The day before the crash – Bulgarian‑Soviet relations in the nineteen eighties

This article is devoted to changes in Bulgarian-Soviet relations in the last decade of the twentieth century. Throughout the whole postwar period the relations between Bulgaria and the Soviet Union were exceptionally close. The connections were rather one-way - the USSR gave Bulgaria economic aid and thanks to that the country became more industrialized and almost until the end of the system could count on Soviet loans and raw materials. Bulgaria in turn repaid the political obedience and the demonstration of particularly close relations binding itself with the USSR, which gave foreign and domestic analysts the bases to name Bulgaria „the most loyal Soviet satellite.” However, along with the end of the Cold War there has been a fundamental geopolitical change. „Special” relations between Bulgaria and the Soviet Union, of which Bulgaria was proud and which were used, were transformed into a barrier and a cause of problems in the Bulgarian transition to market economy. The path, which Bulgaria had to undergo, proved to be longer than in the case of other the Eastern Bloc countries preserving a greater distance of the Soviet Union. Even before the overthrow of Zhivkov, a new trend could be seen - the reorientation of Bulgarian foreign policy from East to West. During the autumn session of the General Assembly of the UN in New York, Petar Mladenov spoke with US Secretary of State, James Baker, and almost openly promised him an immediate implementation of changes in Bulgaria. This indicates that the political forces after Zhivkov in Bulgarian Communist Party were prepared not only to follow Gorbachev, but also to reorient foreign policy of Bulgaria - something that was made by other politicians in the last decade of the twentieth century

The day before the crash – Bulgarian‑Soviet relations in the nineteen eighties

This article is devoted to changes in Bulgarian-Soviet relations in the last decade of the twentieth century. Throughout the whole postwar period the relations between Bulgaria and the Soviet Union were exceptionally close. The connections were rather one-way - the USSR gave Bulgaria economic aid and thanks to that the country became more industrialized and almost until the end of the system could count on Soviet loans and raw materials. Bulgaria in turn repaid the political obedience and the demonstration of particularly close relations binding itself with the USSR, which gave foreign and domestic analysts the bases to name Bulgaria „the most loyal Soviet satellite.” However, along with the end of the Cold War there has been a fundamental geopolitical change. „Special” relations between Bulgaria and the Soviet Union, of which Bulgaria was proud and which were used, were transformed into a barrier and a cause of problems in the Bulgarian transition to market economy. The path, which Bulgaria had to undergo, proved to be longer than in the case of other the Eastern Bloc countries preserving a greater distance of the Soviet Union. Even before the overthrow of Zhivkov, a new trend could be seen - the reorientation of Bulgarian foreign policy from East to West. During the autumn session of the General Assembly of the UN in New York, Petar Mladenov spoke with US Secretary of State, James Baker, and almost openly promised him an immediate implementation of changes in Bulgaria. This indicates that the political forces after Zhivkov in Bulgarian Communist Party were prepared not only to follow Gorbachev, but also to reorient foreign policy of Bulgaria - something that was made by other politicians in the last decade of the twentieth century

Представата за Европа в модерна България – от Османската империя до Европейския съюз

