The Boatmen of Thessaloníki
Encyclopedia
The Boatmen of Thessaloníki or the Assassins of Salonica, were an anarchistic group active in the Ottoman Empire
in the years around 1900. They all were graduates from the Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki
, and launched a campaign of terror bombing, the so called "Thessaloniki bombings of 1903". Their aim was to attract the attention of the Great Powers to Ottoman oppression in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace.
became a staging-point for anarchist activities against the Ottomans, particularly in support of Macedonian and Thracian liberation movements. The Boatmen of Thessaloníki were a descendant of a founded in 1895 in Plovdiv
"Macedonian Secret Revolutionary Committee", which was developed later in Geneve in a secret, anarchistic, brotherhood called "Geneve group". Its activists were the students Michail Gerdjikov, Petar Mandjukov and Slavi Merdjanov. They were influenced from the anarcho-nationalism, which emerged in Europe, following the French Revolution
, going back at least to Mikhail Bakunin
and his involvement with the Pan-Slavic movement. Bulgarian anarchists in the so-called “Geneva group” of students played key roles in the anti-Ottoman struggles.
Later Merdjanov moved to the Bulgarian school in Salonika, where he worked as teacher and sparked some of the graduates with this ideas. The first meetings of the group took part in 1898 with the purpose of forming a revolutionary terrorist group with the purpose of changing international public opinion in the matter of the freedom of Macedonia
and Adrianople Thrace
through urging the social conscience of the oppressed. The group is found in published works with several names: "The boatmen of Thessaloniki", the "Crew", or the "Gemitzides", form of the Turkish word for "boatman". At their start, they had a different name, the "Troublemakers", gürültücü. The name "boatmen" was due to "leaving behind the everyday life and the limits of law and sail with a boat in the free and wild seas of lawlessness."
. In the summer of 1899, under the leadership of Slavi Merdjanov the group planned the assassination of the Sultan. Merdzjanov, Petar Sokolov and their friend, the anarchist Petar Mandjukov, approached Boris Sarafov
, the leader of Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee, and asked him for funds to finance large-scale terrorist activities in the main towns of European Turkey. He promised to provide money, and the three left for Istanbul, where after much discussion, they decided to assassinate the Sultan. In December of the same year Merdjanov was connected from the secretary of Bulgarian Exarchate
Dimitar Lyapov with local Armenian revolutionaries. Here they established that even with the help of the Armenians it was impossible to do it. Quite early on, they decided that the effect of the explosion would be greater if there were parallel actions in other towns, and they consulted with Jordan Popjordanov
, a member of a small terrorist group in Salonika, who agreed to blow up the Salonika branch of the Ottoman Bank. He enlisted the aid of a number of close friends. Salonika terrorists were very young men, mostly from Veles
, pupils in the Bulgarian High School. The Salonika terrorist group called itself "the Gemidzhi". So they planned to blow up the central offices of the Ottoman Bank
in Salonika and Istanbul.
During 1900 Merdjanov arrived again in Istanbul to discuss with the Armenians the blowing and afterward the terrorists started to work, digging a tunnels on both places. On 18 September 1900 the Ottoman police apprehended a member of a group, who was carrying the explosives and later the whole group was arrested, including Merdjanov, Sokolov and Pavel Shatev
. The core was hastily disbanded for security and only Pingov stayed in Thessaloníki for preparing future activity. In 1901 the prisoners were deported το Bulgaria, after pressure from the Bulgarian government. Merdzjanov and Sokolov went to Sofia and began to think up new ideas, one of which was to hold up the Orient Express
on Turkish territory near Adrianople, and to gain possession of the mail in order to finance future actions. In pursuit of this plan, they went to the Adrianople area in July 1901, with a cheta consisting of ten men, equipped with the help of Pavel Genadiev, the Supreme Macedonian Committee's representative in Plovdiv
. The cheta managed to place a large quantity of dynamite on the railway line, but something went wrong, and the train passed undamaged. After this failure, they kidnapped the son of a rich Turkish landowner, but they were soon discovered and surrounded by large Turkish forces. In a battle which lasted several hours, most of the chetnitsi were killed or seriously wounded. Sokolov was among the dead, and Merdzjanov was captured alive, together with a Bulgarian from Lozengrad, and two Armenians. The captives were taken to Adrianople, where, in November 1901, all four were publicly hanged. The Gemidzhii were ready for action again in 1902, but the seizure in Dedeagach (present day Alexandroupoli, in Greece) of dynamite, arranged by Supreme Macedonian Committee's leader Boris Sarafov
, forced the group to abandon planned attacks in Adrianople, and to restrict its activity. Afterwards the members of the group went to Thessaloniki and continued to plan their new bombings.
