The Balkan archaeological and ethnographic expedition of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union in 1946 and its influence on the development of Soviet-Bulgarian relations in archaeology

Within the framework of the Balkan archaeological and ethnographic expedition of the Soviet Union Academy of Sciences in January-February of 1946 scientists of the Institute for the History of Material Culture and the Institute of Ethnography carried out works in Bulgaria to establish scientific contacts and to organize joint archaeological researches. This country was considered as a region, the study of which will give new information about the early stage of the history of the Slavs, and was also important in view of the increased importance of Byzantium for Soviet historical science. The Bulgarian authorities paid great attention to the visit of Soviet scientists. They were supported by state and scientific organizations, and the press covered their trip around the country. Members of the expedition gave public lectures in Sofia, then published a separate collection of articles. On his return, the head of the expedition, P. N. Tretyakov submitted a closed report to the Presidium of the Soviet Union Academy of Sciences, in which he rather critically assessed the level of Bulgarian archaeology. This, however, can be explained by opportunistic reasons. Although the results of the expedition were approved by the leadership of the Soviet Union Academy of Sciences and the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the planned joint archaeological research did not take place. Despite this, the conduct of the Balkan expedition was of great importance for both the Soviet side and the Bulgarian scientists, despite of the fact-finding character of the Balkan expedition and the unrealized plans for the joint archaeological research. The expedition laid the foundation for further cooperation in archaeology field. Later it came true in several joint expeditions to the territory of the USSR and Bulgaria, they had a diverse scope of work goals. The article also informs of the Bulgarian archaeology achievement before the visit of Soviet delegation, its preparatory stage and investigation in Bulgaria. For citationKudryavtsev A. A., Gusev N. S. The Balkan archaeological and ethnographic expedition of the Academy of Sciences of the Soviet Union in 1946 and its influence on the development of Soviet-Bulgarian relations in archaeology // Slavic Almanac. 2020. Issues 3–4. P. 492–518. DOI: 10.31168/2073-5731.2020.3-4.5.04