Albanian-speakers of Western Thrace migrated towards today's European Turkey (Eastern Thrace), especially near Istanbul. Many Muslim Albanians achieved high office in Ottoman society and many of them, most notably the Köprülü family, became Grand Viziers of the Empire. The majority of the Albanian emigration came from Northern Kosovo and the Korça region of Albania. Descendants of this immigrants would later play an important role in the National Renaissance of Albania. The number of Albanians that resided in the region is unknown, as statistical data of the Ottoman Empire were based on religious identification (millets). Thus, the Orthodox Albanians were part of the Rûm millet,
Thrace Foundation June 2009, a large team from the Thrace Foundation and Russia’s State Museum of Eastern Art presented an exhibition titled "The Salvaged Treasures of Ancient Thrace" in Moscow, which featured elements from the Vassil Bojkov Collection. The exhibition was part of "Тhe Year of Bulgaria in Russia" initiative and was held under the patronage of Russia’s and Bulgaria’s Ministries of Culture. This exhibition was the first public event of the new Bulgarian Union of Private Collectors. The organisation was established in March 2010, with Professor Valeri Stefanov as its chair. Sofia’s National Gallery of Foreign Art unveiled the exhibition on