Bułgarzy wobec wyprawy Jana I Tzymiskesa przeciw Światosławowi, księciu kijowskiemu (971)
Bulgarian attitude towards the expedition of John I Tzimisces against Sviatoslav, the prince of Kiev (971)

Summary/Abstract: The article is devoted to examining the attitude of the Bulgarians towards the expedition of John Tzimisces onto their lands, and di-rected against the Rus people of the prince of Kiev, Sviatoslav. The analysis of the sources led the author to conclude that Bulgarians adopted an expectant attitude towards the Byzantines. This was caused by the lack of earlier Byzantine efforts aimed at reaching a mutual understanding, and this was why the Bulgarians were waiting for the situation to develop. They changed their attitude after the Byzantines captured Preslav, which clearly attested to their power and brought hope for a definitive end to the struggle against the Rus. The conciliatory steps undertaken by John Tzimis-ces, aimed at gaining the Bulgarians to his cause, were also signifi-cant. Bulgarians decided to abandon the forced agreement with the Rus, and to not oppose the Byzantines. It cannot be ruled out that they actively supported the Byzantines in the following struggle against the Rus.The Bulgarians were not able to consolidate and rebuild the state structures during the time in which the Byzantines were busy besieg-ing Dorostolon, and as a consequence became a relatively easy prey for the Byzantine Empire when it turned from being their defender to an aggressor.

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