A lion rises over the Balkans: The Third Bulgarian State
- Thread starter BgKnight
- Start date
MarshalBraginsky
Banned
At least Bulgaria ITTL will definitely have good rulers, though hopefully it should be a Bulgarian revolutionary general leading Bulgaria.
Right, time to introduce you to the main characters for now. thank you for the support gents, excuse any mistakes you see I am new and this writing stuff. 
Excerpts from:
“Establishment of the Bulgarian National State:
1804-1918” by Charls and Barbara Jelavich
©Bulgarian State Press Ltd
Three revolutionaries, Vasil Levski, Hristo Botev and Lyuben Karavelov, are considered the most important and prominent revolutionary leaders of Bulgaria, they are the revolutionary “sons” of Georgi Rakovski. Everyone had his own view on the culture and goals of the revolution, eventually they clashed, as it was inevitable, but way before that clash, their ideals and cooperation where what lead the revolution to a new high. Who is Vasil Levski? Modern Bulgarians ask themselves the same question, even 183 years later nobody can place a finger on what Levski really represented for the nation. For some he is a hero, and in fact he was quite the heroic and brazen man. He was the romantic personification of a revolutionary: handsome, strong and quick-witted. But for some, his exploits, especially in the later days of the revolution and his subsequent carrier in Bulgarian politics, was controversial at best.
He was born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev, in the family of Ivan Kunchev and Gina Kuncheva (née Karaivanova), came from a family of clergy and craftsmen and represented the emerging Bulgarian middle class. Levski began his education at a school in Karlovo, studying homespun tailoring as a local craftsman's apprentice. Afterward, Levski became an Orthodox monk in the Sopot monastery under the religious name Ignatius (Игнатий, Ignatiy) and was promoted to hierodeacon, which later inspired one of Levski's informal nicknames, The Deacon (Дякона, Dyakona). His nationalism couldn’t hold him in the monastery, he needed to fight and he needed to win the struggle for his people, for that he moved to Serbia, to Belgrade and joined the First Bulgarian Legion. That is where he met Rakovski and became inspired of his ideas; he also received the nickname “Levski” (Leonine). He would move to Bucharest with Rakovski and then back to Bulgaria for a short stay, in home he experienced firsthand the woes of the traitors of the revolution that will leave a deep mark on him, manifesting in paranoia later on. His own uncle, his namesake, Basil, reported him as a rebel to the Ottomans who imprisoned him for three months in Plovdiv. Upon release he was briefly a teacher and organized small patriotic groups, but was eventually forced to relocate.
Again his aspirations peaked; when he was handpicked by Rakovski as a standard-bearer of a detachment in one of the two Chetas Rakovski send over the Danube into Bulgaria. As a Chetnik he fought and again made a name for himself, but eventually the detachment was forced to retreat in Serbia.
Serbia, once again friendly to the Bulgarians, allowed them to form a Second Bulgarian Legion, where Levski was again a very important and prominent member. However after receiving surgery for a gastric disease he was unable to participate Legion's training. And once again Serbia failed the revolutionaries, as the Legion was once more disbanded for political reasons; this infuriated the young Levski who saw this as yet another betrayal. From here on out he would reject the emigrant chetnik strategy completely and call on an Internal Organization, the same Internal Organization that will have a huge role in Bulgaria’s development later on.
Levski took his first tour of the Bulgarian lands to engage all layers of Bulgarian society for a successful revolution, a revolution that wasn’t according to the Chetnik norms. On 11 December 1868, he travelled by steamship from Turnu Măgurele 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. This tour is widely accepted as the time the Internal Revolutionary Organization was created and formed around Levski’s leadership.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).
And here we get to examine the second of the three “sons” of Rakovski’s writing. He was the reformist, the liberal and also a multinationalist above all else. He had studied in a Greek High School and the Moscow University where he made contacts with the Russian Revolutionary Circles. Whenever he went, controversy was soon to follow, he moved to Serbia as a correspondent in Belgrade, but was thrown out for conspiring with the Serbian opposition. He was forced to relocate to Novi Sad in Austro-Hungary where he still maintained contact with Serb opposition groups and was arrested and spent time in the a prison in Budapest. He moved to Bucharest where he settled and begun writing about the Bulgarian national ideals and freedom, he was however the most moderate of the three, he at once considered and played with the idea of an Ausgleich with the Ottomans, later he abandoned that idea and came in support of a Balkan Federation. Due to his liberal ways, he was especially fearful of Russian domination of the Balkans, but unlike Levski he didn’t stray for Serbian or Greek support, he actively encouraged it. At his first newspaper Svoboda (Freedom) in Bucharest (1869–1873), he worked and became friends with poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev who devoted a poem to him.