, used dynamite to blow up the French ship “Guadalquivir” which was leaving the Thessaloniki harbour. The bomber left the ship together with the other passengers, but was caught later by the Turkish police at the Skopie train station. The same night, other group bombers: Dimitar Mechev, Iliya Trachkov, and Milan Arsov, struck the railway between Thessaloniki and Istanbul, causing damage to the locomotive and some of the cars of a passing train without wounding any passengers. The commencing signal for the large raid in Thessaloniki was given by Kostadin Kirkov who used explosives to shut off the electricity and water supply systems of the city. Jordan Popjordanov (Orceto) blew up the building of an Ottoman Bank office, under which the "gemidzhii" had previously dug a tunnel. Milan Arsov threw bombs in the "Alhabra" Café. The same night, Kostadin Kirkov, Iliya Bogdanov and Vladimir Pingov detonated bombs in different parts of the city. Dimitar Mechev and Iliya Truchkov failed to blast the reservoir of a gas-producing plant. They ware later killed in their quarters during a shoot-out with army and gendarmerie forces, against which Mechev and Trachkov used more than 60 bombs. Jordan Popjordanov
was killed on April 17. On April 18, Kostadin Kirkov was also killed while trying to blow up a postal office. Right before being caught, Cvetko Traikov, whose mission was to kill the local governor, killed himself by setting off a bomb and then sitting on it.
was declared in the city. As a response the Turkish Army and "bashibozouks" massacre
d many innocent Bulgarian citizens in Thessaloniki, and later in Bitola
. Pavel Shatev, Marko Boshnakov, Georgi Bogdanov and Milan Arsov ware arrested and sentenced by a court martial to a penal colony in Fezzan
. Also a members of the Central Committee of IMORO, including Ivan Garvanov
, D. Mirchev, and J. Kondov were incarcerated. In Libya Boshnakov died from malaria
on the 14th of February, 1908 and Arsov from exhaustion the 8th of June the same year. On the 30th of July 1908, because of the movement of the Young Turks
, amnesty was given and the two remaining "Boatmen", after they cut the heads of their comrades leave and arrive in Thessaloníki at the 18th of October, where they give the heads to the parents of the deceased.
, Macedonia in 2010, in honour of Гемиџии (Boatmen of Thessaloníki). The Municipality of Veles
also constructed a monument by a recently built iron bridge. The anthem of Veles, "Bolen mi lezi Mile Pop – Jordanov", speaks of them.
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...
in the years around 1900. They all were graduates from 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...
, and launched a campaign of terror bombing, the so called "Thessaloniki bombings of 1903". Their aim was to attract the attention of the Great Powers to Ottoman oppression in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace.
Origins and etymology
The Bulgarian anarchist movement grew in the 1890s, and the territory of Principality of BulgariaPrincipality 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, particularly in support of Macedonian and Thracian liberation movements. The Boatmen of Thessaloníki were a descendant of a founded in 1895 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...
"Macedonian Secret Revolutionary Committee", which was developed later in Geneve in a secret, anarchistic, brotherhood called "Geneve group". Its activists were the students Michail Gerdjikov, Petar Mandjukov and Slavi Merdjanov. They were influenced from the anarcho-nationalism, which emerged in Europe, following the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, going back at least to Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin was a well-known Russian revolutionary and theorist of collectivist anarchism. He has also often been called the father of anarchist theory in general. Bakunin grew up near Moscow, where he moved to study philosophy and began to read the French Encyclopedists,...
and his involvement with the Pan-Slavic movement. Bulgarian anarchists in the so-called “Geneva group” of students played key roles in the anti-Ottoman struggles.
