Hristo Silyanov
Encyclopedia
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...
n revolutionary, historian and memoirist. He was among the activists of the Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees and in his memoirs uniquely described the history of the organization in its early period.
Silyanov was born in a rich family in Constantinople
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...
. His father was a Bulgarian
Macedonians (Bulgarians)
Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians , sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians or Macedo-Bulgarians is a regional, ethnographic group of ethnic Bulgarians, inhabiting or originating from Macedonia...
from Ohrid
Ohrid
Ohrid is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year and has...
in Macedonia
Macedonia (region)
Macedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but nowadays the region is considered to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia, as...
, and his mother was Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
. He studied in Istanbul and Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...
, but graduated from the Bulgarian school in Bitola
Bitola
Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...
. Later Silyanov worked as the Bulgarian Exarchate
Bulgarian Exarchate
The Bulgarian Exarchate was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953....
's teacher in various towns in Ottoman Macedonia. After his participation in [the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (IMARO), he joined the cheta
Cheta
Cheta was an armed band, organized by the Christian population on the territory of the Ottoman Empire, aiming at anti-Turkish activity. The cheta was usually led by a leader, called voivoda. The members of the chetas were called chetnik....
from Marko Lerinski
Marko Lerinski
Marko Lerinski was the nickname of Georgi Ivanov Gyurov , also known as Georgi Geroyski or Marko Voyvoda, a Bulgarian military man and revolutionary...
. As result of a severe illness in 1902, Silyanov moved to Sofia for treatment and from there criticized sharply the decision made by IMARO's Central Committee in Thessaloniki concerning the Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising. However, in 1903 he was elected secretary of the Preobrazhenie Uprising committee in a session near Malko Tarnovo
Malko Tarnovo
Malko Tarnovo is a town in Burgas Province, Southeastern Bulgaria, located 5 km away from the Turkish border. It is the only town in the interior of the Bulgarian Strandzha Mountains. Malko Tarnovo is the administrative centre of the homonymous Malko Tarnovo Municipality...
. During the Uprising he was a member of Michail Gerdjikov's cheta and participated in the battles in 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...
for the taking of Vasiliko
Tsarevo
Tsarevo is a town and seaside resort in southeastern Bulgaria, an administrative centre of the homonymous Municipality of Tsarevo in Burgas Province. It lies on a cove 70 km southeast of Burgas, on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast at the eastern foot of Strandzha mountain...
and Ahtopol
Ahtopol
Ahtopol is a town and seaside resort on the southern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast. It is located on a headland in the southeastern part of Burgas Province and is close to the border with European Turkey...
.
After the Uprising, he graduated in history from Sofia University
Sofia University
The St. Clement of Ohrid University of Sofia or Sofia University is the oldest higher education institution in Bulgaria, founded on 1 October 1888...
and afterwards specialized in Swiss. In 1908 Siljanov was elected to the leading body of IMARO and made unsuccessful attempts to save the unity of the organization. During the Balkan Wars he was a leader of a cheta in Southern Macedonia and supported the Greek and later the Bulgarian Army during their invasions. During the First World War, he was imprisoned in Sofia as a Russophile
Russophile
Russophile may refer to:* Russophilia, the love of Russia or Russians* Ukrainian Russophiles, a Ukrainian cultural faction in nineteenth and early twentieth century Galicia who espoused Ruthenian autonomy...
, when Bulgaria was fighting against Russia. After the wars he settled in Sofia and worked there as a writer, publicist and journalist. Later he also became a politician and a member of the Macedonian Scientific Institute
Macedonian Scientific Institute
The Macedonian Scientific Institute , is a Bulgarian scientific organisation, which studies the Region of Macedonia and mostly the Macedonian Bulgarians.-Establishment and activity:...
. His son Evgeny Silyanov was a prominent Bulgarian diplomat.