Abbreviations

Съкращения

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Settlement network and population in the Sakar Mountain and its adjacent area in the 15th-16th century

Поселищна мрежа и население в Сакар планина и прилежащия й район през XV-XVI век

Author(s): Stefan Dimitrov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: population studies; population structure; history; Balkan history; Medieval Balkans;

This study, based on the ground of unpublished Ottoman tax registers (tapu tahrir defterleri), analyses the "population-area" relationship in the Sakar Mountain and the adjacent area in the 15th-16th century. After detailed selection and translation of the Ottoman tax registers and analysis of the information in terms of settlements, as identified in the registers, the borders of the kaza of Edirne have been established as well as the changes which occurred in that territory; the extent and methods of occupying this administrative area and the ethno-religious structure of the population, within the studies region, have been specified. It has been found that the East, West and North borders of the region of Edirne did not undergo significant changes in time. Only the South border was changed over the years, including towns and villages, adjacent to the kaza of Dimetoka. A typical feature of the settlement network, withing that region, was its instability at the end of 15th and the first half of the 16th century. The small weak settlements prevailed in it - probably still newly populated areas, founded when liberated slaves or colonized population settled the area or they were just old settlements in decline. Int the second half of the 16th century the settlement network became stable and strong and increased its density. Within the period 1485-1570 most densely populated was the area with and altitude of up to 250 m. Together with the process of settling the lowlands another process was taking place - settling of the foothill and the mountain areas of the region. The towns and villages, located in the investigated region, were occupied by Muslims and non-Muslims, as the total number of the households of both religious communities gradually increased in the years.

General observation on the geographical distribution and size of the voynuk population in the Bulgarian lands at the end of 15th and the first half of the 16th century

Общи наблюдения за географското разпределение и числения състав на войнушкото население в българските и съседните им земи в края на XV - първата половина на XVI век

Author(s): Krastyo Yordanov / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: population studies; population structure;

The paper presents new data on the total number of the voynuk population in Eastern Rumelia in the first half of the 16th century, based on an unpublished voynuk register from 1528/29, and two concise registers of the population in Rumelia from 1530. The registry data also allow to calculate the approximate percentage of voynuks, the population, exempted from avariz,and the ordinary reaya who were registered in the Bulgarian lands in 1528-11530. The paper also examines the changes from the early years of the region of Suleiman the Magnificent when service of voyunks in the sncaks of Valchitran, Kyustendil and the region of Epirus was abolished. The voyunks in the sancak of Valchitran were transformed into ordinary reaya, but those of the sancak of Kyustendil and the region of Epirus were recorded as taxpayers in the hases of Sultan and their organization was preserved.

"Khan Ukraine" - "Muqataa of Tombasar" (end of 17th-18th centuries)

"Ханска Украйна - Мукатаа Томбасар" (края на XVII-XVIII век)

Author(s): Alexander Sereda / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Geographic comparative studies; population; population structure; population studies; History; Ottoman empire;

The aim of the paper is to explore the region of Northwest Black Sea lands in the early 17th-18th centuries, in the context of the Ottoman and Crimean administrative and territorial structure; the political preconditions for the formation of Khan Ukraine - special administrative and territorial unit with the Ukrainian-Kazakh population under Crimean governance; the organization of the economical and fiscal district "Muqataa Tombasar" in the framework of Khan Ukraine. It presents the defter (register) of the revenues and expanses in Muqataa Tombasar and localizes the settlements and their population in the Northwest Black Sea region.

Sixteenth century judicial records - Huccets on the procedure of fixing boundaries of village territory and the enviorment of settlements in the kaza of Stara Zagora

Съдебни протоколи от XVI век за процедурата по определяне на границите на селското землище и екологичната среда в селища от старозагорската каза

Author(s): Milena Petkova-Encheva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: History; Ottoman empire; demographic analysis; population; Balkan history; agricultural activity; environment;

Sixteenth century is the time of dramatic expansion and demographic changes for the Ottoman Empire. A certain impact on people's everyday life has the environment and more specifically environment consequences in the means of increasing population, changing patterns of production, transitions from nomadic to settled agriculture communities. The village territory and the peasants' agrarian activities are of great importance for the economic history researchers, ethnologists and scholars interested in the Ottoman Empire and more specifically in the reclamation of the agrarian space. The present paper examines the procedure on fixing the boundaries of the village territory as it was recorded in the judicial records - huccets, included in the detailed (mufassal) defter of 1570 containing information on the vakifs of Pasa sanack. The judicial records refer to the village territories of four settlements - Kul Ibrahim, Sruca Reis, Boazkesen and Hizir bey on the territory of the kaza of Stara Zagora during the 16th century. The examined copies of huccets give detailed information about the two main elements of the village territory - arable lands and pastures, but also provide data on the environment of parts of the territory of the kaza of Stara Zagora.

