Hristo Botev

Hristo Botev (Bulgarian: Христо Ботев) (January 6, 1848 – June 2, 1876), born Hristo Botyov Petkov (Bulgarian: Христо Ботйов Петков), was a Bulgarian poet and national revolutionary, widely considered the nation's greatest poet. Hristo Botev File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... January 6 is the 6th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar, with 359 days (360 in leap years) remaining. ... Year 1848 (MDCCCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian Calendar (or a leap year starting on Monday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... June 2 is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining. ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The poor poet A poet is a person who writes poetry. ... Revolutionary, when used as a noun, is a person who either advocates or actively engages in some kind of revolution. ...

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. He had a strong influence on his son during the latter's youth. View from Kalofer Kalofer (Калофер) is a town in southern Bulgaria, between the Balkan Mountains to the north and the Sredna Gora to the south, part of Plovdiv Province. ... April 5-12: Mount Tambora explodes, changing climate. ... 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... The Bulgarian national revival (Vazrazdane) was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian people in the Ottoman Empire. ... Motto: دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) Anthem: Ottoman imperial anthem Borders in 1680, see: list of territories Capital Söğüt (1299-1326) Bursa (1326-1365) Edirne (1365-1453) Constantinople (Istanbul) (1453-1922) Language(s) Ottoman Turkish Government Monarchy Sultans  - 1281–1326 Osman I  - 1918–1922 Mehmed VI...

In 1863, after completing his elementary education in Kalofer, Botev was sent by his father to a high school in Odessa. 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. 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... For other uses, see Odessa (disambiguation). ... 1927 map of Bessarabia from Charles Upson Clarks book Bessarabia or Bessarabiya (Basarabia in Romanian, Besarabya in Turkish, Бесарабія in Ukrainian) is a historical term for the geographic entity in Eastern Europe bounded by the Dniester River on the East and the Prut River on the West. ...

Botev returned to Kalofer at the beginning of 1867, where he temporarily replaced his ill father as a teacher. 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 Turkish 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. 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... Statue of Saint Cyril at Holy Trinity Column in Olomouc. ... Saint Methodius (Greek: Μεθόδιος; Church Slavonic Мефодии) (b. ... May 24 is the 144th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (145th in leap years). ...

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. A remarkable moment in this period of his life was his close friendship with Vassil Levski. Both of them lived in an abandoned mill near Bucharest in indescribable poverty and destitution. However, their fighting spirit proved to be stronger than that. Later in his life, Botev would make a vivid, full of humor description of that situation. Vasil Levski, born as Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (July 6, 1837 (O.S.) (July 18, 1837 (N.S.)) – February 6, 1873 (O.S.) (February 18, 1873 (N.S.)) was a Bulgarian revolutionary, ideologist, strategist and theoretician of the Bulgarian national revolution, leader of the struggle for liberation from Ottoman rule. ... Status Capital of Romania Mayor Adriean Videanu, since 2005 Area 228 km² Population (2003) 2,082,000[1] Density 9131. ...

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. 1869 (MDCCCLXIX) is a common year starting on Friday (link will take you to calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Lyuben Karavelov (Bulgarian: ) (c. ...

Their collaboration was prolific and did not only have a great influence on the emigrants, but gave also courage to the Bulgarian people to rise against the Ottomans . 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. 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

The struggle for Bulgarian independence

The struggle for Bulgarian independence was a difficult one. At the end of 1872 the Ottoman police captured Levski, who was at that time the undisputable leader of the Bulgarian insurgency. He had established an enormous net of revolutionary committees, supervised by the Bulgarian Central Revolutionary Committee (BCRC) 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 19.02.1873. His death was a significant blow to the morale of the revolutionary movement. In that difficult moment, Hristo Botev stepped forward and persuaded his comrades to start preparations for an uprising earlier than planned. He was engaged in revolutionary activities of huge scale, developing Levski's ideas. At the same time he continued writing his poetry. 1872 (MDCCCLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... 1873 (MDCCCLXXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ...

