The Bessarabian Bulgarians ( bg, бесарабски българи, ''besarabski bǎlgari'', ro, bulgari basarabeni, uk, бесарабські болгари, ''bessarabski bolháry'') are a Bulgarian minority group of the historical region of

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds o ...

, inhabiting parts of present-day

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

(

Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast ( uk, Оде́ська о́бласть, translit=Odeska oblast), also referred to as Odeshchyna ( uk, Оде́щина) is an oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administ ...

) and

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The unrecognised state of Transnistri ...

Location and number

Modern Ukraine

, the number of Bessarabian Bulgarians is estimated at over 129,000 in

Budjak Budjak or Budzhak ( Bulgarian and Ukrainian: Буджак; ro, Bugeac; Gagauz and Turkish: ''Bucak''), historically part of Bessarabia until 1812, is a historical region in Ukraine and Moldova. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danu ...

(in the

in the southern part of the country), and 75,000 elsewhere (mostly in other parts of Southern Ukraine), according to the

2001 Ukrainian Census The Ukrainian Census of 2001 is to date the only census of the population of independent Ukraine. It was conducted by the State Statistics Committee of Ukraine on 5 December 2001, twelve years after the last Soviet Union census in 1989.

, which counted a total of 204,600 Bulgarians in Ukraine. Bulgarians are a majority in

Bolhrad Bolhrad ( uk, Болгра́д, Bolhrad, ; bg, Болград, Bolgrad; ro, Bolgrad, Gagauz: ''Bolgrad''), is a small city in Odesa Oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, in the historical region of Budjak. It is the administrative center ...

District (45,600 of its 75,000 inhabitants), but they also inhabit other districts of

Artsyz Artsyz (, ; bg, Арциз ''Artsiz''; ; or ''Arsız''; or ''Arzis'') is a city and the administrative center of Artsyz municipality, Bolhrad Raion in Odesa Oblast, Ukraine. Population: In 2001, population was 16,370. History The city was ...

– 20,200 of the 51,700,

Tarutyne Tarutyne ( uk, Тарутине; bg, Тарутино, ; ro, Tarutino, Ancecrac; ) is an urban-type settlement in southwestern Ukraine. It is the seat of Bolhrad Raion (district) of Odesa Oblast and is in the historical region of Budjak in sout ...

– 17,000 of the 45,200, Izmail – 14,100 of the 54,700, and Sarata – 10,000 of the 49,900. There are also 8,600 Bulgarians in the city of Izmail (85,100 total population). Outside Budjak,

Odesa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrati ...

has many Bulgarians that have moved there in recent years. The city of

Bilhorod-Dnistrovsky Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi ( uk, Бі́лгород-Дністро́вський, Bílhorod-Dnistróvskyy, ; ro, Cetatea Albă), historically known as Akkerman ( tr, Akkerman) or under different names, is a city, municipality and port situated on ...

is about 4% Bulgarian, making them the third-largest ethnicity there.

Modern Moldova

The results of the census held in October 2004, there are 65,072 Bessarabian Bulgarians (1.95% of the population) in

(excluding the region of Transnistria), concentrated mostly in the southern parts — chiefly in

Taraclia district Taraclia (, ) is a district () in the south of Moldova, with the administrative center at Taraclia. As of 1 January 2012, its population was 44,100, 65.6% of whom were ethnic Bulgarians. The district covers an area of and has the lowest popu ...

. In the census held in November 2004 in Transnistria, 3,164 (3.16%) Bulgarians have been counted in

Tighina Bender (, Moldovan Cyrillic: Бендер) or Bendery (russian: Бендеры, , uk, Бендери), also known as Tighina ( ro, Tighina), is a city within the internationally recognized borders of Moldova under ''de facto'' control of the un ...

and surroundings and further 10,515 (2.39%) on the Eastern bank of the river Dnestr. 29,447 Bulgarians live in the cities (and represent 2.26% of the urban dwellers), and 36,215 live in the countryside (1.74% of the rural inhabitants). 90.60% of ethnic Bulgarians were born in Moldova (the national average is 94.6%), 5,968 (9.09%) in other countries that were once in the Soviet Union (the national average is 5.16%), and 199 (0.30%) were born elsewhere. In Moldova (and likely Ukraine too, although statistics are not available here), the Bulgarians tend to use their native Bulgarian in rural areas, and Russian (instead of the majority language Romanian) in cities and towns. 53,178 or 80.99% of ethnic Bulgarians declared

Bulgarian language Bulgarian (, ; bg, label=none, български, bălgarski, ) is an Eastern South Slavic language spoken in Southeastern Europe, primarily in Bulgaria. It is the language of the Bulgarians. Along with the closely related Macedonian l ...