And that leads us the last one of the trio that played a huge role in the revolution, Hristo Botev. Bulgarians usually view Levski as a controversial figure, but everyone agrees that he is a hero. The controversies behind Botev are far too much to actually unravel them, but the main controversy behind him still continues to plague the minds of everyone, the question was he in it for the freedom of Bulgaria, an anarchist-socialist revolution in the whole of the Balkans or to create his own myth and in the process be remembered for all times. A tense relationship developed between the three that will on one hand create the revolution as it stood and on the other lead to the conflict between them that will unfold during the revolution. But how tense was that relationship? According to sources, it was strained at times and it times it reached a level of animosity that would never be expected..
____________________________________________________________
Excerpt from: “Writings on Bulgaria’s Uprisings”
by Zahari Stoyanov; 1884–1892.
There we were, in Bucharest, in a small but comfortable home in a quiet Bulgarian suburb. The Bulgarian Émigré community was huge here. Suburbs like these gave Ivan Vazov the inspiration to write the famous novella “Nemili-Nedragi” (Unloved-Unwanted), a story about future revolutionaries planning the revival of their country, enclosed in a dim bar surrounded by misery and decay. While there were allot of Bulgarians in the émigré which were quite wealthy, all of them were based along the Danube and worked as traders. Any wealthy Bulgarians here were ether large landowners or bar holders, since there was nothing else in these suburbs worth anything.
But here we were, in a comfortable and well looking home in the middle of this filth, what was even more surprising was that this little home was used by a novelist and writer. A well off writer… well here is a paradox if I ever heard one. But this was no ordinary writer. This man was Karavelov and by god was he famous. Karavelov was a man of a lot of words and even more friends, he was intelligent and loved the sound of his voice, and he was a natural teacher. He loved to school people, if you caught him in his element he could talk for days on end, but you will have to survive his rants about history and culture.
Beside me, was Levski. I was a young lad when Levski pulled me from Rousse, he met me on one of his visits and recognized “My talents”. I still have no idea what he meant. If I hadn’t known him, I would have been afraid to even look at the man, he was tall, lean, and blond haired with an always perfectly trimmed blond moustache and fine cut hair. His clothes were, despite him living in squalor taken care of and polished, albeit with a few noticeable holes. He was a soldier and a fighter before all else, he looked like one as well, born and breed in the middle classes under the harsh truth of the Ottoman rule, he was a man of few words and short temper. Quite the contrast to Karavelov who was chatty and literate, Levski was quiet and despite finishing school was barely literate when it came to books and letters, but his strength lay in crunching numbers, he counted every penny going into the organization and every penny coming out, he literally knew where the money was at any given time.
We entered the well lit room as Karavelov smiled; he gestured to the seats after taking our coats. Levski just nodded and sat down, he wasn’t pretty chatty as usual, but I guess I wouldn’t be as well if I was forced to live in a Mill because I have nowhere to sleep and no one to accept me. Karavelov came back and handed us coffee, he sat down and with his big smile lighting his face as always and begun the conversation. “Vasily, I wanted to talk to you on something very damn important.”Levski looked at the man with his deep, but light blue eyes “How many times have I have to tell you Lyubene, we are not spending more money on your newspapers!” Karavelov laughed and looked back at the eyes of the deacon “No Vasily, it’s not about that. I wouldn’t have put you in danger’s way if it wasn’t for something important.”
The word danger caught my attention, even here Bulgarians where not safe, as there were pro-Ottoman gangs scouring the streets hunting for plotters, most of the times innocents got hurt. Not the mention the headhunters who would gladly collect the 50 000 grosha placed on the head of Levski. “We will gather the Central Committee in a few days, I want you there so we can decide on the policies of it, it’s time we combine our organizations, brother.” Levski looked at Karavelov, a slight smile might have made its appearance on his face, but you can never be sure with the deacon. He looked away for a second, thinking something. This man had singlehandedly, for the span of 2-3 years, created the biggest Internal Organization in Bulgaria. He was both loved and feared; he was seen as a freedom fighter but also a tyrant. But why a tyrant you ask? Remember, dear reader, when I mentioned number crunching as a specialty of his? Levski was great with finances; he was experienced and knew how to get money. He realized that in order for there to be a revolution, he needed the population to pitch in, but donations couldn’t sustain the IRO for the revolutionary war. So he resorted to the next best thing, racketeering the rich chorbaji. He had made friends with most every circle of Bulgarian society and via that he managed to spread his organization all over the country by building local revolutionary centers from the ground up. He literally knew everything, everywhere and since he was extorting the Ottoman-employed rich people to pay for his organization, he needed to both make sure these money were well spent and no corruption persisted and that no one reported him. In order to watch the chorbajis and Ottomans and even his own Apostles (as the IRO members where called), he personally oversaw the creation of an organization within the organization, a secret police of sorts that was fanatically loyal to him and handled treason the only way Levski knew, punishment by death.