Askeri Ciflik - Vakf - State. The Ciflik of the Mutevelli of Sofu Mehmed Pasha's Vakf in the beginning of the 18th century: genesis, development, violation of the law, profits

Аскери чифликът - вакъфът - държавата. Чифликът на мютевелията на вакъфа на Софу Мехмед Паша от началото на XVIII век: генезис, развитие, злоупотреби, печалба

Author(s): Paulina Andonova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Ottoman empire laws; Laws; Agriculture; Property ownership; Balkan history; history; farm management; profits of households;

The debate of the identification and definition of the askeri cifliks lies at the center of the Ottoman economic history. Their existence arises important questions related to the balance in the Ottoman classical economic and social system based on the state land property, the legitimacy of the political power of the Ottoman ruling class and the revenue collection of the agrarian surplus. A typical case of land usurpation and private control over the appropriation of the agrarian surplus can be investigated in the detail thanks to a wealth of historical data consisting of tax registers (tapu-tahrir defters), inventories of vakf's revenues and complaints against the ciflik-owner dated from 16th to the beginning of 18th century. The foundation and practice of administrator (mutevelli) of the Sofu Mehmed Pasha's and Mustafa Aga's vakfs (charitable donations), in the beginning of the 18th century demonstrates the genesis of such farms by occupation of abandoned lands. In addition, the investigation of the genesis and character of Veli Efendi's ciflik shows different ways of violation of the land law by the ciflik-owner as a result of his attempts at accumulating land, power and riches. The information included in the documents concerning the case of the ciflik presents the importance of political and economic factors such as the impact of the military campaigns on the population and the possibility of usurpation of abandoned lands as a result of the flight of the villagers for creating big askeri cifliks. The administration and control over the vakf's revenues and properties as part of the ciflik-holder's official duties are also of great significance for making high profits through concealing the ciflik's population and workers, misappropriation of arable lands and tax evasion. In other words the investigation of the case of the Veli Efendi's ciflik sheds light on the basic debatable questions in the Ottoman historiography related to the genesis and development of the askeri cifliks in the Ottoman Empire and some violations of the law and taxation by their holder, especially during 17th-18th centuries.

Glimpses of the portrait of hired workers in the cifliks in 17th - mid 18th century

Щрихи от портрета на наемните работници в чифлиците от XVII - средата на XVIII век

Author(s): Stefka Parveva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: hired labor; class division; history; ottoman empire; Balkan history;

The paper aims to add some elements to the portrait of hired workers (ter oglani, irgat) or share croppers (ortakci) in the askeri cifliks. The inheritance documents of several men and one woman who had died in the cifliks present a rare opportunity to examine aspects of the life of this category of people. The inheritance inventories (terke/ muhalleft defters) of these people were registered in the kadi court registers of the towns of Sofia, Vidin and Ruscuk (mod. Rousse). The first part of the paper analyses the main elements of the contractual relations between ciflik owners and the people they had hired and taxation of the workers. The second part of the paper examines some aspects of the portrait of these workers, based on a structural analysis of inheritance inventories of their representatives, who were either peasants or town dwellers.

Organisation and financing of the Ottoman Currier service in the 17th-18th centuries

Организация и финансиране на османската куриерска служба през XVII и XVIII век

Author(s): Alexandra Antonova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Ottoman Currier services; Ottoman empire development; Financing; Seventeenth-Century; Eighteenth Century; History; Balkan history

The paper studies the appearance and development of the menzil organization on the main roads of the Empire in Rumelia. The author explores the financing of the currier service. Its development in 17th and 18th century is presented as a complex process which depends on the decisions of the central authorities, but is strongly affected by the interests of the provincial elite and no less by the practices of the ulkas. The constant efforts of the state to bring order to the financing of the menzils can be seen in some fermans from 17th and 18th century. They, as well as the inamat defters, show that the system was difficult to reform due to the difference in the interests of the central authorities and those of the locals ayans in 18th century. Thhe menzils were a solid source of enrichment. They sucked in money from the state and the horses were used mostly for personal needs. This situation continued till 19th century when Mustafa Reshid Pasha established the postahane on the model of the European postal services.

