Authors: Tilde Geerardyn, Raymond Detrez
Ghent University
Published in Slavyanski dialozi, XX, 2023, 31, 13-28.
Abstract: The Russian literary periodical Slavyanskij mir appeared 14 times between December 1908 and May 1911. It functioned as a vehicle for the progressive wing of the neoslavic movement on the eve of the First World War, but also aimed to inform its readers about the cultural life, and especially the literature, of the Slavic peoples. Bulgarian literature plays a limited but remarkable role in Slavyanskij mir. Instead of great classical writers like Ivan Vazov, young modernist writers like Pencho Slaveykov, Ivan Andreychin, and Petko Yu. Todorov are well represented. This peculiar selection mainly shows the hand of Sirak Skitnik, a student of graphic arts in Saint Petersburg who was closely acquainted with the symbolist movement in Bulgaria. Most translations at the time are done by Alexander Shishmanov, a student of Arab languages with a special interest in contemporary literature. The contributions by Skitnik and Shishmanov reinforced the progressive quality of the periodical.
Key words: Slavyanski mir (Slavic World) magazine, Russian reception of Bulgarian literature, Alexander Shishmanov, Neo-Slavism