Dozens of people had disappeared for stealing money from the organization and hundreds more for trying to defect to the Ottomans. That is a part of the reason he was able to avoid capture for so long, he had a man or a woman under his employment in almost every place in the country. And they not only loved and respected him, but they also feared him. And fear is the best tool, next to love, to inspire loyalty in your followers. Nowadays we condemn the IRO for its post-revolutionary work, but one thing we can admit is that without it, the Revolution itself was doomed.
“You say so.” Levski begun to speak with his calm voice “But I am afraid your organization doesn’t share my ideals. We may have found a compromise on many subjects for the charter, but there is still one more in which you fail to compromise.”
Karavelov and Levski had discussed this before; this was actually their 5th meeting, both where arguing back and forth as they hammered out the proposed charter of the new Central Revolutionary Comity that was going to be formed in Bucharest. They had reached compromise on most subjects, but one still hunted them.
Karavelov sighted “I knew this wasn’t going to be easy…” he looked at me and back at Levski “… the Balkan nations are our friends Vasile, we can use their help, we can unite and fight for brothe-“
Levski stopped him mid-sentence “Under what ruler Lyubene? You know what your favorite Serbs want?! You have been in Serbia, remember how they treated you, when they found out you where Bulgarian?!”
Karavelov looked out of the window, he was exceptionally naïve and believed that all nations and leaders where friendly deep down and all of them would love to be friends with us. “They threw me out…” he mumbled under his breath.
“They fucking threw you out Lyubene! And they have failed my ambitions and dreams far more than that! You never were in the Legion; you never saw their arrogance and their way of doing things. They openly said that we are nothing, but a tool so they can get their hands on South Slav territories and rule them. I will not allow you, to throw our nation under the wheels of foreign influence! The Serbs are not our friends! Nether are the Russians, Romanians, Greeks or by god the Ottomans! ”
Karavelov kept looking out of the window, he was a man of many words, but none came out now. “Vasily, we disagree on a lot of things, like the way you are handling the IRO. But by god we have to agree on this, our relationship with our neighbors is important. And the Serbs have done this under pressure, they are still our friends, we need their help in order for the chetniks to easily cross into the country and start a rebellion. You have to understand, we…”
Levski interrupted him once more “The Cheti strategy is useless and you know it, why do you still hold dear to it goddamn it! The Chetas themselves cannot inspire people to follow them and lead them to a revolution. I was in a bloody Cheta, we fought our way to the Balkans and where then driven back to Serbia, then they gathered us in a Legion long enough to use us against the Turks, and they threw us out.”
Karavelov let out a slight sigh “I… you are right. But we cannot forsake the Serbs like that, they can help us, we can use them! And you cannot exclude the émigré from this, while the chetas shouldn’t be our main tactic, they sure as hell need to be included! Chetas had already begun forming. Even Botev has one! “
Levski smiled at the thought “Hristo is insane and we both know it, he is ready to go right now if you ask him. Sometimes I wonder what he is fighting for… his country, to destroy the Ottomans or for his personal glory, we both lived with him and we both know him, we respect him, but we still don’t know his game. But aside from that… you want us to maintain friendly relations with the Serbs? Ok, but make them put their money where their mouth is, we need weapons and ammunitions, we buy them on the black market here in Romania and transport them to Bulgaria, but those weapons are woefully insufficient. We need a steady stream of weapons and supplies. How about that Lyubo?”
Karavelov smiled once again, now they were on the same page “I will do it myself, the Serbs will much rather prefer to hear form a leader of the revolution, rather than a lowly messenger.”
Levski nodded “Good, now let’s write the proposed charter of the BRCC and get this over with, so I can go back home… to Bulgaria.” This seemed to have startled Karavelov “Wait, Vasko, aren’t you going to join us in a few days?”
“No. I will leave Obshti with you, I am heading back to Bulgaria with Zahari here” he gestured towards me “the kid has potential and I would much rather prefer to get stuff done quietly, then by Obshti’s brazen tactics.”
Karavelov tried to argue for a few minutes, but eventually he buckled under the unyielding Levski and they got to writing the charter, after arguing back and forth for another hour, it was complete. On the following days, the rules written by the two leaders where accepted in a general meeting of the revolutionary circles in Romania almost right away, Obshti was displeased about being left in Bucharest, but he was still the representative of the IRO in the BRCC, so he didn’t feel the need or dare argue with the Deacon.
