Vasil Levski
Encyclopedia
Vasil Levski, born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev, (Васил Иванов Кунчев; 18 July 1837–18 February 1873), is a Bulgarian
revolutionary
and a national hero of Bulgaria
. Dubbed the Apostle of Freedom, Levski ideologised and strategised a revolutionary movement to liberate Bulgaria
from Ottoman
rule. Founding the Internal Revolutionary Organisation
, Levski sought to foment a nationwide uprising through a network of secret regional committees.
Born in the sub-Balkan
town of Karlovo
to middle class parents, Levski became an Orthodox
monk before emigrating to join the two Bulgarian Legion
s in Serbia
and other Bulgarian revolutionary groups. Abroad, he acquired the nickname Levski, "Leonine". After working as a teacher in Bulgarian lands, he propagated his views and developed the concept of his Bulgaria-based revolutionary organisation, an innovative idea that superseded the foreign-based detachment strategy of the past. In Romania
, Levski helped institute the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee
, composed of Bulgarian expatriates. During his tours of Bulgaria, Levski established a wide network of insurrectionary committees. Ottoman authorities, however, captured him at an inn near Lovech
and executed him by hanging in Sofia
.
Levski looked beyond the act of liberation: he envisioned a "pure and sacred" Bulgarian republic
of ethnic and religious equality
. His concepts have been described as a struggle for human rights
, inspired by the progressive liberalism
of the French Revolution
and 19th century Western Europe
an society. Levski is commemorated with monuments in Bulgaria, and numerous national institutions bear his name. In 2007, he topped a nationwide television poll as the all-time greatest Bulgarian.
had ceased to exist, falling under full Ottoman domination. The inegalitarian Ottoman millet
system had turned the Bulgarians and other Christian
subjects into second-class citizen
s, and the religious differences had created insurmountable cultural antagonism. The empire's 19th-century economic hardships
, which prompted its personification as the "sick man of Europe
", meant that the Ottoman state's Christian residents suffered more than its Muslim
subjects and reforms
planned by the sultans
faced insuperable difficulties.
Bulgarian nationalism
gradually materialised during the mid-19th century with the economic upsurge of Bulgarian merchants and craftsmen, the development of Bulgarian-funded popular education, the struggle for an autonomous Bulgarian Church
and political actions towards the formation of a separate Bulgarian state. The First
and Second Serbian Uprising
s had laid the foundation of an autonomous Serbia
during the late 1810s, and Greece
had been established as an independent state in 1832, in the wake of the Greek War of Independence
. However, support for gaining independence through an armed struggle against the Ottomans was not universal. Revolutionary sentiment was concentrated largely among the more educated and urban sectors of the populace. There was less support for an organized revolt among the peasantry and the wealthier merchants and traders, who feared that Ottoman reprisals would jeopardize economic stability and widespread rural land ownership.
an province Rumelia
. He was the namesake of his maternal uncle, Archimandrite
(superior abbot) Basil (Василий, Vasiliy). Levski's parents, Ivan Kunchev and Gina Kuncheva (née
Karaivanova), came from a family of clergy and craftsmen and represented the emerging Bulgarian middle class
. An eminent but struggling local craftsman, Kunchev died in 1844. Levski had two younger brothers, Hristo and Petar, and an older sister, Yana; another sister, Maria, died during childhood.
Fellow revolutionary Panayot Hitov
later described the adult Levski as being of medium height and having an agile, wiry appearance—with light, greyish-blue eyes, blond hair, and a small moustache. He added that Levski abstained from smoking and drinking. Hitov's memories of Levski's appearance are supported by Levski's contemporaries, revolutionary and writer Lyuben Karavelov
and teacher Ivan Furnadzhiev. The only differences are that Karavelov claimed Levski was tall rather than of medium height, while Furnadzhiev noted that his moustache was light brown and his eyes appeared hazel.
Levski began his education at a school in Karlovo, studying homespun tailoring as a local craftsman's apprentice. In 1855, Levski's uncle Basil—archimandrite and envoy of the Hilandar
monastery—took him to Stara Zagora
, where he attended school and worked as Basil's servant. Afterward, Levski joined a clerical training course. On 7 December 1858, he became an Orthodox monk in the Sopot
monastery under the religious name Ignatius (Игнатий, Ignatiy) and was promoted in 1859 to hierodeacon
, which later inspired one of Levski's informal nicknames, The Deacon (Дякона, Dyakona).
's revolutionary ideas, Levski left for the Serbian capital Belgrade
during the spring of 1862. In Belgrade, Rakovski had been assembling the First Bulgarian Legion
, a military detachment formed by Bulgarian volunteers and revolutionary workers seeking the overthrow of Ottoman rule. Abandoning his service as a monk, Levski enlisted as a volunteer. At the time, relations between the Serbs
and their Ottoman suzerains
were tense. Militant conflicts in Belgrade were eventually resolved diplomatically, and the First Bulgarian Legion was disbanded under Ottoman pressure on 12 September 1862. His courage during training and fighting earned him his nickname Levski ("Leonine"). After the legion's disbandment, Levski joined Ilyo Voyvoda
's detachment at Kragujevac
, but returned to Rakovski in Belgrade after discovering that Ilyo's plans to invade Bulgaria had failed.
In the spring of 1863, Levski returned to Bulgarian lands after a brief stay in Romania
. His uncle Basil reported him as a rebel to the Ottoman authorities, and Levski was imprisoned in Plovdiv
for three months, later released due to the help of the doctor R. Petrov and the Russian vice-consul Nayden Gerov
. On Easter
1864, Levski officially relinquished his religious office. From May 1864 until March 1866, he worked as a teacher in Voynyagovo
near Karlovo; while there, he supported and gave shelter to persecuted Bulgarians and organised patriotic companies among the population. As his activity caused suspicion among the Ottoman authorities, he was forced to move, and from the spring of 1866 to the spring of 1867 he taught in Enikyoy and Kongas
, two Northern Dobruja
villages near Tulcea
.
. Two revolutionary bands led by Panayot Hitov and Filip Totyu
had been inciting the Bulgarian diasporic community in Romania
to invade Bulgaria and organise anti-Ottoman resistance. On the recommendation of Rakovski, Vasil Levski was selected as the standard-bearer
of Hitov's detachment. In April 1867, the band crossed the Danube
at Tutrakan
, moved through the Ludogorie
region and reached the Balkan Mountains. After skirmishing, the band fled to Serbia through Pirot
in August.
In Serbia, the government was again favourable towards the Bulgarian revolutionaries' aspirations and allowed them to establish in Belgrade the Second Bulgarian Legion, an organisation similar to its predecessor and its goals. Levski was a prominent member of the Legion, but between February and April 1868 he suffered from a gastric
disease that required surgery. Bedridden, he could not participate in the Legion's training. After the Legion was again disbanded under political pressure, Levski attempted to reunite with his compatriots, but was arrested in Zaječar
and briefly imprisoned. Upon his release he went to Romania, where Hadzhi Dimitar
and Stefan Karadzha
were mobilising revolutionary detachments. For various reasons, including his stomach problems and strategic differences, Levski did not participate. In the winter of 1868, he became acquainted with poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev
and lived with him in an abandoned windmill near Bucharest
.
to Istanbul
, the starting point of a trek that lasted until 24 February 1869, when Levski returned to Romania. During this canvassing and reconnaissance mission, Levski is thought to have visited Plovdiv, Perushtitsa
, Karlovo, Sopot, Kazanlak
, Sliven
, Tarnovo
, Lovech
, Pleven
and Nikopol
, establishing links with local patriots.