Theatres of war - battles and historiography: Ottoman historians on the participation of the Dragoman reaya in the war between the Holy League and the Ottoman Empire (1683-1699)

Театри на войната - сражения и историография: османски историци за участието на раята на Драгоман във войната между свещената лига и османската империя (1683-1699)

Author(s): Dzheni Ivanova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Ottoman empire; Ottoman empire wars; warfare; religious wars; seventeenth century; History; Balkan history

The study is based upon the representative ottoman historical narratives - the histories of Silahdar Mehmed Aga and Defterdar Mehmed Pasha - in search of typology of social behaviour of the Christian inhabitants of the Ottoman Balkan provinces during the war between the Holy League and the Ottoman Empire in the end of the 17th century . The Ottoman authors whose reports will be analyzed are part of the historiographic direction that presents the military and political events in the Ottoman Empire during the second half of the 17th century. At the same time the chroniclers involve information about the life in the provinces, as a reflection of the war upon the reaya, and its reactions. The purpose of this report is to present the Ottoman viewpoint in the light of Ottoman historiography, as concrete events, happened in the Ottoman rear during the successful advance of the Habsburg forces. From the presented examples, concerning in particular the reaya of Dragoman, will be outlined some conclusions, characterizing the behaviour of part of the non-Muslim population in the context of the specific political situation.

A case study of an ayan of Razgrad from the late 18th century

Една делиорманска аянска история от края на XVIII век

Author(s): Mariya Shusharova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Ottoman empire; Ottoman empire wars; arfare; law of war; eighteenth century; ayan; History; Balkan History;

This article is an attempt at micro-history of an individual ayan (local notable) - Elhac Omeroglu Haci Omer aga - ayan of Hezargrad (Razgrad) in a prolonged period betwen the early 80-s up to his death in 1800. The sources used by the author are mostly single documents from the funds of Basbakanlik Osmanli Arsivi (Istanbul) and the Oriental Department at Sofia's National Library. As far as court records (sicills) remain irreplaceable for the study of a local institution as ayanlik the author had a chance to find some documents complementing the story of the ayan of Razgrad in the court records of the neighboring kazas (administrative districts) - namely Ruscuk (Ruse) and Hacioglu Pazari (Dobrich). Central issue of this paper is the ayanship of Haci Omer aga in the 1787-1792 Ottoman war against Russia and Habsburg Monarchy. The documents shed light on the functioning of the provincial administration in crucial moment when t he war deeply affected everyday life as the province became a battleground. The second half of the 18th century marked the point of Ottoman history where irregular troops composed the largest segment of the army. The local notables assumed a very important role in Ottoman wartime politics because of their indispensable function in manning the army with mercenaries from the province and furthermore - the mobilization of local resources for different war exigencies. This process had a clear repercussion in the documents concerning Haci Omer aga - he is among the ayans addressed by name in the orders of the central government to provide irregular troops. The most important aspect of the story here are the details that reviewed the important role of the ayans from there borderland territories in the precedent as the winter war activity of the Russian army in 1788/9 campaign. The cumbersome effect of the war on the people and respectively the ayan of the region at discussion, the difficulties of providing the sultan with the level of aid that was requested and par excellence the accusation of Haci Omer aga in embezzlement resulted in an order for his execution and also the confiscation of his property. The transgressor had the chance to escape his death, to find refuge, and half a year later the state revoked the prosecution and reimbursed Omera aga at his previous position. The reason for this turn of the state politics was his proficiency in providing troops and tax revenues for the coming war campaign. The magnanimity of the sultan proceeded in bestowal of a robe of honour (fur-lined coat) for the endeavour of the ayan to fulfill his engagements. The problems posed in this article implied some typified renderings of loyalty in ayan context. But furthermore the micro-history gives some details - the multifaceted relationship between the central government and the ayan could be seen also as symbiosis. The state turned a blind eye on some of the local elite transgressions for their indispensable administrative capacity at that stage of the Ottoman history.

