THE BULGARIAN NORTHWEST IN THE EUROPEAN SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE CENTURIES, comp. Prof. D.Sc. Alexandre Kostov, Corresponding Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia: Tendril Publishing House, 2026, 256 pp. ISBN 978-619-7812-04-6.

The collected volume "The Bulgarian Northwest in the European Southeast through the Ages" is the seventh publication in a row of reports from the annual conferences organized by the Branch of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) in the city of Montana, with a focus on Northwest Bulgaria. The volume, under the scientific editorship of Corresponding Member Alexander Kostov, is dedicated to migrations, cross-border relations, imagology, literature, education and museum work. It includes thirteen articles by researchers from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, New Bulgarian University, the regional historical museums in Vratsa, Montana and Oryahovo and local historians. For another year, scientific works by doctoral students and academics, studies presenting unpublished archival material and analyses of the cultural achievements of significant figures from the Northwest have been collected in one place.

The collection "The Bulgarian Northwest in the European Southeast through the Ages" continues the practice that has become a tradition for popularizing the history of Northwest Bulgaria, not only introducing unknown or little-known archival materials into scientific circulation, but also revealing the cultural wealth of the region. This seventh volume also clearly shows the growth of young researchers who have been given the opportunity to publish their scientific works in recent years.

On May 29, 2026, the conference "Government and Society in the Northwest - Institutions and Associations from the End of the 19th Century to the Present" was held in the city of Montana, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the April Uprising and organized by the branch of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) in cooperation with the local Regional Academic Center and in partnership with the Municipality of Montana and the Regional Historical Museum (RHM-Montana).

The forum was opened by Corresponding Member Prof. Dr. Alexander Kostov (IBSCT-BAS). The participants were welcomed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Borislav Velikov, Chairman of the 39th National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria and the mayor of the city Mr. Zlatko Zhivkov. Greetings were also expressed by the coordinator of the RAC-Montana Eng. Valeri Georgiev.

In his opening speech, Corresponding Member Al. Kostov spoke about the significance of the April Uprising, its place in the national liberation struggles of the Bulgarian people and its role in the liberation from centuries-old foreign oppression. He also drew a parallel with the history of neighboring Balkan countries.

The conference, which is held every year, is the eighth in a row. It was attended by researchers from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, historians from the Regional Historical Museums in Oryahovo and Montana, from the State Archives in Vidin and Montana, and local historians from the region.

Read more ...

User Rating: 5 / 5

On Monday, June 8, 2026, a scholarly conference will be held on the topic: “BLACK SEA SECURITY AND THE BALKANS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: TRENDS AND PROSPECTS.” It is organized as part of a research project by the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) titled “The Balkans and Security in the Black Sea Region after the Cold War,” led by Prof. DSc. Nadia Boyadjieva. Scholars from the project team of the “Contemporary Balkans” Section at the IBSCT-BAS and doctoral students enrolled in the specialized lecture course “Security in the Black Sea Region” at the Training Center – BAS will present papers on current issues regarding the state, trends, and prospects for security in the Black Sea region and the Balkans in the context of today’s complex international environment.

The academic event will be held in a hybrid format (in Bulgarian): in person at the building of the IBSCT-BAS, located at 45 Moskovska St., Sofia, and via the Zoom at:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86006685771?pwd=RHlQMkgxYWZTelVvVWxQL2l0 aXd0Zz09

PROGRAM

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) and the East-West Publishing House are pleased to invite you to a conversation about the memory of totalitarianism in literature. The occasion for the discussion is the premiere of the book "Suffering and Freedom. The Memory of Totalitarianism in the Literatures of Southeast Europe" by Assoc. Prof. Lyudmila Mindova from IBSCT-BAS. The event will be attended by Prof. Kiril Topalov, Prof. Albert Benbasat and Mitko Novkov.

We look forward to welcoming you on June 9, 2026 (Tuesday) at 17:00 in the "Prof. Marin Drinov" Hall of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1, 15 November Str., Sofia).

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to a public lecture by Dr. Arina Korzun (IBSCT-BAS) Ancient circular sculpture in Southwestern Bulgaria: between Roman typology and Hellenic heritage.

The event is part of the lecture series Every Second Tuesday and will take place on June 9, 2026 (Tuesday) at 15.00 at the IBSCT-BAS building (Moskovska Street No. 45).

We look forward to welcoming you!

On May 19, 2026, in the national press club of BTA - Sofia, a final press conference was held under the project of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) "Epochs of History - Integration of Genetic Methods in Historical Research", funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science. The results of the implementation were presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Todor Chobanov, head of the project, and the team members, Assist. Prof. Dr. Desislava Nesheva and Svetoslav Stamov.

Using the latest scientific methods, the project sequenced DNA samples from Bulgarian lands and analyzed them in the context of already sequenced ancient DNA samples from Eurasia. The project aims to contextualize, interpret, and integrate the new data in light of existing historical and archaeological research on the questions raised by the study.

Read more ...

On May 19, 2026, in the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS), the writer Teodora Dimova was a special guest at the meeting dedicated to totalitarianism in the Balkans within the framework of the scientific project "Conversations on Literature and the Peninsula".

Established in 2013, the project develops as a forum for the exchange of ideas and for understanding the processes in the literary space of Southeast Europe. Over the past decades, the institute has proven itself as a leading factor in historical, political and cultural analyses of the region, and these traditional meetings complement and enrich the interpretations with its literary perspective. Understanding the totalitarian period and the years of transition through the focus of fiction is among the key priorities of the project and the visit of a writer and intellectual with a remarkable contribution to the topic such as Teodora Dimova attracted the deserved attention of the scientific and reading community. Various manifestations of the traumatic experience in cultural memory and the possibilities for dialogue beyond the language of pain and alienation, hostility and envy were commented on. Having just returned from participating in the Thessaloniki International Book Fair, Teodora Dimova shared her excellent impressions of the high level of the event and the hospitality of the hosts.

