Bulgarian Intellectuals in Defense of the Ukrainian Question during and after the First World War

At the end of the First World War, Bulgarian intellectuals, with the support of the Ukrainian diplomatic mission in Bulgaria, tried to convince their compatriots of the existence of the Ukrainian question. For them, this issue was not a “foreign intrigue”, but was born out of unresolved national problems in the Russian Empire. The philologist and politician Ivan Shishmanov made the greatest contribution to the spread of the Ukrainian idea. The historian and writer Dimitar Strashimirov, the linguist Stefan Mladenov, the literary and theatrical critic Nikola Balabanov, the philologists Yurdan Trifonov and Lyuben Ikhchiev, the writers Dimitar Shishmanov, Stilian Chilingirov and Hristo Tsankov-Derizhan took part in the cultural and informational events aimed at acquainting the Bulgarian society with the history, culture, life, past and present of Ukraine.