Concerning the library at the teke of Salaheddin baba, built by Osman Pazvantoglu in Vidin (historical realia)

За библиотеката към текето на Саляхеддин баба, построено от Осман Пазвантоглу във Видин (исторически реалии)

Author(s): Svetlana Ivanova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Ottoman history; Historical figures; Balkan history; Ottoman empire; Libraries; Medieval libraries; Book collections; Books;

In this paper a hypothesis has been discussed that during a certain period of time at the beginning of 19th century at the tekke of Salaheddin baba (which turbe has been built by the famous Osman Pazvantoglu in the town of Vidin in 1801), there was a book collection or a library. This case study has been examined in the context of several topics: 1) the history of the town of "Islam serhad" Vidin; 2) Osman Pazvantoglu and his family; 3) Osman's activity in the field of Islamic charity and his building works; 4) the cult of Muslim Martyrs, precisely of "late" sehids, and the image of sehid Salaheddin/Salatin baba, killed in the battle when the Austrians besieged the Vidin castle in 1689; the tekke is mentioned in documents as a tekke, baba hanegah, zaviye, dergah and financially was supported in the 19th century by the vakf of Osman Pazvantoglu; according to the Muslim' folklore from Vidin his turbe became a worship place and Salaheddin was honoured as a healer; 5) the library of Osman Pazvantoglu; 6) Data found in the Catalogue of the Osman Pazvantoglu's Library from 1837 and in a manuscript from the same library, support the hypothesis of the existence of a book collection or a library in the tekke of Salaheddin baba, the books of the tekke have been moved to the public library of Pazvantoglu probably before 1837. The collection consisted of 30 manuscripts, 11 of which were described in the section "Sufizm, moral and sermon" of the Catalogue from 1837.

Creative works of Turkish copyists in the town of Samokov (17th-19th centuries)

Творчески изяви на турските кописти от Самоков (XVII-XIX век)

Author(s): Stoyanka Kendrova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: book history; book studies; library and information history; Ottoman empire; Balkan history; History; seventeenth century; eighteenth and nineteenth centuries;

Representatives of the Turkish population in the town of Samokov develop a rich literary activity during the Ottoman period. Seven authors and 47 copyists create a very rich production, especially in 18th century. Ahmed el-Keshfi es-Samakova (d. 1747) is among the most prominent names from the end of 17th - first half of 18th century. He is a prolific writer, copyist, commentator of esoteric works and creator of a rich waqf library in Samokov. His production as a copyist counts 101 volumes, part of which feature collections containing two or more works. The earliest copy - Sharh Manar al-anwar li'n-Nasafi, which is a work in the field of Islamic law, has been completed in 1685. The analysis of the production of the authors and the copyists from Samokov gives us a reason to define this town as a center of literary activity of the local Muslim population.

On the Ottoman Period in the history of the church of St George - the Rotunda in Sofia

За съдбата на софийската църква "Св. Георги" - ротонда под османска власт

Author(s): Rositsa Grozdanova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Architectural history; History; Ottoman empire; District; Balkan history; Sofia; Sofia history

The article traces the history of the oldest building still functioning in Sofia, the Rotunda in the centre of the ancient city, with a focus on its Ottoman period. Special attention is paid to the date of its conversion into a mosque around 1500, and to its fate in the late 17th century when, due to destruction, it was abandoned as a house of worship. A third focus of the article is the transformations of the neighbourhood around it through the centuries. The study is based on a variety of sources, some of which newly-discovered, in the collection of BOA-Istanbul and of the Oriental Department at the National Library in Sofia, and unpublished - single Ottoman documents, excerpts from kadi sicills, atik sikayet defters, tapu tahrir defters, others - well known and widely used, such as the travel accounts of Stephan Gerlach, Evliya Celebi, Viktor Grigorovich, K. Jirecek, as well as texts produced bu the Bulgarian community.

