'Bozhidar Dimitrov' () (born
3 December 1945) is a well-known
Bulgarian historian working in the sphere of
Medieval Bulgarian history, the
Ottoman rule of Bulgaria and the
Macedonian Question. He is the director of the
National Historical Museum and a
Bulgarian Socialist Party politician.
Born in
Sozopol to a family of Bulgarian refugees from
Eastern Thrace (now part of
Turkey), he was given access to the
Vatican Secret Archives in the
1980s, regarded as a great achievement considered the political situation of the time. As the director of the National Historical Museum, he had a conflict with then-President
Petar Stoyanov regarding whether to return the ''
Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya'' rough copy to the
Zograf Monastery or leave it in Bulgaria.
Being a member of the Supreme Party Council of BSP, he declared himself openly against the party in 2005 by not supporting BSP
Mayor of Sofia candidate
Tatyana Doncheva and instead favouring the independent
Boyko Borisov. Because of this he was taken down from the post of BSP municipal councillors leader in
Sofia.
Dimitrov is the author of 30 treatises and over 250 articles and papers in the sphere of his research, as well as several books (including ''
The Ten Lies of Macedonism'' and ''
Twelve Myths in Bulgarian History''). He has specialized in paleography in
Paris and also hosts the patrotic history-related ''Pamet Balgarska'' (''Bulgarian Memory'') show on
Kanal 1.
Bozhidar Dimitrov's historical theories have been a subject of considerable controversy specifically in the
Republic of Macedonia, since he is well-known for asserting the view of the
Macedonians' Bulgarian origin and history. This has boosted the sales of his first book, ''The Ten Lies of Macedonism'', to reputedly reach bestseller status with 30,000 copies being sold in the Republic of Macedonia (as compared to 18,000 in Bulgaria and also noting the much larger book market of the latter).
Dimitrov openly describes himself as a nationalist and believes that the
Bulgars played a more important role in the formation of the
Bulgarians as a people than the
Slavs, himself claiming to be of possible Bulgar ancestry.
References
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Bulgaria won't perish as long as there's even a single Bulgarian alive
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Bozhidar Dimitrov — A Bulgarian Reborn
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