On June 8, 2026, the scientific conference on the topic “Black Sea Security and the Balkans in the 21st Century: Trends and Prospects" was held at the Institute of Balkan Studies with a Center for Thracology "Prof. Alexander Fol" - BAS (IBSCT-BAS). The forum was organized in implementation of the research project “The Balkans and Security in the Black Sea Region after the Cold War” led by Prof. Dr. Nadya Boyadzhieva from IBSCT-BAS, in a hybrid format - in person and online via Zoom.

The conference was opened with a welcome address by Prof. Dr. Rumyana Preshlenova, Director of IBSCT-BAS, who emphasized the relevance of the topic and noted the diversity of institutions from which the participants come. Corresponding member Prof. Dr. Alexander Kostov, Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Institute and President of the International Association of South-East European Studies (AIESEE), emphasized the importance of developing this topic specifically at IBSCT and wished the forum a successful outcome. Prof. Boyadzhieva herself set the tone for the scientific event by presenting a plenary report on the security of the Black Sea region in the context of regional security after the end of the Cold War.

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The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to a public lecture by John Paul Newman (Associate Professor of Modern European History at Maynooth University, visiting Bulgarian studies scholar under the National Research Program “Development and Promotion of Bulgarian Studies Abroad”) "Stjepan Radić, Aleksandur Stamboliiski, and the Nemesis of Peasant Politics in Interwar Central and Southeastern Europe".

The event is part of the lecture series "Every Second Tuesday" and will be held in English on September 15, 2026 (Tuesday) at 16:00 at the IBSCT-BAS building (Moskovska Street No. 45).

We look forward to welcoming you!

Lecture abstract

The IBSCT–BAS Library will be closed from July 6 to 24, 2026, due to the librarian’s annual leave.

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to a public lecture by Peter Voller, PhD (United Kingdom) Thracian Influences on the Military of Classical Macedonia.

The event will take place on June 30, 2026 (Tuesday) at 15.00 at the IBSCT-BAS building (Moskovska Street No. 45).

We look forward to welcoming you!

On June 17, 2026, a Bulgarian-Romanian conference was held on the topic “The Dialogue of Languages ​​and Cultures in Southeastern Europe”, organized by the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) and the Institute for Southeast European Studies at the Romanian Academy. The event was part of the activities of the joint project “Languages ​​and Cultures in Southeast Europe and their Dialogue with Other European Cultures from a Philological and Anthropological Perspective” (IC-RO/11/2026-2028), funded within the framework of a bilateral agreement between the two academies. Besides scholars affiliated with both institutes, representatives of the Institute of Literature at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, which kindly provided a venue for the event, also participated in the forum.

The conference proceedings will be published in a special thematic collection.

PROGRAM

On June 11, 2026, a scholarly conference on the topic "Shared Histories, Divergent Experiences: Romania and Bulgaria in the Age of Totalitarianism" will be held at the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS). The forum is organized within the framework of the joint research project of the IBSCT-BAS and the National Institute for the Study of Totalitarianism at the Romanian Academy "Romania and Bulgaria in the Age of Totalitarianism(s)", led by Prof. D.Sc. Alexandre Kostov, Corresponding Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

THE BULGARIAN NORTHWEST IN THE EUROPEAN SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE CENTURIES, comp. Prof. D.Sc. Alexandre Kostov, Corresponding Member of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Sofia: Tendril Publishing House, 2026, 256 pp. ISBN 978-619-7812-04-6.

The collected volume "The Bulgarian Northwest in the European Southeast through the Ages" is the seventh publication in a row of reports from the annual conferences organized by the Branch of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) in the city of Montana, with a focus on Northwest Bulgaria. The volume, under the scientific editorship of Corresponding Member Alexander Kostov, is dedicated to migrations, cross-border relations, imagology, literature, education and museum work. It includes thirteen articles by researchers from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, New Bulgarian University, the regional historical museums in Vratsa, Montana and Oryahovo and local historians. For another year, scientific works by doctoral students and academics, studies presenting unpublished archival material and analyses of the cultural achievements of significant figures from the Northwest have been collected in one place.

