling their obligations in the region of the Balkan Peninsula and in particular – in the Bulgarian lands, are of special research interest. The reason for this is that the activity of these employees actually regulated the relations between the Ragusans traders within the territories where they had direct economic interests. Our study is focused on this range of problems, and is based mainly on written evidence from the 1380s and 1390s. The historical sources outline the authorities but also the obligations of the Ragusan consuls and judges, appointed by the Republic of Dubrovnik in the region of South-East Europe. Specifically in the Balkans, the Ragusan Consulate originally appeared in the territory of Serbia and Bosnia, where the Adriatic servants came into view first. This is chronologically related to the second half of the 13th century. Nearly a century later, the Grand Council (Veliko Viječe) of the Adriatic Republic issued a document dated on 17 December 1387. With this written source the work of the Ragusan Consulate in the Balkans and in particular – in the Bulgarian lands, was officially regulated and confirmed.
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The article deals with the activities of the Russian Vice-Consul in Plovdiv Nayden Gerov in 1867 in the context of the Russian Balkan politicy in the years of the Eastern Crisis of 1866–1869. By order of the Russian ambassador to Constantinople, Gen. N. P. Ignatiev, in 1867 N. Gerov wrote “A Project for Reforms”. This document, which became the basis of Ignatiev’s project, was to serve the Russian diplomatic action in a collective demarche in front of the Sublime Porte together with other European countries, notably France, for carrying out reforms in favor of the Christian subjects of the Ottoman Empire. The remaining activities of Gerov during the year form several problematic circles also in connection with Russian Middle East politicy – the Russian idea of autonomy for the Bulgarians, the negotiations with Serbia for the creation of a Balkan Union for joint action against the Ottoman Empire, the Bulgarian political and revolutionary initiatives. After analyzing an array of unpublished and published documents on Gerov’s activities in 1867 in both of these aspects, the author attempts to determine the presence and opportunities of Bulgarians to influence the course of the “Great Policy”.
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The article deals with the propaganda of Bulgaria and Serbia during the dispute about the future of Macedonia during the Balkan wars of 1912–1913 and is based on the press, archival documents and memories. Used and unused Bulgarian channels of influence are demonstrated, Serbian propaganda and propagandists are shown. The arguments of the parties and the course of public discussion are given.
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Review of: Paul Robert Magocsi: With Their Backs to the Mountains. A History of Carpathian Rus’ and Carpatho-Rusyns. Central European University Press. Budapest – New York 2015. XX, 511 S., Ill., Kt. ISBN 978-615-5053-39-9. (€ 39,–.). Reviewed by Sebastian Paul.
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Review of: Deutschland – Frankreich – Polen seit 1945. Transfer und Kooperation. Hrsg. von Corine Defrance, Michael Kißener, Jan Kusber und Pia Nordblom. (Deutschland in den internationalen Beziehungen / L’Allemagne dans les relations internationales, Bd. 6.) Lang. Bruxelles 2014. 291 S., graph. Darst. ISBN 978-2-87574-209-4. (€ 44,90.). Reviewed by Jan Rydel.
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The Bolshevik conquest of the Crimea and the Caucasus caused the migration of numerous anti-Communist intellectuals from those regions to neighbouring Turkey. Educated at Russian and European universities, many Crimean Tatar and Azeri exiles contributed to the modernization and Europeanisation of the Kemalist regime. The Istanbul-based linguist Ahmet Caferoğlu (1899-1975), a graduate of the University of Breslau, embodied the circulation of ideas between the Soviet Caucasus, Germany and Poland. In close communication with prominent Polish Turcologists such as Tadeusz Kowalski and Ananiasz Zajączkowski, Caferoğlu translated and popularized the research results of Polish Oriental Studies and Turcology in Turkey. This paper investigates the century-long interrelationship between Polish and Turkish orientalists by elucidating the key role of ‘transfer agents’ and mediators between the Turkic and Slavic worlds; exiled intellectuals of Azeri, Crimean, Kazan, Polish-Lithuanian Tatar and Karaite origin.