as native (69.23% in urban areas, and 90.55% in rural ones), 2,766 or 4.21% of them declared

Romanian language Romanian (obsolete spellings: Rumanian or Roumanian; autonym: ''limba română'' , or ''românește'', ) is the official and main language of Romania and the Republic of Moldova. As a minority language it is spoken by stable communities in ...

as native (4.91% in urban areas, and 3.64% in rural ones), 9,134 or 13.91% of them declared

Russian language Russian (russian: русский язык, russkij jazyk, link=no, ) is an East Slavic language mainly spoken in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians, and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living E ...

as native (25.08% in urban areas, and 4.83% in rural ones), and 584 or 0.89% of them declared another language as native (0.78% in urban areas, and 0.98% in rural ones). 35,808 or 54.53% of ethnic Bulgarians declared

as first language in daily use (36.81% in urban areas, and 68.95% in rural ones), 5,698 or 8.68% of them declared

Moldovan language Moldovan (Latin alphabet: ''limba moldovenească''; Moldovan Cyrillic alphabet: лимба молдовеняскэ), also known historically as Moldavian, is one of the two local names of the Romanian language in Moldova. "Moldovan" is declar ...

as first (7.93% in urban areas, and 9.29% in rural ones), 23,259 or 35.42% of them declared

as first (54.45% in urban areas, and 19.95% in rural ones), and 897 or 1.37% of them declared another first language (0.81% in urban areas, and 1.81% in rural ones). Bessarabian Bulgarians represent 28,293, or 65.56% of the population of the

. There are also Bulgarians in Chişinău (8,868, or 1.2%),

Găgăuzia Gagauzia or Gagauz-Yeri, or ; ro, Găgăuzia; russian: Гагаузия, Gagauziya officially the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia; ro, Unitatea Teritorială Autonomă Găgăuzia, ''UTAG''; russian: Автономное территор ...

(8,013, or 5.1%),

Cahul district Cahul () is a district ( ro, raion) in the south of Moldova, with the administrative center at Cahul. As of January 2014 estimates, Cahul District had a population of 124,700. History The district has been inhabited since the Stone Age (50-45,00 ...

(5,816, or 4.9%), Leova district (3,804, or 7.4%), and Cantemir district (3,736, or 6.2%). The share of ethnic Bulgarians in

Transnistria Transnistria, officially the Pridnestrovian Moldavian Republic (PMR), is an unrecognised breakaway state that is internationally recognised as a part of Moldova. Transnistria controls most of the narrow strip of land between the Dniester riv ...

is 10,515 (2.39%), of which 2,450 (1.55%) in

Tiraspol Tiraspol or Tirișpolea ( ro, Tiraspol, Moldovan Cyrillic: Тираспол, ; russian: Тира́споль, ; uk, Тирасполь, Tyraspol') is the capital of Transnistria (''de facto''), a breakaway state of Moldova, where it is the th ...

, and 7,323 (8.44%) in Slobozia sub-district (which contains the village of Parcani). There are also 3,001 (3.09%) Bulgarians in the city of

, and 342 in 3 suburbs. In total, there are 79,520 (2.02%) Bulgarians in Moldova, including Transnistria. Bessarabian Bulgarians represent a majority in one city of Moldova, Taraclia (10,732 Bulgarians, or 78%) and in 8 communes in the country: * Tvardiţa (Tvarditsa, Tvarditca), Taraclia district (5,396 of 5,882 inhabitants, 91.7%) * Corten, Taraclia district (3,036 of 3,407 inhabitants, 87.5%) * Colibabovca, Leova district (934 of 1,142 inhabitants, 81.8%) * Cairaclia, Taraclia district (1,733 of 2,124 inhabitants, 81.6%) * Stoianovca, Cantemir district (1,055 of 1,372 inhabitants, 76.9%) * Valea Perjei, Taraclia district (3,792 of 4,986 inhabitants, 76%) *

Vozneseni Vozneseni is a commune in Leova District, Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine ...

, Leova district (985 of 1,396 inhabitants, 70.5%) * Parcani, Transnistria territorial unit, cca. 60%, exact data unknown

History

The first Bulgarians settled in southern Bessarabia at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, at the time of feudal sedition in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

, and after the Russo-Turkish Wars of the period. Particularly strong waves of emigration emerged after the Russo-Turkish Wars of 1806–1812 and 1828-1829. The settlers came primarily from what is now eastern

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

, but many were also descendants from the western areas of the Bulgarian homelands (as far west as modern-day Albania) but had moved east in and before the 18th century. Alongside the Bulgarians who immigrated to Bessarabia were also a handful of

Albanians The Albanians (; sq, Shqiptarët ) are an ethnic group and nation native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, culture, history and language. They primarily live in Albania, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Ser ...