The BCRC was divided in two—the moderate revolutionaries, led by Lyuben Karavelov, thought that the people of Bulgaria were not yet ready for an uprising. Botev and his supporters backed up the opposite idea. They intended to start an uprising in the first possible moment, in order 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. As a result, the BCRC was dissolved and a new committee was set up in Giurgiu, and the preparations for the uprising went on. County Giurgiu County Status County capital Mayor Lucian Iliescu, National Liberal Party, since 2000 Population (2002) 73,586 Geographical coordinates , Web site http://www. ...

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 refleced 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. 1875 (MDCCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... A statue of Stefan N. Stambolov in his birthplace Veliko Turnovo Stefan Nikolov Stambolov (Bulgarian: Стефан Николов Стамболов) (January 31, 1854 - July 6, 1895) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and statesman. ... Le Père Duchesne looking at the statue of Napoleon I on top of the Vendome column: Eh ben ! bougre de canaille, on va donc te foutre en bas comme ta crapule de neveu !… (Here! savage rascal, we will put you down just like your crook of a nephew!…) The... Hajduk (or haiduk, haiduc, hayduck, hayduk) is a term most commonly referring to outlaws, highwaymen or freedom fighters in the Balkans. ... Dimitar Nikolov Asenov (Bulgarian: ) (10 May 1840 - 18 July 1868), better known as Hadzhi Dimitar (Хаджи Димитър) was one of the most prominent Bulgarian voivods and revolutionary workers for the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule. ...

His political views were close to anarchism and utopian socialism and were synthesized in his Symbol of Faith ("Simvol veruyu"), modelled after the Orthodox Nicene Creed. It has been suggested that Origins of anarchism and History of anarchism be merged into this article or section. ... Socialism refers to a broad array of doctrines or political movements that envisage a socio-economic system in which property and the distribution of wealth are subject to social control. ... Icon depicting the Holy Fathers of the First Council of Nicaea holding the Nicene Creed. ...

The April uprising

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 [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[1]]. The tragedy ignited the public opinion all over the world. Development of the April Uprising The April Uprising (Bulgarian: Априлско въстание) was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876, the indirect result of which was the liberation of Bulgaria in 1878. ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... A bashi-bazouk (in Turkish başıbozuk, meaning disorganized, leaderless) was an irregular soldier of the Ottoman army. ... Anatolia (Greek: ανατολη anatole, rising of the sun or East; compare Orient and Levant, by popular etymology Turkish Anadolu to ana mother and dolu filled), also called by the Latin name of Asia Minor, is a region of Southwest Asia which corresponds today to...

In 1876, the British statesman William Ewart Gladstone published a pamphlet, Bulgarian Horrors and the Questions of the East, attacking the Disraeli government for its indifference to the brutal suppression of the Bulgarian rebellion in Ottoman Empire: William Ewart Gladstone (29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British Liberal Party statesman and Prime Minister (1868–1874, 1880–1885, 1886 and 1892–1894). ...

"Let the Turks now carry away their abuses, in the only possible manner, namely, by carrying off themselves. Their Zaptiehs and their Mudirs, their Bimbashis and Yuzbachis, their Kaimakans and their Pashas, one and all, bag and baggage, shall, I hope, clear out from the province that they have desolated and profaned. This thorough riddance, this most blessed deliverance, is the only reparation we can make to those heaps and heaps of dead, the violated purity alike of matron and of maiden and of child; to the civilization which has been affronted and shamed; to the laws of God, or, if you like, of Allah; to the moral sense of mankind at large. There is not a criminal in an European jail, there is not a criminal in the South Sea Islands, whose indignation would not rise and over-boil at the recital of that which has been done, which has too late been examined, but which remains unavenged, which has left behind all the foul and all the fierce passions which produced it and which may again spring up in another murderous harvest from the soil soaked and reeking with blood and in the air tainted with every imaginable deed of crime and shame. That such things should be done once is a damning disgrace to the portion of our race which did them; that the door should be left open to the ever so barely possible repetition would spread that shame over the world."