After a two-month stay in Bucharest, Vasil Levski returned to Bulgaria for a second tour, lasting from 1 May to 26 August 1869. On this tour he carried proclamations printed in Romania by the political figure Ivan Kasabov. They legitimised Levski as the representative of a Bulgarian provisional government
. Vasil Levski travelled to Nikopol, Pleven, Karlovo, Plovdiv, Pazardzhik
, Perushtitsa, Stara Zagora, Chirpan
, Sliven, Lovech, Tarnovo, Gabrovo
, Sevlievo
and Tryavna
. According to some researchers, Levski established the earliest of his secret committees during this tour, but those assumptions are based on uncertain data.
From late August 1869 to May the following year, Levski was active in the Romanian capital Bucharest. He was in contact with revolutionary writer and journalist Lyuben Karavelov, whose participation in the foundation of the Bulgarian Literary Society
Levski approved in writing. Karavelov's publications gathered a number of followers and initiated the foundation of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee
(BRCC), a centralised revolutionary diasporic organisation that included Levski as a founding member and statute drafter. In disagreement over planning, Levski departed from Bucharest in the spring of 1870 and began to actualise his concept of an internal revolutionary network.
(IRO), was centred around the Lovech
Central Committee, also called "BRCC in Bulgaria" or the "provisional government". The goal of the committees was to prepare for a coordinated uprising. The network of committees was at its densest in the central Bulgarian regions, particularly around Sofia, Plovdiv and Stara Zagora. Revolutionary committees were also established in some parts of Macedonia
, Dobruja
and Strandzha
and around the more peripheral urban centres Kyustendil
, Vratsa
and Vidin
. IRO committees purchased armaments and organised detachments of volunteers. According to one study, the organisation had just over 1,000 members in the early 1870s. Most members were intellectuals and traders, though all layers of Bulgarian society were represented.
Individuals obtained IRO membership in secrecy: the initiation
ritual involved a formal oath of allegiance
over the Gospel
or a Christian cross
, a gun and a knife; treason was punishable by death, and secret police
monitored each member's activities. Through clandestine channels of reliable people, relations were maintained with the revolutionary diasporic community. The internal correspondence employed encryption
, conventional signs, and fake personal and committee names. Although Levski himself headed the organisation, he shared administrative responsibilities with assistants such as monk-turned-revolutionary Matey Preobrazhenski
, the adventurous Dimitar Obshti
, and the young Angel Kanchev
.
Apocryphal and semi-legendary anecdotal stories surround the creation of Levski's Internal Revolutionary Organisation. Persecuted by the Ottoman authorities who offered 500 Turkish lira
s for his death and 1000 for his capture, Levski resorted to disguises to evade arrest during his travels. For example, he is known to have dyed his hair and to have worn a variety of national costumes. In the autumn of 1871, Levski and Angel Kanchev published the Instruction of the Workers for the Liberation of the Bulgarian People, a BRCC draft statute containing ideological, organisational and penal sections. It was sent out to the local committees and to the diasporic community for discussion. The political and organisational experience that Levski amassed is evident in his correspondence dating from 1871 to 1872; at the time, his views on the revolution had clearly matured.
As IRO expanded, it coordinated its activities more with the Bucharest-based BRCC. On Levski's initiative, a general assembly was called between 29 April and 4 May 1872. At the assembly, the delegates approved a programme and a statute, elected Lyuben Karavelov as the organisation's leader and authorised Levski as the BRCC executive body's only legitimate representative in the Bulgarian lands. After attending the assembly, Levski returned to Bulgaria and reorganised IRO's internal structure in accordance with BRCC's recommendations. Thus, the Lovech Central Committee was reduced to a regular local committee, and the first region-wide revolutionary centres were founded. The lack of funds, however, precipitated the organisation into a crisis, and Levski's one-man judgements on important strategic and tactical matters were increasingly questioned.
pass on 22 September 1872, without approval from Levski or the leadership of the movement. While the robbery was successful and provided IRO with 125,000 groschen
, Obshti and the other perpetrators were soon arrested. The preliminary investigation and trial revealed the revolutionary organisation's size and its close relations with BRCC. Obshti and other prisoners made a full confession and revealed Levski's leading role.
Realising that he was in danger, Levski decided to flee to Romania, where he would meet Karavelov and discuss these events. First, however, he had to collect important documentation from the committee archive in Lovech, which would constitute important evidence if seized by the Ottomans. He stayed at the nearby village inn in Kakrina
, where he was surprised and arrested on the morning of 27 December 1872. Starting with the writings of Lyuben Karavelov the most accepted version has been that a priest named Krastyo Nikiforov betrayed Levski to the police. This theory has been disputed by the researchers Ivan Panchovski and Vasil Boyanov for lack of evidence.
Initially taken to Tarnovo for interrogation, Levski was sent to Sofia
on 4 January. There, he was brought to trial. While he acknowledged his identity, he did not reveal his accomplices or details related to his organisation, taking full blame. Ottoman authorities sentenced Levski to death by hanging. Although he was recognised as an instigator of a major armed uprising, the death sentence was based on a Lovech servant's murder that Levski committed while attempting to extort money from a wealthy local. The verdict was carried out on in Sofia, where the Monument to Vasil Levski
now stands. The location of Levski's grave is uncertain, but in the 1980s writer Nikolay Haytov
campaigned for the Church of St. Petka of the Saddlers as Levski's burial place, which the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
concluded as possible yet unverifiable.
Levski's death intensified the crisis in the Bulgarian revolutionary movement and most IRO committees soon disintegrated. Nevertheless, five years after his hanging, the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 secured the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in the wake of the April Uprising
of 1876. The Treaty of San Stefano
of 3 March 1878 established the Bulgarian state as an autonomous Principality of Bulgaria
under de jure
Ottoman suzerainty.
s as a more feasible solution.
Levski envisioned Bulgaria as a democratic
republic
, occasionally finding common ground with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
, and largely reflecting the liberal
ideas of the French Revolution
and contemporary Western society
. He said, "We will be free in complete liberty where the Bulgarian lives: in Bulgaria, Thrace, Macedonia; people of whatever ethnicity live in this heaven of ours, they will be equal in rights to the Bulgarian in everything. We will have a flag that says, 'Pure and sacred republic'... It is time, by a single deed, to achieve what our French
brothers have been seeking..." Levski held that all religious and ethnic groups in a free Bulgaria—whether Bulgarians, Turks
, Jews or others—should enjoy equal rights
. He reiterated that the Bulgarian revolutionaries fought against the sultan's government, not against the Turkish people and their religion: "We're not driving away the Turkish people nor their faith, but the emperor and his laws (in a word, the Turkish government), which has been ruling not only us, but the Turk himself in a barbarian way."
Levski was prepared to sacrifice his life for the revolution and place Bulgaria and the Bulgarian people above personal interests: "If I shall win, I shall win for the entire people. If I shall lose, I shall lose only myself." In a liberated Bulgaria, he did not envision himself as a national leader or a high-ranking official: "We yearn to see a free fatherland, and [then] one could even order me to graze the ducks, isn't that right?" In the spirit of Garibaldi
, Levski planned to assist other oppressed peoples of the world in their liberation once Bulgaria was reestablished. He also advocated "strict and regular accounting" in his revolutionary organisation, and did not tolerate corruption
.
