2020, Volumul XXVIII REVISTA DE ETNOLOGIE ȘI CULTUROLOGIE E-ISSN: 2537-6152 117

PAGINA TÂNARULUI CERCETATOR Radina Ivo BOZHILOVA

PUBLICATION OF DOCUMENTS BY THE BULGARIAN HISTORICAL ARCHIVE UNTIL SEPTEMBER 9, 1944

деляются фигуры Захари Стоянова, Стояна Заимова, Rezumat Николы Обретенова и Кириака Цанкова. Publicarea documentelor de către Arhiva Istorică Ключевые слова: болгарское Возрождение, пу- a Bulgariei până la 9 septembrie 1944 бликации, архивные коллекции, архивные документы. După Eliberarea Bulgariei (1878) de sub jugul otoman, oamenii de știință au început căutări de documente privi- Summary tor Renașterea Bulgară. Trebuie remarcat faptul că până la Publication of documents by the Bulgarian historical mijlocul secolului XX în Bulgaria nu exista o legislație de archive until September 9, 1944 arhivă, precum și instituții de arhivă specializate care să se After the Liberation of Bulgaria (1878) from the Otto- ocupe de tema prezentată. În acest timp s-au format colecții man yoke the beginning was set for a purposeful research de arhivă în instituții de artă, științifice și de altă natură. Cea and publication of documents about the Bulgarian Revival. mai mare organizație a fost – Biblioteca Națională din Sofia. It should be noted that until the middle of the twentieth cen- Publicarea documentelor și materialelor de arhivă în Bul- tury, Bulgaria lacked archival legislation, as well as special- garia în acest timp a fost împărțită în două perioade. Prima ized archival institutions, which caused irreparable damage etapă, acoperă perioada de la Eliberarea Bulgariei din 1887 to the Bulgarian archival heritage. During this period, ar- până în 1908, când s-au făcut primele încercări ale specia- chival collections were gathered in cultural, scientific and liștilor și amatorilor de a publica documente de arhivă. Se other institutions. The largest of them was at the National caracterizează prin publicarea documentelor în edițiile pe- Library in Sofia. The publication of archival documents and riodice. A doua etapă se asociază cu apariția în țara noastră materials in Bulgaria during this period was divided into a primei colecții de documente din 1908. Publicarea docu- two stages. The first stage covered the period from the Lib- mentelor despre Renașterea bulgară după eliberare a fost eration of Bulgaria in 1887 to 1908, when the first efforts opera foștilor participanți la mișcarea revoluționară nați- were made by specialists and amateurs to achieve some or- onală, printre care se remarcă figurile lui Zahari Stoianov, ganization in the publication of archival documents from Stoian Zaimov, Nikola Obretenov și Kiriak Țankov. the Bulgarian Revival. It was characterized by documentary Cuvinte-cheie: Renașterea bulgară, publicații, colecții publications in periodicals and history journals. The second de arhivă, documente de arhivă. stage was related to the appearance of the first documen- tary collection in our country in 1908, which was a more Резюме complex form of publication of written historical sources. Публикация документов Историческим архивом The publication of documents about the Revival after the Болгарии до 9 сентября 1944 г. Liberation was the work of former participants in the na- После Освобождения Болгарии (1878) от осман- tional-revolutionary movement, including Zahari Stoyan- ского ига ученые задались целенаправленным поиском ov, Stoyan Zaimov, Nikola Obretenov, Kiriak Tsankov. и публикацией документов о болгарском Возрожде- Key words: Bulgarian Revival, publication, archival нии. Следует отметить, что до середины ХХ в. в Болга- collections, archival documents. рии отсутствовало архивное законодательство, а также специализированные архивные учреждения, которые After the establishment of the Archives Depart- занимались бы данной темой. В этот период формиро- ment at the National Library in Sofia and the transfer- вались архивные объемные коллекции в культурных, ence of the Archive of the Revival from the National научных и других учреждениях. Самая большая ор- Ethnographic Museum in 1924, it became the largest ганизация находилась в Национальной библиотеке в Софии. Издание архивных документов и материалов в archive in the country and served as a state archive Болгарии в это время было разделено на два периода. until 1951. Documents and materials about the Bul- Первый охватывал этап от Освобождения Болгарии в garian Revival and the new Bulgarian history are 1887 г. до 1908 г., когда были предприняты первые по- collected and stored in it. The interest in the Revival пытки специалистов и любителей публиковать архив- documentary heritage in the period until 1944 is tra- ные документы по теме болгарского Возрождения. Для ditionally strong not only on behalf of scholars pro- него характерны документальные публикации в перио- fessionally engaged with history, but also on behalf of дической печати по истории. Второй этап был связан с the amateur historians. The publication of some of the появлением в Болгарии первого сборника документов more important documents from this period is also 1908 г. Публикация документов о Возрождении после essential for providing the much-needed source base Освобождения – заслуга бывших участников нацио- for research, as at that time the majority