Perceptions of Europe in modern Bulgaria – from the Ottoman Empire to the European Union The article demonstrates the construction of the notion of Europe during the modernization of Bulgarian society during the historical period from the Bulgarian Renaissance (1762) until the end of 20th century. The perception of Europe in Bulgaria depends mostly on the almost five‑century‑long Ottoman rule of Bulgarian lands which detached Bulgaria from the European civilization. Therefore, for the Bulgarians Europe represents the foreign, more developed part of the world, towards which they strive. Bulgaria only begins to rees­tablish its place in Europe with the restoration of the Bulgarian state following its Liberation (1878), achieved thanks to the Russian‑Turkish war of 1877–1878. The new Bulgarian state is based on a European template, but in the first decades following its independence, it faces European contradictions. The idea of Europe as a unitary whole is put in doubt as Bulgaria is the battleground where the interests of the Russian liberator and the Western European countries collide. The participation of Bulgaria in the two world wars on the side of the Central Powers and the Tripartite Pact leads to defeats and further detachment from Western Europe. Following World War II, Bulgaria falls into the Soviet sphere of influence, and Europe (understood as Western Europe) is associated with the image of the enemy for nearly half a century. This only changes with the end of the Cold War, when the conception of Europe is equated with the de­sired membership in the European Union, achieved on 1 January 2007.   Bułgarskie wyobrażenia Europy w dobie nowożytnej – od Imperium Osmańskiego do Unii Europejskiej Artykuł ukazuje powstawanie obrazu Europy w społeczeństwie bułgarskim w okresie modernizacji trwającej od początku odrodzenia narodowego (1762) do końca XX wieku. Na jego kształcie wyraźne piętno odcisnęło trwające pięć wieków panowanie osmańskie, które oddzieliło Bułgarię od cywilizacji europejskiej; dlatego dla Bułgarów Europa stanowi ze­wnętrzną, bardziej rozwiniętą część świata, do której aspirują. O początkach europejskiej identyfikacji Bułgarów można więc mówić dopiero po utworzeniu państwa bułgarskiego, co nastąpiło po wyzwoleniu w 1878 roku, w wyniku wojny rosyjsko‑tureckiej 1877–1878. Nowe państwo bułgarskie powstawało zgodnie z wzorcami europejskimi, ale już w pierwszych de­kadach niezależności Bułgarzy doświadczyli Europy w kategoriach antynomii. Idea Europy jako całości została zakwestionowana, ponieważ w Bułgarii starły się z jednej strony interesy wyzwolicielskiej Rosji, a z drugiej państw zachodnioeuropejskich. Udział Bułgarii w wojnach światowych po stronie państw centralnych i państw Osi do­prowadził ją do upadku i ostatecznego odcięcia od Europy Zachodniej. Po II wojnie świato­wej Bułgaria znalazła się w sferze wpływów Związku Radzieckiego, przez niemal pół wieku Europa (rozumiana tu jako Europa Zachodnia) stanowiła synonim wroga. Ta sytuacja uległa zmianie dopiero po zakończeniu zimnej wojny, kiedy dla Bułgarii pojęcie „Europa” stało się tożsame z pożądanym członkostwem w Unii Europejskiej, co nastąpiło 1 stycznia 2007 roku

Zaczęło sie w Polsce : 1989 : Solidarność i upadek komunizmu

Tekst równol. pol. i ang.W konferencji (3–4.06, Warszawa-Gdańsk) uczestniczyli dawni opozycjoniści oraz przedstawiciele świata kultury, nauki, polityki z Niemiec, Rosji, Francji, Czech, Litwy, Bułgarii, Węgier, Rumunii i Ukrainy, którzy podzielili się refleksjami na temat wydarzeń roku 1989 w swoich krajach. Wśród zaproszonych gości znaleźli się m.in.: Bronisław Komorowski, Siergiej Kowalow, Vytautas Landsbergis, Jadwiga Staniszkis, Bogdan Borusewicz, Lech Wałęsa, Czech Vaclav Havel, Żelju Żelew, Donald Tusk.Magdalena Jedlick

Solidarność i upadek komunizmu : Międzynarodowa konferencja, Warszawa-Gdańsk, 3-4 czerwca 2009

Conference (3-4.06, Warsaw and Gdańsk), which was attended by former dissidents and representatives of the world of culture, science, politics from Germany, Russia, France, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Ukraine who shared their reflections on the events of 1989 in their countries. The invited guests were: Bronislaw Komorowski, Sergei Kovalev, Vytautas Landsbergis, Bogdan Borusewicz, Lech Walesa, Vaclav Havel, Żelju Zhelev, Donald Tusk.Magdalena Jedlick