, Moldova
, Bucharest, Romania, Paris
, France, Washington, D.C.
, United States, and Buenos Aires
, Argentina
. Three museums dedicated to Levski have been organised: one in Karlovo, one in Lovech and one in Kakrina.
Several institutions in Bulgaria have been named in Vasil Levski's honour; these include the football club PFC Levski Sofia
, the Vasil Levski National Sports Academy
and the Vasil Levski National Military University
. Bulgaria's national stadium bears the name Vasil Levski National Stadium
. The 1000 Bulgarian lev
a banknote, in circulation between 1994 and 1999, featured Levski's portrait on its obverse side and his monument in Sofia on the reverse. The town of Levski
and six villages around the country have also been named in his honour. The Antarctic Place-names Commission of Bulgaria
named an Antarctic ridge and peak on Livingston Island of the South Shetland Islands
Levski Ridge
and Levski Peak respectively.
The life of Vasil Levski has been widely featured in Bulgarian literature
and popular culture. Poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev
dedicated his last work to Levski, "The Hanging of Vasil Levski". The poem, an elegy
, was probably written in late 1875. Prose and poetry writer Ivan Vazov
devoted an ode
to the revolutionary. Eponymously titled "Levski", it was published as part of the cycle Epic of the Forgotten
. Levski has also inspired works by writers Hristo Smirnenski
and Nikolay Haytov, among others. Songs devoted to Levski can be found in the folklore tradition of Macedonia as well. In February 2007, a nationwide poll conducted as part of the Velikite Balgari
("The Great Bulgarians") television show, a local spin-off of Greatest Britons
, named Vasil Levski the greatest Bulgarian of all time.
There have been motions to glorify
Vasil Levski as a saint of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
. However, historian Stefan Chureshki has emphasised that while Levski's post-monastical life was one of a martyr, it was incompatible with the Orthodox concept of sainthood. Chureshki makes reference to Levski's correspondences, which show that Levski threatened wealthy Bulgarians (чорбаджии, chorbadzhii
) and traitors with death, endorsed theft from the rich for pragmatic revolutionary purposes and voluntarily gave up his religious office to devote himself to the secular struggle for liberation.
Vasil Levski's hanging is observed annually across Bulgaria on 19 February instead of 18 February, due to the erroneous calculation of 19th-century Julian calendar
dates after Bulgaria adopted the Gregorian calendar
in 1916. Although the location of Levski's grave has not been determined, some of his hair is on exhibit at the National Museum of Military History. After Levski gave up monkhood in 1863, he shaved his hair, which his mother and later his sister Yana preserved. Levski's personal items—such as his silver Christian cross, his copper water vessel, his Gasser revolver, made in Austria–Hungary in 1869, and the shackles from his imprisonment in Sofia—are also exhibited in the military history museum, while Levski's sabre can be seen in the Lovech regional museum.
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:...
revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
and a national hero 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...
. Dubbed the Apostle of Freedom, Levski ideologised and strategised a revolutionary movement to liberate Bulgaria
Liberation of Bulgaria
In Bulgarian historiography, the term Liberation of Bulgaria is used to denote the events of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78 that led to the re-establishment of Bulgarian state with the Treaty of San Stefano of March 3, 1878, after the complete conquest of the Second Bulgarian Empire, which...
from 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...
rule. Founding the Internal Revolutionary Organisation
Internal Revolutionary Organisation
The Internal Revolutionary Organisation or IRO was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded and built up by Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski in the period between 1869 and 1871. The organisation represented a network of regional revolutionary committees which were governed by a Central...
, Levski sought to foment a nationwide uprising through a network of secret regional committees.
Born in the sub-Balkan
Sub-Balkan valleys
The Sub-Balkan valleys are located between Stara Planina, Vitosha and Sredna Gora. There is great abundance of mineral waters, the most notable spas being Bankya, Sofia, Banya, Pavel Banya, Sliven Mineral Baths, Aitos. They are divided into two parts: western and eastern...
town of Karlovo
Karlovo
Karlovo is a picturesque and a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains...
to middle class parents, Levski became an Orthodox
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Orthodox Church, officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the second largest Christian denomination in the world, with an estimated 300 million adherents mainly in the countries of Belarus, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Georgia, Greece,...
monk before emigrating to join the two Bulgarian Legion
Bulgarian Legion
The Bulgarian Legion was the name of two military bands formed by Bulgarian volunteers and revolutionary workers in the Serbian capital of Belgrade in the second part of the 19th century...
s in Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and other Bulgarian revolutionary groups. Abroad, he acquired the nickname Levski, "Leonine". After working as a teacher in Bulgarian lands, he propagated his views and developed the concept of his Bulgaria-based revolutionary organisation, an innovative idea that superseded the foreign-based detachment strategy of the past. In 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...
, Levski helped institute the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee
Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee
The Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee or BRCK was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded in 1869 among the Bulgarian emigrant circles in Romania. The decisive influence for the establishment of the committee was exerted by the Svoboda newspaper which Lyuben Karavelov began to...
, composed of Bulgarian expatriates. During his tours of Bulgaria, Levski established a wide network of insurrectionary committees. Ottoman authorities, however, captured him at an inn near Lovech
Lovech
Lovech is a town in north-central Bulgaria with a population of 36,296 as of February 2011. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The town is located about 150 km northeast from the capital city of Sofia...
and executed him by hanging 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...
.
Levski looked beyond the act of liberation: he envisioned a "pure and sacred" Bulgarian republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
of ethnic and religious equality
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
. His concepts have been described as a struggle for human rights
Human rights
Human rights are "commonly understood as inalienable fundamental rights to which a person is inherently entitled simply because she or he is a human being." Human rights are thus conceived as universal and egalitarian . These rights may exist as natural rights or as legal rights, in both national...
, inspired by the progressive liberalism
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
of 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...
and 19th century Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
an society. Levski is commemorated with monuments in Bulgaria, and numerous national institutions bear his name. In 2007, he topped a nationwide television poll as the all-time greatest Bulgarian.
Historical background
In 1396 or 1422, the medieval Bulgarian EmpireBulgarian Empire
Bulgarian Empire is a term used to describe two periods in the medieval history of Bulgaria, during which it acted as a key regional power in Europe in general and in Southeastern Europe in particular, rivalling Byzantium...
had ceased to exist, falling under full Ottoman domination. The inegalitarian Ottoman millet
Millet (Ottoman Empire)
Millet is a term for the confessional communities in the Ottoman Empire. It refers to the separate legal courts pertaining to "personal law" under which communities were allowed to rule themselves under their own system...
system had turned the Bulgarians and other Christian
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
subjects into second-class citizen
Second-class citizen
Second-class citizen is an informal term used to describe a person who is systematically discriminated against within a state or other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or legal resident there...
s, and the religious differences had created insurmountable cultural antagonism. The empire's 19th-century economic hardships
Decline of the Ottoman Empire
The Decline of the Ottoman Empire is the period that followed after the Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire in which the empire experienced several economic and political setbacks. Directly affecting the Empire at this time was Russian imperialism...
, which prompted its personification as the "sick man of Europe
Sick man of Europe
"Sick man of Europe" is a nickname that has been used to describe a European country experiencing a time of economic difficulty and/or impoverishment...
