The growth of the national self-consciousness among the Bulgarians, which began in the 18th and 19th centuries, was primarily due to the development of the Bulgarian society itself, but the system crisis in the Ottoman Empire also influenced this process, the analyst of Vestnik Kavkaza, Matvey Katkov, said in the National Question program on Vesti FM.
The expert noted that the system crisis that prevailed in the Ottoman Empire in the 19th century was expressed in a significant decline in the economy, while the national consciousness of the Balkan peoples grew at the same time.
"In the 18th and 20th centuries, Bulgaria began a period of revival, connected in particular with the name of Paisius of Hilendar, who wrote the Bulgarian history in 1762. This period was characterized by the growth of the national self-consciousness of the Bulgarians and the struggle for the autonomy of the Bulgarian dioceses from the Constantinople Patriarchate. Most often the bearers of the Bulgarian national Ideas were the representatives of the church intelligentsia, so the question of the autonomy of the diocese was one of the most important. In addition, it was also about the revival of the state tradition of Bulgaria. The First Bulgarian Empire was established by Bulgarian Khan Asparuh in 7th century AD, much earlier than the rest of the Slavic states, including Kievan Rus "-. the historian recalled.
At the same time, the analyst noted that the authorities of the Russian Empire supported both the growth of the national self-consciousness of the Balkan peoples and their desire to gain state sovereignty.