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In the present study the authors focus on presenting four military medals of the Russian Empire. The first one is linked with the ill-fated campaign of Napoleon in Russia, commemorating the Russian victory of 1812 against the French invaders. Two other medals were minted in order to honor those who took part in the Russian-Japanese conflict of 1904-1905, while the last one is a 4th class Medal for Bravery issued for heroic deeds at the beginning of the First World War. The last medal is engraved with a low serial number which would date it approximately to the first half of 1915. Unfortunately, we have no data regarding the owners of these awardsor of their heroic deeds.
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The article argues that leading figures of the emerging Lithuanian state in 1918 to 1920 used democratic semantics and mechanisms to gain international support for their project of consolidating statehood. These were used specifically to dissociate independent Lithuania from Bolshevik Russia, from Germany, and from Poland. With the devaluation of alternative political models, such as the Brest system and Bolshevism, democracy became the only legitimate basis for the newly emerging states of East Central Europe. The article thus looks at the history of early interwar Lithuania from an international perspective, using Lithuanian newspapers and correspondence between Lithuanian political actors and representatives and journalists of the Western Entente. In Lithuanian nationalism prior to the First World War, democracy played a very minor role. Moreover, only a small number of Lithuanians had experience with democratic practices. The short-lived Brest-Litovsk system, to which the newly independent Lithuanian state belonged, was intrinsically anti-democratic. Democracy as a legitimate foundation of statehood became important only with the German defeat in November 1918. The new Lithuanian state subsequently took up concepts of “western” democracy, particularly from the U.S., making them part of a lobbying effort, which was carried out partly by Lithuanian state actors themselves (e.g. at the Paris Peace Conference) or by diaspora Lithuanians. Democracy as discussed within Lithuania was an integrating system, encapsulating secular liberalism and political Catholicism, which had been the most important (and often conflicting) political movements within Lithuanian pre-World War I nationalism. Lithuania was thus conceived of as a “thoroughly democratic nation”, which was by nature opposed to German authoritarianism and Russian Bolshevism. Even as the members of the Western Entente continued to pin their hopes on the White Movement as the main opponent of Bolshevism, Lithuania was increasingly perceived abroad as a successful antiBolshevik de facto state. In the first half of 1919, minority rights became a part of the Versailles agenda. With anti-Jewish pogroms perpetrated by Polish soldiers, Lithuanian state actors successfully invented the Lithuanian Republic as a multi-ethnic counterweight to an increasingly chauvinistic Poland and as a protector of Belarusians and Jews. While the integration of Belarusians went almost unnoticed abroad, the granting of cultural and administrative autonomy to the Lithuanian Jews became a powerful propaganda tool for Lithuanian state actors and diaspora Lithuanians lobbying in the USA. The international perception that Polish territorial ambitions in the East were becoming increasingly problematic and threatening peace was a decisive factor for international support of Lithuanian independence. The final granting of de jure statehood, however, only came in 1922 with the international awareness that the White movement had failed – it thus became more practical to support democratic states at the former imperial periphery than permit them to fall to Bolshevism. Belarusian and Jewish autonomy were abolished only a short time later. The limitation of Lithuanian democracy to the purpose of consolidating statehood in the specific post-First World War context very possibly contributed to its quick decline: The coup of 1926 and the establishment of Smetona as “national leader” two years later effectively abolished the short-lived Lithuanian democracy.
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In the article, the multi-faceted cooperation between Poland and Bulgaria in the 1920s in the political, economic and cultural spheres is presented based on Polish archival materials. After the end of the First World War, Bulgarians wanted more equal relations with Poland, because they wanted Poland to be an advocate of Bulgaria. The motto of Polish Balkan policy was, above all, cooperation with Romania in the event of a war threat from Soviet Russia (later USSR). In this context, political relations with Bulgaria had to become less important, whereas economic cooperation was focused on mutually advantageous trade exchange. The author of the article emphasizes the fact that during the period discussed intensive relations developed between Polish and Bulgarian cultural activists, journalists, scientists as well as societies in both countries.
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