", meant that the Ottoman state's Christian residents suffered more than its Muslim
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
subjects and reforms
Tanzimat
The Tanzimât , meaning reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. The Tanzimât reform era was characterized by various attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire, to secure its territorial integrity against...
planned by the sultans
Ottoman Dynasty
The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...
faced insuperable difficulties.
Bulgarian nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
gradually materialised during the mid-19th century with the economic upsurge of Bulgarian merchants and craftsmen, the development of Bulgarian-funded popular education, the struggle for an autonomous Bulgarian Church
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....
and political actions towards the formation of a separate Bulgarian state. The First
First Serbian Uprising
The First Serbian Uprising was the first stage of the Serbian Revolution , the successful wars of independence that lasted for 9 years and approximately 9 months , during which Serbia perceived itself as an independent state for the first time after more than three centuries of Ottoman rule and...
and Second Serbian Uprising
Second Serbian Uprising
The Second Serbian Uprising was a second phase of the Serbian revolution against the Ottoman Empire, which erupted shortly after the re-annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire, in 1813. The occupation was enforced following the defeat of the First Serbian Uprising , during which Serbia...
s had laid the foundation of an autonomous Serbia
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
during the late 1810s, and Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
had been established as an independent state in 1832, in the wake of the Greek War of Independence
Greek War of Independence
The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution was a successful war of independence waged by the Greek revolutionaries between...
. However, support for gaining independence through an armed struggle against the Ottomans was not universal. Revolutionary sentiment was concentrated largely among the more educated and urban sectors of the populace. There was less support for an organized revolt among the peasantry and the wealthier merchants and traders, who feared that Ottoman reprisals would jeopardize economic stability and widespread rural land ownership.
Early life, education and monkhood
Vasil Levski was born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev on in the town of Karlovo, within the Ottoman Empire's EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an province Rumelia
Rumelia
Rumelia was an historical region comprising the territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe...
. He was the namesake of his maternal uncle, Archimandrite
Archimandrite
The title Archimandrite , primarily used in the Eastern Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic churches, originally referred to a superior abbot whom a bishop appointed to supervise...
(superior abbot) Basil (Василий, Vasiliy). Levski's parents, Ivan Kunchev and Gina Kuncheva (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Karaivanova), came from a family of clergy and craftsmen and represented the emerging Bulgarian middle class
Middle class
The middle class is any class of people in the middle of a societal hierarchy. In Weberian socio-economic terms, the middle class is the broad group of people in contemporary society who fall socio-economically between the working class and upper class....
. An eminent but struggling local craftsman, Kunchev died in 1844. Levski had two younger brothers, Hristo and Petar, and an older sister, Yana; another sister, Maria, died during childhood.
Fellow revolutionary Panayot Hitov
Panayot Hitov
Panayot Ivanov Hitov was a Bulgarian hajduk, national revolutionary and band leader .Born in 1830 in Sliven, he became a hajduk in Georgi Trankin's band in 1858. Two years later, after the death of Trankin, Hitov succeeded him as voivode of the band, which became one of the most active in...
later described the adult Levski as being of medium height and having an agile, wiry appearance—with light, greyish-blue eyes, blond hair, and a small moustache. He added that Levski abstained from smoking and drinking. Hitov's memories of Levski's appearance are supported by Levski's contemporaries, revolutionary and writer Lyuben Karavelov
Lyuben Karavelov
Lyuben Stoychev Karavelov was a Bulgarian writer and an important figure of the Bulgarian National Revival....
and teacher Ivan Furnadzhiev. The only differences are that Karavelov claimed Levski was tall rather than of medium height, while Furnadzhiev noted that his moustache was light brown and his eyes appeared hazel.
Levski began his education at a school in Karlovo, studying homespun tailoring as a local craftsman's apprentice. In 1855, Levski's uncle Basil—archimandrite and envoy of the Hilandar
Hilandar
Hilandar Monastery is a Serbian Orthodox monastery on Mount Athos in Greece. It was founded in 1198 by the first Serbian Archbishop Saint Sava and his father, Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja of the medieval Serbian principality of Raška...
monastery—took him to Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora
Stara Zagora is the sixth largest city in Bulgaria, and a nationally important economic center. Located in Southern Bulgaria, it is the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province...
, where he attended school and worked as Basil's servant. Afterward, Levski joined a clerical training course. On 7 December 1858, he became an Orthodox monk in the Sopot
Sopot, Bulgaria
Sopot is a Bulgarian town situated in the fertile sub-Balkan mountain valley of Karlovo , immediately below the steep southern slopes of the Troyan Balkan Mountain...
monastery under the religious name Ignatius (Игнатий, Ignatiy) and was promoted in 1859 to hierodeacon
Hierodeacon
A Hierodeacon , sometimes translated "deacon-monk", in Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a monk who has been ordained a deacon...
, which later inspired one of Levski's informal nicknames, The Deacon (Дякона, Dyakona).
First Bulgarian Legion and educational work
Inspired by Georgi Sava RakovskiGeorgi Sava Rakovski
Georgi Stoykov Rakovski , known also Georgi Sava Rakovski , born Sabi Stoykov Popovich , was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary and writer and an important figure of the Bulgarian National Revival and resistance against Ottoman rule.- Early life:Born in Kotel to a wealthy and patriotic...
's revolutionary ideas, Levski left for the Serbian capital Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
during the spring of 1862. In Belgrade, Rakovski had been assembling the First Bulgarian Legion
Bulgarian Legion
The Bulgarian Legion was the name of two military bands formed by Bulgarian volunteers and revolutionary workers in the Serbian capital of Belgrade in the second part of the 19th century...
, a military detachment formed by Bulgarian volunteers and revolutionary workers seeking the overthrow of Ottoman rule. Abandoning his service as a monk, Levski enlisted as a volunteer. At the time, relations between the Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
and their Ottoman suzerains
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
were tense. Militant conflicts in Belgrade were eventually resolved diplomatically, and the First Bulgarian Legion was disbanded under Ottoman pressure on 12 September 1862. His courage during training and fighting earned him his nickname Levski ("Leonine"). After the legion's disbandment, Levski joined Ilyo Voyvoda
Ilyo Voyvoda
Iliya Markov Popgeorgiev, better known as Ilyo Voyvoda or Dedo Iljo Maleshevski, was a Bulgarian revolutionary from the region of Macedonia, who is considered a national hero in both Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia...
's detachment at Kragujevac
Kragujevac
Kragujevac is the fourth largest city in Serbia, the main city of the Šumadija region and the administrative centre of Šumadija District. It is situated on the banks of the Lepenica River...
, but returned to Rakovski in Belgrade after discovering that Ilyo's plans to invade Bulgaria had failed.
In the spring of 1863, Levski returned to Bulgarian lands after a brief stay in 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...
. His uncle Basil reported him as a rebel to the Ottoman authorities, and Levski was imprisoned 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...
for three months, later released due to the help of the doctor R. Petrov and the Russian vice-consul Nayden Gerov
Nayden Gerov
Nayden Gerov , born Nayden Gerov Hadzhidobrevich February 23, 1823, Koprivshtitsa–October 9, 1900, Plovdiv) was a Bulgarian linguist, folklorist, writer and public figure during the Bulgarian National Revival....