of them were нально-революционного движения, среди которых вы- scattered in different parts of the country and were 118 E-ISSN: 2537-6152 REVISTA DE ETNOLOGIE ȘI CULTUROLOGIE 2020, Volumul XXVIII preserved by private individuals. hari Stoyanov, Stoyan Zaimov, Nikola Obretenov and The first publications of documents from the Bul- Kiriak Tsankov. The aim of these publications was to garian Revival appeared in the 1860s and 70s in the popularize the idea of discovering and collecting Re- Bulgarian periodicals (newspapers and magazines) of vival documents and materials in public archival col- the time. Their selection was determined by the au- lections (Neykova 1980: 58). thors’ aspiration for using them as an ideological basis In 1883, Nikola Obretenov and Zahari Stoyanov for our national liberation movement (Neykova 2000: appealed to the Ministry of Education to finance one 292). of their exploratory tours along the Bulgarian-Roma- Documents were also published in the printed nian banks of the Danube River with the purpose of official publication of the Bulgarian Literary Society – collecting documents about the national liberation the periodical, published in Braila from 1870 to 1876. movement. Although they did not receive aid from The editors aimed to collect and publish documents the state, they managed to carry out the planned ex- and materials of the Revival period hoping to help the pedition and found a number of valuable documents. writing of the history of the Bulgarian Revival as well Stoyan Zaimov was also looking for documents as to facilitate studies on the life and work of promi- concerning the struggles for national liberation as well nent Bulgarian Revival activists. as the exploits of individual participants, for his joint Thus, the journal marks the beginning of a more project with N. Obretenov, to publish a collection of systematic search, collection and publication of doc- documentary materials about the Bulgarian political umentary sources for the needs of Bulgarian histo- and revolutionary organizations during the Revival riography, particularly the period in question, which period from 1866 to 1877. corresponds to the scholarly and educational tasks of Through the (Bulgarian: Сборник за народни the Bulgarian Literary Society (Neykova 2000: 293). умотворения, наука и книжнина, Sbornik za narod- The journal’s capacity of fulfilling an objective of such ni umotvoreniia, nauka i knizhnina) Zaimov appeals scope is too small. However, due to the lack of opti- to those who possess any kind of document – a private mal social conditions, the publication of documentary letter, a decree, a protocol, etc., to deliver them to him sources is very limited (Neykova 1981: 58). or to N. Obretenov. Because the documents they were In the light of the events following the Liberation looking for were scattered in different places, the mak- and the restoration of the Bulgarian State, relatively ing of a more complete collection turned out to be be- more favorable conditions emerged which contribut- yond the powers of the two enthusiasts. However, on ed for a more organized and more orderly develop- the basis of the collected materials, Zaimov’s personal ment of Bulgarian culture and historiography, and memories as well as the memoirs of other figures, were therefore, to a more organized and orderly publication written and published in 1895 in the work “The Past” of the documentary heritage of the past. From 1878 (Bulgarian: Миналото, Minaloto), wherein some to the early 1950s, many attempts were made for the documents had been published (Neykova 2000: 295). discovery, study and publication of sources on Bulgar- During this stage, the publication of documents ian history. However, the lack of funds and specialists was inspired not only by calls of individuals and pri- were among the main reasons why this goal was only vate initiatives, but also by government initiatives. The partially fulfilled. Ministry of Education was directly involved in the The publication of archival documents and ma- publication of periodicals and documentary materi- terials in Bulgaria during this period is divided into als. The study of our Revival period became a national two stages. The first stage covers the period from the priority (Neykova 2000: 295). Liberation of Bulgaria in 1887 to 1908, when the first In 1889, the Sbornik za narodni umotvoreniia, efforts were made by specialists and amateurs to bring nauka i knizhnina was published by the Ministry of about some organization in the publication of the ar- Education. Volume three of the aforementioned col- chival documents from the Revival period. It is char- lection included a new section titledеd “Materials acterized by documentary publications in periodicals on the History of the Bulgarian Revival”, the task of and historical journals. The beginning of the second which was to serve as an archive of documents from stage is associated with the appearance of the first doc- the Revival. The aim was to collect as many docu- umentary collection in our country in 1908, which ments as possible in order to facilitate the writing of was a more complex form of publication of written monographs on the period of the spiritual and politi- historical sources (Neykova 1980: 57). cal Revival of the Bulgarian people. They realized that The earliest publications of documents from the the bigger the collections of archrivals material, the Revival period after the Liberation appeared in the pe- easier it was to “systematize and collect them into one riodicals and were the work of former participants in whole” (Sbornik… 1890: 397). This section existed the national revolutionary movement, including Za- until 1912 (Neykova 2000: 295). 2020, Volumul XXVIII REVISTA DE ETNOLOGIE ȘI CULTUROLOGIE E-ISSN: 2537-6152 119

