Bulgaria and Russia of the early 20th century: from the correspondence of N. S. Derzhavin with Bulgarian scientists

  • Egnara G. Vartanyan Kuban State University, 149 Stavropol’skaya Street, Krasnodar 350040, Russia

Abstract

Some plots from the epistolary heritage of the Russian scientist-slavist N. S. Derzhavin are given, in particular excerpts from his correspondence with famous Bulgarian scientists I. D. Shishmanov and V. N. Zlatarski. Through the prism of the scientist’s letters, the socio-political situation in Russia and Bulgaria at the beginning of the 20th century is shown. The article examines N. S. Derzhavin’s reaction to the events at Sofia University in 1907, as well as his response to events such as the October Revolution in Russia, the Balkan Wars and the World War I. The versatile administrative, pedagogical and research activities of the scientist are described. The methodological basis of the work is the scientific principles of historicism and objectivity. Historical-genetic, historical-chronological and narrative research methods are used. The use of the civilizational approach in the article is due to the need to study the events of the past in the human dimension, the importance of man in the development of civilisation. It is concluded that N. S. Derzhavin was an ambiguous personality, however, he possessed undoubted talent and made a great contribution to the development of Russian Slavic studies.

Author Biography

Egnara G. Vartanyan, Kuban State University, 149 Stavropol’skaya Street, Krasnodar 350040, Russia

doctor of science (history), full professor; рrofessor at the department of world history and international relations, faculty of history, sociology and international relations

References

  1. Kostandinova LI, Frolova VJ, Dimitrova BD, compilers. Blgaro-ruski nauchni vrzki ХIХ–ХХ vek: pisma i dokumenti [Bulgarian-Russian scientific relations 19–20th centuries: letters and documents]. Sofia: BAN; 1968. 408 р. Bulgarian.
  2. Vartanyan EG. [N. S. Derzhavin on the Bulgarian settlers of the South of Russia: several plots from the epistolary heritage (1897–1927)]. In: Borisenok YuA, editor. Slavyanskii mir v poiskakh identichnosti: v oznamenovanie 70-letiya kafedry i 175-letiya uchrezhdeniya slavisticheskikh kafedr v universitetakh Rossiiskoi imperii. Kniga 8 [The Slavic world in search of identity: in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the department and the 175th anniversary of the establishment of Slavic departments at universities of the Russian Empire. Book 8]. Moscow: Institute of Slavic Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences; 2011. р. 1070–1088. Russian.
  3. Vartanyan EG. [Academician N. S. Derzhavin: three plots from the epistolary heritage]. In: Matveev OV, editor and compiler. Mir slavyan Severnogo Kavkaza. Vypusk 3 [The world of the Slavs of the North Caucasus. Issue 3]. Krasnodar: Nauchno-issledovatel’skii tsentr traditsionnoi kul’tury GNTU «Kubanskii kazachii khor»; 2007. р. 15–25. Russian.
  4. Gusev NS. N. S. Derzhavin – bolgarist, dobivshiisya uspekha v bol’shevistskoi i sovetskoi nauke [N. S. Derzhavin: a Bulgarist, who succeeded in bolshevik and Soviet academic studies] [Electronic resource]. 2020 [cited 2023 July 26]. Available from: https://inslav.ru/ sites/default/files/2020_materialy_derzhavin.pdf. Russian.
Published
2024-05-10
Keywords: N. S. Derzhavin, Bulgaria, Russia, scientists, correspondence, university, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Slavonic studies
How to Cite
Vartanyan E. G. Bulgaria and Russia of the early 20th century: from the correspondence of N. S. Derzhavin with Bulgarian scientists // Journal of the Belarusian State University. History. 2024. 2. PP. 33-40.