RESUME
The Armenians, as ancient people, have inhabited their homeland, but also numerous other countries, due to the confluence of historical circumstances. Scattered around the world for centuries, they settled permanently in lands near and far from their historical homeland. There have been Armenian communities in Bulgaria and the Balkans for centuries. The aim of the present research is to present the situation of the Armenian community in Bulgaria after the end of the First World War (respectively after the Treaty of Neuilly – between Bulgaria and the victorious countries of the Entente). A new stage in the history of the Armenians on the Bulgarian lands began with the revival of the Bulgarian statehood after the Russo-Turkish War of Liberation 1877–1878. On March 3, 1878, in the peace treaty signed in San Stefano, decisions were made for both Bulgarians and Armenians. Unfortunately for the Armenians, these and subsequent decisions remain only on paper, while the Bulgarians, despite the historical vicissitudes, managed to build and consolidate the Bulgarian state. The Liberation of Bulgaria found a relatively small Armenian community in the larger cities such as Plovdiv, Varna, Ruse, Shumen, Burgas, Silistra and others. As a result of the waves of refugees, especially after the massacres in the Ottoman Empire, in 1894–1896, 1915, 1922, the number of Armenians in the country increased. A part of the Armenians passes through Bulgaria and permanently settle in other countries, and those who remain in this territory perceive it as their homeland, live and work with appreciation for the hospitable Bulgarian people. Some of the refugees stay forever with the hope that they will one day move to their historical homeland.
Goar Hnkanosyan
