Nikola Karev
Encyclopedia
Nikola Janakiev Karev was a revolutionary in Ottoman
-ruled Macedonia
. He was born 23 November 1877 in Kruševo
and died 27 April 1905 in the village of Rajčani
, both today in the Republic of Macedonia
. Karev was a local leader of what later became known as the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO). He was also a socialist
and a member of the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party. He is considered a Bulgarian
in Bulgaria
and a Macedonian
in the Republic of Macedonia.
in independent Bulgaria, where he became a member of the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party
. Later he went back to Ottoman Macedonia and graduated from the Bulgarian Exarchate
's gymnasium
in Bitola
. After that he worked as Bulgarian teacher in the region of Kruševo
. In this period he joined IMRO and became a leader of a regional armed band (cheta
). During the Ilinden Uprising of August 1903, when Kruševo was captured by the rebels, Nikola Karev authored the Kruševo Manifesto
, which declared an independent Kruševo Republic
, and became the head of its provisional government.
The republic lasted only ten days, from 3 August to 13 August, when after intense fighting it was destroyed by Ottoman government forces. After the uprising Karev went back to Bulgaria and became political active in the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party. In 1905 he was killed during an attempt to enter Ottoman Macedonia with a group of IMRO fighters.
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...
-ruled 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...
. He was born 23 November 1877 in Kruševo
Kruševo
Kruševo also spelled Krushevo, is a town in the Republic of Macedonia. It is the highest town in Macedonia, situated at an altitude of over 4,000 feet above sea level. The town of Kruševo is the seat of Kruševo Municipality.-History:...
and died 27 April 1905 in the village of Rajčani
Rajcani
Rajčani is a village in the Kočani region of Macedonia.Closely to the village, at the area of Svilanovo, on 27th of April 1905 in fighting with Turk's asker Nikola Karev was killed. He was president of Krusevo Republic, first republic on Balcans at that period....
, both today 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...
. Karev was a local leader of what later became known as the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO). He was also a socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
and a member of the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party. He is considered a Bulgarian
Bulgarians
The Bulgarians are a South Slavic nation and ethnic group native to Bulgaria and neighbouring regions. Emigration has resulted in immigrant communities in a number of other countries.-History and ethnogenesis:...
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...
and a 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.
Biography
Karev completed his early education in Kruševo and in 1893 moved to SofiaSofia
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...
in independent Bulgaria, where he became a member of the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party
Bulgarian Communist Party
The Bulgarian Communist Party was the communist and Marxist-Leninist ruling party of the People's Republic of Bulgaria from 1946 until 1990 when the country ceased to be a communist state...
. Later he went back to Ottoman Macedonia and graduated from the Bulgarian Exarchate
Bulgarian Exarchate
The Bulgarian Exarchate was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953....
's gymnasium
Gymnasium (school)
A gymnasium is a type of school providing secondary education in some parts of Europe, comparable to English grammar schools or sixth form colleges and U.S. college preparatory high schools. The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, meaning a locality for both physical and intellectual...
in 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...
. After that he worked as Bulgarian teacher in the region of Kruševo
Kruševo
Kruševo also spelled Krushevo, is a town in the Republic of Macedonia. It is the highest town in Macedonia, situated at an altitude of over 4,000 feet above sea level. The town of Kruševo is the seat of Kruševo Municipality.-History:...
. In this period he joined IMRO and became a leader of a regional armed band (cheta
Cheta
Cheta was an armed band, organized by the Christian population on the territory of the Ottoman Empire, aiming at anti-Turkish activity. The cheta was usually led by a leader, called voivoda. The members of the chetas were called chetnik....
). During the Ilinden Uprising of August 1903, when Kruševo was captured by the rebels, Nikola Karev authored the Kruševo Manifesto
Kruševo Manifesto
The Krusevo Manifesto is a manifesto published by the Revolutionary Committee of Kruševo Republic during the 1903 Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising in the wider region of Macedonia...
, which declared an independent Kruševo Republic
Kruševo Republic
During the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising in 1903 the rebels from the Secret Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization in Kruševo proclaimed a short lived Kruševo Republic....
, and became the head of its provisional government.
The republic lasted only ten days, from 3 August to 13 August, when after intense fighting it was destroyed by Ottoman government forces. After the uprising Karev went back to Bulgaria and became political active in the Bulgarian Workers' Social Democratic Party. In 1905 he was killed during an attempt to enter Ottoman Macedonia with a group of IMRO fighters.
Sources
- Пандев, К. "Устави и правилници на ВМОРО преди Илинденско-Преображенското въстание", Исторически преглед, 1969, кн. I, стр. 68—80.
- Пандев, К. "Устави и правилници на ВМОРО преди Илинденско-Преображенското въстание", Извeстия на Института за история, т. 21, 1970, стр. 250-257.
- Битоски, Крсте, сп. "Македонско Време", Скопје - март 1997, quoting: Quoting: Public Record Office - Foreign Office 78/4951 Turkey (Bulgaria), From Elliot, 1898, Устав на ТМОРО. S. 1. published in Документи за борбата на македонскиот народ за самостојност и за национална држава, Скопје, Универзитет "Кирил и Методиј": Факултет за филозофско-историски науки, 1981, pp 331 – 333.
- Hugh Pouton Who Are the Macedonians? , C. Hurst & Co, 2000. p. 53. ISBN 1-85065-534-0
- Fikret Adanir, Die Makedonische Frage: ihre entestehung und etwicklung bis 1908., Wiessbaden 1979, p. 112.
- Duncan Perry The Politics of Terror: The Macedonian Liberation Movements, 1893-1903 , Durham, Duke University Press, 1988. pp. 40–41, 210 n. 10.
- Keith Brown,The Past in Question: Modern Macedonia and the Uncertainties of Nation, Princeton University Press, 2003.