Armenians in Bulgaria

Armeniansin Bulgaria(Armenian:Հայերը Բուլղարիայում,romanized:Hayery Bulghariayum;Bulgarian:Арменци в България,romanized:Armentsi v Bulgariya) are the fifth largest minority, after Russians, in the country, numbering 6,552 according to the 2011 census,down from 10,832 in 2001, while Armenian organizations estimate up to 80,000.Armenians have lived in theBalkans(including the territory of modern Bulgaria) since no later than the 5th century, when they moved there as part of theByzantinecavalry. Since then, the Armenians have had a continuous presence in Bulgarian lands and have often played an important part in thehistory of Bulgariafrom earlyMedievaltimes until the present.

Bulgarian Armenians

Total population
6,552 (2011), estimation up to 80,000
Regions with significant populations
Plovdiv Province:3,140 Varna Province:2,240 Sofia:1,672 Ruse:1,500
Languages
Western Armenian,Bulgarian,(Minority) Eastern Armenian,Russian
Related ethnic groups
Armenian diaspora
All figures from

The main centres of the Armenian community in the country are the major citiesPlovdiv(3,140 Armenians inPlovdiv Provincein 2001),Varna(2,240 inVarna Province),Sofia(1,672) andBurgas(904 inBurgas Province).

The traditional language of the community isWestern Armenian,though since education during the Communist period in Bulgaria was inEastern Armenian,many are also fluent in the latter dialect. Bulgarian, being the official language, is spoken fluently by almost all Armenians in the country.

History

The Armenians that settled between the 6th and the 11th century in theRhodopes,ThraceandMacedoniawere several thousand in number, mostlyPauliciansandTondrakiansand had very strong communal ties. They had very strong ties and influenced the Bulgarian sect of theBogomilsand were later assimilated into it,Bulgarianizedand later converted toRoman Catholicism(seeRoman Catholicism in Bulgaria) orIslam(seePomaks). The mother of 11th-centuryBulgarian tsarSamuilwas the daughter of the Armenian king,Ashot II.Maria, the wife of 10th-century TsarPeter I,was the granddaughter ofByzantine emperorof Armenian origin,Romanos I Lekapenos.Another Byzantine emperor—Basil I,the founder of theMacedonian dynastyand an Armenian from Thrace—spent his early years as a captive in theFirst Bulgarian Empirein the 9th century.

After both Bulgaria andArmeniawere conquered by theOttoman Empire,many Armenian settlers from Armenia,Crimea,thePolish–Lithuanian CommonwealthandAsia Minorarrived in what is now Bulgaria due to internal migration. Those coming from Armenia were forced to seek a new homeland because of their country's devastation byArabs,Persians,andTurks.With Bulgaria gaining autonomy in the aftermath of theRusso-Turkish War of 1877-78,many Armenians fled the Ottoman Empire because of theHamidian massacresin the 1890s and settled in the country, particularly in the major cities ofPlovdivandVarna.In 1878, there were 5,300 Armenians in thePrincipality of BulgariaandEastern Rumelia,and this number increased by almost 20,000 after the Hamidian massacres.

At the time of theBalkan Wars(1912–1913) the Armenians in Bulgaria numbered about 35,000. During this time the legendary Armenian national hero,Andranik Ozanianparticipated in the Balkan Wars in theBulgarianarmy, alongside generalGaregin Nzhdeh(another national hero) as a commander of Armenian auxiliary troops. Bulgarian authorities honored Andranik and Nzhdeh with theOrder of Bravery. Despite Bulgaria allied with the Ottomans at theWorld War I,Bulgaria had criticized the Ottomans for the Armenian genocide. After the events surrounding theArmenian genocidein the Ottoman Empire (1915–1917) 22,000 additional Armenians sought refuge in Bulgaria during the government ofAleksandar Stamboliyskiin 1922.

According to the archives, it was difficult for Armenians to obtain Bulgarian citizenship. For many years they lived withNansen passports.However, these passports didn't give them full civil rights. This practice ended only in 1937–1942 for the Armenian men, and for the Armenian women – after 1944. However, some Armenians remained with Nansen passports, although they were a minority.

During the Communist rule of Bulgaria (1944–1989) and the time of theSoviet Union,most of the Armenians returned to their homeland, then theArmenian SSR,but many chose to stay in Bulgaria or emigrate to other countries such as theUnited States.In the 1960s, several thousand Bulgarian Armenians succeeded to emigrate from the People's Republic of Bulgaria, despite the communist regime's severe restrictions on any travel outside the country. This emigrant wave remains little known, as the regime censored this successful emigration beyond the Iron Curtain. The emigration between 1962 and 1969 was an anomaly against the background of the realities in Communist Bulgaria. The emigration included various phases, with the authorities allowing it at times, albeit reluctantly. The emigration was banned twice, and the departures were finally stopped in 1969, both because of the threat of mass exodus of most Armenians from Bulgaria, and because of the risk of a negative propaganda effect in the country and abroad.

