Bulgarian-Soviet Contacts and Discussions in the Field of Historical Science in the Second Half of the 1940s and in the 1950s

On the basis of the Academy’s research and archives the main forms and significance of the Bulgarian-Soviet scientific contacts in the field of humanities and especially in the field of historical science in the second half of the 1940s and in the 1950s are revealed. They developed under the sign of the political imperative: in 1944–1947 as before, contacts were sporadic, mainly through personal visits and lectures. They were subordinated to the need to come out of international isolation and to shake off our image as a fascist ally, and therefore they also passed under the auspices of the Slavic movement and the development of Slavic studies. In the years 1948/1949–1958, when the Stalinist model was established in academic life, and humanities and historical science in particular were being rebuilt methodologically in the mould of the Marx-Lenin-Stalinist ideology, the links were broadened and deepened, while still lacking the obligatory regularity and institutionality characteristic of the subsequent stages of their development. The forms of collective mutual discussion of texts are new, as is the coordination of participation in international forums. These contacts were marked both by clashes of scholarly traditions and by the political tasks set for historians of both countries. But even during the Stalinization of Bulgaria, in the late 1940s and especially in the early 1950s, Bulgarian scholars, within the possible conjuncture of the time, defended their views on various processes and events in Bulgarian history, such as the place and role of the Slavs and Proto-Bulgarians in the formation of the early medieval state, the Bulgarian character of the struggles in Macedonia in the 19th century, etc., during scholarly discussions with their Soviet counterparts.