Hristo Tatarchev
Encyclopedia
Hristo Tatarchev was a Bulgaria
n revolutionary and first leader of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia
and Eastern Thrace (the organization was renamed to IMARO in 1906 and IMRO in 1920). He wrote the memoirs The First Central Committee of the IMRO (1928). He authored several political journalism
works between the First and Second World Wars. He is considered an ethnic Macedonian
in the Republic of Macedonia
.
Tatarchev was born in the town of Resen in Ottoman Macedonia to a rich family. His father Nikola Tatarchev was a successful banker, and his mother Katerina was a descendant of a prominent family. Hristo Tatarchev received his initial education in Resen, then he mooved to Bulgaria and studied in Bratsigovo
(1882) and eventually at the Secondary school for boys in Plovdiv
(1883–87). It was at that time when he participated in the Unification of Bulgaria and enrolled in a students' legion, which took part in the Serbo-Bulgarian War
of 1885. Tatarchev was expelled from school because of "insubordination" and he moved to Romania
, where he continued his secondary education. Later he studied medicine
at the University of Zurich
(1887–1890) and completed his degree in Medicine in Berlin
(July 1892). He moved to Thessaloniki
in 1892, where he worked as physician at the local Bulgarian secondary school for boys.
He was a founding member of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committee (renamed to IMARO in 1906), which was established on October 23, 1893 in Thessaloniki
. In the following year he was elected President of the Central Committee of IMARO. Tatarchev participated in the Thessaloniki Congress of BMARC in 1896.
In early 1901 he was caught by the Ottoman
authorities and sent into exile
for 5 years in Bodrum Castle
in Asia Minor
. Although he was granted amnesty
on August 19, 1902, Tatarchev did not give up revolutionary fight and in August 1902 he became a representative of the Foreign Committee of the IMRO in Sofia
. Being such, he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia
, Vladimir Lamsdorf (1845–1907), who had arrived in Bulgaria
at the end of 1902. Tatarchev presented Lamsdorf with an IMARO-designed plan of reforms to be introduced in Macedonia
.
During the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising
of 1903, Tatarchev guided the revolutionary fight, as the emigrant representation turned out to be the sole governing body of the organization. To his credit, Tatarchev did not desert the revolutionary campaign when the uprising was quelled. Later he came in Conflict with the supporters of Jane Sandanski and did not participate in the activities of the IMRO to the Kyustendil Congress in March 1908, where he was appointed as an adviser to the Voreign Committee of the IMRO. After the Young Turk Revolution
he openly supported the Union of the Bulgarian Constitutional Clubs
, but did not participate in its activities. In 1910 he was elected a reserve member of the Central Committee of IMRO. When Bulgaria
entered the Balkan Wars
and the First World War, Tatarchev was sent to the front as a regimental physician. At the end of the wars he was one of the initiators of the Provisional Representation of the United former IMARO.
In the fall of 1920 he entered the Macedonian Federative Organization
. Shortly after that Tatarchev was forced to emigrate in Italy, because of significant discord between then IMRO's leader Todor Alexandrov and him. He lived briefly in his native Resen during the Second World War, when Macedonia was annexed of Bulgaria
(1941–1944). Later he returned to Sofia, but in 1943 after the bombings there Tatarchev moved to Nova Zagora
. He was offered in 1944 from Ivan Mihaylov to became a President of the Independent State of Macedonia
, but he refused. Because of the communist regime Tatarchev mooved to Turin
again, where he died on January 5, 1952.
In December 2009, his mortal remains were brought from Turin to Bulgaria by VMRO-BND, a contemporary national political party claiming descent from the IMRO. Tatarchev's Bulgarian refuneral took place in Sofia, on October 23, 2010, exactly 117 years since the founding of the IMRO.
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n revolutionary and first leader of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
and Eastern Thrace (the organization was renamed to IMARO in 1906 and IMRO in 1920). He wrote the memoirs The First Central Committee of the IMRO (1928). He authored several political journalism
Political journalism
Political journalism is a broad branch of journalism that includes coverage of all aspects of politics and political science, although the term usually refers specifically to coverage of civil governments and political power....
works between the First and Second World Wars. He is considered an ethnic Macedonian
Macedonians (ethnic group)
The Macedonians also referred to as Macedonian Slavs: "... the term Slavomacedonian was introduced and was accepted by the community itself, which at the time had a much more widespread non-Greek Macedonian ethnic consciousness...
in the 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...
.
Tatarchev was born in the town of Resen in Ottoman Macedonia to a rich family. His father Nikola Tatarchev was a successful banker, and his mother Katerina was a descendant of a prominent family. Hristo Tatarchev received his initial education in Resen, then he mooved to Bulgaria and studied in Bratsigovo
Bratsigovo
Bratsigovo is a town in Southern Bulgaria. It is located in the foothills of the Rhodope Mountains, on the banks of the Umishka River in Pazardzhik oblast, and is close to the towns of Peshtera and Krichim....
