Hundreds are the known and unknown heroes of the Bulgarian Unification on 6 September 1885. Some remain forever in the Pantheon of the Bulgarian Revival period, while others face a contradictory and tragic fate.
But all of us, citizens of modern Bulgaria, which is a result of their actions, owe them respect and admiration.
Let's take a look at the fates of some of the heroes of the Unification.
I'll start with Prince Alexander of Battenberg (1857-1893), who ruled the Principality of Bulgaria for seven years from 1879 to 1886, when he abdicated. He was a brave participant in the Russo-Turkish War (1878-1879) in a detachment under the command of General Joseph Gurko and later in the Bulgarian-Serbian War (1885), as the supreme commander of the Bulgarian army. He was awarded the Russian Order of St. George. He proclaims and supports the Union. Prince Alexander I does not inform the skeptical Prime Minister Petko Karavelov about the upcoming Union. He is so out of touch with the current events that he learns about the big news post factum even later than the ordinary citizens. The news reaches him when his carriage enters Tarnovo.
The prince dies at the age of 36 after an unsuccessful operation, having abdicated the Bulgarian throne under pressure, including from the Russian emperor. His successor to the Bulgarian throne, Prince Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1861-1948) has no direct relation to the Union, but actively participates in declaring Bulgaria's independence on September 22, 1908 in Veliko Tarnovo. These two events - the Unification and the Declaration of Independence of Bulgaria - are inseparably connected.
Major Danail Nikolaev (1852-1942) was born in Russia, where he graduated as a cadet from the military school in Odessa in 1875. He distinguished himself in the Russo-Turkish War (1878-1879) in the battles of Shipka and Sheynovo. He led the militia of Eastern Rumelia during the Unification on September 5 and 6, 1885 and ensured its almost bloodless process. He also participated in the Serbo-Turkish War (1875-1877) and the Bulgarian-Serbian War (1885). He served as Minister of War of Bulgaria and was known as the "Patriarch of the Bulgarian army". He was awarded the highest Bulgarian military rank of "General of the Infantry" by Tsar Ferdinand in 1909. In 1936, he was awarded the highest Bulgarian military award "St. Cyril and Methodius". In 1937, he became the godfather of the heir to the throne, Prince Simeon Tarnovski, who later became Prime Minister of the Republic of Bulgaria (2001-2005). A personal tragedy struck him in 1925 when his only son, Colonel Nikola Nikolaev, was killed in a communist attack at the "St. Nedelya" church. General Danail Nikolaev lived to a ripe old age and almost reached 90. Today, one of the main boulevards in the capital is named after him.
Petko Karavelov (1843-1903) was a four-time prime minister and regent of the Kingdom of Bulgaria from 1880 to 1902, including during the period of the Unification in 1884-1886. At first, Karavelov hesitates about the Union because from his belfry he can see well the possible difficulties and problems facing Bulgaria. However, he enthusiastically supports the national cause. In 1892, he is sentenced to five years in prison for his involvement in an attempted assassination of Prime Minister Stefan Stambolov, but is granted amnesty after two years. It is said that he never took a single penny of people's money in an unfair way throughout his life.
Stefan Stambolov (1854-1895) was Prime Minister from 1887 to 1894. Stambolov is a notable Bulgarian revolutionary, statesman, journalist, and poet. During the Union, he was president of the National Assembly of the Principality of Bulgaria. He participated in the preparation of the Union and enthusiastically supported it after its declaration. Prince Alexander Battenberg crafts the proclamation in which he approves and supports the Unification on September 8, 1885. His uncompromising rule includes blatant violations of human rights, even in the narrower context of the time. After his overthrow and a plot against his life, Stefan Stambolov is killed in 1895 in the heart of Sofia.
Zahari Stoyanov (1850-1889) only lived for 39 years, but established himself as one of the most famous Bulgarian revolutionaries, publicists, and politicians. He took part in the Stara Zagora (1875) and April (1876) uprisings, and during the latter was a member of Georgi Benkovski's Cheta. He led the Bulgarian Secret Central Revolutionary Committee (BSCRC), which organized the Unification. He was president of the People's Assembly of the Principality of Bulgaria from 1888 until his death. Author of the Bulgarian revolution's bible, "Notes on the Bulgarian Uprisings".
