https://www.libruse.bg/view?name=%D0%A0%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%20%D0%A5%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%82%D0%BE%20%D0%91%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%B2%20%20%20%20%20%20(1848%20-%201876)&event=1060
06 January 1848 – 02 June 1876
Hristo Botev was born on January 6, 1848 in Kalofer in the family of Botyo Petkov and Ivanka Boteva. From 1854 to 1858 he studied in Karlovo, where his father was a teacher. Later he returned to Kalofer, continued his studies with his father and in June 1863 graduated from the Kalofer three-grade school. In October of the same year, with the help of Nayden Gerov, he went to Russia and enrolled as a private student at the Second Odessa High School. There he got acquainted with Russian literature and came under the strong influence of Alexander Herzen, Nikolai Chernishevsky, Nikolai Dobrolyubov and others. Then he made his first poetic attempts. In September 1865, he was expelled from high school due to lack of interest in the curriculum, but at the same time he read many books and accumulated knowledge. At that time he was associated with Russian revolutionary circles. In October and December 1866, he was a teacher in the Bessarabian village of Zadunaevka.
Due to his father's illness, in January 1867 he had to return to Kalofer. At that time, on April 15, the first poem of Hristo Botev was published in the newspaper "Gaida", edited by Petko R. Slaveikov - "Your Mother". Because of the fiery speech he delivered on May 11 in honor of the Slavic enlighteners, the brothers Cyril and Methodius, he was forced to leave Kalofer and in October 1867 he arrived in Romania, living in Bucharest, Braila, Alexandria, Izmail and Galati. He works in Braila as a typesetter under Dimitar Panichkov, where "Dawn Dawn" is printed. Caught in the middle of the Bulgarian revolutionary emigration, he became close to Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha. In the summer of 1868, Botev enlisted in the regiment of Zhelio Voivoda. Then he wrote his poem "On Farewell". For various reasons, the squad disbanded and did not cross the Danube. In September of the same year, he entered the Bucharest medical school, but due to lack of funds, he was soon forced to part with it. Falling into an extremely difficult situation, Botev spends the winter in an abandoned windmill near the city. Here he lived together with Vasil Levski and remained amazed by the Apostle's ability to overcome the privations to which he was also exposed at that time. In February 1869, he joined as a teacher in Alexandria, and in August of the same year he left as a teacher in Izmail, where he taught until May 1871. In the following years, he moved and lived in different cities. In Galats, he established contact with the Russian revolutionary N.F. Meledin and through him maintained connections with the revolutionary circles in Odessa. At the end of April 1871, Botev was detained for two months in the Fokshan prison (in connection with uncovering the activities of N.F. Meledin) and after his release he settled again in Bucharest. On June 10, 1871, he published his first newspaper, "Word of the Bulgarian Emigrants". In October of the same year, he participated in the annual meeting of the Bulgarian Book Society. In April 1872, he was arrested for conspiratorial revolutionary activity and again sent to the Fokshan prison, but released due to the intercession of Levski and Karavelov. He started working as a printer with Lyuben Karavelov. He published his materials in Svoboda, which changed its name to Nezavisimost, and later Botev worked as an associate and co-editor of the revolutionary organ. On May 1, 1873, he published the satirical newspaper Budilnik. The following year he became a teacher at the Bulgarian school in Bucharest. He began his active work as a journalist and under his editorship the new organ of the revolutionary party began to appear - in "Zname" (December 8, 1874). In 1875, he published the translations "On the Slavic Origin of the Danube Bulgarians" by D. Ilovaiski and "Kremutius Kord" by N. Kostomarov. In September of the same year, together with Stefan Stambolov, he published the poetry collection "Songs and Poems by Botyova and Stambolova" and "Wall Calendar for 1876" with the poem "The Hanging of Vasil Levski". On May 5, he published the newspaper "New Bulgaria", and after the blow to the Internal Revolutionary Organization, after the hanging of Vasil Levski and the hesitation of Karavelov, Hristo Botev became the head of the BRCC.
