| Hristo Botev | |
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 Bulgarian revolutionary and poet |
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| Born | January 6 1848 Kalofer, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | June 2 1876 (aged 28) Vola peak, Vratsa mountain (north of Stara Planina) |
Hristo Botev (Bulgarian: Ботев, also transliterated as Hristo Botyov) (January 6, 1848 – June 2, 1876), born Hristo Botyov Petkov (Bulgarian: Христо Ботьов Петков), was a Bulgarian poet and national revolutionary, widely considered the nation's greatest poet.
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Early life
Botev was born in Kalofer. His father, Botyo Petkov (1815–1869), was a teacher and one of the most significant figures of the late period of the Bulgarian National Revival towards the end of the Ottoman rule.[1] He had a strong influence on his son during the latter's youth. In 1863, after completing his elementary education in Kalofer, Botev was sent by his father to a high school in Odessa.[2] While there, he was deeply impressed by the work of the liberal Russian poets of the day. He left high school in 1865 and spent the next two years teaching in Odessa and Bessarabia. In the meantime he began creating his first poetic works and also established strong connections with the Russian and Polish revolutionary movement. His political views soon started to take shape. They were close to anarchism (sometimes also described as early libertarianism) and utopian socialism and were synthesized in his Symbol of Faith ("Simvol veruyu"), modelled after the Orthodox Nicene Creed. Botev returned to Kalofer at the beginning of 1867, where he temporarily replaced his ill father as a teacher.[3] In May, during the festivities celebrating St. Cyril and Methodius (it was his father who first organised at the end of the school year such festivities which today correspond to Bulgaria's national holiday on 24 May), he made a public speech against the Ottoman authorities and the wealthy Bulgarians (whom he alleged were collaborating with the Ottomans). Botev was pressed into leaving the town as a result. He initially decided he would return to Russia, but due to lack of money instead opted for Romania, at the time an asylum for many Bulgarian exiles.
Romanian exile
Greatly influenced by the Bulgarian revolutionaries who lived in Romania, Botev led a life typical for any revolutionary. He was constantly deprived of means and even home. For some time he lived in an abandoned mill near Bucharest with Vasil Levski, the eventual leader of the Bulgarian insurgency, and the two of them initially became close friends. Later he would describe this period in his works. From 1869 to 1871 Botev worked again as a teacher in Bessarabia, keeping close relations with the Bulgarian revolutionary movement and its leaders. In June 1871 he became editor of the revolutionary emigrant newspaper "Word of the Bulgarian Emigrants" (Duma na bulgarskite emigranti), where he began publishing his early poetic works. Imprisoned for some months, due to his close collaboration with the Russian revolutionaries, Botev started working for the "Liberty" (Svoboda) newspaper, edited by the eminent Bulgarian writer and revolutionary Lyuben Karavelov. In 1873 he also edited the satiric newspaper "Alarm clock" (Budilnik), where he published a number of feuilletons, aimed at those wealthy Bulgarians, who did not take part in the revolutionary movement.
Death of Vasil Levski and Stara Zagora uprising
The whole Bulgarian revolutionary movement was put in danger with the capture of Vasil Levski by Ottoman authorities at the end ot 1872. At the time Levski was the indisputable leader of the Bulgarian insurgency. He had established an enormous net of revolutionary committees, supervised by the Bulgarian Central Revolutionary Committee (BCRC; In Bulgarian: БРЦК) located in Romania, which had the task of preparing the Bulgarian revolutionaries for the future general uprising against the Ottoman rule. Levski was brought to trial, sentenced to death end hanged on 19 February 1873. His death was a significant blow to the morale of the revolutionary movement. With Levski's death the BCRC was divided in two factions: Botev and his supporters including Stefan Stambolov and Panayot Hitov backed the idea that preparations should be started for an immediate uprising, while the moderate revolutionaries, led by Lyuben Karavelov, thought that it was too early for such actions.[4] Botev intended to start an uprising in the first possible moment, to take advantage of the international situation (the mounting tension between the Ottoman empire on one side, and Serbia and Russia on the other), as well as the fact that the revolutionary net, established by Levski, was still relatively intact and could take an active part in the preparations. The revolt in Bosnia and Herzegovina of 1875 was another factor that inspired Botev and Stambolov that a rebellion should start in Bulgaria as well. They fought that the greater the turmoil in the Balkans was, the more attention they will attract among the Great powers. [5]. In the beginning of August 1875 Karavelov already quite ill stepped down as president of BCRC and Botev was elected the new president.[6]. Let by the fought that the Bulgarian people were ever ready for a rebellion he thought that no careful preparations are needed.[7] This resulted in the unsuccessful Stara Zagora Uprising of September 1875.