. On Easter
Easter
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
1864, Levski officially relinquished his religious office. From May 1864 until March 1866, he worked as a teacher in Voynyagovo
Voynyagovo
Voynyagovo is a village in central southern Bulgaria, part of Karlovo municipality, Plovdiv Province. As of 2008, it has a population of 1,260; it lies in Sredna Gora mountains, above sea level....
near Karlovo; while there, he supported and gave shelter to persecuted Bulgarians and organised patriotic companies among the population. As his activity caused suspicion among the Ottoman authorities, he was forced to move, and from the spring of 1866 to the spring of 1867 he taught in Enikyoy and Kongas
Mihail Kogalniceanu, Tulcea
Mihail Kogălniceanu is a commune in Tulcea County, Romania. It is composed of three villages: Lăstuni , Mihail Kogălniceanu and Rândunica ....
, two Northern Dobruja
Northern Dobruja
Northern Dobruja is the part of Dobruja within the borders of Romania. It lies between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, bordered in south by Bulgarian Southern Dobruja.-Geography:...
villages near Tulcea
Tulcea
Tulcea is a city in Dobrogea, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea county, and has a population of 92,379 as of 2007. One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city.- History :...
.
Hitov's detachment and Second Bulgarian Legion
In November 1866, Levski visited Rakovski in IaşiIasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
. Two revolutionary bands led by Panayot Hitov and Filip Totyu
Filip Totyu
Todor Todorov Topalov , better known under the pseudonym Filip Totyu , was a Bulgarian revolutionary of the Bulgarian National Revival period and the voivode of an armed band of volunteers....
had been inciting the Bulgarian diasporic community in Romania
Bulgarians in Romania
Bulgarians are a recognized minority in Romania , numbering 8,025 according to the 2002 Romanian census, down from 9,851 in 1992. Despite their low census number today, Bulgarians from different confessional and regional backgrounds have had ethnic communities in various regions of Romania, and...
to invade Bulgaria and organise anti-Ottoman resistance. On the recommendation of Rakovski, Vasil Levski was selected as the standard-bearer
Standard-bearer
A standard-bearer is a person who bears an emblem called an ensign or standard, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used as a formal, visual symbol of a state, prince, military unit, etc.This can either be an occasional duty, often seen as an honour , or a...
of Hitov's detachment. In April 1867, the band crossed the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
at Tutrakan
Tutrakan
Tutrakan is a town in northeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of the homonymous municipality, part of Silistra Province. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube opposite the Romanian town of Olteniţa , in the very west of Southern Dobruja, 58 km east of Rousse and 62 km...
, moved through the Ludogorie
Ludogorie
The Ludogorie or Deliorman is a region in northeastern Bulgaria stretching over the plateau of the same name. Major cities in the region are Razgrad, Novi Pazar, Pliska and Isperih...
region and reached the Balkan Mountains. After skirmishing, the band fled to Serbia through Pirot
Pirot
Pirot is a town and municipality located in south-eastern Serbia. According to 2011 census, the town has a total population of 38,432, while the population of the municipality is 57,911...
in August.
In Serbia, the government was again favourable towards the Bulgarian revolutionaries' aspirations and allowed them to establish in Belgrade the Second Bulgarian Legion, an organisation similar to its predecessor and its goals. Levski was a prominent member of the Legion, but between February and April 1868 he suffered from a gastric
Stomach
The stomach is a muscular, hollow, dilated part of the alimentary canal which functions as an important organ of the digestive tract in some animals, including vertebrates, echinoderms, insects , and molluscs. It is involved in the second phase of digestion, following mastication .The stomach is...
disease that required surgery. Bedridden, he could not participate in the Legion's training. After the Legion was again disbanded under political pressure, Levski attempted to reunite with his compatriots, but was arrested in Zaječar
Zajecar
Zaječar is a city and municipality in the eastern part of Serbia. According to the 2011 census the town has a population of 36,830, and its coordinates are 43.91° North, 22.30° East...
and briefly imprisoned. Upon his release he went to Romania, where Hadzhi Dimitar
Hadzhi Dimitar
Dimitar Nikolov Asenov , better known as Hadzhi Dimitar , was one of the most prominent Bulgarian voivods and revolutionaries working for the Liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule.-Early life:...
and Stefan Karadzha
Stefan Karadzha
Stefan Karadzha , was a Bulgarian national hero, a revolutionary from the national liberation movement and a prominent leader of rebellion against the Ottoman Empire....
were mobilising revolutionary detachments. For various reasons, including his stomach problems and strategic differences, Levski did not participate. In the winter of 1868, he became acquainted with poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev
Hristo Botev
Hristo Botev , born Hristo Botyov Petkov , was a Bulgarian poet and national revolutionary. Botev is widely considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and national hero.-Early years:...
and lived with him in an abandoned windmill near Bucharest
Bucharest
Bucharest is the capital municipality, cultural, industrial, and financial centre of Romania. It is the largest city in Romania, located in the southeast of the country, at , and lies on the banks of the Dâmbovița River....
.
Bulgarian tours and work in Romania
Rejecting the emigrant detachment strategy for internal propaganda, Levski undertook his first tour of the Bulgarian lands to engage all layers of Bulgarian society for a successful revolution. On 11 December 1868, he travelled by steamship from Turnu MăgureleTurnu Magurele
Turnu Măgurele is a city in Teleorman County, Romania . Developed nearby the site once occupied by the medieval port of Turnu, it is situated north-east of the confluence between the Olt River and the Danube....
to Istanbul
Istanbul
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...
, the starting point of a trek that lasted until 24 February 1869, when Levski returned to Romania. During this canvassing and reconnaissance mission, Levski is thought to have visited Plovdiv, Perushtitsa
Perushtitsa
Perushtitsa or Perushtitza is a Bulgarian town located in the Plovdiv Oblast at the foot of the Rhodopes. It is located about 22 kilometers south of Plovdiv....
, Karlovo, Sopot, Kazanlak
Kazanlak
Kazanlak, formerly Kazanlık is a Bulgarian town in Stara Zagora Province, located in the middle of the plain of the same name, at the foot of the Balkan mountain range, at the eastern end of the Rose Valley...
, Sliven
Sliven
Sliven is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality. It is a relatively large town with 89,848 inhabitants, as of February 2011....
, Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists...
, Lovech
Lovech
Lovech is a town in north-central Bulgaria with a population of 36,296 as of February 2011. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The town is located about 150 km northeast from the capital city of Sofia...
, Pleven
Pleven
Pleven is the seventh most populous city in Bulgaria. Located in the northern part of the country, it is the administrative centre of Pleven Province, as well as of the subordinate Pleven municipality...
and Nikopol
Nikopol, Bulgaria
Nikopol is a town in northern Bulgaria, the administrative center of Nikopol municipality, part of Pleven Province, on the right bank of the Danube river, 4 km downstream from the mouth of the Osam river. It spreads at the foot of steep chalk cliffs along the Danube and up a narrow valley...
, establishing links with local patriots.
After a two-month stay in Bucharest, Vasil Levski returned to Bulgaria for a second tour, lasting from 1 May to 26 August 1869. On this tour he carried proclamations printed in Romania by the political figure Ivan Kasabov. They legitimised Levski as the representative of a Bulgarian provisional government
Provisional government
A provisional government is an emergency or interim government set up when a political void has been created by the collapse of a very large government. The early provisional governments were created to prepare for the return of royal rule...