Shortly after the outbreak of the uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1875, the Central Committee under the leadership of Botev began preparing for an uprising in Bulgaria as well. For this purpose, Botev was sent to Russia to collect funds and weapons for the uprising and to bring the voivode Philip Totyu from there. The premature outbreak of the uprising and its failure led to serious disagreements in the BRCC. As a result, at the end of 1875, Botev resigned, but did not give up his revolutionary activity. After the establishment of the Giurgievsky Revolutionary Committee, Botev also established contact with its members. In May 1876, he began editing his last newspaper, Nova Bulgaria, of which he managed to publish only one issue. In May 1876, as a result of the news of the April Uprising, Botev began organizing a detachment and became its voivode. From Giurgevo, he boarded the ship "Radecki" with part of the crew on May 16, and one day later they forced the captain Dagobert Englander to stop on the Bulgarian coast. From Kozloduy, Botev's detachment heads for the Balkans, passing through a dozen villages. However, very few Bulgarians join the Chetniks, despite preliminary expectations. The company fought several battles with the pursuing Ottoman hunters. On June 2, 1876, the last heavy battle took place - in the evening after the battle, a bullet pierced Botev. This happens at the foot of Mount Kamarata in Stara Planina.
As a national revolutionary, Botev continued the work of Georgi Rakovski and Vasil Levski. He sees the only radical means of solving the national question only in the revolution. Botev also argued for a Balkan federation as a means that would help resolve the national question in the Balkans. An internationalist by conviction, Botev defends the right of the Bulgarian people to self-realization and self-government, declares himself a radical revolutionary struggle at the expense of the "enlightenment" ideology, against the exploitation of the socially weaker by the stronger. Internationally, he defended the Paris Commune, knew personally a number of Russian revolutionaries of his time, read Herbert Spencer, Darwin, Marx, Bakunin, etc.
Botev's literary and journalistic heritage is not large in volume, but in terms of its artistic merits it marks a peak not only in the Renaissance, but also in the overall development of Bulgarian literature.
Short story by Ann Wood
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Written on 2023-06-02 at 12:23
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The history of Hristo Botev translated by Ann Wood
Born Hristo Botev (1848 - 1876)06 January 1848 – 02 June 1876
Hristo Botev was born on January 6, 1848 in Kalofer in the family of Botyo Petkov and Ivanka Boteva. From 1854 to 1858 he studied in Karlovo, where his father was a teacher. Later he returned to Kalofer, continued his studies with his father and in June 1863 graduated from the Kalofer three-grade school. In October of the same year, with the help of Nayden Gerov, he went to Russia and enrolled as a private student at the Second Odessa High School. There he got acquainted with Russian literature and came under the strong influence of Alexander Herzen, Nikolai Chernishevsky, Nikolai Dobrolyubov and others. Then he made his first poetic attempts. In September 1865, he was expelled from high school due to lack of interest in the curriculum, but at the same time he read many books and accumulated knowledge. At that time he was associated with Russian revolutionary circles. In October and December 1866, he was a teacher in the Bessarabian village of Zadunaevka.
