United States's new enemy. China and the conquest for world influence. A comparative study of current Chinese and US approaches to foreign assistance, investments, and trade in Africa

Author(s): Roxana Hanganu / Language(s): English Issue: 2/2019

China’s new diplomacy has been a topic of heated discussions both within academic scholarship and political circles across the globe. Particularly controversial has been its economic development and its conquest for world influence, which created tensions with the US. The United States of America has been accusing China of borrowing and assisting foreign countries in order to gain more influence worldwide and especially over Africa. Both China and the US emphasise the centrality of economy in their domestic and external policies. Despite their common attachmentto economic development the US and China have diverged considerably in their respective promotion of economic and strategic interest abroad. This study compares current Chinese and US approaches to economic diplomacy, with an emphasis on their foreign assistance, investment and trade in Africa. To this end, the research outlines the intricacies behind US and China’s implication in Africa, and delves into the specificities of their current economic diplomacy. Moreover, it measures their efficiency in engaging with the African continent through FDI, foreign assistance and trade.

Błękit i rośliny lecznicze – słów kilka o indygo i nie tylko

Author(s): Justyna Makowska-Wąs,Irma Podolak / Language(s): Polish Issue: 1/2023

Until the development of organic chemistry and the production of synthetic dyes in the second half of the 19th century, substances of natural origin were the only source of color compounds. These could be mineral, plant, and animal products, used in the form of raw products (e.g., crushed metals, minerals, animal fragments, or their excretions) and preparations derived from them. Among the plants we find many species that have been used as sources of coloring substances. They were valued primarily in the production of various utility or decorative fabrics and were used to dye natural fibers. Plant extracts or purified fractions of color compounds were also used as pigments in painting, in the illumination of books, and as substances that improve the look of medicines or foodstuffs. Some had medicinal significance per se. Among them, a small group of plant substances with a blue color is of special interest.The most famous natural raw material of this group is indigo (Indigo), obtained from Indigofera tinctoria L. and its substitutes. Noteworthy is also the less known wood of the logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum L.), known as the blue tree. This work presents the history, uses, and therapeutic importance of the abovementioned raw materials and their contemporary use.

Российский подоходный налог на фоне социально-политических событий 1917–1920-х гг.

Author(s): Olga Mihajlovna Morozova,Tatjana Igorevna Troshina / Language(s): Russian Issue: 43/2023

The introduction of income tax in Russia has a long history, but not all stages of this process have been covered in scholarly publications. Due to the low efficiency of the tax institutions of the post-revolutionary governments, their law-making activities and attempts to collect income tax in 1917–1921 remain under-researched. What little the Soviet and White governments had in common was their willingness to base their fiscal practices on the imperial legislation. The practice of application revealed differences. The Bolsheviks consistently developed the existing framework, trying to find forms of tax collection appropriate to the country’s situation despite a long phase of failure in their attempts. Not only the central authorities, but also the county councils and congresses were given greater freedom in rulemaking. In contrast to this experience, the opponents of the Soviet power, didn’t work out the contours of the emergency financial system. The decrees and orders of the White governments were only created to respond to inflationary processes. The construction of the peacetime tax system continued under the extraordinary conditions of economic crisis and famine. The Soviet government and the People’s Commissariat of Finance did not abandon the idea of the income tax, considering its presence a sign of maturity of the tax system and the guarantee of stability of revenue receipts in the budget. At the stage of the class struggle in the economic sphere in the 1920s, it was used as a tool to restrain the growth of bourgeois elements in trade and production. The introduction of this type of tax in the agricultural collective sector lasted for decades. Sporadic attempts to use it in the 1920s were unsuccessful. It was not until 1992 that it took the form of a personal income tax.

Росица Лельова. На духовния фронт от Илинден до Балканската война. Българската екзархия и екзархийските институции в Македония 1903 – 1912. София, 2021, 288 с. ISBN 978-619-245-197-3.

Author(s): Aleksandar Grebenarov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