The Tarnovo Episcopate and Russia (15th-17th centuries)

Търновският епископат и Русия XV-XVII век

Author(s): Ivan Tyutyundzhiev / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Orthodox; Orthodox and Uniate church; Ottoman empire; Ottoman invasion; history of religion; History; Balkan history; Russia; International relations;

The image of Ottoman invasion of the Bulgarian lands, the Tarnovo Patriarchate, in its capacity as the "Mother of All Bulgarian Churches", maintained international contacts throughout the Greek Orthodox world. The Patriarchate enjoyed high prestige among Orthodox Slav on account of its consistent anti-Unite stance, adopted after the Church Union of the Council of Lyons (1247). This stance differed drastically from the contradictory policy of Byzantium and the Church of Constantinople which were inclined to make compromises with the West and the Papal institution in Rome as part of an attempt to forge an alliance and oppose the invading Ottoman forces. The Tarnovo Patriarchate strongly adhered the Orthodoxy and resisted Roman Catholic attempts at penetration in the territories under its pastoral care. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church by all probability had a major role in spreading Christianity among Cumans and some Tatars in Wallachia and Moldova in the 13 th and 14 th centuries . The high status of the Head of the Tarnovo Patriarchate was borne out by the participation of Patritach Simeon in the coronation of the Serbian monarch Stephen Dusan (1331-1335) and his Bulgarian wife Elena as Tsar and Tsarina and the transformation of the Serbian Archbishopric into a Patriarchate in 1346. Around the middle of the 14th c. the Tarnovo Patriarchate was established contacts with Russia. In 1352 Patriarch Theodosius II of Tarnovo took part in the ordination of Theodorit, Metropolitan of the Principality of Galicia-Lithuania, as Metropolitan of Russia. For Russia Tarnovo was obviously an important spiritual centre holding authority over all Orthodox Slavs. At more or less the same time we encounter the appellation "Tsarigrad-Turnov" which reflected the idea of the Bulgarian capital as a "Third Rome" and "Second Constantinople". Further proof of the high status of Bulgarian clerics among Orthodox Slavs is provided by the enthronement, in the year 1375, of three patriarchs originating from Tarnovo: Euthymius (Evtimii) of Tarnovo (1375-1393), Ephraem of Pec, Patriarch of Serbia (1375-1380; 1389-1392), and Cyprian, Metropolitan of Kiev and all of Russia (1375-1406). The survey of Bulgarian-Russian spiritual ties presented above aims at correcting a view still current in historiography according to which, between the 16th and 18th centuries, church influence followed a North-South (rather than a South-North) axis. While we may assume that such a view reflects the state of affairs in the 18th century, the earlier times of Ottoman domination (15th-17th cc.) were marked by attempts on the part of Tarnovo clerical elite to take part in the most important initiative aiming to increase Russia's prestige as the only independent and most powerful Orthodox Slavonic state. Higher clerics made a point of mentioning the names of Russians monarchs in church services intended for Bulgarian Christian congregations and thus seered Bulgarian expectations of political liberation in the direction of Russia.

The Parish on the Balkans in Ottoman Era - an inside look: The orthodox priest and his flock through the prism of a mid-17th century text, written by a parish priest

Енорията на централните Балкани през османската епоха - поглед "отвътре": Православният свещеник и неговото паство през призмата на един свещенически текст от средата на XVII век

Author(s): Olga Todorova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Multiculturalism; Ottoman empire; religion; christianity; Balkan history; History; Seventeenth century; document; revision; document revision;

This article to challenge the notion of an entirely harmonious Christian-Orthodox parish that dominates the historiography of the Ottoman Balkans. The interrelations between Orthodox priests and their flocks are analyzed here in the light of the so-called Chronicle of Serres (ca. 1642), composed by Papa Synadinos, a Greek Orthodox priest and a member of the local Christian elite. It is claimed that two distinct images of the parish, quite opposite to each other, emerge from the text of the Chronicle. The first one is the image of the "ideal" parish, free of any conflicts between the priest and his parishioners. In the Chronicle it was exemplified with the parish of Papa Siderus, Synadinos' father, who has been portrayed as e perfect priest and a role-model for his time. This image, however, proves to be no more than a literary construct. Much more interesting is the second image representing the "real" parish led by Synadinos himself. It was depicted as a place where frictions between the "enlightened" priest and his flock were a common occurrence. The present study attempts to delineate the economic as well as the cultural (in the broadest sense of the word) cause which stood behind the constantly evolving tensions between laity and priests. It is argued that disagreements deepened even more due to options available to both sides to compete against each other by petitioning either to the Ottoman or the Church authorities.

