българска

The victory of 9. IX. 1944 opened a new era both in the socio-political development of the Bulgarian people and in the development of Bulgarian science. The people's power, the Bulgarian Communist Party have always emphasized that the construction of a socialist society is impossible without the comprehensive development of all branches of science and are constantly making efforts to create the necessary conditions for its flourishing. And if the natural, mathematical, technical sciences were harnessed to the creation of the material base of society, then the humanitarian sciences had to contribute to the formation of a new consciousness, of new moral, ethical, philosophical views in people - builders of socialism and communism. Hence the special importance of science, which deals with the problems of literature - one of the most active factors for ideological Education and re-education, for the creation in man of a new worldview, a new socialist worldview.

The outbreak of the Crimean War (November 1, 1853) aroused new hopes among Polish patriots. Feverish excitement also gripped the Polish emigration in Paris and London, as it believed that the war that had broken out would turn into a general war for the liberation of the peoples. All eyes were turned to the East. All political groups believed that the fateful hour had struck and were coming up with their own programs for action. The Polish democrats in London, the so-called Centralization, wanted to provoke an uprising in Poland itself. The "Young Democracy" ("Kolo") in Paris, headed by Mieroslavsky, Wysocki and Elzhanowski, intended to create a Polish legion in Turkey in agreement with Napoleon III. The aristocratic camp of Polish emigrants "Hotel Lambert", whose leader, Prince A. Czartoryski, was recognized by the French and English cabinets, after the declaration of war, as the sole representative of Poland in emigration, was striving for the same goal. French public opinion was favorable to Polish aspirations, and it was said in Paris that Napoleon III had a sincere intention of restoring Poland. Prince Czartoryski conducted lengthy negotiations with the French and English governments to secure certain guarantees in favor of Poland against the proposed participation of Polish troops on the side of the Allies. His first associate and nephew Władysław Zamoyski went to Constantinople in January 1854 to negotiate personally with the Porte about the formation of a Polish legion in the Turkish army. With the same purpose, Vysotsky had already arrived in the Turkish capital (November 2, 1853) as an envoy of the Parisian "Kolo".

The work of Cyril and Methodius is very diverse, can be viewed from different angles and raises many questions. One of the most interesting is the question of its connection with the development of Bulgarian literature. Some will say that this goes without saying - Cyril and Methodius are organically intertwined in the history of Bulgarian literature, without their work its emergence is unthinkable; everything is clear here, there is nothing to dispute and nothing to add. In fact, the questions are more complex than they seem at first glance. Let us take just two of them. On the one hand - were there not manifestations of Slavic writing in Bulgaria before the time of Cyril and Methodius and in that case can their work be considered the beginning of Bulgarian literature? On the other hand - is not a work included in the history of Bulgarian literature that developed up to the Moravian mission in the sphere of Byzantine culture, and then - among the Western Slavs? Is this not a stage of pan-Slavic literature that had a strong influence on the development of old Bulgarian literature, but did not enter into its history? That these questions have not been fully resolved, and at the very least - there is no agreement on them, is clearly visible when we turn our attention from the literary work of Cyril and Methodius to their language - it still bears different names in science: Old Church Slavonic, Old Church Slavonic, Old Bulgarian.

During the time of the cult of personality, quite a few significant works were written, which are the pride of contemporary Bulgarian literature. And the senseless nihilism that existed among a certain part of the youth in relation to the previous period must be resolutely rejected. At the same time, it cannot be ignored that these successes could have been even greater if it were not for the conditions of the cult, which instilled dogmatism, stereotyped thinking, and hindered the normal development of literature. According to the words of Todor Zhivkov, "dogmatism as a theory and practice introduced stiffness, schematism, patterning, and stagnation into creative work."

