Institute for Historical Studies

The Institute for Historical Studies is the main scientific center for fundamental and specialized research in the field of history and the training of highly qualified specialists. Research is conducted in the sphere of Bulgarian history from antiquity to modernity, European and world issues, genealogy, archaeography, etc.

The Institute is one of the oldest units of BAS. With the Law on the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Arts of 1940, the study of Bulgarian history became a priority for the oldest Bulgarian scientific organization. In 1947, an Institute for Bulgarian History was established at the Historical-Philological branch, headed by Academician Ivan Snegarov. In the context of the reforms at BAS in 2010, the present title of the Institute was adopted. The Academicians G. Katsarov, P. Nikov, K. Kossev, G. Markov, the Professors I. Undjiev, B. Tsvetkova, E. Grozdanova, V. Paskaleva and others have enriched Bulgarian and world historical science with their studies and have received international recognition.

Scientific activity

The Institute for Historical Studies studies the theoretical and special problems of our national political, social, religious and cultural history from the creation of the Bulgarian state to the present day as well as issues of world history and international relations. The comparative historical research on the role and place of Bulgaria in the world historical process, the contribution of the Bulgarian nation in the cultural treasury of humanity are main areas of the scientific activity of the Institute for Historical Studies.

The multi-volume edition of the Institute “Sources for Bulgarian History” includes Greek, Latin, Turkish, Jewish and others sources and is used by significant historical studies in Bulgaria and abroad. The multi-volume “History of Bulgaria” reflects the Bulgarian and foreign achievements in this sphere. Scholars from the Institute are publishing “History of the BAS” and are contributing, with monographs and other studies, to the research on the development of Bulgaria within the common European and world trends and the leading processes in world history. The Institute members currently collaborate with prestigious science centers in the European Union, the United States, Russia and China. The Institute publishes two of the most prestigious scientific journals in Bulgaria in the field of historical research: “Bulgarian Historical Review” and “Historical Review”.

The seminar “Current Problems of History and Historiography” is held every month since 2013 in Bulgarian and other major European languages. The purpose of the seminar is to respond to the interest of society in historical knowledge. The lectures, delivered by scholars from the Institute for Historical Studies and other Bulgarian and European scientific institutions, are devoted to important issues of Bulgarian and world history and historiography. The seminar is the leading center of dissemination and popularization of the achievements of historical science.

Educational activity

Doctoral (PhD) Programs:

• Doctoral programme “Medieval general history”, professional field 2.2. History and Archaeology of area 2. Humanities in Higher Education;
• Doctoral programme “New and newest general history”, professional field 2.2. History and Archaeology of area 2. Humanities in Higher Education;
• Doctoral programme “History of Bulgaria”, professional field 2.2. History and Archaeology of area 2. Humanities in Higher Education;
• Doctoral programme “Documentation and archival science, palaeography (including historiography and source studies)”, professional field 2.2. History and Archaeology of area 2. Humanities in Higher Education.

For the five-year period from 2013 to 2016, ten PhD students successfully defended their doctoral theses. In 2017, twelve PhD students were trained at the Institute for Historical Studies.

Other educational initiatives

Scholars from the Institute for Historical Studies perform teaching activities at the Training Center of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and at various higher education institutions in the country. In connection with the implementation of the project “Student Practices”, financed by the Operational Program “Human Resources Development”, co-financed by the European Social Fund, the Institute for Historical Studies concluded, in 2013, contracts for organizing student research internships with six higher education institutions from the country: Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, UNWE, New Bulgarian University, ULSIT, SWU “Neofit Rilski” and International Business School.

The Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with Ethnographic Museum at BAS is a leading national scientific institution in the field of ethnology and folklore studies whose aim is to support the knowledge and the consciousness of the society about traditions and cultural identity and their role in the contemporary world. The scholars and specialists are engaged in the study and analysis of Bulgaria’s multispectral cultural history and present-day history, cultural phenomena and processes in Balkan, European and world contexts. Through the activities of the National Center for Intangible Cultural Heritage and the National Ethnographic Museum, the cultural heritage is systematically searched, collected, preserved and presented.