_______________________________________________________
Levski, Botev and Karavelov are the most important revolutionaries in Bulgaria's history and will have a huge role in this timeline, you met two of them. Zahari Stoyanov OTL was in a pretty important man for revolutionary and post-revolutionary Bulgaira himself, but failed to meet the Deacon. ITL Levski handpicks him to his own aid. I did this partially to have a OTL revolutionary documentary writer on the right side of Levski, so he could record everything that is happening and more importantly to move Obshti out of Levski's inner circle, so he won't do stupid stuff, like trying to rob a postal train and get the Deacon killed. And this is our PoD.
Excerpts from:
“Establishment of the Bulgarian National State:
1804-1918” by Charls and Barbara Jelavich
©Bulgarian State Press Ltd
Three revolutionaries, Vasil Levski, Hristo Botev and Lyuben Karavelov, are considered the most important and prominent revolutionary leaders of Bulgaria, they are the revolutionary “sons” of Georgi Rakovski. Everyone had his own view on the culture and goals of the revolution, eventually they clashed, as it was inevitable, but way before that clash, their ideals and cooperation where what lead the revolution to a new high. Who is Vasil Levski? Modern Bulgarians ask themselves the same question, even 183 years later nobody can place a finger on what Levski really represented for the nation. For some he is a hero, and in fact he was quite the heroic and brazen man. He was the romantic personification of a revolutionary: handsome, strong and quick-witted. But for some, his exploits, especially in the later days of the revolution and his subsequent carrier in Bulgarian politics, was controversial at best.
He was born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev, in the family of Ivan Kunchev and Gina Kuncheva (née Karaivanova), came from a family of clergy and craftsmen and represented the emerging Bulgarian middle class. Levski began his education at a school in Karlovo, studying homespun tailoring as a local craftsman's apprentice. Afterward, Levski became an Orthodox monk in the Sopot monastery under the religious name Ignatius (Игнатий, Ignatiy) and was promoted to hierodeacon, which later inspired one of Levski's informal nicknames, The Deacon (Дякона, Dyakona). His nationalism couldn’t hold him in the monastery, he needed to fight and he needed to win the struggle for his people, for that he moved to Serbia, to Belgrade and joined the First Bulgarian Legion. That is where he met Rakovski and became inspired of his ideas; he also received the nickname “Levski” (Leonine). He would move to Bucharest with Rakovski and then back to Bulgaria for a short stay, in home he experienced firsthand the woes of the traitors of the revolution that will leave a deep mark on him, manifesting in paranoia later on. His own uncle, his namesake, Basil, reported him as a rebel to the Ottomans who imprisoned him for three months in Plovdiv. Upon release he was briefly a teacher and organized small patriotic groups, but was eventually forced to relocate.
Again his aspirations peaked; when he was handpicked by Rakovski as a standard-bearer of a detachment in one of the two Chetas Rakovski send over the Danube into Bulgaria. As a Chetnik he fought and again made a name for himself, but eventually the detachment was forced to retreat in Serbia.
Serbia, once again friendly to the Bulgarians, allowed them to form a Second Bulgarian Legion, where Levski was again a very important and prominent member. However after receiving surgery for a gastric disease he was unable to participate Legion's training. And once again Serbia failed the revolutionaries, as the Legion was once more disbanded for political reasons; this infuriated the young Levski who saw this as yet another betrayal. From here on out he would reject the emigrant chetnik strategy completely and call on an Internal Organization, the same Internal Organization that will have a huge role in Bulgaria’s development later on.
Levski took his first tour of the Bulgarian lands to engage all layers of Bulgarian society for a successful revolution, a revolution that wasn’t according to the Chetnik norms. On 11 December 1868, he travelled by steamship from Turnu Măgurele 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. This tour is widely accepted as the time the Internal Revolutionary Organization was created and formed around Levski’s leadership.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).
And here we get to examine the second of the three “sons” of Rakovski’s writing. He was the reformist, the liberal and also a multinationalist above all else. He had studied in a Greek High School and the Moscow University where he made contacts with the Russian Revolutionary Circles. Whenever he went, controversy was soon to follow, he moved to Serbia as a correspondent in Belgrade, but was thrown out for conspiring with the Serbian opposition. He was forced to relocate to Novi Sad in Austro-Hungary where he still maintained contact with Serb opposition groups and was arrested and spent time in the a prison in Budapest. He moved to Bucharest where he settled and begun writing about the Bulgarian national ideals and freedom, he was however the most moderate of the three, he at once considered and played with the idea of an Ausgleich with the Ottomans, later he abandoned that idea and came in support of a Balkan Federation. Due to his liberal ways, he was especially fearful of Russian domination of the Balkans, but unlike Levski he didn’t stray for Serbian or Greek support, he actively encouraged it. At his first newspaper Svoboda (Freedom) in Bucharest (1869–1873), he worked and became friends with poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev who devoted a poem to him.
