In both Kalofer and Odessa, Botev read extensively, although not systematically. His passion for reading significantly expanded his knowledge of literature and fortified his rebellious inclinations. The young man became interested in the ideas of the radical Russian literary and political figures as well as the French Socialists. He even got involved in a Russian revolutionary circle, several members of which were later arrested. Botev also found kindred spirits among the Polish revolutionary activists whose main goal was the restoration of the independent Polish state. Some of the people who knew him as a student in Odessa recalled that he wrote poetry, which he would recite to his friends. Unfortunately, none of these works has survived.
At the beginning of 1867, after about a year of teaching and producing revolutionary propaganda in various villages, he returned to Kalofer, where he substituted for his sick father as a schoolteacher. However, the speech he delivered on the major Bulgarian school holiday, the feast of Saint Kiril and Saint Metodiy, irritated both the rich Bulgarians and the Turkish authorities with its criticism of social injustice and thinly veiled call for an independent Bulgarian state.
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