Later Merdjanov moved to the Bulgarian school in Salonika, where he worked as teacher and sparked some of the graduates with this ideas. The first meetings of the group took part in 1898 with the purpose of forming a revolutionary terrorist group with the purpose of changing international public opinion in the matter of the freedom of 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 Adrianople Thrace
East Thrace
East Thrace or Eastern Thrace , also known as Turkish Thrace, is the part of the modern republic of Turkey that is geographically part of Europe, all in the eastern part of the historical region of Thrace; most of Turkey is in Anatolia, also known as Asia Minor. Turkish Thrace is also called...
through urging the social conscience of the oppressed. The group is found in published works with several names: "The boatmen of Thessaloniki", the "Crew", or the "Gemitzides", form of the Turkish word for "boatman". At their start, they had a different name, the "Troublemakers", gürültücü. The name "boatmen" was due to "leaving behind the everyday life and the limits of law and sail with a boat in the free and wild seas of lawlessness."
Attack plans
At first the anarchists started to make plans for bomb attack in IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. In the summer of 1899, under the leadership of Slavi Merdjanov the group planned the assassination of the Sultan. Merdzjanov, Petar Sokolov and their friend, the anarchist Petar Mandjukov, approached 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...
, the leader of Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee, and asked him for funds to finance large-scale terrorist activities in the main towns of European Turkey. He promised to provide money, and the three left for Istanbul, where after much discussion, they decided to assassinate the Sultan. In December of the same year Merdjanov was connected from the secretary of 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....
Dimitar Lyapov with local Armenian revolutionaries. Here they established that even with the help of the Armenians it was impossible to do it. Quite early on, they decided that the effect of the explosion would be greater if there were parallel actions in other towns, and they consulted with Jordan Popjordanov
Jordan Popjordanov
Jordan "Orce" Popjordanov was revolutionary anarchist in Ottoman Macedonia. He is considered Bulgarian in Bulgaria and Macedonian in Republic of Macedonia...
, a member of a small terrorist group in Salonika, who agreed to blow up the Salonika branch of the Ottoman Bank. He enlisted the aid of a number of close friends. Salonika terrorists were very young men, mostly from Veles
Veles
Veles may refer to:*Veles , Slavic deity*Veles , in the Republic of Macedonia*Veles municipality, in the Republic of Macedonia*Veles, singular of velites, a class of infantry in the early Roman Republic...
, pupils in the Bulgarian High School. The Salonika terrorist group called itself "the Gemidzhi". So they planned to blow up the central offices of the Ottoman Bank
Ottoman Bank
The Ottoman Bank was founded in 1856 in the Galata business section of İstanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, as a joint venture between British interests, the Banque de Paris et des Pays-Bas of France, and the Ottoman government.The opening capital of the Bank consisted of 135,000 shares,...
in Salonika and Istanbul.
During 1900 Merdjanov arrived again in Istanbul to discuss with the Armenians the blowing and afterward the terrorists started to work, digging a tunnels on both places. On 18 September 1900 the Ottoman police apprehended a member of a group, who was carrying the explosives and later the whole group was arrested, including Merdjanov, Sokolov and Pavel Shatev
Pavel Shatev
Pavel Potsev Shatev , , was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the left wing of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization , BMARC before 1902)...
. The core was hastily disbanded for security and only Pingov stayed in Thessaloníki for preparing future activity. In 1901 the prisoners were deported το Bulgaria, after pressure from the Bulgarian government. Merdzjanov and Sokolov went to Sofia and began to think up new ideas, one of which was to hold up the Orient Express
Orient Express
The Orient Express is the name of a long-distance passenger train service originally operated by the Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits. It ran from 1883 to 2009 and is not to be confused with the Venice-Simplon Orient Express train service, which continues to run.The route and rolling stock...
on Turkish territory near Adrianople, and to gain possession of the mail in order to finance future actions. In pursuit of this plan, they went to the Adrianople area in July 1901, with a cheta consisting of ten men, equipped with the help of Pavel Genadiev, the Supreme Macedonian Committee's representative 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...
. The cheta managed to place a large quantity of dynamite on the railway line, but something went wrong, and the train passed undamaged. After this failure, they kidnapped the son of a rich Turkish landowner, but they were soon discovered and surrounded by large Turkish forces. In a battle which lasted several hours, most of the chetnitsi were killed or seriously wounded. Sokolov was among the dead, and Merdzjanov was captured alive, together with a Bulgarian from Lozengrad, and two Armenians. The captives were taken to Adrianople, where, in November 1901, all four were publicly hanged. The Gemidzhii were ready for action again in 1902, but the seizure in Dedeagach (present day Alexandroupoli, in Greece) of dynamite, arranged by Supreme Macedonian Committee's leader 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...
