Strandzha commune
Encyclopedia
During the Preobrazhenie Uprising in 1903 the rebels from the Internal Macedonian Adrianople Revolutionary Organization in Strandzha
proclaimed a short lived Strandzha commune or Strandzha Republic.
By 1903, the anarchist Mihail Gerdzhikov
became a guerrilla commander in the Internal Macedonian Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation’s armed wing in Thrace, the Mortal Combat Body which helped stage a revolt against the Ottomans in Edirne Vilayet. In the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising
Gerdzhikov's forces about 2,000 strong, facing a Turkish garrison of 10,000 well-armed troops, managed to establish a liberated zone in the Strandzha Mountains, centered in Vasiliko
. This successful mass insurrection supported by militia operations allowed a large part of Eastern Thrace to be taken by the rebels. In the region the population celebrated for about three weeks. A new communitarian
system was set up and all questions were resolved in a spirit of mutual agreement between Bulgarians
and Greeks
receded. The Turkish
government was surprised by the uprising, taking extraordinary military measures to suppress it. The Turks managed to destroy the Strandzha Republic, committing atrocities against the rebel forces and the local population.
Strandzha
Strandzha is a mountain massif in southeastern Bulgaria and the European part of Turkey, in the southeastern part of the Balkans between the plains of Thrace to the west, the lowlands near Burgas to the north and the Black Sea to the east. Its highest peak is Mahya Dağı in Turkey, while the...
proclaimed a short lived Strandzha commune or Strandzha Republic.
By 1903, the anarchist Mihail Gerdzhikov
Mihail Gerdzhikov
Mihail Gerdzhikov was born in Plovdiv, then in the Ottoman Empire, in 1877. He studied at the French College, where he received the nickname Michelle. As a student in 1893 he started his revolutionary activities as the leader of a Macedonian Secret Revolutionary Committee...
became a guerrilla commander in the Internal Macedonian Adrianople Revolutionary Organisation’s armed wing in Thrace, the Mortal Combat Body which helped stage a revolt against the Ottomans in Edirne Vilayet. In 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...
Gerdzhikov's forces about 2,000 strong, facing a Turkish garrison of 10,000 well-armed troops, managed to establish a liberated zone in the Strandzha Mountains, centered in Vasiliko
Tsarevo
Tsarevo is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of the homonymous Municipality of Tsarevo in Burgas Province. It lies on a cove 70 km southeast of Burgas, on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast at the eastern foot of Strandzha mountain...
. This successful mass insurrection supported by militia operations allowed a large part of Eastern Thrace to be taken by the rebels. In the region the population celebrated for about three weeks. A new communitarian
Commune (socialism)
Traditionally, the revolutionary left sees the Commune as a populist replacement for the elitist parliament. The far-left, despite their differences, agree that the commune would have several features...
system was set up and all questions were resolved in a spirit of mutual agreement between Bulgarians
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:...
and Greeks
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
receded. The Turkish
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...
government was surprised by the uprising, taking extraordinary military measures to suppress it. The Turks managed to destroy the Strandzha Republic, committing atrocities against the rebel forces and the local population.