And that leads us the last one of the trio that played a huge role in the revolution, Hristo Botev. Bulgarians usually view Levski as a controversial figure, but everyone agrees that he is a hero. The controversies behind Botev are far too much to actually unravel them, but the main controversy behind him still continues to plague the minds of everyone, the question was he in it for the freedom of Bulgaria, an anarchist-socialist revolution in the whole of the Balkans or to create his own myth and in the process be remembered for all times. A tense relationship developed between the three that will on one hand create the revolution as it stood and on the other lead to the conflict between them that will unfold during the revolution. But how tense was that relationship? According to sources, it was strained at times and it times it reached a level of animosity that would never be expected..
____________________________________________________________
Excerpt from: “Writings on Bulgaria’s Uprisings”
by Zahari Stoyanov; 1884–1892.
There we were, in Bucharest, in a small but comfortable home in a quiet Bulgarian suburb. The Bulgarian Émigré community was huge here. Suburbs like these gave Ivan Vazov the inspiration to write the famous novella “Nemili-Nedragi” (Unloved-Unwanted), a story about future revolutionaries planning the revival of their country, enclosed in a dim bar surrounded by misery and decay. While there were allot of Bulgarians in the émigré which were quite wealthy, all of them were based along the Danube and worked as traders. Any wealthy Bulgarians here were ether large landowners or bar holders, since there was nothing else in these suburbs worth anything.
But here we were, in a comfortable and well looking home in the middle of this filth, what was even more surprising was that this little home was used by a novelist and writer. A well off writer… well here is a paradox if I ever heard one. But this was no ordinary writer. This man was Karavelov and by god was he famous. Karavelov was a man of a lot of words and even more friends, he was intelligent and loved the sound of his voice, and he was a natural teacher. He loved to school people, if you caught him in his element he could talk for days on end, but you will have to survive his rants about history and culture.
Beside me, was Levski. I was a young lad when Levski pulled me from Rousse, he met me on one of his visits and recognized “My talents”. I still have no idea what he meant. If I hadn’t known him, I would have been afraid to even look at the man, he was tall, lean, and blond haired with an always perfectly trimmed blond moustache and fine cut hair. His clothes were, despite him living in squalor taken care of and polished, albeit with a few noticeable holes. He was a soldier and a fighter before all else, he looked like one as well, born and breed in the middle classes under the harsh truth of the Ottoman rule, he was a man of few words and short temper. Quite the contrast to Karavelov who was chatty and literate, Levski was quiet and despite finishing school was barely literate when it came to books and letters, but his strength lay in crunching numbers, he counted every penny going into the organization and every penny coming out, he literally knew where the money was at any given time.
We entered the well lit room as Karavelov smiled; he gestured to the seats after taking our coats. Levski just nodded and sat down, he wasn’t pretty chatty as usual, but I guess I wouldn’t be as well if I was forced to live in a Mill because I have nowhere to sleep and no one to accept me. Karavelov came back and handed us coffee, he sat down and with his big smile lighting his face as always and begun the conversation. “Vasily, I wanted to talk to you on something very damn important.”Levski looked at the man with his deep, but light blue eyes “How many times have I have to tell you Lyubene, we are not spending more money on your newspapers!” Karavelov laughed and looked back at the eyes of the deacon “No Vasily, it’s not about that. I wouldn’t have put you in danger’s way if it wasn’t for something important.”
The word danger caught my attention, even here Bulgarians where not safe, as there were pro-Ottoman gangs scouring the streets hunting for plotters, most of the times innocents got hurt. Not the mention the headhunters who would gladly collect the 50 000 grosha placed on the head of Levski. “We will gather the Central Committee in a few days, I want you there so we can decide on the policies of it, it’s time we combine our organizations, brother.” Levski looked at Karavelov, a slight smile might have made its appearance on his face, but you can never be sure with the deacon. He looked away for a second, thinking something. This man had singlehandedly, for the span of 2-3 years, created the biggest Internal Organization in Bulgaria. He was both loved and feared; he was seen as a freedom fighter but also a tyrant. But why a tyrant you ask? Remember, dear reader, when I mentioned number crunching as a specialty of his? Levski was great with finances; he was experienced and knew how to get money. He realized that in order for there to be a revolution, he needed the population to pitch in, but donations couldn’t sustain the IRO for the revolutionary war. So he resorted to the next best thing, racketeering the rich chorbaji. He had made friends with most every circle of Bulgarian society and via that he managed to spread his organization all over the country by building local revolutionary centers from the ground up. He literally knew everything, everywhere and since he was extorting the Ottoman-employed rich people to pay for his organization, he needed to both make sure these money were well spent and no corruption persisted and that no one reported him. In order to watch the chorbajis and Ottomans and even his own Apostles (as the IRO members where called), he personally oversaw the creation of an organization within the organization, a secret police of sorts that was fanatically loyal to him and handled treason the only way Levski knew, punishment by death.