(1882) and eventually at the Secondary school for boys in Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
(1883–87). It was at that time when he participated in the Unification of Bulgaria and enrolled in a students' legion, which took part in the Serbo-Bulgarian War
Serbo-Bulgarian War
The Serbo-Bulgarian War was a war between Serbia and Bulgaria that erupted on 14 November 1885 and lasted until 28 November the same year. Final peace was signed on 19 February 1886 in Bucharest...
of 1885. Tatarchev was expelled from school because of "insubordination" and he moved to Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, where he continued his secondary education. Later he studied medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
at the University of Zurich
University of Zurich
The University of Zurich , located in the city of Zurich, is the largest university in Switzerland, with over 25,000 students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of theology, law, medicine and a new faculty of philosophy....
(1887–1890) and completed his degree in Medicine in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
(July 1892). He moved to Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
in 1892, where he worked as physician at the local Bulgarian secondary school for boys.
He was a founding member of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committee (renamed to IMARO in 1906), which was established on October 23, 1893 in Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
. In the following year he was elected President of the Central Committee of IMARO. Tatarchev participated in the Thessaloniki Congress of BMARC in 1896.
In early 1901 he was caught by the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
authorities and sent into exile
Exile
Exile means to be away from one's home , while either being explicitly refused permission to return and/or being threatened with imprisonment or death upon return...
for 5 years in Bodrum Castle
Bodrum Castle
Bodrum Castle , located in southwest Turkey in the city of Bodrum , was built by the Knights Hospitaller starting in 1402 as the Castle of St. Peter or Petronium.-History:...
in Asia Minor
Asia Minor
Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...
. Although he was granted amnesty
Amnesty
Amnesty is a legislative or executive act by which a state restores those who may have been guilty of an offense against it to the positions of innocent people, without changing the laws defining the offense. It includes more than pardon, in as much as it obliterates all legal remembrance of the...
on August 19, 1902, Tatarchev did not give up revolutionary fight and in August 1902 he became a representative of the Foreign Committee of the IMRO 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...
. Being such, he met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Vladimir Lamsdorf (1845–1907), who had arrived in Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
at the end of 1902. Tatarchev presented Lamsdorf with an IMARO-designed plan of reforms to be introduced in Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
.
During the 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...
of 1903, Tatarchev guided the revolutionary fight, as the emigrant representation turned out to be the sole governing body of the organization. To his credit, Tatarchev did not desert the revolutionary campaign when the uprising was quelled. Later he came in Conflict with the supporters of Jane Sandanski and did not participate in the activities of the IMRO to the Kyustendil Congress in March 1908, where he was appointed as an adviser to the Voreign Committee of the IMRO. After the Young Turk Revolution
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution of 1908 reversed the suspension of the Ottoman parliament by Sultan Abdul Hamid II, marking the onset of the Second Constitutional Era...
he openly supported the Union of the Bulgarian Constitutional Clubs
Bulgarian Constitutional Clubs
Bulgarian Constitutional Clubs was an ethnic Bulgarian political party in the Ottoman Empire, created after the Young Turk Revolution, by members of the Internal Macedonian Adrianople Revolutionary Organization. The party functioned for a little over a year - from September 1908 until November 1909...
, but did not participate in its activities. In 1910 he was elected a reserve member of the Central Committee of IMRO. When Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
entered the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
and the First World War, Tatarchev was sent to the front as a regimental physician. At the end of the wars he was one of the initiators of the Provisional Representation of the United former IMARO.
In the fall of 1920 he entered the Macedonian Federative Organization
Macedonian Federative Organization
The Macedonian Federative Organization ' was established in Sofia in 1921 by former Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization left wing's activists.-Background:...
. Shortly after that Tatarchev was forced to emigrate in Italy, because of significant discord between then IMRO's leader Todor Alexandrov and him. He lived briefly in his native Resen during the Second World War, when Macedonia was annexed of Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
(1941–1944). Later he returned to Sofia, but in 1943 after the bombings there Tatarchev moved to Nova Zagora
Nova Zagora
Nova Zagora is a town located in the southeastern plains of Bulgaria in Sliven Province. It is the administrative centre of Nova Zagora Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 23,625 inhabitants , while the entire municipality has a population of 45,111. The first traces...
. He was offered in 1944 from Ivan Mihaylov to became a President of the Independent State of Macedonia
Independent State of Macedonia
The Independent State of Macedonia was a failed project for the creation of a puppet state of the Axis powers in the region of Macedonia in September-October 1944.Unlike the pro-Yugoslav Communist resistance the right-wing followers of the Internal Macedonian...
, but he refused. Because of the communist regime Tatarchev mooved to Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
again, where he died on January 5, 1952.
In December 2009, his mortal remains were brought from Turin to Bulgaria by VMRO-BND, a contemporary national political party claiming descent from the IMRO. Tatarchev's Bulgarian refuneral took place in Sofia, on October 23, 2010, exactly 117 years since the founding of the IMRO.
External links
- A collection of Hristo Tatarchev's interwar publications
- Hristo Tatarchev's memoirs