Ivan Shishmanov, Minister of Education (1903– of a reference apparatus for the collection and more 1907), was an active participant in the formation of (Neykova 1981: 44). specialized archival collections not only for the edito- In the second volume of the collection included rial board of Sbornik za narodni umotvoreniia, nauka documents referring to the Unification of Eastern Ru- i knizhnina, but also for some other institutions, in- melia with the Principality of Bulgaria (1885) Strashi- cluding the School Museum at the Ministry of Edu- mirov emphasized that the benefit of publishing the cation, the National Museum in Sofia (Neykova 2000: documents was twofold: “a serious beginning of the 296). Owning to Ivan Sishmanov’ efforts, in 1906 the study […of the period…] is being made” and “the Ar- Archive of the Revival section was founded at the Na- chive itself, which is little known, is being popularized tional Museum. However, during the first stage only with this volume” (Arhiv na balgarskite arhivi 2003: individual documents from the Revival period ap- 13). peared in periodicals and other publications (Geor- In 1929, D. Strashimirov published the collec- giev 1970: 392). tion “Vasil Levski. Life, deeds, sources”, Volume I. The In 1905, the Archaeographic Commission in Bul- idea came from Vasil Levski Committee established in garia was established at the Ministry of Education. 1923 on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Levs- The draft regulations for its activities (preserved in the ki’s death. The Ministry of Public Education supported Prof. Shishmanov’ personal fund) state that it “… will it and assigned the preparation of the collection to D. aim to arrange and publish a series of separate books Strashimirov. He undertook the task of finding, col- in which texts (preferably originals) of historical and lecting and publishing in his collection all the known literary writing relating to Bulgaria’s past and the documents and materials about Vasil Levski. Bulgarian fatherland will be included”. The Archaeo- Both collections of Strashimirov contain all graphical Commission managed to publish only three known and documentary sources about the history of books and stopped its activities (Neykova 2000: 296). the national liberation revolutionary movement and The second stage of publishing archrival doc- about Vasil Levski’s life and revolutionary activity. To uments covers the period between 1908–1944. The this purpose, Strashimirov looked for documents not creation of the Archive of the Revival period and the only in public but also in private archival collections. development of historical research methods during During the second stage of the publication of ar- this period created the conditions and prerequisites chival documents in Bulgaria, the leading place is oc- for more targeted research activities and the publica- cupied by the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). tion of documents on specific topics. Dimitar Strashi- It initiated the publication of Revival documents in its mirov is an emblematic figure in this period. He made Collection of BAS (Сборника на БАН) and Journal of a great contribution to the discovery and collection of BAS (Списание на БАН). The documents published valuable documents related to the Bulgarian Revival in them belonged to prominent Revival figures such as period (Neykova 1981: 41). Vasil Aprilov, Neofit Rilski. However, unlike the docu- In 1908, the Ministry of Public Education pub- ments published in the Periodical Journal (Bulgarian: lished the two-volume “Archive of the Revival” com- Периодично списание; Periodichno spisanie) and piled and edited by D. Strashimirov, which was the Sbornik za narodni umotvoreniia, nauka i knizhnina, first collection of documents related to the Revival the documentary publications in the Collection of period in post-liberation Bulgaria (Arhiv na Vaz- BAS and in the Journal of BAS are addressed mainly razhdaneto 1908: 17). The first volume of this docu- to specialists (Neykova 1981: 36). mentary collection, which was entirely devoted to the During this period, the National Library in Sofia history of the national liberation revolutionary move- also continued to contribute to the enrichment of the ment, included political documents collected mainly printed source base of our historical science. As Maria from the personal archives of Panayot Hitov and the Kuzmanova notes in her monograph on the history Lovech archives of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Cen- of archives and the organization of archival work in tral Committee (BRCC) (Arhiv na balgarskite arhivi Bulgaria, the National Library publishes a