Dozens of people had disappeared for stealing money from the organization and hundreds more for trying to defect to the Ottomans. That is a part of the reason he was able to avoid capture for so long, he had a man or a woman under his employment in almost every place in the country. And they not only loved and respected him, but they also feared him. And fear is the best tool, next to love, to inspire loyalty in your followers. Nowadays we condemn the IRO for its post-revolutionary work, but one thing we can admit is that without it, the Revolution itself was doomed.
“You say so.” Levski begun to speak with his calm voice “But I am afraid your organization doesn’t share my ideals. We may have found a compromise on many subjects for the charter, but there is still one more in which you fail to compromise.”
Karavelov and Levski had discussed this before; this was actually their 5th meeting, both where arguing back and forth as they hammered out the proposed charter of the new Central Revolutionary Comity that was going to be formed in Bucharest. They had reached compromise on most subjects, but one still hunted them.
Karavelov sighted “I knew this wasn’t going to be easy…” he looked at me and back at Levski “… the Balkan nations are our friends Vasile, we can use their help, we can unite and fight for brothe-“
Levski stopped him mid-sentence “Under what ruler Lyubene? You know what your favorite Serbs want?! You have been in Serbia, remember how they treated you, when they found out you where Bulgarian?!”
Karavelov looked out of the window, he was exceptionally naïve and believed that all nations and leaders where friendly deep down and all of them would love to be friends with us. “They threw me out…” he mumbled under his breath.
“They fucking threw you out Lyubene! And they have failed my ambitions and dreams far more than that! You never were in the Legion; you never saw their arrogance and their way of doing things. They openly said that we are nothing, but a tool so they can get their hands on South Slav territories and rule them. I will not allow you, to throw our nation under the wheels of foreign influence! The Serbs are not our friends! Nether are the Russians, Romanians, Greeks or by god the Ottomans! ”
Karavelov kept looking out of the window, he was a man of many words, but none came out now. “Vasily, we disagree on a lot of things, like the way you are handling the IRO. But by god we have to agree on this, our relationship with our neighbors is important. And the Serbs have done this under pressure, they are still our friends, we need their help in order for the chetniks to easily cross into the country and start a rebellion. You have to understand, we…”
Levski interrupted him once more “The Cheti strategy is useless and you know it, why do you still hold dear to it goddamn it! The Chetas themselves cannot inspire people to follow them and lead them to a revolution. I was in a bloody Cheta, we fought our way to the Balkans and where then driven back to Serbia, then they gathered us in a Legion long enough to use us against the Turks, and they threw us out.”
Karavelov let out a slight sigh “I… you are right. But we cannot forsake the Serbs like that, they can help us, we can use them! And you cannot exclude the émigré from this, while the chetas shouldn’t be our main tactic, they sure as hell need to be included! Chetas had already begun forming. Even Botev has one! “
Levski smiled at the thought “Hristo is insane and we both know it, he is ready to go right now if you ask him. Sometimes I wonder what he is fighting for… his country, to destroy the Ottomans or for his personal glory, we both lived with him and we both know him, we respect him, but we still don’t know his game. But aside from that… you want us to maintain friendly relations with the Serbs? Ok, but make them put their money where their mouth is, we need weapons and ammunitions, we buy them on the black market here in Romania and transport them to Bulgaria, but those weapons are woefully insufficient. We need a steady stream of weapons and supplies. How about that Lyubo?”
Karavelov smiled once again, now they were on the same page “I will do it myself, the Serbs will much rather prefer to hear form a leader of the revolution, rather than a lowly messenger.”
Levski nodded “Good, now let’s write the proposed charter of the BRCC and get this over with, so I can go back home… to Bulgaria.” This seemed to have startled Karavelov “Wait, Vasko, aren’t you going to join us in a few days?”
“No. I will leave Obshti with you, I am heading back to Bulgaria with Zahari here” he gestured towards me “the kid has potential and I would much rather prefer to get stuff done quietly, then by Obshti’s brazen tactics.”