, forced the group to abandon planned attacks in Adrianople, and to restrict its activity. Afterwards the members of the group went to Thessaloniki and continued to plan their new bombings.
Bombings
So on the 28 April 1903, member of the group, Pavel ShatevPavel Shatev
Pavel Potsev Shatev , , was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the left wing of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization , BMARC before 1902)...
, used dynamite to blow up the French ship “Guadalquivir” which was leaving the Thessaloniki harbour. The bomber left the ship together with the other passengers, but was caught later by the Turkish police at the Skopie train station. The same night, other group bombers: Dimitar Mechev, Iliya Trachkov, and Milan Arsov, struck the railway between Thessaloniki and Istanbul, causing damage to the locomotive and some of the cars of a passing train without wounding any passengers. The commencing signal for the large raid in Thessaloniki was given by Kostadin Kirkov who used explosives to shut off the electricity and water supply systems of the city. Jordan Popjordanov (Orceto) blew up the building of an Ottoman Bank office, under which the "gemidzhii" had previously dug a tunnel. Milan Arsov threw bombs in the "Alhabra" Café. The same night, Kostadin Kirkov, Iliya Bogdanov and Vladimir Pingov detonated bombs in different parts of the city. Dimitar Mechev and Iliya Truchkov failed to blast the reservoir of a gas-producing plant. They ware later killed in their quarters during a shoot-out with army and gendarmerie forces, against which Mechev and Trachkov used more than 60 bombs. Jordan Popjordanov
Jordan Popjordanov
Jordan "Orce" Popjordanov was revolutionary anarchist in Ottoman Macedonia. He is considered Bulgarian in Bulgaria and Macedonian in Republic of Macedonia...
was killed on April 17. On April 18, Kostadin Kirkov was also killed while trying to blow up a postal office. Right before being caught, Cvetko Traikov, whose mission was to kill the local governor, killed himself by setting off a bomb and then sitting on it.
Aftermath
In the wake of the attacks, martial lawMartial law
Martial law is the imposition of military rule by military authorities over designated regions on an emergency basis— only temporary—when the civilian government or civilian authorities fail to function effectively , when there are extensive riots and protests, or when the disobedience of the law...
was declared in the city. As a response the Turkish Army and "bashibozouks" massacre
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
d many innocent Bulgarian citizens in Thessaloniki, and later 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...
. Pavel Shatev, Marko Boshnakov, Georgi Bogdanov and Milan Arsov ware arrested and sentenced by a court martial to a penal colony in Fezzan
Fezzan
Fezzan is a south western region of modern Libya. It is largely desert but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys in the north, where oases enable ancient towns and villages to survive deep in the otherwise inhospitable Sahara.-Name:...
. Also a members of the Central Committee of IMORO, including Ivan Garvanov
Ivan Garvanov
Ivan Garvanov was a Bulgarian revolutionary and leader of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace. He was among the leaders of the Bulgarian Secret Revolutionary Brotherhood and later of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees...
, D. Mirchev, and J. Kondov were incarcerated. In Libya Boshnakov died from malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
on the 14th of February, 1908 and Arsov from exhaustion the 8th of June the same year. On the 30th of July 1908, because of the movement of the Young Turks
Young Turks
The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...
, amnesty was given and the two remaining "Boatmen", after they cut the heads of their comrades leave and arrive in Thessaloníki at the 18th of October, where they give the heads to the parents of the deceased.
Members
The members of the boatmen were as follows:- Jordan PopjordanovJordan PopjordanovJordan "Orce" Popjordanov was revolutionary anarchist in Ottoman Macedonia. He is considered Bulgarian in Bulgaria and Macedonian in Republic of Macedonia...
, also known as Jiordan Orgadtziev, but called Ortzeto. He was born in 1881 in a bourgeois family and mixed with radical-revolutionary organizations after he entered the Salonika Bulgarian School in 1894. He is thought to be the mastermind of the Boatmen. He was killed during the bombings and he is the only one of the boatmen from whom no picture is saved. - Kostadin Kirkov , was bonded with Ortzeto from early age. They entered the Bulgarian School at the same age. He was known for his great memory and his sarcastic humor. He was killed five days after the bombings.
