On October 8, in Istanbul (Türkiye), within the framework of the international scientific conference “Foreign Influence and Transformation of the Armed Forces in Southeast Europe”, a memorandum was signed for the establishment of the South-Eastern Europe Network of Institutes of Military History and Strategic Studies. The signatories included representatives of the Ministries of Defense and academic staff from the military education systems of eight countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, the Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, and Montenegro.
Rakovski National Defence College was represented by Colonel Assoc. Prof. Zhivo Petrov, PhD Director of the “Advanced Defence Research Institute (DARI),” along with Lieutenant Colonel Kalin Ranchev, PhD and Boyan Zhekov, PhD both senior assistants in the Scientific Section “Military Historical Research” of the Institute.
The three-day forum (October 6–9) was organized by the Turkish National Defense University and the Turkish Academy of Sciences, with co-organizer being the Institute for Defense Policy and Military History Research of Romania.
As part of the scientific forum, Colonel Assoc. Prof. Zhivo Petrov, PhD moderated a panel discussion on the topic: “Contemporary Security Challenges and Reforms in Southeast Europe.” Lt. Col. Kalin Ranchev, PhD and Boyan Zhekov, PhD presented papers titled, respectively: “The Warsaw Pact and the Participation of the People’s Republic of Bulgaria in It” and “Soviet Military Advisors and Instructors in the Bulgarian Armed Forces, 1944–1948.”
The participants of the conference were welcomed by Rear Admiral Erhan Aydın, Vice-Rector of the Turkish National Defense University; Prof. Gültekin Yıldız, PhD Advisor to the Rector of the Turkish National Defense University; Carmen-Sorina Rînovianu, PhD Director of the Institute for Political Studies of Defence and Military History of Romania; and Prof. Muzaffer Şeker, PhD President of the Turkish Academy of Sciences.
Also in attendance were Brigadier General Hasan Tamer, Head of the Turkish Army War College; Brigadier General Hakan Canlı, Head of the Air Force Academy; and Commodore Erhan Gezginci, Head of the Naval Academy.
The accession of Rakovski National Defence College to the South-Eastern Europe Network of Institutes of Military History and Strategic Studies marks a promising step forward in strengthening cooperation among academic military institutions in the region.