who also had settled in eastern Bulgaria some time before. When Russian Armies were reaching and crossing

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

during the Russian-Ottoman Wars, some local Bulgarians supported them. These people were compromised in the eyes of the Ottomans and therefore had a better chance moving to the Russian Empire. The Russian Propaganda also worked to convince Bulgarians to settle in areas recently conquered by them, from which Tatars were removed. Bulgarians settled not only in Bessarabia, but also in the Kherson region.Ion Nistor, ''Istoria Basarabiei'', Cernăuţi, 1923, reprinted Chişinău, Cartea Moldovenească, 1991, p. 200-201 For the first time, Bulgarian and Gagauzian refugees in Bessarabia are mentioned in 1769. The 1817 census found Bulgarians in 12 Bessarabian villages in the valleys of the

Ialpug The Ialpug ( ro, Râul Ialpug, uk, Ялпуг) is a river that crosses Moldova and the Odessa Oblast of Ukraine. It rises in the vicinity of the village Tomai, Leova District), flows in the south direction in parallel with the Prut, Cimiș ...

and Lunga Rivers (Creeks): 482 Bulgarian and Gagauzian families and 38 Romanian families in these 12 villages. The leader of the Bulgarians and Gagauzians was a man referred to as Copceac. Seven of the 12 villages were Gagauzian ( Baurci, Beșalma,

Ceadîr-Lunga Ceadîr-Lunga (, also spelled ''Ceadâr-Lunga''; Gagauz: ''Çadır-Lunga'') is a city and municipalityDezghingea, Gaidar, and Tomai), and 5 were Bulgarian. After arriving in Bessarabia, Bulgarians and Gagauzians founded their own towns, such as

(1819) and

Comrat Comrat ( ro, Comrat, ; gag, Komrat, Russian and bg, Комрат, Komrat) is a city and municipality in Moldova and the capital of the autonomous region of Gagauzia. It is located in the south of the country, on the Ialpug River. In 2014, Comr ...

, and around 64 (according to some sources) or 43 (according to other sourcesIon Nistor) villages. In 1856, after the Treaty of Paris, three counties of southern Bessarabia,

Cahul Cahul (; also known by other alternative names) is a city and municipality in southern Moldova. The city is the administrative center of Cahul District; it also administers one village, Cotihana. As of 2014 census, the city has had a population ...

, Bolgrad and Ismail, reverted to the

Principality of Moldavia Moldavia ( ro, Moldova, or , literally "The Country of Moldavia"; in Romanian Cyrillic: or ; chu, Землѧ Молдавскаѧ; el, Ἡγεμονία τῆς Μολδαβίας) is a historical region and former principality in Central ...

(the United Principalities after 1859). These included the cities of Bolgrad, Ismail and Chilia. Gaguzian settlements centred on

, however, remained in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...

. A Bulgarian high school (gymnasium), the

Bolhrad High School The Georgi Sava Rakovski Bolhrad High School ( uk, Болградська гімназія імені Г.С. Раковського, ''Bolhrads′ka himnaziya im. H.S. Rakovs′koho''); bg, Болградска гимназия „Георги С ...

, was founded in Bolgrad (Bolhrad) on June 28, 1858 by the Moldavian authorities of Alexandru Ioan Cuza, which had a positive effect on the development of Bulgarian education and culture, and is in fact the first modern Bulgarian gymnasium. In 1861, 20,000 Bulgarians from the Romanian part of Bessarabia moved to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-ei ...

, where they were given land in

Taurida Governorate The Taurida Governorate (russian: Тавріическая губернія, modern spelling , ; crh, script=Latn, Tavrida guberniyası, ) or the Government of Taurida, was a historical governorate of the Russian Empire. It included the Crime ...

to replace the Nogais who had left what was formerly territory of the

Crimean Khanate The Crimean Khanate ( crh, , or ), officially the Great Horde and Desht-i Kipchak () and in old European historiography and geography known as Little Tartary ( la, Tartaria Minor), was a Crimean Tatar state existing from 1441 to 1783, the long ...

. Those settlers founded another Bulgarian community—the Tauridan Bulgarians. After the whole region of southern Bessarabia was re-incorporated again by the Russia Empire in 1878, the process of

Russification Russification (russian: русификация, rusifikatsiya), or Russianization, is a form of cultural assimilation in which non-Russians, whether involuntarily or voluntarily, give up their culture and language in favor of the Russian cult ...

grew stronger, as many Bulgarian intellectuals returned to newly established

Principality of Bulgaria The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. After the Russo-Turkish War end ...

to help set up the Bulgarian state. The Bulgarian minority was deprived of the rights earned during the Romanian control. The whole of Bessarabia united with Romania in April 1918, after the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...