Karavelov tried to argue for a few minutes, but eventually he buckled under the unyielding Levski and they got to writing the charter, after arguing back and forth for another hour, it was complete. On the following days, the rules written by the two leaders where accepted in a general meeting of the revolutionary circles in Romania almost right away, Obshti was displeased about being left in Bucharest, but he was still the representative of the IRO in the BRCC, so he didn’t feel the need or dare argue with the Deacon.
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Levski, Botev and Karavelov are the most important revolutionaries in Bulgaria's history and will have a huge role in this timeline, you met two of them. Zahari Stoyanov OTL was in a pretty important man for revolutionary and post-revolutionary Bulgaira himself, but failed to meet the Deacon. ITL Levski handpicks him to his own aid. I did this partially to have a OTL revolutionary documentary writer on the right side of Levski, so he could record everything that is happening and more importantly to move Obshti out of Levski's inner circle, so he won't do stupid stuff, like trying to rob a postal train and get the Deacon killed. And this is our PoD.
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MarshalBraginsky
Banned
So the Deacon's survival would alter the events that will have positive effects on Bulgaria. Would Bulgaria end up isolationist though if they don't want the help from the Serbs, Greeks, the Austro-Hungarians, Ottomans or Russians?
I don't know about isolationism, the Deacon was against anyone helping Bulgaria in its revolutionary struggle, saying "Who ever "frees" us, will enslave us in return." and he was mostly right. As the Russians proved it, when signing the San Stefano treaty, they made sure to put provisions about Russian troops staying in Bulgaria and Bulgarians electing the Tsar as the ruler of the new country. That is partially the reason why Bulgaria was cut up in the Berlin Congress, because if the San Stefano treaty was accepted, then Bulgaria will become nothing more then a Gubernya behind the Danube, occupied by Russian troops poised to get to Constantinople to give legitimacy to the Third Rome rhetoric.
But the Deacon is smarter then that, he knows that a country cannot survive on itself in the world, that is why he allowed negotiations with the Serbians and that is why he has agreed to make Bucharest the headquarters of the Central Committee.
But the Deacon is smarter then that, he knows that a country cannot survive on itself in the world, that is why he allowed negotiations with the Serbians and that is why he has agreed to make Bucharest the headquarters of the Central Committee.
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MarshalBraginsky
Banned
The Deacon's survival will definitely fill up the Bulgarian history books like there is no end of its history.
It could make a great difference. You see, IRL the April Uprising was his brainchild, but it begun hastily and with little to no preparation, because Levski was hanged and Karavelov had panicked, while Botev was just looking for a fight. It was poorly armed, not following the central doctrine and bound to fail from the start. With Levski alive, things are bound to change, but to what extent will the revolution unfold differently we have yet to see.
Dementor
Banned
Great to see that someone has started a timeline on one of the three most popular POD's in Bulgarian history! Subscribed.
Some notes:
This has been taken out of "12 Myths in Bulgarian History", isn't it? The exception is the rather bizarre suggestion that the Bulgarians wanted their children to be made Janissaries. This is generally a claim made by, to put it mildly, uncritically pro-Ottoman authors. When considering that is was called the "Blood Tax" (this is a term also used by Dimitrov in his book) and the measures often taken by parents to avoid it (up to injuring their children), how unlikely this would be in the context of a very religious society and direct historical evidence against it (being freed from the tax was considered a great privilege, to be personally granted by the Sultan), it's not surprising that most historians, do not take this view. So unless Dimitrov is a Turkish agent in this time line, it's very unlikely he would write anything like this. Also, Janissaries were not recruited from Muslims, though some Muslims apparently tried to sneak their children in the Janissary corps, from where the idea of Christians giving their children willingly may have come from.
Some notes:
This has been taken out of "12 Myths in Bulgarian History", isn't it?
The exception is the rather bizarre suggestion that the Bulgarians wanted their children to be made Janissaries. This is generally a claim made by, to put it mildly, uncritically pro-Ottoman authors. When considering that is was called the "Blood Tax" (this is a term also used by Dimitrov in his book) and the measures often taken by parents to avoid it (up to injuring their children), how unlikely this would be in the context of a very religious society and direct historical evidence against it (being freed from the tax was considered a great privilege, to be personally granted by the Sultan), it's not surprising that most historians, do not take this view. So unless Dimitrov is a Turkish agent in this time line, it's very unlikely he would write anything like this. Also, Janissaries were not recruited from Muslims, though some Muslims apparently tried to sneak their children in the Janissary corps, from where the idea of Christians giving their children willingly may have come from.The Russians did put a provision about Russian troops staying in Bulgaria, but only for two years. Also, the San Stefano Treaty forbade the Tsar or any other member of a reigning dynasty of a Great Power from being elected as Prince. You can read the whole treaty here
Dementor
Banned
By the way, do you plan on Stefan Stambolov having some role here? He's probably too young to have a major role yet, but he was often compared with Levski (Bozhidar Dimitrov, in fact suggested that if Levski was alive when Bulgaria restored its independence, he would rule like "Stambolov Squared") - the same persistence and resolve and a hardness bordering on ruthlessness, but without being as reckless as many other revolutionaries were.