НАСОКИ В ДЕЙНОСТТА НА ЗЕМЕДЕЛСКОТО МИНИСТЕРСТВО ПРЕЗ МЕЖДУВОЕННИЯ ПЕРИОД – ПРЕДПОСТАВКИ И ФАКТОРИ

Author(s): Rositsa Zlatinska / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The text presents and analyzes the work of the Ministry of Agriculture in the interwar period. The history of the Ministry of Agriculture began as early as 1879,when a proposal was made to set up the Ministry of Common Buildings, Agriculture and Commerce, but in practice it did not constitute itself independently. In 1893 the Ministry of Trade and Agriculture was established and it began operating independently. Over the decades, the Ministry of Agriculture has gone through a dood deal of gradual structural and organizational transformations, as well as name changes. However, in terms of its content and functional characteristics, it has always remained one of the main units in the system of state governance in Bulgaria, as an integral part of the executive branch. Its important role is due to the traditional agrarian nature of the economy, as well as the dominance of the rural population in social stratification –essential features of Bulgarian capitalism throughout the 1878–to–1944 period. The main trends in the development of the system of state economic institutions in Bulgaria, including the Ministry of Agriculture, are determined by the domestic and international situation. Various factors have facilitated the process, including the general state of the economic base, internal political events, the ideological economic views of the ruling elite, the personnel potential, the influence of foreign institutional models, the degree of integration of the Bulgarian economy within the framework of the European and world economy, etc. The main guidelines of the Ministry of Agriculture are: supporting and encouraging farmers in agriculture, livestock development activities, support for profiled agricultural education, execution of specialized pre-war tasks. The Ministry of Agriculture, since its establishment and during the interwar period, has proved to be a contributing factor in the administrative and management system of the country. What the Ministry of Agriculture achieved during the period under review has contributed to the stabilization, improvement and modernization of agriculture in the country.

СТОПАНСКАТА КОНЮНКТУРА И ЕТЕРИЧНО-МАСЛЕНАТА ИНДУСТРИЯ НА БЪЛГАРИЯ ВЪВ ВРЕМЕТО НА ВТОРАТА СВЕТОВНА ВОЙНА (1939–1945)

Author(s): Radoslav Petkov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The production of essential oils and specifically rose oil are among the most important, sustainable and profitable areas in the agricultural industry of Bulgaria. Their orientation in the field of luxury, puts them as a preferred business by many entrepreneurs, both in Bulgaria and around the world. The article aims to critically analyze the changes and development trends of the Bulgarian rose production and essential oil industry during the Second World War (1939-1945). In order to achieve more specific results, a comparative approach of industry data from the First World War (1914–1918) compared with information on the development of the sector during the Second World War is applied. During the analyzed period, a significant change took place in the political, economic and social development of the world, which found its projection in the development of Bulgaria and Bulgarian society. The article focuses on the processes in the military economy of Bulgaria related to the rose-oil industry and the drastic changes in the industry.

ИКОНОМИЧЕСКАТА ПОЛИТИКА В БЪЛГАРИЯ В ГОДИНИТЕ НА ПРЕХОД И ЧЛЕНСТВО В ЕВРОПЕЙСКИЯ СЪЮЗ

Author(s): Dimitar Zlatinov,Stoyan Shalamanov / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The article examines the economic background that led to the introduction of the Currency Board Arrangements in Bulgaria since 1997 and the fiscal and monetary policies implemented before and after this. We focus on the transformation processes and challenges of the transition to a market economy, which largely predetermine some structural weaknesses of the Bulgarian economy to this day. We trace the institutional features of Currency Board Arrangements and the basic principles of its design, which requires coordination of fiscal and monetary policy measures in Bulgaria. We highlight the channels of quasi-monetary policy that the government possibly can follow through the changes of the government's deposit in the Central bank. This policy feature imposes constraints on the fiscal policy in Bulgaria, which should not put the sustainability of the Currency Board Arrangements at risk. The article also highlights the changes in the national government policy framework resulting from the European Union membership and outlines its capacity to mitigate negative cyclical developments. The atypicality of macroeconomic policy under the Currency Board Arrangements in Bulgaria is highlighted, with a clear tendency to follow a counter-cyclical and stabilisation management strategy. Our analysis shows that the effects of macroeconomic policy depend much more on the overall economic environment in Bulgaria than on the traditional transmission channels of macroeconomic policy. Following the Currency Board Arrangements in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian National Bank has limited possibilities to directly influence the price stability, while on the fiscal policy side there are more channels to influence inflation, which reinforces the notion of the government's ability to conduct quasi-monetary policy. The Central bank actions are much more related to risks stemming from the financial sector itself than they are reactive to changes in the economic environment. In such a situation, the effectiveness of macroeconomic policy can be sought if it facilitates the implementation of structural reforms that have the greatest potential to affect the overall economic environment.