In the 1990s, after thedissolution of the USSR,the poor economic conditions in Armenia and the military conflicts in theCaucasuscaused a number of Armenians to seek a better future in Bulgaria as emigrants or travel through Bulgaria to western Europe or the United States. Since the 1990s the population of Armenians in Bulgaria has continually decreased due to immigration and assimilation.

Many comparisons can be drawn between the struggles for freedom of Bulgaria and Armenia, chiefly based on the similarities between the Bulgarian and Armenian peasants.

Culture, religion and media

Armenian Apostolicchurch inBurgas,Bulgaria

Armenian Apostolicchurch St. George inPlovdiv,Bulgaria

The Armenians and their historical faith were an inspiration for noted Bulgarian poetPeyo Yavorovto write one of his most recognizable works, the poemArmentsi(Armenians), describing the Armenians as 'forlorn exiles, a miserable fragment; of an ever-brave martyr-people; little children of a troubled slavewoman-mother; and victims of a legendarily great feat':

Изгнаници клети, отломка нищожна

от винаги храбър народ мъченик,
дечица на майка робиня тревожна
и жертви на подвиг чутовно велик –
далеч от родина, в край чужди събрани,
изпити и бледни, в порутен бордей,
те пият, а тънат сърцата им в рани,

и пеят, тъй както през сълзи се пей.

Armenians, wretched exiles, tiny splinter

Of their ever valiant, long-suffering kin,
Of restless slave mother tough breed, in the winter –
The victims of their great exploit – or their sin –
From their homeland banished, in foreign land scattered,
Exhausted and pale, in a gloomy saloon,
Now drinking, as their hearts are bleeding, in tatters,
Now singing, through tears, the ballad of doom.

(Translated by V.H., 2013)

Three Armenian newspapers are published in Bulgaria:Armentsiissued in Burgas every fortnight with a circulation of 3,500; the weeklyVahanissued in Plovdiv with a circulation of 1,000; and the weeklyErevanissued in Sofia.TheArmenian General Benevolent Union(AGBU) publishes a monthly bulletinParekordzagani Tsayn.

There are a total of tenArmenian Apostolicchurches and two chapels in twelve cities, mostly in those urban centres with a significant Armenian population:Aytos,Burgas,Pazardzhik,Russe,Shumen,Sliven,Stara Zagora,VarnaandYambol.All churches are under aneparchybased inSofia.TheArmenian Evangelical Churchin Bulgaria is located inPlovdiv.

Notable Bulgarian Armenians

• Armen Ambartsumyan,footballer (goalkeeper) andArmenia international
• Michael Arlen,writer
• Artine Artinian,Frenchliterature scholar
• Krikor Azaryan,theatre director
• Yuliya Berberyan,nine times Bulgarian tennis champion in the 1960s and 1970s, tennis coach andUDFdeputy
• Raffi Bohosyan,winner of the first series of BulgarianX Factor
• Steven Derounian,Americancongressman fromNew York
• Eduard Eranosyan,footballer and manager
• Magardich Halvadjian,film director and producer
• Vili Kazasyan,composer and conductor
• Kirkor Kirkorov,amateurboxer
• Agop Melkonyan,journalist and prolific SciFi author
• Stephen Sacklarian,Artist
• Armen Nazaryan,Greco-Roman wrestler(naturalized)
• Norair Nurikyan,weightlifter
• Raya Nazaryan,politician

Partially Armenian Bulgarians

• Philipp Kirkorov,singer, actor and television presenter
• Katerina Maleeva,tennis player
• Magdalena Maleeva,tennis player
• Manuela Maleeva,tennis player
• Alice Panikian,Miss Universe Canada2006
• Sylvie Vartan,French pop singer and music hall impresario

See also

• Armenia–Bulgaria relations
• Armenian diaspora
• Immigration to Bulgaria

References

• Мицева, Евгения (2001).Арменците в България — култура и идентичност(PDF)(in Bulgarian). София: IMIR.ISBN978-954-8872-34-8.OCLC50403838.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2007-07-17.Retrieved2007-06-03.
• Edouard Selian. The language of the Paulicians and Pomaks:http://www.saching.com/Articles/The-Language-of-the-Paulicians-and-Pomaks-17121.html
• (in Bulgarian) Едуард Селян. Коренът "джур" в българска езикова среда. Сп. “Филология”, Изд.: СУ "Св. Кл. Охридски", София, 1983, бр. 12 – 13, с. 137 – 139. (Selian, E. The Root “Jur “in the Bulgarian Language Environment. Magazine “Philology”. Publisher: Sofia University “St. Kl. Ohridski”, Sofia, 1983, issue 12–13, p. 137–139).
• Peykovska, P.War and Migration in Bulgaria from 1912 to 1926,2017
• Пейковска, П.Демографски аспекти на миграциите в България, 1912–1944,2019

External links

• Official website of the Armenian community in BulgariaArchived2011-07-19 at theWayback Machine
• Bulgaria-Armenia article on Armeniapedia.org
• Edouard Selian. The Descendants of Paulicians: the Pomaks, Catholics, and Orthodox