Good note on Dimitrov, quite surprised someone else has read it. Have you read it in English or are you a fellow Bulgarian? And yes, taking it in hindsight maybe Dimitrov is not the best author to present this as a historical position, but you cannot argue that in the Early Empire, the Janissary Corps themselves along with many others were considered a way to progress in society and some Christian families where happy to give children up to the Corps. And if you read that book itself, you will notice that even Dimitrov, who is a staunch anti-ottoman, admired that this happened. Now it is true, that Christians wouldn't for the most part give up their children lightly, and I probably should have noted that, since it came off as more Pro-Ottoman that it actually is.
And point taken on the second part, my source was the heavily Russophile Simeon Radev, so it might not come with all truths in it and may have included a few "Russia is a monster" notes, but what we can agree on is that Russian influence was generally not a good thing.
And the Stambolov Squared thing is what actually inspired me to write this timeline, so I intend Stambolov to take part, I am huge fan of his and I think he will make a good addition to the timeline, but I have yet to see what role he will take.
MarshalBraginsky
Banned
Would Bulgaria become a kingdom or a republic if 'Stambolov Squared' emerges as the key figure?
I am thinking over that same issue, you see Levski was a proponent of a "Free and Sacred" republic where everyone is equal and enjoys slimier rights. But it all depends on how the country itself is freed, if the Russians get involved and a San Stefano happens, then anything else then a Principality is out of the question, as far as I know.
Dementor
Banned
I'm a Bulgarian, I don't think it's been translated in English. And regarding parents who may have given their children voluntary, it might have happened (though as I said there is a possibility of confusion of Muslims who wanted to use this as means of advancement), but I really doubt that it was a common occurrence. Also Bozhidar Dimitrov doesn't admit anything like this, though he does mention that Janissaries were taken from older children (you can check it here).
Certainly, though it should be noted that even the most prominent Russophobes like Stambolov and Zahari Stoyanov took a while to reach their views (basically until it became obvious that the Russian Tsar would not settle with anything but total control over Bulgaria). After all, Russian armies did liberate Bulgaria and the Russians were still helpfulltowards Bulgaria in the first few years, for example by training the army. Of course, if Bulgaria owes less to Russia, this disillusionment will happen much faster.
А добър ден тогава. Agreed on those parts, you don't mind if I hit you up on a few questions while constructing the timeline, I have a few brewing right now, but I will ask you only if you agree to help. :3
Also, I must note, I called Simeon Radev a Russophile, but he I meant a Russophobe, but you understood me.
Doubt it mate. The only time this was possible, was the Serbo-Bulgarian war and like, even then Bulgarians had no intentions to actually annex Serbia, so even that is off the table.
Dementor
Banned
По-скоро добър вечер
and yes, I of course don't mind helping with the time line.Though the Bulgarians would probably have liked to annex the Niš area, which after all had been usually considered Bulgarian until a few years before then and still speaks a dialect that can be considered both Bulgarian and Serbian.
MarshalBraginsky
Banned
Besides, if Bulgaria is aiming for a republic, then annexing the Kingdom of Serbia would literally kill the purpose of having a non-monarchial state. I suppose they could form a (con)federation {one of the two choices there} on the lines of Czechoslovakia, but I'm not sure if that can work as well.
If Bulgaria can wrest concessions from Austria-Hungary, Russia and Ottoman Turkey while pretending to align with either one of them, would that work as well? What will happen to the Turkish and Slavic Muslim/Pomak minorities in this case? Are they going to be tolerated by Stambolov Squared, or are they going to either be forcibly assimilated or possibly expelled? (IOTL the Turkish minority was expelled by the Zhivkov regime in 1989)
If Bulgaria can wrest concessions from Austria-Hungary, Russia and Ottoman Turkey while pretending to align with either one of them, would that work as well? What will happen to the Turkish and Slavic Muslim/Pomak minorities in this case? Are they going to be tolerated by Stambolov Squared, or are they going to either be forcibly assimilated or possibly expelled? (IOTL the Turkish minority was expelled by the Zhivkov regime in 1989)