Dame Gruev - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Damyan Yovanov Gruev or Damjan Jovanov Gruev, often known by his short name Dame Gruev, (January 19, 1871, Smilevo

Smilevo

Smilevo is a village in the Republic of Macedonia, municipality of Demir Hisar.It is famous for the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie uprising which started in the village in the morning of August 2, 1903...

, present-day Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...

- December 10, 1906 near Petlec peak in Maleshevo

Maleshevo

The Maleshevo Mountain or Maleševo Mountain is situated in southwestern Bulgaria and eastern Republic of Macedonia. It is the third of the five mountains of the Osogovo-Belasitsa mountain group, known also as the Western Border Mountains...

, present-day Republic of Macedonia) was an insurgent leader in Ottoman Macedonia and Thrace

Thrace

Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...

. He was among the founders of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees. The mainstream scholarship regards him as a Bulgarian and the Macedonian scholars as Macedonian revolutionary.

Early years

Dame Gruev was born in 1871 in the village of Smilevo, Ottoman Macedonia (present-day district of Bitola

Bitola

Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...

, Demir Hisar Municipality

Demir Hisar municipality

Demir Hisar is a municipality in southwestern Republic of Macedonia. Demir Hisar, which means "iron fortress" in Turkish, is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found...

, Republic of Macedonia

Republic of Macedonia

). He received his elementary education in Smilevo and continued his education in the Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki

Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki

The Sts. Cyril and Methodius Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki was the first Bulgarian high school in Macedonia. One of the most influential Bulgarian educational centres in Macedonia and Southern Thrace, it was founded in autumn 1880 in Ottoman Thessaloniki and existed until...

. After a student revolt Gruev, with a group of his comrades, were excluded from the school. In the early 1888, the group, consisting of 19 people, including other future IMRO-revolutionaries was attracted by the Serbian propaganda. As result they went to study in a Serbian Gymnazium in Belgrade

Belgrade

Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...

at expense of the St. Sava Association. Later Gruev continued his education in the Great School in Belgrade. There he, and his comrades were put under a strong pressure to serbianize them and they rebelled again. As a consequence, all they were excluded from the Great School and emigrated am block to Bulgaria. Here Gruev began to study history at the Sofia University

Sofia University

The St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia or Sofia University is the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888...

and afterwards enrolled in the Young Macedonian Literary Society

Young Macedonian Literary Society

The Young Macedonian Literary Society was founded in 1891 in Sofia together with its magazine Loza. The purpose of the society was twofold: the official one was primarily scholarly and literary. One of the purposes of the magazine of Young Macedonian Literary Society was to defend the idea the...

. He found also the circle "Druzhba", whose aim was to implement "Article 23" from the Treaty of Berlin (1878) on authonomy of Macedonia. In 1891 Gruev was expelled from the University as he was suspected in the assassination of the Minister Hristo Belchev, but subsequently this allegations turned groundless.

Next, Gruev left the University and returned to Ottoman Macedonia region to apply himself to a new revolutionary organization. In order to carry out his plans more successfully, and possibly to avert the suspicion of the Turkish authorities, he decided to become a Bulgarian school teacher. The first two years after his return to Macedonia region he spent teaching, first in his native village of Smilevo, and later in the town of Prilep

Prilep

Prilep is the fourth largest city in the Republic of Macedonia. It has a population of 66,246 citizens. Prilep is known as "the city under Marko's Towers" because of its proximity to the towers of Prince Marko.-Name:...

. Later, Gruev established himself in Thessaloniki and here laid the foundation of BMARC (the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees). With the cooperation of Hristo Tatarchev

Hristo Tatarchev

Hristo Tatarchev was a Bulgarian revolutionary and first leader of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace . He wrote the memoirs The First Central Committee of the IMRO . He authored several political journalism works between the First and Second World Wars...

and Petar Pop Arsov among others, he came up with the Constitution and By-laws of IMARC. It was to be a secret organization under the guidance of a Central Committee, with local revolutionary committees throughout Macedonia and the region of Adrianople (Edirne

Edirne

Edirne is a city in Eastern Thrace, the northwestern part of Turkey, close to the borders with Greece and Bulgaria. Edirne served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire from 1365 to 1453, before Constantinople became the empire's new capital. At present, Edirne is the capital of the Edirne...

). These regions were to be divided into revolutionary districts or rayons like in the April Uprising

April Uprising

The April Uprising was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876, which indirectly resulted in the re-establishment of Bulgaria as an autonomous nation in 1878...

