Fakel

Fakel is a Bulgarian literary journal established in 1981 as a periodical devoted primarily to Soviet literature in translation. Its launch took place during the communist period, when Bulgarian cultural publishing was closely shaped by official ideological institutions. Although the journal was initially presented as part of the approved publishing environment, its editors gradually developed a more independent intellectual profile. The publication became associated with literature that was difficult, suppressed, controversial, or otherwise critical of Soviet political and cultural orthodoxies. The journal's name, Факел, means “torch” in Bulgarian and Russian usage. It has also been understood as a possible play on the title of the Soviet magazine Ogonek, whose name means “little flame.” This naming relationship placed Fakel within the symbolic vocabulary of Soviet-period publishing while allowing the journal to develop a distinct identity. Fakel's early editorial strategy was to introduce important Russian-language writers whose work was unavailable, restricted, or insufficiently represented in official literary culture. Its contributors and translated authors included Mikhail Bulgakov, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Andrei Platonov, Vladimir Nabokov, Boris Pasternak, Vasily Grossman, Varlam Shalamov, Venedikt Erofeev, Vladimir Voinovich, Velimir Khlebnikov, Osip Mandelstam, Marina Tsvetaeva, Anna Akhmatova, Joseph Brodsky, and Vladimir Vysotsky. The journal also published writing by figures such as Nikolai Berdyaev, Sergei Bulgakov, Daniil Kharms, Yuz Aleshkovsky, Tatyana Tolstaya, Dmitri Prigov, Eduard Limonov, Alexander Genis, and Vladimir Bukovsky. Its scope extended beyond Russian and Soviet literature. Fakel published or presented work by international authors connected, directly or indirectly, with authoritarianism, censorship, political repression, or the collapse of totalitarian systems. The wider group included George Orwell, G. K. Chesterton, C. G. Jung, Jaroslav Hašek, Zbigniew Herbert, Czesław Miłosz, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter, Václav Havel, Günter Grass, Robert Conquest, Milan Kundera, Milorad Pavić, Danilo Kiš, and Dubravka Ugrešić, among others. Georgi Borissov initially served as the journal's vice editor-in-chief and became editor-in-chief in 1990. Poet and translator Rumen Leonidov was another co-founder. Borissov later established the Fakel publishing house, which operated from 1991 to 1995, and Fakel Express in 1995, extending the journal's literary publishing activity beyond the periodical itself. The end of communism in Bulgaria significantly changed Fakel's historical position. A publication that had already acquired a reputation for presenting unorthodox literature became an intellectual catalyst during the post-communist transition in Bulgaria and other Central and Eastern European countries. Rather than functioning only as a magazine of translated literature, Fakel became associated with cultural reassessment, the recovery of suppressed voices, and debate about the literary and moral legacy of totalitarianism. In 2015, Borissov received the Russian Award at the International Literature Competition in recognition of his work publishing Fakel.

Fakel was founded in Bulgaria in 1981 as a literary journal dedicated largely to Soviet literature in translation. Its creation occurred within the late socialist publishing system, where periodicals were expected to operate within an officially sanctioned ideological framework. Despite that setting, the editors developed a strategy that allowed the journal to introduce readers to literary works and authors whose reputations, themes, or political implications sat uneasily with Soviet cultural orthodoxy. Georgi Borissov was appointed vice editor-in-chief at the journal's beginning. He later became editor-in-chief in 1990, around the time of Bulgaria's transition away from communist rule. Rumen Leonidov, a poet and translator, was another co-founder. Under their influence, Fakel built a profile based on literary recovery and cultural dissent rather than simple reproduction of officially favored Soviet writing. The journal became notable for publishing Russian-language authors associated with censorship, exile, political repression, modernist experimentation, or opposition to the Soviet system. Among the writers represented were Mikhail Bulgakov, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Andrei Platonov, Vladimir Nabokov, Boris Pasternak, Vasily Grossman, Varlam Shalamov, Venedikt Erofeev, Vladimir Voinovich, Velimir Khlebnikov, Osip Mandelstam, Marina Tsvetaeva, Anna Akhmatova, Joseph Brodsky, and Vladimir Vysotsky. It also carried work connected with figures such as Nikolai Berdyaev, Sergei Bulgakov, Daniil Kharms, Yuz Aleshkovsky, Tatyana Tolstaya, Dmitri Prigov, Eduard Limonov, Alexander Genis, and Vladimir Bukovsky. Fakel's editorial range was international. It presented authors from outside the Russian tradition whose work addressed totalitarianism, authoritarian politics, censorship, war, or the moral consequences of political systems. Its broader literary field included George Orwell, G. K. Chesterton, C. G. Jung, Jaroslav Hašek, Zbigniew Herbert, Czesław Miłosz, Arthur Miller, Harold Pinter, Václav Havel, Günter Grass, Robert Conquest, Milan Kundera, Milorad Pavić, Danilo Kiš, and Dubravka Ugrešić. This combination of Russian, Soviet, Central European, and Western writing gave the journal a comparative intellectual character. The fall of communism in Bulgaria transformed Fakel's role. Its earlier reputation for publishing difficult and anti-Soviet material meant that it was well positioned to participate in the cultural debates of the post-communist transition. The journal functioned as a channel through which readers could reassess Soviet literature, recover marginalized writers, and examine the political and ethical legacy of totalitarian societies. Borissov expanded the associated publishing activity through the Fakel publishing house, which operated from 1991 to 1995, and Fakel Express, established in 1995. These ventures connected the periodical to a broader book-publishing program. In 2015, Borissov received the Russian Award at the International Literature Competition, an honor linked in the available reference material to his publishing work and the contribution of Fakel.

• 2015

  Borissov receives the Russian Award

  [1]Fakel (journal)en.wikipedia.org

  Georgi Borissov receives the Russian Award at the International Literature Competition.

• 1995

  Fakel Express is established

  [1]Fakel (journal)en.wikipedia.org

  Borissov establishes Fakel Express, extending the associated publishing activities.

• 1991

  Fakel publishing house begins operations

  [1]Fakel (journal)en.wikipedia.org

  Georgi Borissov directs a publishing house operating under the Fakel name during the early post-communist period.

• 1990

  Georgi Borissov becomes editor-in-chief

  [1]Fakel (journal)en.wikipedia.org

  After serving as vice editor-in-chief, Borissov assumes the journal's chief editorial role.

• 1981

  Fakel is launched in Bulgaria

  [1]Fakel (journal)en.wikipedia.org

  The literary journal begins publication as a periodical focused on Soviet literature in translation.

An independent-minded Bulgarian literary platform focused on translated Russian, Soviet, and international writing, particularly works that illuminate censorship, political repression, authoritarianism, and the breakdown of totalitarian systems.

• Literary periodical · 1981

  Fakel literary journal

  The core Fakel publication is a Bulgarian literary journal founded in 1981. It publishes translated literature, poetry, essays, and related literary material, with a strong emphasis on Russian and Soviet writers as well as authors from Central and Eastern Europe. Its editorial identity is associated with works that explore censorship, political repression, authoritarianism, and the collapse of totalitarian systems.

• Book publishing · 1991

  Fakel publishing house

  A publishing house directed by Georgi Borissov and operating under the Fakel name from 1991 to 1995. It extended the journal's literary mission into book publishing during Bulgaria's transition from communism.

• Book publishing · 1995

  Fakel Express

  A publishing venture established by Georgi Borissov in 1995 and associated with the broader Fakel literary publishing activity.

1. 1Fakel (journal)en.wikipedia.org