Read more ...

On 15 May 2026, the exhibition “Bulgaria and Greece – From Ancient Civilizations to Contemporary Relations” was opened at the European Centre for Architecture, Art, Design and Urban Studies in Athens. The exhibition is dedicated to Prof. D.Sc. Yura Konstantinova and Assist. Prof. Dr. Vesela Atanasova, from the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS). The exhibition was prepared by Assist. Prof. Dr. Eli Filipova within a project of the Ivan Seliminski Cultural Centre, funded under the Ministry of Education and Science programme “The Untold Stories of the Bulgarians.” The opening ceremony was attended by scholars, diplomats, public figures, teachers, and students from Bulgarian schools in Greece. The exhibition will be open to residents and visitors of the Greek capital until 17 June 2026 and is also available online on the IBSCT-BAS YouTube channel.

It is presented alongside two other exhibitions: “Egyptian Cults along the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast” and “Ivan Seliminski – A New Interpretation.”

On May 13, 2026, in the "Prof. Marin Drinov" Hall of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, a solemn ceremony was held to award the most successful projects of the Bulgarian National Science Fund, completed in 2025.

One of the two awarded projects in the field of the Humanities was the IBSCT-BAS project "The Vocabulary of Constantine of Preslav's Uchitel'noe evangelie ('Didactic Gospel'): Old Bulgarian-Greek and Greek-Old Bulgarian Word Indices" (contract No. KП-06-Н50/2 of 2020). In a short presentation, its coordinator, Prof. Dr. Lora Taseva, introduced the audience to the main achievements of the team, which, in addition to scholars from the IBSCT-BAS, also included colleagues from Germany, Slovenia and Austria. The quantitative results of the project include two volumes of dictionaries with a volume of over 1200 pages, a collection of 21 scientific articles, another 31 studies and articles in scholarly periodicals (including 12 in Web of Science and 13 in Scopus), as well as 42 reports delivered in 13 countries – Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Germany, Georgia, Italy, Jordan, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Finland, Czech Republic.

More about the project: http://uchitelnoevangelie.cl.bas.bg

Read more ...

A team from the Institute of Balkan Studies with Center for Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS), within the framework of the project “Obscured Balkans: About the Historical Novel”, is organizing a discussion dedicated to the novel “MAMNIK” by Vasil Popov and the television series “MAMNIK” directed by Viktor Bozhinov.

In recent months, Vasil Popov’s novel “Mamnik” and Viktor Bozhinov’s film adaptation for the small screen have been discussed mainly as presenting folklore mythical creatures little known to the Bulgarian reader/viewer or as a horror story. In the background and completely out of interest in the numerous discussions of the two works, the historical context in which Vasil Popov has placed the necessity of invoking Mamnik and the fate of several families experiencing the consequences of the historical fate of the Western Bulgarian lands has remained. The discussion within the framework of “About the Historical Novel” will focus on the historical narrative around which the story of Mamnik is built. 

The event is part of a series aimed at drawing the audience's attention to the historical novel and its influence on contemporary society. The discussion will be moderated by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Zlatomira Gerdzhikova (IBSCT-BAS) and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Gergana Doncheva (IBSCT-BAS) with leading discussant Dr. Kristiyan Kovachev (IBSCT-BAS), and the discussion will include historians - specialists in the field of contemporary Balkan history, political scientists, cultural scientists, anthropologists and writers. 

The event will take place on May 19, 2026 (Tuesday) at 17:00 in Conference Hall 1 of the Largo, Serdica Antique Complex of the Regional History Museum - Sofia, Nezavisimost Square and on Zoom https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84768907278

The event is part of the activities of the Institute of Balkan Studies with the Center for Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences under the project "Obscured Balkans" in cooperation with the Regional History Museum - Sofia, within the framework of their partnership in the Center for Excellence "Heritage BG" - B G16RFPR002-1.014-0011 "Sustainable Development of the Center for Excellence "Heritage BG".

Read more ...

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to “Totalitarianism in the Balkans: A conversation with Teodora Dimova”. The event is organized under the project “Conversations about Literature and the Peninsula” and will be held on May 19, 2026 (Tuesday) at 15:00 in the IBSCT-BAS (Moskovska Street No. 45). Moderator: Assoc. Prof. Liudmila Mindova, PhD.

We look forward to welcoming you!

About Teodora Dimova

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to participate in the Fourth Roundtable of the project “Obscured Balkans” – “Chaos of Transition: Mastering Change”, in honour of Prof. Alexandre Kostov, Dr. habil., Corresponding member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, which will be held on November 26-27, 2026 in a hybrid format at the IBSCT-BAS building at 45 Moskovska Str. and via Zoom.

You can send applications for participation containing the following information until September 15, 2026:

1. Title (in Bulgarian and English);
2. Author's name (in Bulgarian and English);
3. Affiliation and address;
4. Abstract in Bulgarian and English (up to 1800 characters or 350 words);
5. Keywords (up to 5 in Bulgarian and English);
6. Short biography;
7. ORCID number.

Along with the application, indicate in what form you would like to participate – in person or remotely.

Each participant will have 15 minutes to present their paper.

The round tables are inextricably linked to the digital series “Obscured Balkans”, in which the participants' extended papers will be published. The deadline for submitting articles is March 2027. 

Read more ...