Captain Raycho Nikolov (1840-1885) is a Bulgarian volunteer (commander of a company from the Volunteer Corps) and military figure. He also participated in the Serbian-Turkish War (1876-1878). Raycho Nikolov is mentioned in history textbooks as the hero of the Crimean War, who swam across the Danube with the help of two watermelons to warn the Russian command of the Turkish attack. Emperor Nicholas I awarded Nikolov with a noble title and gave him the opportunity to study in Russia. "And then the emperor awarded the boy, who was born in the huts above Veliko Tarnovo, with a noble title, so he could continue his education in St. Petersburg." His military career in the Russian army was successful, with Raycho Nikolov leading Bulgarian volunteers several times. He was also awarded with the Order of St. Anna and the Order of St. Vladimir. "Ana“ for displaying bravery during the battles near Shipka." His name is very well known and he is a highly respected person. When he was assigned in Plovdiv in 1879, he continued his work not as an officer whose task was to defend the decisions of the Berlin Treaty, but as a Bulgarian who stood on the other side“. Raicho Nikolov is a member of the secret revolutionary committee led by Zahari Stoyanov and has already been granted the title of major. He is doing everything in his power to keep the leadership of the army in the hands of the conspirators. On the day of the great deed, while he was going to report the news via telegraph, he was fatally shot by the chief of the Plovdiv post office station. "At the time, the chief of the post office was a dishonest man who had abused his power, as Simeon Radev writes in "Builders of Modern Bulgaria". He was afraid of being exposed, so he simply shot him," says historian Veselina Antonova. More than 50,000 people from all over Bulgaria gathered at the funeral of Major Raicho Nikolov to pay their respects to the hero. In addition to him, there is information about five other participants from Chirpan who died during the Unification.
Major Kosta Panitsa (1857-1890) had a tragic fate. He participated in the Serbian-Turkish War (1876-1878), Russian-Turkish War (1878-1879), and the Bulgarians-Serbian War (1885); he was a combatant and a comrade of Stefan Stambolov and Zahari Stoyanov during the Unification period. Panitsa was a member of the Macedonian-Adrianople revolutionary movement and one of the founders of the new Bulgarian army. During the turbulent times of 1885-1887, he stood with Prince Alexander Batenberg and Stefan Stambolov against the attempts of some pro-Russian Bulgarian officers to overthrow the government through a military coup. In 1886, he - along with Stambolov - took part in suppressing the uprising of a group of officers against the government and the subsequent repression against politicians like Petko Karavelov. However, shortly after the abdication of Battenberg, he joins the new governing tandem in the face of Prince Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg-Gotha and Prime Minister Stefan Stambolov. The two, once close friends, become mortal enemies. In 1890, Panitsa organizes a conspiracy to overthrow and assassinate the prince and the prime minister. The conspirators are discovered and sentenced, with only Panitsa being sentenced to death by shooting. After an unsuccessful appeal, he is executed in Sofia on June 16, 1890, at the age of only 33.
Prodan Tishkov (Chardafon Veliki) is a participant in the national liberation movement, having taken part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-1878 as a volunteer. After the Liberation, he served as a sergeant-major (feldfebel) in the Eastern Rumelian militia in the village of Golyamo Konare. His nickname was Charda, which means a herd of rural cattle. After 1884, as a joke towards the director of the police and gendarmerie General von Drigalski, the particle "von" (a sign of aristocratic origin) was added to Charda's nickname Prodan Tishkov, and they started calling him Chardafon.
Nedialka Shileva and the flag of the Unification. Every successful man stands behind a strong woman. This rule is also evident in Bulgarian history, particularly in the events of September 6, 1885. The woman behind Chardafon Veliki, or more accurately, "the girl next to him," was 18-year-old teacher Nedialka Shileva, who carried the Bulgarian Unification flag shoulder to shoulder with 326 men. In the early morning of September 6, 1885. Soldiers and the army, led by Major Danail Nikolaev, arrest the regional governor Gavrail Krastevich, who exclaims: "I am Bulgarian, and I am for Unification!" Russia, on the other hand, declares its most decisive opposition to the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia, even recalling its officers from Bulgaria and stripping Prince Alexander I of his title of general.
Undoubtedly, the Serbian administrators, who at the time have very good relations with Russia, also influence the negative opinion of the empire. If during the preparatory period and in the revolutionary act itself Prime Minister Petko Karavelov had no involvement, then in the strengthening of the Unification, in its defense, imposition and recognition by Turkey, the Great Powers and the neighboring countries, his participation is immense, because it is precisely at this crucial moment that the question of whether there will be a Unification at all is decided. On September 10, the National Assembly convened an emergency session where he requested a credit of 10 million for the declared mobilization.
In order to honor the merits of Grand Konar as the author of the Unification, the Ministry of War established a new military unit called the Grand Konar Infantry Regiment. It participated in the Serbian-Bulgarian War declared on November 2, 1885. All major landowners, as well as volunteers and regularly mobilized soldiers, living in the surrounding villages, participated in it.
The signing of the treaty between Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire results in an agreement that the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia will have a common government, parliament, administration and army. The only distinction between the two parts of the country, remaining until the Declaration of Independence of Bulgaria in 1908, is that the Bulgarian prince is formally appointed by the sultan as the general-governor of Eastern Rumelia.
11841 | 6 Sept. 2024 | 09:27
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