In Bulgaria, National Day March 3 is Liberation Day. This day finally dawned following five centuries of Ottoman domination in the Bulgarian lands and after many years of spiritual revival and national-liberation struggles. Those struggles peaked in the 1876 April Uprising. It was not an isolated act of despair but part of a deep crisis in Southeast Europe in the wake of the 1875 uprising in Bosnia-Herzegovina. How come Bulgarian revolutionary leaders decided that time had come for a rebellion in the Bulgarian lands? Dimitar Hristov, PhD, from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Institute for Historical Studies says more:

“In the first place, the leaders of the Bulgarian liberation were aware that Bulgarian internal resources would not be enough for a successful uprising. In this sense, they relied heavily on the right timing, and hoped that - like the case with Bosnia-Herzegovina - there would be deployment of Turkish troops there and that a situation would be created to facilitate the liberation of the Bulgarian lands. ”

What kind of coverage did the April Uprising and the Bulgarian cause receive in the European press?

“The events that strongly disturbed the international community were the atrocities in the crushing of the uprising in Batak and Perushtitsa. However, most of western coverage focused on Hristo Botev, émigré poet of genius and revolutionary who together with his detachment hijacked the Austro-Hungarian Radetzki steamship to join the rebels in Bulgaria. There was another event that is less known but received a lot of media coverage in Western Europe: the assassination of two diplomats in Thessaloniki. The consuls of Germany and France tried to defend the Christians at a moment when a riotous Muslim crowd in the port city started to persecute them, and they fell prey to fanaticism. At that point it was clear that the European powers would not stay impassive.”

What was the attitude of the Great Powers to the start of a liberation war for Bulgaria?

“It was a time when international political affairs were the making of a system of very complicated relations between a few Great Powers, each of them with its own distinct interests. And situations such as the question with the Bulgarian liberation were always up not only to the aspirations of the Bulgarian nations, but more notably to the point of intersection of the Great Powers' interests. The first option was to try and solve the crisis by way of diplomacy. For this purpose, an Ambassador Conference was convened at the end of 1876 in Constantinople. However, as a result of the steps made by the Ottoman Empire supported silently by British diplomacy undermined diplomatic efforts. In the end, it became clear that the only solution would be a war of liberation that Russia was ready to commence. It was going to be a war defending the enslaved brothers - Orthodox Christian Slavs. For Russia the 1877-1878 war had a further dimension - as a revenge for its defeat of the Crimean War.”

What nationalities took part in the Russian army during the War of Liberation?

“In practice, the number of nationalities was large, as the Russian Empire was multinational. At that time the empire included the Kingdom of Finland and the Kingdom of Poland. Polish troops were not involved but Polish generals were part of the Russian staff. There was a major share of Finnish troops in liberation war operations especially during the strategic operations near Pleven, Central Northern Bulgaria. Soldiers from Baltic nations also joined the war. Overall however, the vast majority of soldiers were ethnic Russians. Romanian, Serbian and Montenegrin units also joined the Russian operations in 1877-1878.”

How did Bulgarians perform in the course of the War of Liberation: in the battles and during harsh winter passages?

“They acted with great dignity. The Bulgarian patriots were aware that the nation had received a historic chance to regain its freedom. Unsurprisingly, a Bulgarian army of volunteers was recruited very fast. We do not have exact figures about the number of Bulgarian volunteers because new and new recruits joined the war, far exceeding official lists. The exploit of Bulgarian volunteers during the summer battles at Shipka Peak is best known, and the same units showed remarkable valor in other battles. Bulgarians were very effective in reconnaissance work too. They had a vital role in the winter passage of the Balkan Range.”

On 3 March 1878 in San Stefano near Constantinople a peace treaty was signed under which the borders of the renewed Bulgarian state would have to include lands with predominantly Bulgarian population. However, a few months later the Congress of Berlin of the Great Powers broke down the Bulgarian ethnic territory. Northern Bulgaria and the region of Sofia were included in the Principality of Bulgaria. The lands to the south of the Balkan Range became an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire with the name Eastern Rumelia. The Bulgarian ethnic territories in Macedonia and Aegean Thrace were back under the direct rule of the sultan. This situation worked to make national unification a key cause of the Bulgarian modern society. The first most brilliant step towards this goal was the 1885 Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria with Eastern Rumelia. In the 20 c. that followed Bulgaria joined a few wars for the sake of the same cause. It had major ups and downs in this process. However the Liberation paved Bulgaria's road of European development.

English Daniela Konstantinova