The Residents of Bolgarsky Village in Kazakhstan (Revisited)

The article dwells on the discussion around the self-designation of the residents of Bolgarsky village, founded in 1909-1910 in Aktobe District, Turgai Province, Russia. The author analyses the works by M. Stanchev and Y. Ganeva, who rely on the ethnonym Bulgarians, used as a self-name by the residents of the village, classify them as ethnic Bulgarians. It is proved that the village was founded by Turkic-speaking Orthodox migrants from Bugeac, known as Gagauz and now part of Gagauzia Autonomy. During migration, they identified themselves as Bulgarians and called ethnic Bulgarians toucans. It is argued that the village residents retained the Turkic language, which they call Bulgarian, and continue to identify themselves as Bulgarians, but admit that their language is similar to the languages of the Turkic peoples of the near abroad. The author substantiates the reason for the failed transition to the ethnonym Gagauz.

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