. In accordance with the Constitution, the first Central Revolutionary Committee was formed in the summer of 1894, under the chairmanship of Hristo Tatarchev

Hristo Tatarchev

1894 to 1900

The 1894 - 1900 period was a really active one for the revolutionary Gruev. In the summer of 1894 in Negotino

Negotino

Negotino is a town in the Republic of Macedonia. Its population is about 15,000. It is the seat of Negotino Municipality.-Geography:Negotino is situated on the right bank of the river Vardar. It is about above sea level. Negotino is in a vineyard region and the gates of the Tikves basin, known...

, he organized the first local revolutionary committee, and soon after with the cooperation of Pere Toshev, the first district committee in the city of Štip

Štip

Štip is the largest urban agglomeration in the eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities. As of the 2002 census, the Štip municipality alone had a population of about 47,796...

. Gruev visited the cities of Resen

Resen

Resen was, according to Genesis 10:11, a city founded by Asshur son of Shem.Resen is stated, according to Genesis 10:12, to have been located between Nineveh and Calah and became a great city. Its exact location is today unclear. According to Genesis, it is within the vicinity of ancient Assyria,...

, Ohrid

Ohrid

Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...

, and Struga

Struga

Struga is a town and popular tourist destination situated in the south-western region of the Republic of Macedonia, lying on the shore of Lake Ohrid. The town of Struga is the seat of Struga Municipality.-Etymology:...

as well, and found the local population to be accepting his organization's revolutionary ideas very well. He remained a teacher in Štip during the academic year 1894-1895. In the fall of 1895 Gotse Delchev

Gotse Delchev

Georgi Nikolov Delchev was an important revolutionary figure in Ottoman-ruled Macedonia and Thrace at the turn of the 20th century...

arrived in Štip with the idea of laying the foundations of a revolutionary movement seeking autonomy for Macedonia and Adrianople Thrace. Gruev and Delchev met for the first time and shared their ideas there. Gruev introduced Delchev to the plan already outlined by the Central Committee of Thessaloniki. After this, both Gruev and Gotse Delchev

Gotse Delchev

Georgi Nikolov Delchev was an important revolutionary figure in Ottoman-ruled Macedonia and Thrace at the turn of the 20th century...

worked together in Štip and its environs.

The expansion of the IMRO at the time was phenomenal, particularly after Gruev settled in Thessaloniki during the years 1895-1897, in the quality of a Bulgarian school inspector. Gruev had become the soul and body of the Central revolutionary committee. Under his direction, secret revolutionary papers were issued, ciphers were introduced, pseudonym

Pseudonym

A pseudonym is a name that a person assumes for a particular purpose and that differs from his or her original orthonym...

s or a nom de plume were used, and channels for secret communication between various other local and Macedonian committees were maintained. A representative of the Central Revolutionary Committee was to sent in Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

to take charge of purchasing and dispatching of the necessary war provisions for IMARC. Gruev’s tirelessly travelled throughout Macedonia and the Vilayet of Adrianople and systematically established and organized committees in villages and cities. Unfortunately, for purely political reasons, and in order to avoid suspicion from the Ottoman authorities, IMARC decided to dismiss Gruev in 1898. Soon after his dismissal Gruev moved to Bitola and there with the cooperation of Petar Poparsov, Vasil Paskov and others, he began to issue a revolutionary paper.

He organized a system in which money was collected from Sunday schools through a special "revolutionary tax

Revolutionary tax

Revolutionary tax is a major form of funding for violent non-state actors such as guerrilla and terrorist organizations. Those outside the organization may consider it to be a euphemism for "protection money"....

", and a quantity of war materials was purchased. Gruev was again appointed to the teaching staff now in the city of Bitola, and as such, he also assumed the management of the revolutionary movement in the Vilayet of Monastir (Bitola), while the active persons at the Committee in Thessaloniki were Hristo Tatarchev

Hristo Tatarchev

, Pere Toshev, and Hristo Matov

Hristo Matov

Hristo Apostolov Matov , born 10 March 1872 in Struga, Ottoman Empire , died 10 February 1922 in Sofia, Bulgaria was a prominent Bulgarian Macedonian revolutionary, philologist, folklorist and publicist, principal of the Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki , and one of...

. Gruev’s activities in the Bitola district were not left unnoticed by the Ottoman authorities. Numerous chetas (bands) throughout the surrounding mountains began to terrorize the local authorities. Gruev, being suspected as a major factor in fostering this movement, was arrested on 6 August 1900. He was held in Bitola jail until May 1902. However, by using secret writings and ciphers, he was able to remain in contact with the local revolutionary committees, and direct the affairs of the revolutionary district of Bitola.