- Milan ArsovMilan ArsovMilan Arsov was a Bulgarian revolutionary - anarchist , member of Gemidziite and one of the assassins in Thessaloniki. In the Republic of Macedonia he is considered Macedonian.- Biography :...
, born in 1886, was the youngest of the team and still at the 4th grade of school when the attacks where made. He died in exile. - Dimitar Metchev , born in 1870 tried to kill a man from the local authority in Veles with an axe in 1898. When he failed, he left for the mountains to join with armed guerrilla groups. He died during the events.
- Georgi BogdanovGeorgi BogdanovGeorgi Bogdanov was a Bulgarian anarchist and revolutionary. Bogdanov is best remembered as a member of the Gemidziite group and a participant in the 1903 Thessaloniki terror campaign. He is considered an ethnic Macedonian in the Republic of Macedonia.- Biography :...
, born in 1882, originate from a wealthy family. In 1901 his father sent him in Thessaloníki to work in a real estate office of a relative, Iliya Popstefanov. He was exiled in 1908 in Fezan, Lybia. - Ilija Trutchkov , born in 1885 worked in ThessaloníkiThessalonikiThessaloniki , 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...
as a shoemaker. He died during the bombings. - Vladimir Pingov, born in 1885, was a "daredevil" and always took the most dangerous missions. He was the first of the group who died.
- Marko BoshnakovMarko BoshnakovMarko Boshnakov was a Bulgarian anarchist, participant in the Macedonian revolutionary movement and a member of the Gemidziite. He is considered an ethnic Macedonian in the Republic of Macedonia.- Biography :...
from OhridOhridOhrid 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...
, it is said that he was an officer in the Bulgarian army and he was the one that made the plans for the tunnel under the Bank. He was the only one who did not take part in the bombings. He was caught 14 days after the bombings, exiled in 1908 and died in Fezan, Lybia, in the same year. - Trayko Tsvetkov, born in 1878 was from ResenResenResen 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,...
and lived several years in Salonika. He was an active member of the Bulgarian community. He was the last of the team killed during the events. - Pavel ShatevPavel ShatevPavel Potsev Shatev , , was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the left wing of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization , BMARC before 1902)...
, born in KratovoKratovoKratovo may refer to:*Kratovo, Macedonia, a town in the Republic of Macedonia*Kratovo, Russia, an urban-type settlement in Moscow Oblast, Russia*Kratovo, Serbia, a settlement situated in the Priboj municipality of southwestern Serbia...
in 1882. His father was a trader. He got in the Bulgarian School in 1896. From 1910 until 1913 he returned to Salonika and worked as a teacher in the Mercantile College. He was probably killed by Josip Broz TitoJosip Broz TitoMarshal Josip Broz Tito – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. While his presidency has been criticized as authoritarian, Tito was a popular public figure both in Yugoslavia and abroad, viewed as a unifying symbol for the nations of the Yugoslav federation...
's men in 1951.
Modern references
There is monument erected in the centre of SkopjeSkopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
, Macedonia in 2010, in honour of Гемиџии (Boatmen of Thessaloníki). The Municipality of Veles
Veles municipality
Veles is a municipality in central Republic of Macedonia. Veles is also the name of the town where the municipal seat is found. Veles Municipality is part of the Vardar Statistical Region.-Geography:...
also constructed a monument by a recently built iron bridge. The anthem of Veles, "Bolen mi lezi Mile Pop – Jordanov", speaks of them.
See also
- Macedonian Question
- List of anarchist communities
- Boatmen of Thessaloniki (film)Boatmen of Thessaloniki (film)Boatmen of Thessaloniki , also known as The Assassins from Thessaloniki , is a Macedonian 1961 film from the Yugoslav ages...
Sources
- James Sotros The Greek Speaking Anarchist and Revolutionary Movement (1830–1940) Writings for a History, No God-No Masters, December 2004
- Megas G. The Boatmen of Thesalloniki. The Bulgarian anarchist group and the bomb attacks of 1903, Troxalia, 1994 ISBN 960-7022-47-5