Katya Yaneva

The Bulgarian periodical press is the characteristic manifestation of the Revival. More than two centuries late to Europe, it is widely developed and covers (especially after the Liberation) the entire socio-political, economic and cultural life of the country. To a significant extent, the work of ardent patriots, the Bulgarian press takes an active part in the problems of its time. It is impossible to present the struggles of the Revival without the feverish journalistic activity of Karavelov, Slaveykov, Botev; the work of the party - without the support of "Novo Vreme", "Rabotnicheski Vestnik". By collecting within itself the creations of the greatest Bulgarian minds, expressing their ideological searches, aspirations, disputes, struggles, the Bulgarian periodical press is also the most reliable witness to our past. If taken entirely as a completed work, it gives a broad, complete and detailed picture of public life in Bulgaria. It goes without saying that the press is a lasting source for scientific research of all kinds. The scientist, having looked to the past, even with the aim of speaking about the present or the future, approaches the periodicals of the past years as a reliable assistant.

A fiftieth anniversary requires a review. We look for it in all publications dedicated to the October Revolution. The collection "October and Bulgarian Literature" contains articles, memoirs, and studies that were not prepared specifically for the solemn occasion, but have been printed before. Collected now, these materials recall the excitement of five decades ago and, at the same time, are proof of the enduring interest of our writers in October and Soviet literature. They mark the directions in which scientific research thought moves, concerned with the great problem of Bulgarian-Soviet literary relations.

Arnaudov, Mihail. Ballad motifs in folk poetry - vol. I, S., BAS, 1964, 400 p. Dinekov, Petar. Bulgarian folk poetry. Notes - S., Science and Art, 1949, 180 p.; II revised and supplemented edition, S., 1963. Arnaudov, Mihail. On the question of the creators of the folk song. A gifted folk singer from Sofia - Izv. of the Institute for Literature, vol. IX, 1960. Dinekov, Petar. Folklore and the history of Bulgarian literature - Lit. thought, 1967, vol. 6. Petkanova, Donka. On the question of the connections of folklore with Bogomilism - Izv. of the Institute for Literature, vol. VI, 1958. 81-100. Chaika, Henrika (Poland). Some artistic features of Bulgarian folk songs - Lit. Misal, 1967, vol. 4.

What, in fact, does Vezhinov write about? About the anti-fascist movement, which has its historical coordinates, its documentary basis and its heroes, immersed in its everyday life? Or about man in the infinity of the world, the longevity of history? Doesn't the writer shake off the concrete excitements of the struggle too energetically? Doesn't he leave the heroes of the battles in the shadows, carried away by the desire to encompass the great contours of the human spirit? How many authors have begun and ended by showing shootings, by describing actions, by the picture of the September 9th rally? Why isn't Vezhinov absorbed in the visible? Why didn't his grandfather Shtilyan stay with his medical bag, and we hear him persistently say: "Surely something remains of us in this world - a frog, a nightingale... Otherwise, what would be the point?" Why didn't Viktor die heroically in battle, but fell ridiculously, uselessly? Why don't we hear in his dying sigh that historic "Death to fascism. Long live...", but rather the feverish: "Can you imagine a sky without stars?... You can't, of course... The stars are within us, our destiny."