. Vasil Levski travelled to Nikopol, Pleven, Karlovo, Plovdiv, Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik
Pazardzhik is a city situated along the banks of the Maritsa river, Southern Bulgaria. It is the capital of Pazardzhik Province and centre for the homonymous Pazardzhik Municipality...
, Perushtitsa, Stara Zagora, Chirpan
Chirpan
Chirpan is a town on the Tekirska River in Stara Zagora Province, South-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Chirpan Municipality. As of December 2009, the town has a population of 16,355 inhabitants....
, Sliven, Lovech, Tarnovo, Gabrovo
Gabrovo
Gabrovo is a city in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an international capital of humour and satire , as well as noted for its Bulgarian National...
, Sevlievo
Sevlievo
Sevlievo is a town in north-central Bulgaria, part of Gabrovo Province. Sevlievo is known as one of the wealthiest towns in Bulgaria owing to the well developed local economy, high employment rate and major foreign investments, such as the American Standard Companies factory...
and Tryavna
Tryavna
Tryavna is a town in central Bulgaria, situated in the north slopes of the Balkan range, on the Tryavna river valley, near Gabrovo. It is famous for its textile industry and typical National Revival architecture, featuring 140 cultural monuments, museums and expositions...
. According to some researchers, Levski established the earliest of his secret committees during this tour, but those assumptions are based on uncertain data.
From late August 1869 to May the following year, Levski was active in the Romanian capital Bucharest. He was in contact with revolutionary writer and journalist Lyuben Karavelov, whose participation in the foundation of the Bulgarian Literary Society
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy is autonomous and has a Society of Academicians, Correspondent Members and Foreign Members...
Levski approved in writing. Karavelov's publications gathered a number of followers and initiated the foundation of the Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee
Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee
The Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee or BRCK was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded in 1869 among the Bulgarian emigrant circles in Romania. The decisive influence for the establishment of the committee was exerted by the Svoboda newspaper which Lyuben Karavelov began to...
(BRCC), a centralised revolutionary diasporic organisation that included Levski as a founding member and statute drafter. In disagreement over planning, Levski departed from Bucharest in the spring of 1870 and began to actualise his concept of an internal revolutionary network.
Creation of the Internal Revolutionary Organisation
Despite insufficient documentation of Levski's activities in 1870, it is known that he spent a year and a half establishing a wide network of secret committees in Bulgarian cities and villages. The network, the Internal Revolutionary OrganisationInternal Revolutionary Organisation
The Internal Revolutionary Organisation or IRO was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded and built up by Bulgarian revolutionary Vasil Levski in the period between 1869 and 1871. The organisation represented a network of regional revolutionary committees which were governed by a Central...
(IRO), was centred around the Lovech
Lovech
Lovech is a town in north-central Bulgaria with a population of 36,296 as of February 2011. It is the administrative centre of the Lovech Province and of the subordinate Lovech Municipality. The town is located about 150 km northeast from the capital city of Sofia...
Central Committee, also called "BRCC in Bulgaria" or the "provisional government". The goal of the committees was to prepare for a coordinated uprising. The network of committees was at its densest in the central Bulgarian regions, particularly around Sofia, Plovdiv and Stara Zagora. Revolutionary committees were also established in some parts 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...
, Dobruja
Dobruja
Dobruja is a historical region shared by Bulgaria and Romania, located between the lower Danube river and the Black Sea, including the Danube Delta, Romanian coast and the northernmost part of the Bulgarian coast...
and Strandzha
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...
and around the more peripheral urban centres Kyustendil
Kyustendil
Kyustendil is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of Kyustendil Province, with a population of 44 416 . Kyustendil is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, 90 km southwest of Sofia...
, Vratsa
Vratsa
Vratsa is a city in northwestern Bulgaria, at the foothills of the Balkan Mountains. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Vratsa Province. As of February 2011, the town has a population of 60,482 inhabitants....
and Vidin
Vidin
Vidin is a port town on the southern bank of the Danube in northwestern Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Serbia and Romania, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin...
. IRO committees purchased armaments and organised detachments of volunteers. According to one study, the organisation had just over 1,000 members in the early 1870s. Most members were intellectuals and traders, though all layers of Bulgarian society were represented.
Individuals obtained IRO membership in secrecy: the initiation
Initiation
Initiation is a rite of passage ceremony marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components...
ritual involved a formal oath of allegiance
Oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to monarch or country. In republics, modern oaths specify allegiance to the country's constitution. For example, officials in the United States, a republic, take an oath of office that...
over the Gospel
Gospel
A gospel is an account, often written, that describes the life of Jesus of Nazareth. In a more general sense the term "gospel" may refer to the good news message of the New Testament. It is primarily used in reference to the four canonical gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John...
or a Christian cross
Christian cross
The Christian cross, seen as a representation of the instrument of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity...
, a gun and a knife; treason was punishable by death, and secret police
Secret police
Secret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy and beyond the law to protect the political power of an individual dictator or an authoritarian political regime....
monitored each member's activities. Through clandestine channels of reliable people, relations were maintained with the revolutionary diasporic community. The internal correspondence employed encryption
Encryption
In cryptography, encryption is the process of transforming information using an algorithm to make it unreadable to anyone except those possessing special knowledge, usually referred to as a key. The result of the process is encrypted information...
, conventional signs, and fake personal and committee names. Although Levski himself headed the organisation, he shared administrative responsibilities with assistants such as monk-turned-revolutionary Matey Preobrazhenski
Matey Preobrazhenski
Father Matey Preobrazhenski was the clerical name of Mono Petrov Seizmonov , nicknamed Mitkaloto , Ochmatey or Ochkata, a Bulgarian Orthodox priest, revolutionary, enlightener and a close friend of Vasil Levski.Father Matey was born in the village of Novo Selo near Veliko Tarnovo in 1828; his two...
, the adventurous Dimitar Obshti
Dimitar Obshti
Dimitar Obshti was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary, who fought for the liberation of Bulgaria, Serbia and Crete from the Ottoman Empire but also for the Risorgimento of Italy.Obshti was born around 1835 in Đakovica, Kosovo, Ottoman Empire...
, and the young Angel Kanchev
Angel Kanchev
Angel Kanchev Angelov was a Bulgarian revolutionary from Tryavna.Kanchev was born in 1852 in the family of a master-builder. At first he studied in his hometown Tryavna and then in Ruse under the guidance of people like Pencho Slaveykov and Dragan Tsankov...
.
Apocryphal and semi-legendary anecdotal stories surround the creation of Levski's Internal Revolutionary Organisation. Persecuted by the Ottoman authorities who offered 500 Turkish lira
Turkish lira
The Turkish lira is the currency of Turkey and the de facto independent state of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. The lira is subdivided into 100 kuruş...
s for his death and 1000 for his capture, Levski resorted to disguises to evade arrest during his travels. For example, he is known to have dyed his hair and to have worn a variety of national costumes. In the autumn of 1871, Levski and Angel Kanchev published the Instruction of the Workers for the Liberation of the Bulgarian People, a BRCC draft statute containing ideological, organisational and penal sections. It was sent out to the local committees and to the diasporic community for discussion. The political and organisational experience that Levski amassed is evident in his correspondence dating from 1871 to 1872; at the time, his views on the revolution had clearly matured.