ВЪЗДЕЙСТВИЕТО НА ВЪНШНИ ШОКОВЕ ВЪРХУ ИКОНОМИКИТЕ НА БЪЛГАРИЯ И ХЪРВАТИЯ: ИСТОРИЧЕСКИ АСПЕКТИ И СЪВРЕМИЕ

Author(s): Sonia Georgieva,Veselina Shalamanova / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

Bulgaria and Croatia are small open economies that are not affected by prices and other macroeconomic variables internationally, but their economic activity depends on external economic trends that have an impact on their local economies. The aim of this paper is to trace and analyse the impact of external shocks on the economies of the two countries under consideration historically through a retrospective economic-historical analysis, which will clarify chronologically how, from similar starting points and potential, the two countries have different degrees of convergence vis-à-vis European Union countries and are moving at different rates of economic growth and development. It traces the impact of exogenous shocks affecting political stability, structural reforms, inflation, fiscal policy, foreign trade relations and other macroeconomic aspects as a consequence of the behaviour of the two countries.

КОНЦЕПЦИИТЕ НА КЛАСИЧЕСКАТА ПОЛИТИЧЕСКА ИКОНОМИЯ ЗА СТОЙНОСТТА И РЕНТАТА СРЕЩУ МЕЙНСТРИЙМА В ИКОНОМИЧЕСКАТА ТЕОРИЯ

Author(s): Rumen Andreev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

For a long time it was believed that the marginalist revolution rejected classical political economy and created modern economic science. In fact, various problems that had been studied by classical political economy ware completely neglected and unexplored by mainstream economic theory since the marginalist revolution. The purpose of the article is to present facts that classical political economy and mainstream theory after the marginalist revolution explore quite different problems in economic science. Two of the turning point concepts in economic theory are analyzed, that of value and land rent, which are decisive for the foundation of classical political economy. The concept of land rent as part of the distribution is almost absent from mainstream theory, and that of value is taken as an axiom. In Bulgaria, there are studies that present the fundamental differences in the two theories, but without examining the specific concepts of value and rent, which are key to the change in economic theory. The article shows why classical political economy remains relevant by better analyzing contemporary reality. Comparative and historical analysis was used for the needs of the research.

ФИНАНСОВА АДМИНИСТРАЦИЯ В ДОЛНА МИЗИЯ: ОПИТ ЗА ИЗЯСНЯВАНЕ НА ГЕНЕЗИСА И РАЗВИТИЕТО

Author(s): Kalin Stoev / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

The article discusses the role and function of the Moesian provincial official of the Emperor – the procurator. The sources about the Roman provincial history generally indicate that the procurators were equestrian officers charged with the care of the Emperor's property. The epigraphic data from the province of Lower Moesia (Moesia inferior) do not conclusively show that there was a procurator here who was responsible specifically for the imperial domains. The investigation of the known monuments that mention procuratores leads to the conclusion that the procurator of the vectigalis Illyrici assumed in Lower Moesia the functions of supplying the Roman troops in that part of the Empire, the provinces of Lower Moesia, and some periods mainly the neighbouring lands, as Upper Moesia and Dacia. In Lower Moesia, where strategic territories belonging to the "defense" of the province were available, the transitional period of early Roman power in these lands led to the imposition there of a military administration, which was more it was later merged with the Illyrian vectigalis. Thus, around the time of the Severi, when the vectigal was subordinated to an equestrian procuratoral office, put the end of the short period of economic development in the province of Lower Moesia, understood as the enrichment of some northern Italian families from the border commercial location of the lower Danube lands. By the 3rd century AD this frontier arrangement goes back to the early Roman development, which was entirely subordinated to the army and military affairs.

АРМИЯ И ИКОНОМИКА. РОЛЯТА НА XI КЛАВДИЕВ ЛЕГИОН В ИКОНОМИЧЕСКОТО РАЗВИТИЕ НА ДУРОСТОРУМ (II – III ВЕК) – ЗЕМЕДЕЛИЕ

Author(s): Svetlana Gancheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

This article examines the role of the Legion XI Claudia in the development of agriculture in Durostorum in the 2nd-3rd century. To determine its impact, the minimum grain requirements of the legion as well as the civilian population are calculated. On the basis of these data, and at a given yield kg/ha, an attempt is made to calculate the amount of arable land required, and the number of people engaged in feeding the military and civilian population. The proposed calculations show that about 1, 550 tons of grain were needed to supply the grain requirements of the fighting personnel of the XI Claudian Legion (5,240 men) alone for a year, and an additional 241 tons if the quantities for the legion's servants (819 men) were added. Additional quantities of grain must also be provided for the civilian population of Durostorum - over 1,300 or 1,900 tons of grain. Based on these data and with a wheat yield of 385 kg/ha, between 8,000-9 600 ha of land were needed to feed the military and civilian population of Durostorum, and probably as much more set aside. These lands can be cultivated by 1 340-1 600 people.

