Cyril and Methodius Readings “Born at the Borderland: The History of Ideas in Central and Eastern Europe”: Results and Summary

On May 29, 2026, on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Marin Drinov Center for Bulgarian and Balkan Studies, and with the support of the Kharkiv Society of Bulgarian Culture and the Student Research Society of the School of History of Karazin University, the 22nd Cyril and Methodius Readings titled “Born at the Borderland: The History of Ideas in Central and Eastern Europe” were held within the framework of the Jean Monnet project “East Ukrainian Center for European Studies” (EAUCES – ERASMUS-JMO-2024-COE 101176972).

At the plenary session, participants were welcomed by the Dean of the School of History, Associate Professor Serhii Kushnarov, and the Head of the Kharkiv Society of Bulgarian Culture, Honorary Doctor of Karazin University, Volodymyr Salenkov, who presented the Society’s award for the best academic presentation in the field of Bulgarian studies to PhD student of the School of History Ihor Khyzhniak.

In addition, during the event, the Director of the Marin Drinov Center for Bulgarian and Balkan Studies, Professor Dmytro Mykolenko, spoke about the history of the Center’s establishment and the implementation of the “East Ukrainian Center for European Studies” project (EAUCES – ERASMUS-JMO-2024-COE 101176972).

The conference included work across three sections.

A total of sixteen presentations were delivered by participants from Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Hungary, representing twelve institutions: V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, H. S. Skovoroda Kharkiv National Pedagogical University, the Municipal Institution “Kharkiv Humanitarian and Pedagogical Academy,” the University of Debrecen (Hungary), National Technical University “Kharkiv Polytechnic Institute,” Sumy State University, Uzhhorod National University, the Institute of History of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, the M. S. Hrushevsky Institute of Ukrainian Archaeography and Source Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, the V. H. Korolenko Kharkiv State Scientific Library, and the Local History Museum of Horishni Plavni.