As IRO expanded, it coordinated its activities more with the Bucharest-based BRCC. On Levski's initiative, a general assembly was called between 29 April and 4 May 1872. At the assembly, the delegates approved a programme and a statute, elected Lyuben Karavelov as the organisation's leader and authorised Levski as the BRCC executive body's only legitimate representative in the Bulgarian lands. After attending the assembly, Levski returned to Bulgaria and reorganised IRO's internal structure in accordance with BRCC's recommendations. Thus, the Lovech Central Committee was reduced to a regular local committee, and the first region-wide revolutionary centres were founded. The lack of funds, however, precipitated the organisation into a crisis, and Levski's one-man judgements on important strategic and tactical matters were increasingly questioned.
Capture and execution
In that situation, Levski's assistant Dimitar Obshti robbed an Ottoman postal convoy in the ArabakonakArabakonak
Arabakonak or Botevgrad Pass is a mountain pass through the Balkan Mountains connecting Sofia with Botevgrad and Northern Bulgaria. It has been the site of several important events of the history of Bulgaria....
pass on 22 September 1872, without approval from Levski or the leadership of the movement. While the robbery was successful and provided IRO with 125,000 groschen
Groschen
Groschen was the name for a coin used in various German-speaking states as well as some non-German-speaking countries of Central Europe , the Danubian principalities...
, Obshti and the other perpetrators were soon arrested. The preliminary investigation and trial revealed the revolutionary organisation's size and its close relations with BRCC. Obshti and other prisoners made a full confession and revealed Levski's leading role.
Realising that he was in danger, Levski decided to flee to Romania, where he would meet Karavelov and discuss these events. First, however, he had to collect important documentation from the committee archive in Lovech, which would constitute important evidence if seized by the Ottomans. He stayed at the nearby village inn in Kakrina
Kakrina
Kakrina is a village in central northern Bulgaria, part of Lovech Municipality, Lovech Province. It lies in the central Fore-Balkan Mountains, at an altitude of . As of 2008, it has a population of 298....
, where he was surprised and arrested on the morning of 27 December 1872. Starting with the writings of Lyuben Karavelov the most accepted version has been that a priest named Krastyo Nikiforov betrayed Levski to the police. This theory has been disputed by the researchers Ivan Panchovski and Vasil Boyanov for lack of evidence.
Initially taken to Tarnovo for interrogation, Levski was sent 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...
on 4 January. There, he was brought to trial. While he acknowledged his identity, he did not reveal his accomplices or details related to his organisation, taking full blame. Ottoman authorities sentenced Levski to death by hanging. Although he was recognised as an instigator of a major armed uprising, the death sentence was based on a Lovech servant's murder that Levski committed while attempting to extort money from a wealthy local. The verdict was carried out on in Sofia, where the Monument to Vasil Levski
Monument to Vasil Levski, Sofia
The Monument to Vasil Levski in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, is one of the first monuments to be built in the then newly-liberated Principality of Bulgaria...
now stands. The location of Levski's grave is uncertain, but in the 1980s writer Nikolay Haytov
Nikolay Haytov
Nikolay Haytov was a Bulgarian fiction writer, playwright, patriot and publicist known for his publications and research regarding the life of Bulgarian revolutioner Vasil Levski....
campaigned for the Church of St. Petka of the Saddlers as Levski's burial place, which the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy is autonomous and has a Society of Academicians, Correspondent Members and Foreign Members...
concluded as possible yet unverifiable.
Levski's death intensified the crisis in the Bulgarian revolutionary movement and most IRO committees soon disintegrated. Nevertheless, five years after his hanging, the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 secured the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in the wake of the April Uprising
April Uprising
The April Uprising was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876, which indirectly resulted in the re-establishment of Bulgaria as an autonomous nation in 1878...
of 1876. The Treaty of San Stefano
Treaty of San Stefano
The Preliminary Treaty of San Stefano was a treaty between Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed at the end of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877–78...
of 3 March 1878 established the Bulgarian state as an autonomous 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...
under de jure
De jure
De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....
Ottoman suzerainty.
Revolutionary theory and ideas
At the end of the 1860s, Levski developed a revolutionary theory that saw the Bulgarian liberation movement as an armed uprising of all Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire. The insurrection was to be prepared, controlled and coordinated internally by a central revolutionary organisation, which was to include local revolutionary committees in all parts of Bulgaria and operate independently from any foreign factors. Levski's theory resulted from the repeated failures to implement Rakovski's ideas effectively, such as the use of foreign-based armed detachments (чети, cheti) to provoke a general revolt. Levski's idea of an entirely independent revolution did not enjoy the approval of the entire population either—in fact, he was the only prominent Bulgarian revolutionary to advocate it. Instead, many regarded an intervention by the great powerGreat power
A great power is a nation or state that has the ability to exert its influence on a global scale. Great powers characteristically possess military and economic strength and diplomatic and cultural influence which may cause small powers to consider the opinions of great powers before taking actions...
s as a more feasible solution.
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, occasionally finding common ground with the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal. Influenced by the doctrine of "natural right", the rights of man are held to be universal: valid...
, and largely reflecting the liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
ideas of 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...
and contemporary Western society
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
. He said, "We will be free in complete liberty where the Bulgarian lives: in Bulgaria, Thrace, Macedonia; people of whatever ethnicity live in this heaven of ours, they will be equal in rights to the Bulgarian in everything. We will have a flag that says, 'Pure and sacred republic'... It is time, by a single deed, to achieve what our French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
brothers have been seeking..." Levski held that all religious and ethnic groups in a free Bulgaria—whether Bulgarians, Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
, Jews or others—should enjoy equal rights
Egalitarianism
Egalitarianism is a trend of thought that favors equality of some sort among moral agents, whether persons or animals. Emphasis is placed upon the fact that equality contains the idea of equity of quality...
. He reiterated that the Bulgarian revolutionaries fought against the sultan's government, not against the Turkish people and their religion: "We're not driving away the Turkish people nor their faith, but the emperor and his laws (in a word, the Turkish government), which has been ruling not only us, but the Turk himself in a barbarian way."
Levski was prepared to sacrifice his life for the revolution and place Bulgaria and the Bulgarian people above personal interests: "If I shall win, I shall win for the entire people. If I shall lose, I shall lose only myself." In a liberated Bulgaria, he did not envision himself as a national leader or a high-ranking official: "We yearn to see a free fatherland, and [then] one could even order me to graze the ducks, isn't that right?" In the spirit of Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi
Giuseppe Garibaldi was an Italian military and political figure. In his twenties, he joined the Carbonari Italian patriot revolutionaries, and fled Italy after a failed insurrection. Garibaldi took part in the War of the Farrapos and the Uruguayan Civil War leading the Italian Legion, and...
, Levski planned to assist other oppressed peoples of the world in their liberation once Bulgaria was reestablished. He also advocated "strict and regular accounting" in his revolutionary organisation, and did not tolerate corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
.
Commemoration
In cities and villages across Bulgaria, Levski's contributions to the liberation movement are commemorated with numerous monuments, and many streets bear his name. Monuments to Levski also exist outside Bulgaria—in Belgrade, Serbia, Parcani, TransnistriaTransnistria
Transnistria is a breakaway territory located mostly on a strip of land between the Dniester River and the eastern Moldovan border to Ukraine...
, Moldova
Moldova
Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part...