significant 2003: 341). number of important documents relating to the Bul- The documents used in compiling this first vol- garian Revival. Archival materials were also published ume of the collection were part of the political de- in the library’s yearbooks. According to Kuzmanova, partment of the Archive of the Revival. The work and however, most of the publications did not meet the preparation of the collection, compared to the partial requirements for publishing archival documents (Ma- publications from the previous period, is significant- teeva 1966: 86). ly expanded and complicated. Many new moments The collections of documents from the period of are clearly visible, such as the selection of documents the Bulgarian Revival, which were published between for publication, preparation of the text, compilation 1878 and 1944, were relatively small in number (Total 120 E-ISSN: 2537-6152 REVISTA DE ETNOLOGIE ȘI CULTUROLOGIE 2020, Volumul XXVIII

12). This can be explained by the fact that there were org/books/Book%200031.html no professional archivists at the time and the collec- Матеева М. История на архивите и организация на tion of archives in Bulgaria was not based on scientific архивното дело в България. София: Наука и изкуство methods until 1951 (Neykova 1981: 40). 1966. 257 с. / Mateeva M. Istoria na arhivite i organizatsia Due to the slow and unsystematic construction na arhivnoto delo v Bulgaria. Sofia: Nauka i izkustvo 1966. of public archival collections, the Revival documents 257 s. were for the most part owned by private individuals or Нейкова А. Археографската дейност във връзка с were located outside the country, which limited their възрожденското документално наследство през перио- availability for public use and publication. да от 1908 г. до 9. IX. 1944 г. În: ИДА, 1981, № 41, с. 41-62. To sum up, in spite of the limited access to ar- / Neykova A. Arheografskata deynost vav vrazka s vazrozh- chival documents in the period after the Liberation of denskoto dokumentalno nasledstvo prez perioda ot 1908 g. Bulgaria from 1878 to 1944, laid the foundation for the do 9. IX. 1944 g. In: IDA, 1981, № 41, s. 41-62. discovery of a great number of documents related to Нейкова А. Документалните публикации за the Bulgarian Revival. The publication of these docu- Възраждането в периодичните издания – начален етап ments was made possible thanks to the research work на археографска дейност. În: ИДА, 1980, № 40, с. 55-70. carried out both by professional and amateur histori- / Neykova A. Dokumentalnite publikatsii za Vazrazhdane- ans. These activities were encouraged and supported to v periodichnite izdania – nachalen etap na arheografska by the Ministry of Education, the Bulgarian Academy deynost. In: IDA, 1980, № 40, s. 55-70. of Sciences and the National Library. The establish- Нейкова А. Идеи и програми за издирване и ment of the Archive of the Revival in 1908 proved to публикуване на писмени извори за българската be an important step on the way to the creation of the история. În: Годишник на СУ. Исторически факултет, new institution of State Archive later in 1951. 1992, № 84-85, с. 287-325. / Neykova A. Idei i programi za izdirvane i publikuvane na pismeni izvori za balgarska- References ta istoria. In: Godishnik na SU. Istoricheski fakultet, 1992, Архив на Възраждането. Т. І. Документи по поли- № 84-85, s. 287-325. тическото възраждане. София: Министерство на на- Нейкова А. Предназначение, тематика и видове родното просвещение, 1908, с. XVII. / Arhiv na Vazrazh- документални издания за историята на Възраждането. daneto. T. І. Dokumenti po politicheskoto vazrazhdane. So- În: ИДА, 1981, № 42, c. 35-50. / Neykova A. Prednaznache- fia: Ministerstvo na narodnoto prosveshtenie, 1908, s. XVII. nie, tematika i vidove dokumentalni izdania za istoriyata na Архив на Възраждането. Т. ІІ. Документи по Съе- Vazrazhdaneto. In: IDA, 1981, № 42, s. 35-50. динението. София: Министерство на народното про- Сборник за народни умотворения, наука и свещение, 1908, с. ХІІІ. / Arhiv na Vazrazhdaneto. T. ІІ. книжнина. София: Държавна печатница, 1890. Кн. III, Dokumenti po Saedinenieto. Sofia: Ministerstvo na narod- с. 397. / Sbornik za narodni umotvorenia, nauka i knizhni- noto prosveshtenie, 1908, s. HІІІ. na. Sofia: Darzhavna pechatnitsa, 1890. Kn. III, s. 397. Архив на българските архиви. Съст.: К. Анчова, М. Пискова, М. Тодоракова. Благоевград: УИ „Неофит Radina Ivo Bojilova (Sofia, Bulgaria). Docto- Рилски“, 2003, с. 341. / Arhiv na balgarskite arhivi. Sast.: rand, Universitatea „St. Kliment Ohridski” din Sofia. K. Anchova, M. Piskova, M. Todorakova. Blagoevgrad: UI Радина Иво Божилова (София, Болгария). „Neofit Rilski“, 2003, s. 341. Докторант, Софийский университет им. Св. Георгиев К. Въпроси на българската археография. Климента Охридского. София: Издателство на Българската академия на Radina Ivo Bozhilova (Sofia, Bulgary). PhD stu- науките, 1970. 382 с. În: http://electronic-library.org/ dent, “St. Kliment Ohridski” University of Sofia. books/Book%200031.html / Georgiev K. Vaprosi na bal- E-mail: [email protected] garskata arheografia. Sofia: Izdatelstvo na Balgarskata aka- ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3623-5242 demia na naukite, 1970. 382 s. In: http://electronic-library.