Often in our arguments about contemporary Bulgarian drama we tend to fall into extremes. In moments of good mood we only praise it, in bad moods we pour reproach after reproach. The gesture of excessive tolerance in such cases suddenly turns into caustic and witty malice. However, if we abandon the paradoxes and one-sided analogies with the work of today's greatest European playwrights, we cannot help but acknowledge several important facts. First, after September 9, 1944, an internal explosion took place in Bulgarian drama. It came along the line of ideas, and this is already certain evidence of significant changes in the very nature of drama. Since drama is an active history of society, it could not remain aloof from the problems that were posed by the September 9th people's revolution. Even more. It found itself at the center of the socio-political struggles that decided the fate and future of the Bulgarian people. In this sense, it also appeared as a continuation of the basic spirit of our native dramaturgy - of its social tone and commitment. And yet, here one more circumstance must be taken into account. While in poetry, fiction, painting, even in the theater we had bright examples of ideological communist art - Smirnensky, Vaptsarov, Karaslavov, Zhendov, Danovski - in dramaturgy the peaks of social pathos after Vazov were marked by the art of Yavorov at the end of the ten years and that of St. L. Kostov in the thirties. That is, by the creativity that did not set as its goal the uncompromising and effective struggle against the bourgeois world, more precisely, that did not fight in the name of the most progressive ideal of the era. The only more categorical example in this regard is Vaptsarov's play "The Ninth Wave", but it, unlike his innovative communist poems, conscientiously follows the spiritual structure of the classical Ibsen line in modern dramaturgy.

"I love you, my dear Fatherland! I love your Balkans, forests, screes, rocks and their clear and cold springs! I love you, my dear land! I love you with all my soul and heart, even if you are doomed to severe suffering and misfortune! Everything that has remained good and holy in my orphaned soul so far is all yours! You are that blessed land that blooms, that is full of tenderness, with radiance and greatness. You have taught me to love and to cry over every human misfortune. And this is already a lot for one person!" These words were spoken by Lyuben Karavelov more than a hundred years ago, but it seems that even now we feel their sincerity. The Revival writer does not try to theorize, to search for bright images, original thoughts, unusual stylistic devices. He speaks simply and naturally about what lies on his soul, and his declaration sounds like a confession, and the inner excitement has imbued ordinary words with immediate freshness. This freshness has not faded to this day.

I believe it will interest Bulgarian readers, who have long appreciated Ibsen, to know that his thoughts were, among other things, directed towards Bulgaria when he wrote "When the Dead Rise". The main female character, Irena von Satow, bears the surname of her second husband, a Ruthenian, owner of gold mines in the Urals. And her first husband was a South American. "A senior diplomat", says Ibsen's final version. But in the first draft it is said that he was a "Ruthenian", and in an intermediate version that he was a diplomat, a senior Bulgarian diplomat. "Why Bulgarian"? My theory is that Ibsen originally intended to allude to the Bulgarian Insarov from Turgenev's novel, "On the Eve." But Irena, who may be a "Turgenev" woman, is more of a femme fatale, like Irena in "Smoke," than a "strong" woman, like Elena in "On the Eve." That is why Ibsen ultimately dropped the term "Bulgarian." (I deal with this situation in more detail in a major study, "Turgenev in the Spiritual Life of Norway," which I have just finished.)

One of the interesting facts that characterizes the development of our national literature in the period after September 9, 1944, and especially in the last two decades, is the growing interest abroad in the work of our writers and, along with this, the increasingly active exchange between the People's Republic of Bulgaria and other countries - socialist and non-socialist - in the field of culture.

The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences occupies a paramount place in the cultural life of our country. Its membership includes the most prominent representatives of Bulgarian science, it has organized scientific institutes in all fields of modern knowledge, its members and associates participate not only in the most important research within the country, but also in scientific life abroad, numerous international congresses, conferences, symposia, etc. To this must be added the enormous publishing activity that the academy carries out; this activity began with its very beginnings - as the Bulgarian Literary Society in Braila, founded in 1869, but the dimensions to which it has reached today represent an exceptional phenomenon in the history of Bulgarian science and culture. We do not always appreciate this fact enough. If we go back to the years when the foundations of the future Bulgarian Academy of Sciences were laid, we cannot fail to note one important circumstance: it is a product of the Bulgarian national revival. Its creation is not the result of a decree issued by a single authority, but of a long process, expressed in numerous reflections and proposals, in various projects and actions. The idea of ​​a Bulgarian Academy of Sciences was born in the great aspiration of our people towards enlightenment and cultural progress: already during the Renaissance era, it should embody the enlightened ideals of the people and also give a strong impetus to their cultural development. In this respect, our country repeats the history of academies in Europe - they arose in the 15th century, in the era of the Italian Renaissance ("Platonic Academy" in Florence, "Accademia Antiquaria" in Rome, etc.).