ТЪРГОВИЯ И ТЪРГОВСКИ СРЕДИЩА В РАЗГРАД ПРЕЗ XIX ВЕК

Author(s): Nevena Nedelcheva / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 1/2023

Razgrad is a settlement that grew and developed as an Ottoman city. In this sense, it is a suitable example for the study of demographic, religious, economic and cultural processes and interactions as a counterbalance to settlements with pre-Ottoman roots. The present study focuses on the economic development of the city with an emphasis on the 19th century. The focus of the research will be on the trade and commercial centers that are found in the city during the time period set. In this sense, we will try to answer the question to what extent trade is a marker of economic growth. We attempt to trace their species diversity, ownership, and neighborhood distribution. The examples given in the study regarding trade and the places of trade exchange are a sure indicator of its slow recovery and economic growth in the 19th century. Its economic growth is clearly visible. The available data allow us to talk about a process of gradual densification of the professional and craft profile of the city, covering all spheres of the city's economy. The economic production profile of Razgrad derived in the research does not allow us to single out a narrow specialization of the population in any specific sector. Razgrad's economy is structured in such a way that it aims to cover all economic niches and thus satisfy the comprehensive needs of the Deliorman resident.

Австрийски планове за умиротворяване на Балканите преди и след Мюрцщегската спогодба

Author(s): Gábor Demeter / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 3/2023

The situation of the three Macedonian vilayets has been traced conscientiously by Austro-Hungarian authorities at the turn of the century according to the consular reports of the HHStA and the series of reports published in Diplomatische Aktenstücke in 1906. These included observations on schooling, ethnic and religious situations prior to the outbreak of the Ilinden revolt. These documents testify that Austria-Hungary wanted to exploit the growing unrest for its own political purposes by initiating a reform plan that would give the right for Vienna to interfere into the internal affairs of Ottoman Turkey, maintaining its integrity under the aegis of a humanitarian intervention together with Russia. This is highlighted by the fact that several versions of ethnic maps and conscription of schools did exist at the turn of the century in the Austrian consular agencies with often contradictory or manipulated contents, depending on the actual political relations towards the Ottomans and Bulgaria. The worsening economic situation in Macedonia was also detected by the local Austro-Hungarian authorities,and this, together with the increasing observations on political and “everyday” violence and migration gave a good pretext to intervene together with Russia, as the Ottoman reform plans in 1902 were considered unsatisfactory both by the Powers and the Bulgarians. Knowing the Austro-Russian endeavour to intervene, and considering the plans of the Powers unsatisfactory, the IMARO acted prematurely fearing of a modest agreement between Ottomans and the Powers over Macedonia.

Пътеписните бележки на проф. Йордан Иванов от първото му пътуване из Македония през 1906 – 1908 г.

Author(s): Georgi Minczew / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 4/2023

The Archiv of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences contains several notebooks and a typewritten text in which the famous Bulgarian scholar, Prof. Yordan Ivanov, described his impressions of his first trip to Macedonia, when he was collecting materials for his future book Bulgarian Antiquities around Macedonia. These notes have not been published until now. They obviously served Y. Ivanov in the preparation of his monograph, but at the same time they differ from its scientific style. The notes also contain factual material, but it is secondary to the personal impressions of the author’s encounters with ordinary people, to his reflections on the political situation in the Ottoman Empire after the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising of 1903, to poetic descriptions of nature landmarks, etc. The said manuscript materials from the archive constitute a special kind of scholarly travelogue, an artistic description of unknown but also familiar lands. In 1906, the Bulgarian scholar visited the ‘unknown’ Macedonia for the first time; but she was at the same time ‘familiar’: known from stories about the family history of Y. Ivanov, whose roots were from the Kratovo district. Attached to the article is the transcript of the first notebook, describing Prof. Y. Ivanov’s impressions from his trip from Vrancha to Thessalonica and Athos in October 1906 – January 1907.

Проблеми и предизвикателства при производството на електромобили в периода от 1800 г. до днес

Author(s): Erhan Ahmedov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 2/2023

The article examines the history of the production of electric cars in the period from 1800 to the present day. The method used is a secondary analysis of published research on the topic. The main conclusions reached are that there is a direct relationship between the rise in the sale of electric cars at high fuel and energy prices and its fall when prices calm down. The second factor that affects the sales of electric cars are the problems related to environmental pollution from conventional cars. The conclusion is that the victory of electric cars over conventional vehicles with internal combustion engines is guaranteed with the decision of the European Parliament to stop the latter’s production and import after 2035.

