THE SHYSHMANOVS AS A CULTURAL PHENOMENON: INTELLECTUAL COLLABORATION AND CREATIVE PARTNERSHIP IN SOCIAL AND SCIENTIFIC PROCESSES
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32782/2412-933X/2026-XXVII-2Keywords:
Ivan Shyshmanov, Lidia Shyshmanova-Drahomanova, intellectual partnership, European cultural space, Ukrainian-Bulgarian relationsAbstract
The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the intellectual and creative partnership between Ivan and Lidia Shyshmanov within the broad context of cultural, scientific, and social processes of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The study focuses on identifying the specifics of their collaboration as a unique example of an egalitarian intellectual union, where scientific, public, and cultural-critical initiatives mutually complemented each other, defining key vectors for the modernization of the Bulgarian intellectual landscape. The study examines the figure of Ivan Shyshmanov through the prism of his multifaceted activities as the founder of professional Bulgarian scholarship and academic education, as well as the initiator of strategic international scientific contacts based on European humanism. Concurrently, it reveals the role of Lidia Shyshmanova-Drahomanova as an independent and influential figure whose work represents not only the continuity of the Drahomanov family’s intellectual traditions and Ukrainian freethinking but also constitutes a pioneering model of scientific diplomacy for that era. The article offers a detailed analysis of her translational and literary-critical legacy – particularly her intellectual contribution to the journal Svobodno Mnenie – which played a decisive role in establishing professional artistic reception and the emancipation of female intellectual presence in Bulgaria’s academic environment. The paper highlights the systemic interaction of the couple with Ukrainian scientific circles, specifically with the Shevchenko Scientific Society, which served as an effective platform for the spiritual rapprochement of Ukraine and Bulgaria. It is argued that the Shyshmanovs’ intellectual solidarity became an effective instrument for integrating Bulgarian culture into the pan-European context. Based on the study of correspondence and publications, the author concludes that the Shyshmanovs should be regarded as a holistic cultural phenomenon and a relevant ethical and scientific model of partnership, significant for contemporary philological, Slavic, and cultural studies.
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