April uprising and Botev's campaign
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The uprising started in April 1876. The poorly armed rebels fought with great bravery and selflessness against regular Ottoman troops and the bashi-bazouks. The uprising was suppressed with extreme cruelty. Many thousands of men, women and children were slaughtered, thousands were sent to exile in Asia Minor, many more left their homes. [8][9] The tragedy ignited the public opinion all over the world. Botev watched the fatal events and decided to join his comrades in their struggle. For that mission he composed a 205-men-strong detachment (cheta) of revolutionaries, only some of whom possessed military experience. Whilst Botev remained the voivod of the party, as military commander was chosen the revolutionary activist Nikola Voinovski (1849–1876), who had previously studied in the Nikolaev Military High-school and served as a lieutenant in the Russian army, thus possessing the necessary military training. Standard-bearer of the detachment was another famous revolutionary—Nikola Simov-Kuruto (1845–1876). In order to join the uprising, Botev devised a plan to safely cross the Danube without letting the Romanian authorities know, fearing that they could stop him.
On May 16 1876, disguised as gardeners, the members of the detachment boarded the Austro-Hungarian steamer Radetzky and, after a special signal, seized control of it. After that, Botev presented the political motives of his act before the captain of the steamer, Dagobert Engländer, and the passengers. The noble cause and the chivalrous manners of the Bulgarian revolutionaries made a great impression on all the people that were present aboard the ship. Radetzky reached the Bulgarian coast near Kozlodui, where Botyov and his comrades bid the captain and the passengers farewell and disembarked on Bulgarian soil. The moment was full of drama, for the news of the suppressed uprising had already spread across all Europe and the people aboard the Radetzky had no illusions about what awaited Botev and his comrades. The detachment, with its standard in front, headed for the region of Vratza. The first news of the situation was dispiriting—the uprising was almost over everywhere, there were bashi-bazouks all over the region, no help was to be expected, so the detachment advanced to the Vratza mountains. In the morning of May 18th the detachment was surrounded by the Ottoman troops, but Botev and Nikola Voinovski organised their comrades in time, took defensive positions and started repulsing the repeated Ottoman attacks. Both sides suffered heavy losses. The detachment, in particular, lost about 30 killed and wounded, among them the standard-bearer. When the night fell, the rebels, divided in several groups, broke through the enemy lines and continued their movement towards the mountains. The next day passed without any signs of the enemy, but it became clear, that the detachment could not expect any help from other Bulgarian revolutionaries. In the morning of May 20th, the sentries of the detachment detected advancing bashi-bazouks and 5 battalions of regular Ottoman troops. The men took immediately strong positions near mount Okoltchitza. The defense was divided in 2 sectors, commanded by Voinovski and Botev. Soon 2 battalions of enemy regulars, led by Hassan Hairy bey, assaulted the positions of Voinovski, while the bashi-bazouks turned their attention to Botev's position. Voinovski's men, with concentrated fire, inflicted heavy losses on the advancing enemy and countered its attempts to encircle them. In their turn Botev's men repelled several bashi-bazouk attacks and drove the enemy back with a furious counterattack. The fight died of its own and the Turks retreated to their camp. The detachment lost about 10 killed, the enemy—about 30. Many were wounded on both sides. As the evening was approaching, Hristo Botev decided to survey the enemy lines from a distance and right at that moment he was hit in the chest by a bullet. The day was May 20 [Gregorian calendar: June 1], 1876. The sudden death of Botev doomed the detachment and in the following days it was routed. Only 15 men, led by Voinovski, reached the mountains, where they fell like heroes in furious fighting. All his life, Botev inspired his followers and comrades with his passion for freedom and finally his turn had come to fulfill his oath and die for it. The inscription chiselled on the granite boulder by which he was killed reads: "Your prophecy has come true—you live on!"
Botev was survived by his wife, Veneta, daughter, Ivanka, and stepson, Dimitar.
