First published in 1997, sixteenth in the Scarecrow Press series of historical dictionaries of European sovereign states (plus Kosova), the first edition of this work appeared in a turbulent and transitional period of Bulgaria's recent history. Relative political stability on the eve of Bulgaria's accession to the European Union on 1st January 2007 now affords an opportunity for “serene assessment” and thorough revision. Many first edition entries “subsequently become obsolete” have been shed. Raymond Detrez assures us, nonetheless, that the first edition “remains a reliable guide through Bulgarian history and a valuable source of information about the early years of Bulgarian transition”. So do not discard!
In this second edition, due attention is paid to contemporary facts and developments, “but in a more selective way, from a genuine ‘historical’ point of view”. The precise significance of this is not revealed. Drastic pruning of first edition entries has been more than balanced by new entries. “Almost all” of the entries of the first edition that remain have been updated, adjusted and corrected wherever necessary. Important new facts and new insights, by Bulgarian and other historians have been incorporated “to the extent that they are of interest to a non‐specialized readership”. More than 600 cross‐referenced entries on Bulgarian historical periods, places, terms, organizations, events and personalities set the “new” Bulgaria of the past 16 years within its millennial context – political, economic, social and cultural.
Bulgaria evolved and grew within the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Four skeletal maps outline its modern frontiers, on from the Treaty of Berlin of 1878 when the north constituted the Principality of Bulgaria and the south, centred on Plodiv, was the Ottoman Autonomous Province of east Rumelia. The Second Balkan War of 1913 and the Second World War both resulted in loss and gain of territory.
Acronyms and Abbreviations (pp. xi‐xvi) contains a bewildering mix of initials, mainly relating to modern political and social organizations – agrarian, socialist, communist, social democratic, ecological, Christian, revolutionary, progressive liberal. Three intrigued me: UNS Union for National Salvation, URB Union of the Repressed in Bulgaria and ONA Ordinary National Assembly. Chronology of Bulgarian History (pp. xxi‐xli) is the essential key to the core Dictionary, spanning fifth century BCE to 2007 and usefully compartmentalizing. The periods are; Antiquity (Before AD‐681); First Bulgarian Empire (681‐1018); Byzantine Rule (1018‐1185); Second Bulgarian Empire (1185‐1393); Ottoman Rule (1393‐1878); National Awakening (1762‐1878); Kingdom of Bulgaria (1878‐1944); Communist Rule (1944‐1989); Post‐Communist Period (1989‐). Protagonists include Phillip II of Macedonia; Khan Boris (converted to Christianity in 864); national freedom fighter Vasil Levski; Alexander Battenburg (elected King of the Bulgarians in 1879); Ferdinand of Saxe‐Coburg‐Gotha elected king in 1887); communist hero of the Reichstag Fire Trial in Leipzig (1933‐34) Georgi Dimitro; President Todor Zhivkov (who in 1973 agreed with Leonid Brezhnev that Bulgaria should become the sixteenth republic of the USSR!).
Belgian academic Raymond Detrez, Professor of east European and Modern Greek History and Culture and Director of the Centre for Southeast European Studies at the University of Ghent, also teaches Balkan history at the Katholieke Universitet van Leuven. His published works focus on Balkan history, national identity in the Balkans, and Balkan nationalism. His Introduction (pp. xliii‐lxiv), ranging over the whole gamut of Bulgarian history, is a model of well informed, critical assessment, cool and kindly in its judgements
The transcription used of Bulgarian's Cyrillic script is quite murky, resulting in some unfamiliar spellings: Tsar Petûr, Moisey, Tsar Kaloyan, Ivaylo, Tsar Ivan Aleksandûr; Aleksandûr Stamboliyski, Traycho Kostov. The Dictionary (pp. 1‐498) is historical summary at its very best, albeit somewhat cursory in broad topics such as Anti‐Semitism, Byzantine Empire, Communism, Cooperatives, Corruption, Folklore, Glagolitsa, Health Care, Libraries, Science, Social Security, Universities, Warsaw Pact, Women. Such “bedrock” topics merit greater detail in future editions. Translation of book and journal titles are not always given in the essay on Bulgarian literature and elsewhere. Under the Yoke by Ivan Vazov; in contrast, Dimitûr Dimov's Tobacco (Tyutyun). The latter title is perhaps more familiar in the transcription Tutun.
The Bibliography (pp. 499‐607) deserves praise for its exceptionally thorough listing of English language books and articles and for its two pages of relevant web sites. Appendices (pp. 609‐635) cover Rulers of Bulgaria; Bulgarian Prime Ministers and Their terms of Office; Bulgarian Political parties and Organizations (with initials and translated names); Bulgarian Cabinets November 1898 to Present.
The huge amount of esoteric information in this magnum opus by a scholar who very evidently “knows his stuff” qualifies this historical dictionary for long life and high utility. Indispensable reference – library stock.