Due to his father's illness, in January 1867 he had to return to Kalofer. At that time, on April 15, the first poem of Hristo Botev was published in the newspaper "Gaida", edited by Petko R. Slaveikov - "Your Mother". Because of the fiery speech he delivered on May 11 in honor of the Slavic enlighteners, the brothers Cyril and Methodius, he was forced to leave Kalofer and in October 1867 he arrived in Romania, living in Bucharest, Braila, Alexandria, Izmail and Galati. He works in Braila as a typesetter under Dimitar Panichkov, where "Dawn Dawn" is printed. Caught in the middle of the Bulgarian revolutionary emigration, he became close to Hadji Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha. In the summer of 1868, Botev enlisted in the regiment of Zhelio Voivoda. Then he wrote his poem "On Farewell". For various reasons, the squad disbanded and did not cross the Danube. In September of the same year, he entered the Bucharest medical school, but due to lack of funds, he was soon forced to part with it. Falling into an extremely difficult situation, Botev spends the winter in an abandoned windmill near the city. Here he lived together with Vasil Levski and remained amazed by the Apostle's ability to overcome the privations to which he was also exposed at that time. In February 1869, he joined as a teacher in Alexandria, and in August of the same year he left as a teacher in Izmail, where he taught until May 1871. In the following years, he moved and lived in different cities. In Galats, he established contact with the Russian revolutionary N.F. Meledin and through him maintained connections with the revolutionary circles in Odessa. At the end of April 1871, Botev was detained for two months in the Fokshan prison (in connection with uncovering the activities of N.F. Meledin) and after his release he settled again in Bucharest. On June 10, 1871, he published his first newspaper, "Word of the Bulgarian Emigrants". In October of the same year, he participated in the annual meeting of the Bulgarian Book Society. In April 1872, he was arrested for conspiratorial revolutionary activity and again sent to the Fokshan prison, but released due to the intercession of Levski and Karavelov. He started working as a printer with Lyuben Karavelov. He published his materials in Svoboda, which changed its name to Nezavisimost, and later Botev worked as an associate and co-editor of the revolutionary organ. On May 1, 1873, he published the satirical newspaper Budilnik. The following year he became a teacher at the Bulgarian school in Bucharest. He began his active work as a journalist and under his editorship the new organ of the revolutionary party began to appear - in "Zname" (December 8, 1874). In 1875, he published the translations "On the Slavic Origin of the Danube Bulgarians" by D. Ilovaiski and "Kremutius Kord" by N. Kostomarov. In September of the same year, together with Stefan Stambolov, he published the poetry collection "Songs and Poems by Botyova and Stambolova" and "Wall Calendar for 1876" with the poem "The Hanging of Vasil Levski". On May 5, he published the newspaper "New Bulgaria", and after the blow to the Internal Revolutionary Organization, after the hanging of Vasil Levski and the hesitation of Karavelov, Hristo Botev became the head of the BRCC.
Shortly after the outbreak of the uprising in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1875, the Central Committee under the leadership of Botev began preparing for an uprising in Bulgaria as well. For this purpose, Botev was sent to Russia to collect funds and weapons for the uprising and to bring the voivode Philip Totyu from there. The premature outbreak of the uprising and its failure led to serious disagreements in the BRCC. As a result, at the end of 1875, Botev resigned, but did not give up his revolutionary activity. After the establishment of the Giurgievsky Revolutionary Committee, Botev also established contact with its members. In May 1876, he began editing his last newspaper, Nova Bulgaria, of which he managed to publish only one issue. In May 1876, as a result of the news of the April Uprising, Botev began organizing a detachment and became its voivode. From Giurgevo, he boarded the ship "Radecki" with part of the crew on May 16, and one day later they forced the captain Dagobert Englander to stop on the Bulgarian coast. From Kozloduy, Botev's detachment heads for the Balkans, passing through a dozen villages. However, very few Bulgarians join the Chetniks, despite preliminary expectations. The company fought several battles with the pursuing Ottoman hunters. On June 2, 1876, the last heavy battle took place - in the evening after the battle, a bullet pierced Botev. This happens at the foot of Mount Kamarata in Stara Planina.
As a national revolutionary, Botev continued the work of Georgi Rakovski and Vasil Levski. He sees the only radical means of solving the national question only in the revolution. Botev also argued for a Balkan federation as a means that would help resolve the national question in the Balkans. An internationalist by conviction, Botev defends the right of the Bulgarian people to self-realization and self-government, declares himself a radical revolutionary struggle at the expense of the "enlightenment" ideology, against the exploitation of the socially weaker by the stronger. Internationally, he defended the Paris Commune, knew personally a number of Russian revolutionaries of his time, read Herbert Spencer, Darwin, Marx, Bakunin, etc.
Botev's literary and journalistic heritage is not large in volume, but in terms of its artistic merits it marks a peak not only in the Renaissance, but also in the overall development of Bulgarian literature.
Short story by Ann Wood
Read 169 times
Written on 2023-06-02 at 12:23
Save as a bookmark (requires login) Write a comment (requires login) Send as email (requires login) Print text