Uprising

See also: Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising
Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising
The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising or simply the Ilinden Uprising of August 1903 |Macedonia]] affected most of the central and southwestern parts of the Monastir Vilayet receiving the support mainly of the local Bulgarian peasants and to some extent of the Aromanian population of the region...

In the latter part of May, 1902, Gruev was condemned to banishment in the prison of Podrum Kale in Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

. There he found Hristo Matov and Hristo Tatarchev

Hristo Tatarchev

, both sentenced to exile in January 1901. Gruev and his comrades were kept in Podroum Kale for ten months. Although he was away from Macedonia and Thrace itself, Gruev managed to keep himself informed as to the development and affairs of the IMARO. He kept up a steady stream of encrypted correspondence with Thessaloniki, Bitola, and Sofia. On Easter

Easter

Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...

of 1903, at the instance of a general amnesty, he was released. Gruev hastened to Thessaloniki and there he found that the Central Committee, which was in charge of the IMARO, had already resolved to declare a general insurrection which was to take place during 1903. Although Gruev was not in accord with the Central Committee’s decision, primarily because of the SMARO’s lack of preparedness, he gave in to the decision of the central Committee.

He left Thessaloniki and went to Smilevo where the insurrectionary Congress was to be held. The purpose of this Congress was to set the date for the declaration of the general insurrection and to outline the methods and tactics in its prosecution. Here Gruev met Boris Sarafov, who had just arrived from Bulgaria. Gruev was elected as chairman of this Congress, and the latter decided that the day of the declaration of the insurrection was to be 2 August 1903. Gruev, Boris Sarafov

Boris Sarafov

Boris Petrov Sarafov was a revolutionary from the region of Macedonia, one of the leaders of Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee and Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization...

, and Aleksandar Lozanchev were elected by the Congress as the three members of the General Staff, and empowered to direct the insurrectionary forces in the Bitola region. Gruev lived to see the retreat of the Turkish troops from his native village of Smilevo. He was engaged, during the course of the insurrection, in numerous skirmishes with the Ottoman army. But with the arrival of Ottoman troops, any progress of the insurrection was made impossible and in a period of six weeks it was completely crushed. Gruev put himself to task of touring various revolutionary districts, disarming the insurgents, and storing up the war materials for future use. Gruev and his followers continued the work of organization and preparation for another uprising.

After the Uprising

In 1904 Dame Gruev chaired the Prilep

Prilep

Congress of the Bitola Revolutionary District of IMRO. In the autumn of that year, Dame was captured from the Serboman

Serbomans

Serbomans is a Bulgarian-Macedonian term for local people that live in the region of Macedonia and claim to belong to Serbian ethnicity, that support the Serbian national ideals or officially declare themselves as Serbs. It is used pejoratively by Bulgarians to refer to Macedonians who refuse the...

's leader Micko Krstević, but was set free, with the assistance of Gligor Sokolović

Gligor Sokolović

Gligor Sokolović was a Macedonian Serb Chetnik with the rank of Veliki Vojvoda . He was a deputy of the Serbian National Assembly in Skopje...

, after his negotiations with Pere Toshev. In 1905 Gruev headed the first General Congress of the organization after the uprising, the so called Rila Congress. Here Dame Gruev was elected as a member of the Central Committee and became in fact its leader, until his death. Indeed Dame was the only one, who appeared was capable mastering the leader-ambitions of Yane Sandanski

Yane Sandanski

Yane Ivanov Sandanski or Jane Ivanov Sandanski, was a revolutionary, one of the leaders of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization in the Serres region and head of the extreme leftist wing of the organization...

. However, the Rila Congress failed to erase the political differences in the organization. There arose a need to conduct a new special congress in Sofia in December 1906, which never took place. At the end of 1906, Gruev moved with his detachment from Ottoman Macedonia to Sofia to attend at the special Congress. On December 23, 1906 Dame Gruev, and his detachment were discovered by the Turkish authorities near the village of Rusinovo (Maleševo district). So Gruev and his band were confronted by Ottoman forces and in the following battle he was killed.

Gruev Cove

Gruev Cove

Gruev Cove is the 300 m wide cove indenting for 650 m the east coast of Greenwich Island, in the South Shetland Islands south of Santa Cruz Point and north of Parchevich Ridge...

in Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands

South Shetland Islands

The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...

, Antarctica is named for Dame Gruev.