, Bucharest, Romania, Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, United States, and Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. Three museums dedicated to Levski have been organised: one in Karlovo, one in Lovech and one in Kakrina.
Several institutions in Bulgaria have been named in Vasil Levski's honour; these include the football club PFC Levski Sofia
PFC Levski Sofia
"Levski Sofia" redirects here. For the sports club, see Levski Sofia .PFC Levski Sofia, otherwise simply known as Levski or Levski Sofia, is a professional football club based in Sofia, Bulgaria...
, the Vasil Levski National Sports Academy
National Sports Academy
The Vasil Levski National Sports Academy in Sofia, Bulgaria, is a higher education institution, which specializes in teaching coaching, physical education and kinesitherapeutics....
and the Vasil Levski National Military University
Vasil Levski National Military University
The Vasil Levski National Military University is Bulgaria's national military academy.Founded in 1878 as a military school in Plovdiv, it was moved to Sofia the same year. On 19 April 1924, it was promoted to university status and in 1945, it was named in honour of Bulgarian national hero Vasil...
. Bulgaria's national stadium bears the name Vasil Levski National Stadium
Vasil Levski National Stadium
Vasil Levski National Stadium , named after Bulgarian national hero Vasil Levski, is one of Bulgaria's largest sports venues and the country's second largest stadium...
. The 1000 Bulgarian lev
Bulgarian lev
The lev is the currency of Bulgaria. It is divided in 100 stotinki . In archaic Bulgarian the word "lev" meant "lion".It is speculated that Bulgaria, as a member of the European Union will adopt the Euro in 2015 .- First lev, 1881–1952 :...
a banknote, in circulation between 1994 and 1999, featured Levski's portrait on its obverse side and his monument in Sofia on the reverse. The town of Levski
Levski (town)
Levski is a town in central northern Bulgaria, an administrative center of the homonymous Levski Municipality in the very southeast of Pleven Province. It is located in the valley of the Osam River and was called Karağaç during the Ottoman rule of Bulgaria and until 1897, when it was renamed...
and six villages around the country have also been named in his honour. The Antarctic Place-names Commission of Bulgaria
Antarctic Place-names Commission
The Antarctic Place-names Commission was established by the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute in 1994, and since 2001 has been a body affiliated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria. The Commission approves Bulgarian place names in Antarctica, which are formally given by the President of the...
named an Antarctic ridge and peak on Livingston Island of the South Shetland Islands
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a group of Antarctic islands, lying about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, with a total area of . By the Antarctic Treaty of 1959, the Islands' sovereignty is neither recognized nor disputed by the signatories and they are free for use by any signatory for...
Levski Ridge
Levski Ridge
Levski Ridge is the central ridge of the Tangra Mountains, Livingston Island. Its summit, Great Needle Peak rises to approximately 1,700m ....
and Levski Peak respectively.
The life of Vasil Levski has been widely featured in Bulgarian literature
Bulgarian literature
Bulgarian literature is literature written by Bulgarians or residents of Bulgaria, or written in the Bulgarian language; usually the latter is the defining feature...
and popular culture. Poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev
Hristo Botev
Hristo Botev , born Hristo Botyov Petkov , was a Bulgarian poet and national revolutionary. Botev is widely considered by Bulgarians to be a symbolic historical figure and national hero.-Early years:...
dedicated his last work to Levski, "The Hanging of Vasil Levski". The poem, an elegy
Elegy
In literature, an elegy is a mournful, melancholic or plaintive poem, especially a funeral song or a lament for the dead.-History:The Greek term elegeia originally referred to any verse written in elegiac couplets and covering a wide range of subject matter, including epitaphs for tombs...
, was probably written in late 1875. Prose and poetry writer Ivan Vazov
Ivan Vazov
Ivan Minchov Vazov was a Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley of Bulgaria ....
devoted an ode
Ode
Ode is a type of lyrical verse. A classic ode is structured in three major parts: the strophe, the antistrophe, and the epode. Different forms such as the homostrophic ode and the irregular ode also exist...
to the revolutionary. Eponymously titled "Levski", it was published as part of the cycle Epic of the Forgotten
Epic of the Forgotten
Epic of the Forgotten is a Bulgarian poetic saga written by Ivan Vazov to commemorate the Bulgarian fight for freedom against the Ottoman Empire and to criticize the moral decline of the Bulgarian nation after the Liberation, in comparison to the heroic figures and events of the then recent past...
. Levski has also inspired works by writers Hristo Smirnenski
Hristo Smirnenski
Hristo Smirnenski , born as Hristo Izmirliev, was a Bulgarian poet and prose writer. His hometown was Kukush in Macedonia, Ottoman Empire, , which had militant traditions and an enterprising population. Hristo spent a happy childhood in a friendly and understanding patriarchal home...
and Nikolay Haytov, among others. Songs devoted to Levski can be found in the folklore tradition of Macedonia as well. In February 2007, a nationwide poll conducted as part of the Velikite Balgari
Velikite Balgari
Velikite Balgari was the Bulgarian spin-off of the 2002 Greatest Britons program produced by the BBC. Aired on the Bulgarian National Television's Kanal 1, its first stage began on 9 June 2006 and finished on 10 December, with a show on 23 December announcing the names of the Top 100 as chosen by...
("The Great Bulgarians") television show, a local spin-off of Greatest Britons
Greatest Britons
Greatest Britons was a one-off awards show on ITV, celebrating the best of British talent. It is distinct from 100 Greatest Britons.Greatest Britons recognises the most creative and successful people from across the UK who've achieved worldwide fame within their professional fields. The winners of...
, named Vasil Levski the greatest Bulgarian of all time.
There have been motions to glorify
Glorification
-Catholicism:For the process by which the Roman Catholic Church or Anglican Communion grants official recognition to someone as a saint, see canonization.-Eastern Orthodox Church:...
Vasil Levski as a saint of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church with some 6.5 million members in the Republic of Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2.0 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas and Australia...
. However, historian Stefan Chureshki has emphasised that while Levski's post-monastical life was one of a martyr, it was incompatible with the Orthodox concept of sainthood. Chureshki makes reference to Levski's correspondences, which show that Levski threatened wealthy Bulgarians (чорбаджии, chorbadzhii
Çorbaci
Çorbacı was a military rank of the corps of Janissaries in the Ottoman Empire, used for the commander of an orta , i.e., approximately corresponding to the rank of colonel...
) and traitors with death, endorsed theft from the rich for pragmatic revolutionary purposes and voluntarily gave up his religious office to devote himself to the secular struggle for liberation.
Vasil Levski's hanging is observed annually across Bulgaria on 19 February instead of 18 February, due to the erroneous calculation of 19th-century Julian calendar
Julian calendar
The Julian calendar began in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar by Julius Caesar. It was chosen after consultation with the astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria and was probably designed to approximate the tropical year .The Julian calendar has a regular year of 365 days divided into 12 months...
dates after Bulgaria adopted the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
in 1916. Although the location of Levski's grave has not been determined, some of his hair is on exhibit at the National Museum of Military History. After Levski gave up monkhood in 1863, he shaved his hair, which his mother and later his sister Yana preserved. Levski's personal items—such as his silver Christian cross, his copper water vessel, his Gasser revolver, made in Austria–Hungary in 1869, and the shackles from his imprisonment in Sofia—are also exhibited in the military history museum, while Levski's sabre can be seen in the Lovech regional museum.