and the collapse of the Russian Empire. In contrast with the previous period of Romanian control, most cultural and educational rights of the Bulgarian minority were not returned, as many Bulgarians underwent

Romanianization Romanianization is the series of policies aimed toward ethnic assimilation implemented by the Romanian authorities during the 20th and 21st century. The most noteworthy policies were those aimed at the Hungarian minority in Romania, Jews and as ...

policies. During the Tatarbunary Uprising of 1924, when Soviets unsuccessfully tried to overthrow the Romanian administration in southern

, many Bulgarians (alongside local Moldovans (Romanians), and Bessarabian Germans) sided with Romanian authorities, as pointed out by Gheorghe Tătărescu in the report given on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior to the Romanian Parliament in 1925. The

Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , long_name = Treaty of Non-Aggression between Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , image = Bundesarchiv Bild 183-H27337, Moskau, Stalin und Ribbentrop im Kreml.jpg , image_width = 200 , caption = Stalin and Ribbentrop shaking ...

of 1939 led to a Soviet ultimatum in June 1940, the

invasion An invasion is a military offensive in which large numbers of combatants of one geopolitical entity aggressively enter territory owned by another such entity, generally with the objective of either: conquering; liberating or re-establishing ...

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

forces into Bessarabia, and its inclusion into the Soviet Union. Although being an officially accepted minority under Soviet rule, the Bessarabian Bulgarians lost some features of their cultural identity in the period. A movement of national revival originated in the 1980s, with Bulgarian newspapers being published, cultural and educational associations being established, and Bulgarian being introduced into the local schools especially after the

dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

: first only as an optional, but later as a compulsory subject. The Association of Bulgarians in Ukraine was founded in 1993, and

Taraclia State University The Gregory Tsamblak State University ( ro, Universitatea de Stat „Grigore Țamblac” din Taraclia; bg, Тараклийски държавен университет) is a public university located in Taraclia, Moldova. History The Universi ...

, co-funded by the Bulgarian state, was established in the largely Bulgarian-populated Moldovan town of Taraclia in 2004. The languages of education at the university are Bulgarian and

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

Notable Bessarabian Bulgarians

* Nikolay Mirchev, pastor o
Missionary Slavic Church in Sacramento
* Georgiy Mirchev, pastor o
Church of Vasilevka
* Georgi Todorov, military figure, general * Dimitar Agura, historian * Petar Draganov, philologist * Dimitar Grekov, politician and public figure,

Prime Minister of Bulgaria The prime minister of Bulgaria ( bg, Министър-председател, Ministar-predsedatel) is the head of government of Bulgaria. They are the leader of a political coalition in the Bulgarian parliament – known as the National Asse ...

* Ivan Kolev, general * Kirill Kovaldzhi (on father's side), Russian poet and translator * Iurie Leancă (on mother's side), diplomat, Moldovan politician,

Prime Minister of Moldova The Prime Minister of Moldova ( ro, Prim-ministrul Republicii Moldova) is Moldova's head of government. The Prime Minister is formally appointed by the President of Moldova and exercises executive power along with the cabinet, subject to parlia ...

* Aleksandar Malinov, politician and public figure, three times Prime Minister of Bulgaria * Ruslan Maynov, actor and musician * Danail Nikolaev, military figure, known as "The Patriarch of the Bulgarian army" * Olimpi Panov, military figure *

Ivan Shishman Ivan Shishman ( bg, Иван Шишман) ruled as emperor (tsar) of Bulgaria in Tarnovo from 1371 to 3 June 1395. The authority of Ivan Shishman was limited to the central parts of the Bulgarian Empire. In the wake of the death of Ivan Alexa ...

, painter * Vasile Tarlev, economist, Moldovan politician, Prime Minister of Moldova * Aleksandar Teodorov-Balan, linguist, first rector of

Sofia University Sofia University, "St. Kliment Ohridski" at the University of Sofia, ( bg, Софийски университет „Св. Климент Охридски“, ''Sofijski universitet „Sv. Kliment Ohridski“'') is the oldest higher education i ...

* Arkadiy Tsopa, freestyle wrestler * Nikolay Paslar,

freestyle wrestler Freestyle wrestling is a style of wrestling originated from Great Britain and the United States. Along with Greco-Roman, it is one of the two styles of wrestling contested in the Olympic Games. American high school and men's college wrestling i ...

* Yona Tukuser, painter *

Anastasiya Kisse Anastasiya Kisse ( bg, Анастасия Антоновна Кисе; uk, Анастасія Антонівна Кіссе; born ) is a Bulgarian and Ukrainian individual rhythmic gymnast. She represented her nation at international competition ...

, rhythmic gymnast

Location and number

Modern Ukraine

Modern Moldova

History

Notable Bessarabian Bulgarians

References

Further reading