135 years after the April Uprising

published on 4/21/11 8:16 AM

Photo: bg.wikipedia.org

On April 20th, 135 years ago, the April Uprising sparked in Bulgaria. It was the climax of the Bulgarian struggle for liberation from Ottoman rule. The decision was taken by the Bulgarian revolutionaries, who held meetings in November and December 1875 in the Romanian town of Giurgiu. In the summer of 1875, an uprising started in Bosnja and Herzegovina, causing yet another crisis in Southeastern Europe. The revolutionary committee in Giurgiu decided the time for a Bulgarian uprising had come and preparations started. Here is what associate professor Plamen Mitev from the Sofia University said in an interview for Radio Bulgaria.

“A number of historians accept that the revolutionaries in Girgiu clearly knew that they were to face a huge force as the Ottoman army at that time totaled 500,000 people. The Bulgarian apostles of freedom knew their chances for a success against the empire were minimal. But in the context of the deepening crisis on the Balkans at that time, an uprising could attract the support of the Great Powers. That is why despite the uprising was crushed, its political goals were accomplished and the events from April 1876 in Bulgaria attracted the attention of the whole of Europe.”

According to the decisions of the Giurgiu revolutionary committee, Bulgaria was divided into several revolutionary districts. The uprising was strongest in the 4th district, which included the city of Plovdiv where revolutionary Georgi Benkovski led the insurrection. Benkovski lived for a number of years abroad and spoke 7 languages. He appeared late on the Bulgarian revolutionary scene, but his role was enormous.

“Benkovski started participating in the preparations for the uprising in the summer of 1875, just a few months before becoming the leader of the uprising in the 4th Revolutionary District. Benkovski’s qualities were crucial for winning the hearts and minds of the young people in the region of Plovdiv and the Rhodope mountains,” Mr. Mitev says.

Brilliant Bulgarian poet Hristo Botev is one of the most fascinating figures of the Bulgarian struggle for liberation. He became a leader of an armed group of 200 men, who boarded the Austrian ship Radetzky from different Danubean ports, dressed as gardeners and workers. They had hidden their weapons into wooden chests, saying these were their tools. On May 17th the men dressed in their uniforms and bloodlessly seized the ship. Botev gave the captain a letter informing him of their intentions, which were to reach Kozloduy. The captain who agreed to transport Botev and his men later wrote of the revolutionary’s "civility, energy and temperament.” When the group stepped on the Bulgarian land they kissed it and continued with their mission to start an uprising as a follow-up to the April Uprising. The group was crushed and the poet died in the battles with the Ottoman army.

“Historians think that Botev and his men knew well they had little chances for success. But it was yet another attempt to grab the attention of Europe. Botev’s actions were very precise and he knew they would attract attention.”

The April Uprising was brutally crushed. On April 3 2011, The Bulgarian Orthodox Church canonized the victims of the massacres in the towns of Batak and Novo Selo for saints.

“After the Uprising, the Bulgarian struggle became a hot topic in Europe. Parliaments started to actively discuss the deepening crisis. William Gladstone, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Victor Hugo, and a number of other politicians, writers, and popular figures spoke about the Bulgarian struggle and tried to attract the attention towards the issue. At first the Great Powers were looking for a peaceful solution but it became clear that only war could solve the Eastern crisis.”

This way the Russo- Turkish war of 1877-1878 started, which liberated Bulgaria and after 5 centuries of Ottoman oppression the country started a fast social and economic progress.

English: Alexander Markov

По публикацията работи: Veneta Pavlova

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135 years after the April Uprising

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