Literary works
In 1875 Botev published his poetic works in a book called "Songs and Poems", together with another Bulgarian revolutionary poet and future politician and statesman, Stefan Stambolov. Botev's poetry reflected the sentiments of the poor people, filled with revolutionary ideas, struggling for their freedom against both foreign and domestic tyrants. His poetry is influenced by the Russian revolutionary democrats and the figures of the Paris Commune. Under this influence, Botev rose both as a poet and a revolutionary democrat. Many of his poems are imbued with revolutionary zeal and determination, such as My Prayer ("Moyata molitva"), At Farewell ("Na proshtavane"), Hajduks ("Haiduti"), In the Tavern ("V mehanata"), or Struggle ("Borba"). Others are romantic, balladic (Hadzhi Dimitar, perhaps the greatest of his poems), even elegiac. Poems:
- Maytze si (in Bulgarian:"Майце си")
- Kam brata si (in Bulgarian:"Към брата си")
- Elegia (in Bulgarian:"Елегия")
- Delba (in Bulgarian:"Делба")
- Do moeto parvo libe (in Bulgarian:"До моето първо либе") - "To My First Love"
- Na proshtavane v 1868 (in Bulgarian:"На прощаване в 1868 г.") - "At Farewell"
- Hayduti (in Bulgarian:"Хайдути") - "Hajduks"
- Pristanala (in Bulgarian:"Пристанала")
- Borba (in Bulgarian:"Борба") - "Struggle"
- Strannik (in Bulgarian:"Странник") - "Stranger"
- Ney (in Bulgarian:"Ней") "To Her"
- Patriot (in Bulgarian:"Патриот")
- Zashto ne sam (in Bulgarian:"Защо не съм...?")
- Poslanie (na sveti Tarnovski) (in Bulgarian:"Послание" (на св. Търновски))
- Hadji Dimitar (in Bulgarian:"Хаджи Димитър")
- V mehanata (in Bulgarian:"В механата")
- Moyata molitva (in Bulgarian:"Моята молитва") - "My Prayer"
- Zadade se oblak temen (in Bulgarian:"Зададе се облак темен")
- Obevaneto na Vasil Levski (in Bulgarian:"Обесването на Васил Левски")
Legacy
In 1885 a commemoration committee was founded on the date of Botev's death June 2.[10] A monument was presented on the main square of Vratsa in 1890 in the presence of King Ferdinand.[11] Some of the most prominent Bulgarians in the new history of the country, such as Stefan Stambolov and Zahari Stoyanov, devoted a lot of attention to Botev and his deeds for Bulgaria.[12] Soon Botev became a mythical figure in the Bulgarian National Revival, and is even today commemorated as one of the two greatest Bulgarian revolutionaries alongside Vasil Levski. Every year at exactly 12:00 on June 2, air raid sirens throughout all of the country resonate for a minute to honour those who died for the freedom of Bulgaria. People everywhere stand still for 2 to 3 minutes until the sirens are stopped. After Hristo Botev are named:
- Botev Point and Botev Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands
- The highest peak in Stara planina
- The city of Botevgrad
- Streets and boulevards in most Bulgarian cities
- Schools and High schools
- Several football clubs - PFC Botev Plovdiv, Botev Vratsa, Botev Ihtiman, Botev Galabovo, Botev Kozlodui, Botev Boljarovo and etc
- Several football stadiums in Bulgaria
- A programme on the Bulgarian National Radio
References
- ^ Trencsényi, Balázs; Michal Kopeček (2007). Discourses of Collective Identity in Central and Southeast Europe (1770-1945). Central European University Press, p.473. ISBN 963732660X.
- ^ Trencsényi, Kopeček; p.473
- ^ Trencsényi, Kopeček; p.473
- ^ Perry, Duncan (1993). Stefan Stambolov and the Emergence of Modern Bulgaria, 1870-1895. Duke University Press, p.23. ISBN 0822313138.
- ^ Perry, p.23
- ^ Perry, p.23
- ^ Perry, p.23
- ^ Robert Seton-Watson, Disraeli, Gladstone and the Eastern Question: a study in diplomacy and party politics, (London: Macmillan, 1935), p58
- ^ "Bulgaria" in Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved June 22, 2006, from Encyclopedia Britannica Premium Service http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-42735]
- ^ Trencsényi, Kopeček; p.473
- ^ Trencsényi, Kopeček; pp.473-4
- ^ Trencsényi, Kopeček; p.474
External links
- HristoBotev.com (Bulgarian)
- Works by Hristo Botev at Project Gutenberg
- June 2, 1876 Daily Bleed Calendar reference page
