Macedonian Secret Revolutionary Committee
Encyclopedia
The Macedonian Secret Revolutionary Committee (MSRC) was founded in 1895 in Plovdiv
. It was developed later in Geneve in a secret, anarchistic, brotherhood called "Geneve group".
The Bulgarian anarchist movement grew in the 1890s, and the territory of Principality of Bulgaria
became a staging-point for anarchist activities against the Ottomans. Its activists were the students Michail Gerdjikov, Petar Mandjukov, Petar Sokolov, Slavi Merdjanov, Dimitar Ganchev
, Konstantin Antonov
and others. In 1893 they started in Plovdiv revolutionary activity as founders of the MSRC. Then part of the group moved to Switzerland
(Lozana and Geneva), where it made close connections with the revolutionary immigration and founded the so called Geneve group, an external extension of MSRC. The organisation was under strong anarchist influence and rejected the nationalisms of the ethnic minorities of the Ottoman Empire
, favouring the idea about a Balkan Federation
. Its members were to exert a significant influence on the development of the Macedonian and Thracian liberation movements. Between 1897 and 1898 two anarchist papers were published from Geneva - "Glas" and "Otmashtenie". In 1899 Gerdjikov comes back to Sofia
and met there Gotse Delchev
. As a result he and part from his comrades joined the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. Slavi Merdjanov moved to the Bulgarian school in Salonika, where he worked as teacher and sparked some of the graduates with this ideas. They became later the so called Gemidzii.
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...
. It was developed later in Geneve in a secret, anarchistic, brotherhood called "Geneve group".
The Bulgarian anarchist movement grew in the 1890s, and the territory of Principality of Bulgaria
Principality of Bulgaria
The Principality of Bulgaria was a self-governing entity created as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. The preliminary treaty of San Stefano between the Russian Empire and the Porte , on March 3, had originally proposed a significantly larger Bulgarian territory: its...
became a staging-point for anarchist activities against the Ottomans. Its activists were the students Michail Gerdjikov, Petar Mandjukov, Petar Sokolov, Slavi Merdjanov, Dimitar Ganchev
Dimitar Ganchev
Dimitar Ganchev was a Bulgarian revolutionary and a member of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization .Dimitar Ganchev was born in 1875 in the town of Ruse, Northern Bulgaria. After he graduated from the high-school in Ruse, he studied natural sciences at the University of...
, Konstantin Antonov
Konstantin Antonov
Konstantin Antonov Ivanov, nicknamed Sechenkata, and also known under the name Valcho Antonov, was a Bulgarian revolutionary, a member of the Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee, the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization and the Bulgarian Communist...
and others. In 1893 they started in Plovdiv revolutionary activity as founders of the MSRC. Then part of the group moved to Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
(Lozana and Geneva), where it made close connections with the revolutionary immigration and founded the so called Geneve group, an external extension of MSRC. The organisation was under strong anarchist influence and rejected the nationalisms of the ethnic minorities of the Ottoman Empire
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...
, favouring the idea about a Balkan Federation
Balkan Federation
The Balkan Federation was a project about the creation of a Balkan federation or confederation, based mainly on left political ideas.The concept of a Balkan federation emerged at the late 19th century from among left political forces in the region...
. Its members were to exert a significant influence on the development of the Macedonian and Thracian liberation movements. Between 1897 and 1898 two anarchist papers were published from Geneva - "Glas" and "Otmashtenie". In 1899 Gerdjikov comes back to 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...
and met there 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...
. As a result he and part from his comrades joined the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization. Slavi Merdjanov moved to the Bulgarian school in Salonika, where he worked as teacher and sparked some of the graduates with this ideas. They became later the so called Gemidzii.