The famous British poet Oscar Wilde dedicated his brilliant 6. Sonnet to the abominable massacre during the suppression of the rebellion (s. Massacre of the Christians in Bulgaria /Oscar Wilde/) [2] Oscar Fingal OFlahertie Wills Wilde (October 16, 1854 – November 30, 1900) was an Irish playwright, novelist, poet, short story writer and Freemason. ...

Pictures showing piles of burned or slaughtered human bodies and articles on the Ottoman atrocities went around Europe causing tremendous indignation (s. "Bulgarian Horrors" in Encyclopedia Britannica 2006, Retrieved June 22, 2006, from Encyclopædia Britannica Premium Service: [3]). Many cultural and political figures of the time such as Charles Darwin, Giuseppe Garibaldi, Victor Hugo and many others rose in indignation at this execrable slaughtering. Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an eminent English naturalist who achieved lasting fame by convincing the scientific community that species develop over time from a common origin. ... Garibaldi in 1866. ... Victor-Marie Hugo (pronounced in French) (26 February 1802 — May 1885) was a French poet, novelist, playwright, essayist, visual artist, statesman and human rights campaigner, perhaps the most influential exponent of the Romantic movement in France. ...

Botev's campaign

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. Voivod or (more common) voivoda is a Slavic term initially denoting first in command of a military unit. ... 1849 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... 1845 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... The Danube (ancient Danuvius, ancient Greek Istros) is the longest river of the European Union and Europes second-longest[3] (after the Volga). ...

On May 16th 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 Botev 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. This is a list of Austro-Hungarian battleships: Wooden battleships Severo (ex-Venetian Rigeneratore) - Rebuilt as frigate and renamed Bellona 1823-24, BU 1831 Italiano (ex-Venetian Reale Italiano) - Rebuilt as frigate 1827-29, BU 1836 Kaiser 92 (1860) Armored frigates and central battery ships Drache class Drache (1861) - BU... Kozloduy (Козлодуй) is a town of 13,871 inhabitants in northwestern Bulgaria, located in Vratsa Province, on the river Danube. ...

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. Street scene from Vratsa Vratsa (also transliterated as Vraca or Vratza; Bulgarian: Враца) is a city in northwestern Bulgaria, at the foothills of the Balkan 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 Turkish 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!"

Nowadays, at noon on June 2, air raid sirens throughout all of Bulgaria resonate for a minute as Bulgarians stand up to honour those who died for their country. June 2 is the 153rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (154th in leap years), with 212 days remaining. ...

Botev was survived by his wife, Veneta, daughter, Ivanka, and stepson, Dimitar.

Honours

Botev Point and Botev Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica are named after Hristo Botev. Botev Point (Nos Botev nos bo-tev) is the southern extremity of the Rozhen Peninsula of Livingston Island, formed by an offshoot of Veleka Ridge, Botev Peak. ... Botev Peak (Botev Vrah bo-tev vr&h) is a peak rising to about 370 m in the southern extremity of the Veleka Ridge, Tangra Mountains, eastern Livingston Island, in the South Shetlands. ... Livingston Island (62°36′ S 060°30′ W) is 61 km (38 mi) long and from 3 to 32 km (2 to 20 mi) wide, lying between Greenwich and Snow Islands in the South Shetland Islands. ... The South Shetland Islands or Iles Shetland du Sud or Islas Shetland del Sur or New South Britain or New South Shetland or Shetland Islands or South Shetlands or Sydshetland or Süd-Shetland Inseln are a chain of islands in the Southern Ocean lying about 120 kilometres northward of...

External links

• HristoBotev.com (Bulgarian)
• Works by Hristo Botev at Project Gutenberg
• June 2, 1876 Daily Bleed Calendar reference page