The collection "The Bulgarian Northwest in the European Southeast through the Ages" continues the practice that has become a tradition for popularizing the history of Northwest Bulgaria, not only introducing unknown or little-known archival materials into scientific circulation, but also revealing the cultural wealth of the region. This seventh volume also clearly shows the growth of young researchers who have been given the opportunity to publish their scientific works in recent years.

On May 29, 2026, the conference "Government and Society in the Northwest - Institutions and Associations from the End of the 19th Century to the Present" was held in the city of Montana, dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the April Uprising and organized by the branch of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) in cooperation with the local Regional Academic Center and in partnership with the Municipality of Montana and the Regional Historical Museum (RHM-Montana).

The forum was opened by Corresponding Member Prof. Dr. Alexander Kostov (IBSCT-BAS). The participants were welcomed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Borislav Velikov, Chairman of the 39th National Assembly of the Republic of Bulgaria and the mayor of the city Mr. Zlatko Zhivkov. Greetings were also expressed by the coordinator of the RAC-Montana Eng. Valeri Georgiev.

In his opening speech, Corresponding Member Al. Kostov spoke about the significance of the April Uprising, its place in the national liberation struggles of the Bulgarian people and its role in the liberation from centuries-old foreign oppression. He also drew a parallel with the history of neighboring Balkan countries.

The conference, which is held every year, is the eighth in a row. It was attended by researchers from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, historians from the Regional Historical Museums in Oryahovo and Montana, from the State Archives in Vidin and Montana, and local historians from the region.

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On Monday, June 8, 2026, a scholarly conference will be held on the topic: “BLACK SEA SECURITY AND THE BALKANS IN THE 21ST CENTURY: TRENDS AND PROSPECTS.” It is organized as part of a research project by the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) titled “The Balkans and Security in the Black Sea Region after the Cold War,” led by Prof. DSc. Nadia Boyadjieva. Scholars from the project team of the “Contemporary Balkans” Section at the IBSCT-BAS and doctoral students enrolled in the specialized lecture course “Security in the Black Sea Region” at the Training Center – BAS will present papers on current issues regarding the state, trends, and prospects for security in the Black Sea region and the Balkans in the context of today’s complex international environment.

The academic event will be held in a hybrid format (in Bulgarian): in person at the building of the IBSCT-BAS, located at 45 Moskovska St., Sofia, and via the Zoom at:  https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86006685771?pwd=RHlQMkgxYWZTelVvVWxQL2l0 aXd0Zz09

PROGRAM

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) and the East-West Publishing House are pleased to invite you to a conversation about the memory of totalitarianism in literature. The occasion for the discussion is the premiere of the book "Suffering and Freedom. The Memory of Totalitarianism in the Literatures of Southeast Europe" by Assoc. Prof. Lyudmila Mindova from IBSCT-BAS. The event will be attended by Prof. Kiril Topalov, Prof. Albert Benbasat and Mitko Novkov.

We look forward to welcoming you on June 9, 2026 (Tuesday) at 17:00 in the "Prof. Marin Drinov" Hall of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (1, 15 November Str., Sofia).

The Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) is pleased to invite you to a public lecture by Dr. Arina Korzun (IBSCT-BAS) Ancient circular sculpture in Southwestern Bulgaria: between Roman typology and Hellenic heritage.

The event is part of the lecture series Every Second Tuesday and will take place on June 9, 2026 (Tuesday) at 15.00 at the IBSCT-BAS building (Moskovska Street No. 45).

We look forward to welcoming you!

On May 19, 2026, in the national press club of BTA - Sofia, a final press conference was held under the project of the Institute of Balkan Studies & Centre of Thracology at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (IBSCT-BAS) "Epochs of History - Integration of Genetic Methods in Historical Research", funded by the Bulgarian National Science Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science. The results of the implementation were presented by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Todor Chobanov, head of the project, and the team members, Assist. Prof. Dr. Desislava Nesheva and Svetoslav Stamov.

Using the latest scientific methods, the project sequenced DNA samples from Bulgarian lands and analyzed them in the context of already sequenced ancient DNA samples from Eurasia. The project aims to contextualize, interpret, and integrate the new data in light of existing historical and archaeological research on the questions raised by the study.

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