Bulgarian Trace in the Middle East: Syria

Author(s): Nadya Filipova / Language(s): English Issue: 3-4/2023

The publication brings to the bore the Bulgarian foreign policy regarding Syria, which emerged as the leading Middle Eastern partner of the Soviet bloc in the 1970s. It analyzes documentary evidence of Bulgaria’s presence in Syria, aiming to highlight durable achievements while identifying systemic shortcomings and challenges. The study delves into Bulgarian goals and activities in construction, agriculture, industrial development, and weapons export, analyzing decisive factors influencing the decision-making process in Sofia. Research on Bulgarian labor migration to Syria includes considerations of professional profiles, financial and residence conditions within the context of state’s comprehensive control over Bulgarian labor resources. The author comments on the specifics of the actions for dissemination of Bulgarian studies abroad.

The Value of Historical Knowledge for the Modern World

Author(s): Svitlana Hanaba / Language(s): English Issue: 6/2023

The purpose of the article is to understand the lessons of history from the standpoint of human values and to emphasize the heritage of the past as a social resource capable of fostering understanding, tolerance, complicity and contributing to the solution of contemporary social problems. The methodological basis is the use of socio-philosophical analysis to characterize the historical process as the interaction of two principles: objectively determined and subjectively volitional. The axiological approach helped to analyse the educational potential of history in the modern world practices and to present education as a space of freedom in a person’s self-development. The scholar underlines that the change of historical eras causes a change in the established system of values. It is about the process of revaluation and the value system ‘creation’. No historical fact can be explained and evaluated beyond its historical time. The understanding of the past including its value system in the realities of the modern world determines the understanding of a person as a development system, which is carried out on the basis of the cultural-historical experience of a particular society. The formation of a new system of values and moral-ethical priorities of each historical era does not occur from scratch. The universal human virtues tested by time and sanctified by history serve as a basis for revising and creating worldview and value standards of a specific historical era. They appear to be a spiritual capital of humanity, accumulated over millennia, which will never depreciate, but on the contrary, will gain more value. The reference point in all historical processes is a person. The person is considered to be an active agent of history, who does not create his life under the influence of objective laws and external factors, but who combines his own intentions with the worldview and value orientations of his time. The basis of the historical reality manifestation is determined by the multifaceted nature of human existence. A picture of the past is created from small particles of historical events, individual touches, memories, a mosaic set of human perception of the world, which is more reliable, because it carries the ‘human spirit’. The focus of the scholar’s attention is the world of the unique and unrepeatable, and not the general and theoretically modelled one. Education built on the intentions of tolerance is designed to contribute to the formation of an individual capable of caring about the universal pain of human problems, to cultivate involvement as an important component of worldview mobility.

ГОДИШНО СЪДЪРЖАНИЕ

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): English,Bulgarian Issue: 6/2023

В НОВИТЕ БРОЕВЕ НА СПИСАНИЯТА НА ИЗДАТЕЛСТВО ,,АЗ БУКИ“ ЧЕТЕТЕ

Author(s): Not Specified Author / Language(s): Bulgarian Issue: 6/2023

МАРКЕТИНГ ОБРАЗОТВОРЧОГО МИСТЕЦТВА: ВІД АНТИЧНИХ ЧАСІВ ДО АРТРИНКУ ХХІ СТОЛІТТЯ

Author(s): Dmytro Igorevich Akimov / Language(s): Ukrainian Issue: 2/2023

The purpose of the study is to study and analyse the history of the development of marketing technologies in the fine arts market throughout human history from ancient times to the beginning of the XXI century. The research methodology is based on the use of comparative, empirical, and theoretical methods. This methodological approach allows to analyse the process of formation and history of development of fine art marketing, to conduct a study of marketing processes in the promotion of works of art in the art market at different times of human history. The scientific novelty is to expand the understanding of the fine art market. The article examines marketing processes in the art market at different historical times. The article analyses the problems that have been formed and overcome throughout the history of the emergence and formation of marketing in the field of culture and art. The article also analyses the theoretical foundations of fine art marketing and the ways of their practical implementation in different periods of art market formation. Conclusions. The conducted analysis allowed to determine that even before the emergence of the modern art market as an element of the general capitalist market, the movement of works of fine art thousands of years ago, in ancient times, contained elements of marketing approaches and technologies, which was entirely due to the processes of selling and buying works of art, exchanging them and collecting them. In particular, we are talking about the forerunners of marketing approaches and technologies aimed at satisfying the public demand for works of fine art; organising the collection, classification and collecting of works of fine art; conducting an examination of their quality and originality; determining the methods of promoting works in society that were already available at that time. Thus, before the emergence of the modern art market, there was a so-called "wild market" that in a certain way "regulated" the processes of movement of works of art in society.