REGIONAL STUDIES
Times of Transformational Change: The Pious Endowment of Mihaloğlu Mahmud Bey from Its Establishement in the ХV until the Beginning of the ХХ Century
Absract. The modern town of Ihtiman owes its establishment and further development during the Ottoman period to the members of the noble Mihaloğlu family who settled in Ihtiman and turned it into its residence and a center of its large pious foundation, founded to support the religious, charitable and educational institutions built in the town. The history of Ihtiman remains closely linked to the Mihaloğlu family ever since its establishment until the end of the Ottoman rule in the Bulgarian lands. The present article outlines the development of the waqf of Mihaloğlu Mahmud bey in the area of Ihtiman from its foundation till the first decade of the 20th century in an attempt to point out to its importance for the period of Ottoman rule as well as during the period immediately after the proclamation of independant Bulgaria when the so-called “waqf question” occupies a key place not only in the international relations of the young national state with the Ottoman empire but it also stood out as an essential problem in internal politics as well. The documents from the period after the Russo-Ottoman war of 1877–1878 allows for the elucidation of certain hitherto understudied questions connected to the last years of Ihtiman pious foundation’s existence in particular, as well as to the tracing out of the fate of the members of the Ottoman elite in the face of the Ihtiman waqf administrators during the new political and economic conditions of the national Bulgarian state.
Keywords: Ihtiman; waqf; Ottoman empire; Principality of Bulgaria; Eastern Rumelia; Mihaloğlu family
Prof. Dr. Veselin Yanchev, Ms. Mariya Kiprovska
University of Sofia
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VIEW OVER THE BALKAN PENINSULA
The Role of the Education and the “Cultural Revolution” in the Bulgarian Communist Party’s Modernization Politics among the Turkish Women in Bulgaria
Absract. The post-war situation confronts the Turkish population in Bulgaria with the challenges of both the strained relations between Sofia and Ankara and the assimilation-led policies of the communist ideology against the minority. This publication examines the attempts of the Bulgarian Communist Party to build a new view of life among the Turkish women in Bulgaria through the mechanisms of education and culture. By pursuing its goal of depersonalizing the influence of religion at the expense of emancipatory perceptions of women’s active participation in social and political life the state harnesses totalitarian propaganda in order to change the value orientation of the Turkish women. The striving for modernization of the life of the Turkish women is also in compliance with the specific tasks and problems of the simultaneously pursued minority policy in the country.
Keywords: women; Turkish women; ideology; emancipation; education; culture
Mr. Georgi Burnaski
University of Sofia
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Memories and Reflections on the Everyday Life of the Bulgarian Turks during the Totalitarian Regime
Absract. The proposed text does not attempt to present in detail the transformations pertaining to the Bulgarian Turks that have taken place in the state system and the society in Bulgaria since November 10, 1989. Rather, it attempts to explore a phenomenon which, at firts glance, undoubtedly resembles nostalgia, but reveals, after a more thorough looking into it, the Bulgarian Turks‘ memory of the repressive party line of the totalitarian state and its culmination - the policy of forced assimilation, cynically called “revival process”. Also, the new reality of the Transition evokes a certain perception of the totalitarian regime, not in regards to its construction, normativity or services, but in regards to its everyday life expressed through work realization, education, organization of public spaces, etc.
Keywords: Bulgarian Turks; memories; еveryday life; socialism
Dr. Nadezhda Zhechkova
University of Sofia
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CIVILIZATION BOUNDARIES
The Death of King Eduard VII and the Political Relations between Bulgaria and Great Britain
Dr. Emil Aleksandrov
University of VelikoTarnovo
Absract. The article aims to show some unknown historical facts about the death of King Edward VII of England. In this context the political relations between the British Empire and the Kingdom of Bulgaria are developing. In view of the polarization of Europe between the Triple Alliance and the Entente, Sofia seeks to secure the support of London and to establish good connections and feelings. Bulgaria’s foreign policy is still with loose hands, but considering the pursuit of national unification, it looks for allies and friendly countries. Naturally, King Ferdinand I and his family ties to the royal family of England are naturally counting, given the English-Russian idea circulating in the diplomacy of 1908-1909 to create a Balkan Union.
Keywords: King Edward VII; Bulgarian Kingdom; diplomacy; political relations; King Ferdinand I; Great Britain
Dr. Emil Aleksandrov
University of VelikoTarnovo
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EVENTS
100-TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TREATY OF NEUILLY
Mr. Tzvetozar Yotov – page 652
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