Petrit Latifi. Taken from Shqiptarja.com and Ontime.press
“With excellent Albanian, which he learned from two Russian teachers who lived in Albania in the 1950s, Gertruda Intrei and Irina Horonina, Belarusian researcher Aleksandër Novik exclusively tells “Shqiptarja.com” about one of the greatest discoveries in Russia of Albanian cultural heritage. However, they were stolen by the Russians”.
In more than ten centuries of archaeology, the facts of the existence of an Albanian alphabet are missing. The inscriptions discovered are mostly in either the Latin or Greek alphabets, and there are only some unstudied traces of the dead Albanian alphabets.
But then, in 2015, Russian archaeologist Dmitry Zenyuk discovered Albanian inscriptions written on bricks in the village of Margaritovo in the Uzov area, Russia. At first, when archaeologists discovered objects with Albanian inscriptions, they compared them with the Elbasan Alphabet and it was thought that it was an alphabet that the Albanians of Ukraine had taken with them.
Unfortunately, the history of the migration of a large number of Albanians to the territory of the Russian Empire is almost unknown to Albanian researchers. For many years, this history has been unknown, not only to Russian society, but also to scientists and specialists in various fields of humanitarian disciplines.
The discovery of 200 bricks where Albanian letters and words are preserved has already shocked scientific opinion, while today there are about 300 similar pieces in Russian museums. The fact that for two centuries of exile in Russia and the other three centuries in Bulgaria, the Albanians of Ukraine have preserved their Albanian identity, traditions and language has surprised not only the well-known researcher Alexander Novik, but also other foreign Albanologists.
Through this interview, Aleksandër Novik reveals an unknown page of Albanian heritage, a monument that is preserved beyond this country and away from the eyes of Albanian researchers or the attention of the Albanian Academy of Sciences…
And apparently this year, after the efforts to reform the Academy, the heritage of the Albanians of Ukraine is receiving the attention it deserves. Aleksandër Novik was honored a few days ago in Tirana with the National Prize of the Academy of Sciences for 2017, for his studies of the Albanians of Ukraine.
For “Shqiptarja.com”, Aleksandër Novik has confessed that in Russia the issue of studying the Albanian diaspora is very important. According to Novik, during the 20th century, high-level scientific discoveries and analyses were made in Russia about the Albanian language in the settlements of southern Ukraine, in the regions of Odessa and Zaporozhye, where the period of the establishment of the first “Karakurt” colony began, which dates back to the beginning of the 19th century, more precisely in 1811.
Interview
Mr. Novik, what prompted you to have contact with the Albanians of Ukraine and to start studying this ethnic minority?
-There are four Albanian villages in southern Ukraine. The ancestors of today’s Albanians of Ukraine fled from the Korça region and the areas around it approximately. We assume that they fled five centuries ago. They fled to eastern Bulgaria. Albanians lived in the Varna region of Bulgaria for approximately three centuries, and at the beginning of the 19th century they fled to the territories of the Russian Empire due to the Russian-Turkish wars.
Until now they have preserved their native language. It is understood that the Albanians who are there speak Albanian, of course in an archaic language. They speak “cliché” and not “kisha”, they speak “gluha” and not “gjuha”, just like the Arbëresh of Italy.
Are you yourself Ukrainian, Albanian-Ukrainian or Russian?
-No, I am not Albanian, I am not Ukrainian, I am not Russian. In fact, I have Belarusian descent, I am Belarusian, but I was born in Russia, in Magadan, in the northeast of Russia, very close to Alaska, America and Japan, but I finished high school in Belarus and then I continued my studies in Petersburg, at the St. Petersburg State University and after graduating from the University I completed my postgraduate studies at the Punskamera Museum and I work in this museum now. I am the director of the Department of European Studies, and I continue to give lectures at the St. Petersburg University.
What was the reason that you were inspired by forgotten traditions of peoples or forgotten peoples themselves?
-It is my profession. I have completed my postgraduate studies and for me it is interesting and important to discover and study the preservation and tradition of Balkan peoples.
When did you first come to Albania?
-In Albania? This is very interesting. For the first time I was in Albanian lands in Kosovo in 1990, and then two years later in 1992 I came to Albania for the first time.
Did you know Albanian well at that time?
-Of course, I knew it because I studied Albanian at the University of St. Petersburg.
When you came into contact with the spoken Albanian language, did you notice any difference with what you had learned?
-No. I learned Albanian with very good teachers at the University of Petersburg. For example, Gertrude Intrei lived here in Albania in the 50s and then continued to work at the University of Petersburg. I was her student. Irina Horonina also started her studies here in Albania in the late 50s. When I was for the first time, not only in Albania, but also in Kosovo, I communicated without any problems.
Albania lived under a dictatorship and was isolated, were you, as an Albanologist, allowed to come to our country?
-No, our countries were divided because of politics and before the 90s I couldn’t come. There were no diplomatic, political, commercial or cultural relations
When you meet the Albanians of Ukraine, what special things have you discovered in their character that impressed you the most?
-For me it is surprising that first of all the Albanians of Ukraine have preserved their native language and consciousness for almost five centuries, at a time when they had no relations with the Balkan Peninsula for two centuries, when they moved to Russia and for me this constitutes a special and very interesting case in the sciences that I study. They have preserved their native language and ethnic consciousness.
