Great Britain and the Macedonian Question




  • In Archive
  • 2017-10-17 22:54:03
  • By
  • 437 Views
[caption id="attachment_37051" align="alignnone" width="1024"]Ilko Drenkov presenting his book; Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily Ilko Drenkov presenting his book; Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption] On Oct.16, Ilko Drenkov, the Hall Director of Skaptopara II, introduced his latest book, called "Great Britain and the Macedonian Question(1919-1949)". Citizens of Blagoevgrad as well as students and professors from AUBG had the chance to learn more about the topic that was presented in the Regional History Museum. The book, based on his Ph.D dissertation, was inspired by his interest in Macedonia and the problems regarding this historically disputable geographic area in the years between the two World Wars. "The events I'm exploring in my book cannot be easily summarized in a couple of sentences", said Drenkov. The presentation began with a few introductory words by Dimitar Mitev, an expert on the topic and a reviewer of Drenkov's book, who praised his hard work and congratulated him for his contribution to the field.
"Ilko Drenkov deserves substantial congratulations on all the time and effort he has invested in his book," said Mitev. "The result of his hard work is an excellent monograph. The detailed analysis he has managed to create is based on a number of British documents from the National archive of Great Britain, regarding the British imperial politics," he continued.
Mitev then explained the importance of Great Britain's interventions in the Balkans and pointed out that the Macedonian question has always been in the center of British-Bulgarian relations. He summarized chronologically the events that led to the separation of the Macedonian area from Bulgaria and the influence Great Britain had on this matter. [caption id="attachment_37074" align="alignnone" width="1000"]Drenkov's fellow historians praise his work; Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily Drenkov's fellow historians praise his work; Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption] Other present historians, including associate professor Aleksandar Grebenarov, who is president of the Macedonian Scientific Institute, elaborated on the intriguing period that Drenkov is presenting in his book and emphasized the political roles of both countries in the aforementioned years. Drenkov noted that the time period he has chosen(1919-1949) shows how Great Britain's power slowly weakens and by the end of World War II, the former imperial power is not dominant anymore. He then, continued to explain the topic and encouraged questions from the audience. Boika Ilieva, editor of the book, presented her opinion.
"The very thorough research that was conducted was also a product of Ilko's diligence and enthusiasm", commented Ilieva. " Even though he worked on a very sensitive matter for all Balkan people, he managed to avoid reaching emotional conclusions, which is difficult for the reader," she continued and expressed the great honor it was for her to edit this book.
[caption id="attachment_37083" align="alignleft" width="1000"]An audience member going through the book; Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily An audience member going through the book; Dimitar Bratovanov for AUBG Daily[/caption] The book presentation ended with a long queue for autographs and a homemade wine reception for the audience. AUBG's History professor, Markus Wien, also attended the event and shared his impressions.
"The fact that there were a couple of people talking, made the presentation easier to follow and I think that was a good approach. I'm absolutely sure there are a lot of new things in the book and this was just a kind of a summary to put the book into a context", commented Professor Wien.