The origin and the network of the Islahhanes in the 1860-1870

Идеята за създаване на исляхханетата и тяхната мрежа през 60-тр - 70-те години на XIX век

Author(s): Margarita Dobreva / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Orphans; Orphanages; Poor; Ottoman empire; History; Balkan history; Social activism; Nineteenth century

Throughout the 15th-18th centuries the Jews, the Christians and the Muslims of the Ottoman Empire paid significant attention to the orphans' and poor children's relief. However, none of the Sultan's subjects set up an orphanage. The children in need were raised as fosterlings. Many extramartial infants were abandoned. If the abandoned children survived until 4 years of age, they entered the gangs. From 1839 onward the Ottoman officials considered the socialization of the orphans, pauper children and delinquents as an essential state affair. As early as 1860s they endeavored to set up industrial or reform schools. The paper of the author focuses on the very idea to establish such schools and casta light on their network in the Ottoman Empire. It summarizes the hypotheses for their origin; the available information about some West European models of social assistance for the children in need; the Ottoman initiative to train orphans, pauper children and delinquents; the role of Midhat Pasha; the origin of the term "islahhane"; the mutual rhetoric and rules of the Belgian and Ottoman reform schools. It advances the suggestion that the islahhanes or the industrial schools embodied the Ottoman attempt effecitvely to manage the periodically increasing number of the children in need. Perhaps the initiative combined the "domestic" model of the Catholic boarding schools, this one of the reform schools run by the Belgian government and the religious imperative for the orphans' and pauper children's socialization. While serving as a provincial governor, in 1863-1866 Midhat Pasha sought to carry out the actual state attempt. From 1867-1868 onward the project was developed by other provincial governors, as well.

Pharmacy in Bulgaria in the second half of the 19th century in the documentary heritage of the Hungarian chemist Gyorgy Szilagyi

Аптечното дело в България през втората половина на XIX век в документалното наследство на унгарския аптекар Георги Силаги

Author(s): Penka Peykova / Language(s): English,Bulgarian / Publication Year: 0

Keywords: Pharmacy; Ottoman empire; History; Balkan history; nineteenth century; trade;

Information on the 19th century history of pharmacy in Bulgaria is too scarce. Present publication includes documents for the development of pharmacy in Bulgaria from the documentary heritage of the Hungarian chemist Gyorgy Szilagyi, kept in the Bulgarian Historical Archive at the St. St. Cyril and Methodius National Library. Gyorgy Szilagyi's pharmacy existed for a period of eighty years, during which rich archival material accumulated. It is unique as a historical source for the development of pharmacy in Bulgaria, because it highlights the many-sided aspects of a foregn pharmacist's professional activities. Part of Gt. Szilagyi's archival fond are letters from his friends, acquaintances and colleagues that contain information on the fate of Hungarian and foreign pharmacists; they also reveal interesting facts about the relationship between Gy. Szilagui and his colleagues (local doctors and pharmacists) and clients as well. Another part of the fond is the documentation to the half-century-old activity of his pharmacy.

Voters and Parliamentarians. An Attempt for a Portrait, December 7, 1990

Voters and Parliamentarians. An Attempt for a Portrait, December 7, 1990

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

In July 1990 the Center for the Study of Democracy carried out a post-election opinion poll study of the political orientations of the Bulgarian electorate. The study used the method of the direct questionnaire, carried out on a random sample of about 3 000. Parallel with this study, the Center carried out a testing for the values orientation of the respondents. The test was a kind of continuation of the questionnaire, was targeted at the same respondents at the same time as the poll itself.

The Political Change in Bulgaria. Post-Electoral Attitudes, August 17, 1990

The Political Change in Bulgaria. Post-Electoral Attitudes, August 17, 1990

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

In countries with an established parliamentary tradition, political self-determination after elections usually coincides with the actual result of the elections. Any differences are in favour of the winners. Having in mind the complex psychological relations of Bulgarians to political power, we expected originally that answers in our poll would show a wider following of the Bulgarian Socialist Party, BSP (formerly Communist), than revealed in its electoral percentage.

The Political Change in Bulgaria Pre-Electorial Attitudes, June 7, 1990

The Political Change in Bulgaria Pre-Electorial Attitudes, June 7, 1990

Author(s): Author Not Specified / Language(s): English

It would seem that today the basic problem is one of the content of the transition. This is frequently being reduced to the opposition "communist totalitarianism - Western democracy". And this is easy to explain from the point of view of psychology. But this superficially self-evident opposition must not lead us to the over-simplification of the problem of democracy.