Three years ago at a seminar in Kosovo you announced that you had discovered inscriptions in a special Albanian alphabet about 500 years old and this left a great impression on me. “Shqiptarja.com” made a news that aroused great interest among readers. What is this study of yours based on. How did you discover these documents?
-These documents were not discovered in the territory of Ukraine, but in the territory of present-day Russia on the shores of the Sea of Azov in the village of Margaritovo. For the last three years, I went with my students and colleagues to the south of Russia, to the shores of the Sea of Azov, in the Ostov region. At the end of the 18th century, several villages were founded in this place, namely Margaritovo, Epirski, Albanski, namely the village of the Albans, of the Albanians. 20 years ago, the Russian archaeologist Midriz Injuk discovered some bricks with inscriptions of the old Albanian writing system.
Do you have photos of these bricks?
-Yes, we have them, and about 200 bricks have been discovered where the signs of the old Albanian writing system have been preserved, while collecting all the discoveries, there are about 300 such copies. The founder of the village of Margaritovo is Margaret Blazon, and there have been discussions about her being of Greek origin, but this is confusing, because Albanians from Albania and Albanians from Greece came to Russia, who called them “Arvanuts of Greece” and “Arvanuts”.
This problem is still being discussed. Margariti was a rich man and I think he would have done very well building brick buildings with signs of Greek letters, if he were Greek, and there was no reason to do them in a language that was not spoken by anyone in Russia. There, a few years ago, the Russian archaeologist, Dmitry Zenyuk, discovered an Albanian writing system.
The founder of the village of Margariti is thought to have been an Albanian from Crete and he received a lot of land from the Russian government for his service in the army and had nearly 200 kilometers of land. So he organized such an enterprise to surround a large part of it with bricks and on each brick there would be a sign, an Albanian letter.
In July we will go back to that area and maybe we will discover new artifacts. The Albanian language is no longer spoken in the Azov Sea area, but the population has kept memories of the Arnauts who are the founders of this village and the surrounding settlements.
When the news about the rare alphabet discovered on paper was made, the late Robert Elsie was also very curious, and asked me about the source of the news, since you assumed that it could be the 400-year-old Elbasan Alphabet. Have you talked about this with Elsie?
-These inscriptions that are preserved on these bricks, I think are part of the old Albanian writing system. In fact, it is not the Elbasan Alphabet, as was initially thought, but it is another alphabet. We are continuing our studies and in July we will go again to Margaritovo for an expedition with colleagues. We also talked with Elsie. We think that it is another even earlier alphabet, with more letters. The idea for an earlier alphabet was Elsie’s. So we will continue our discoveries.
In this territory, our expedition organized by St. Petersburg State University in 2015 has collected a lot of materials, stories, etc. Regarding the presence of Albanians in the 18th and 19th centuries. Thus, at the end of the 18th century, in the Azov region, the village of Margaritovo was founded, whose name is closely associated with Margaret Blazon, a high-ranking official, originally from the Albanians exiled there.
Let me ask you a question outside the profession, what is your opinion on the decision to remove Russian Embassies from the Balkans and European countries?
-My private and personal opinion is that it is wrong. For people’s lives, the work of diplomats is very important, and we need to have good reports, good relations, and dictation in this way negatively affects relations between peoples, between different countries. We need to We discuss various problems.
How much has the Russian Embassy helped during its presence in Albania to deepen studies of the Albanians of Ukraine?
In our country, scientific institutions work independently and are not influenced by politicians and the government. For example, I can deal with any people in the world, without any dictates from the Scientific Council. We are free in choosing our studies. We are free in our actions.
Discovery of bricks
The “letters” of the forgotten land are preserved in Albanian on ancient bricks in Margaritovo
According to Alexander Novik, in July 2015, an ethno-linguistic expedition from the University of St. Petersburg went to work in the village of Margaritovo in the Azov district, in the Rostov region. The reason for their arrival there was the discovery of a rare monument of ancient Albanian heritage.
The objects found were about 200 bricks with inscriptions similar to the three alphabets used in Albania about 400-500 years ago, such as that of Elbasan, that of Vithkuq, and the Alphabet of Veso Bey, which had 53 letters, 31 letters, and 22 letters, respectively.
After this discovery that caused a stir in Moscow in 2015, archaeologist Dmitry Zenyuk stated in a press conference that:
“In fact, this is a discovery that was made for a very long time. The first similar brick I found was when I was a third-grade student. At the moment, about 300 copies of such bricks are known from the discoveries made.
In 2007, we made a comparison of the letters marked on the bricks with the Elbasan language, during which a theoretical basis was prepared and comparative tables were made. But this work was not sufficient without taking into account the Albanian scribes.
Only now, for the first time, can we officially declare that a monument documenting the old Albanian script has been opened in the south of Russia.
And it is amazing! In the world, several examples of the use of the dead Albanian alphabet survive in the state archives in Tirana, one of which is the “Bible of the Anonymous of Elbasan” and some letters from merchants and artisans from Elbasan to their exiled relatives.
Therefore, the findings from the village of Margaritovo are of serious scientific interest!” These were the statements of archaeologist Dmitry Zenyuk, after the discovery of bricks with inscriptions in the Albanian language.
Reference
Balkan Academia 