Ivan Vazov
Encyclopedia
Ivan Minchov Vazov (June 27, 1850 - September 22, 1921) was a Bulgaria
n 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 (then part of the Ottoman Empire
).
After finishing primary school in Sopot, Mincho send his son to Kalofer
, appointing him assistant teacher. Having done his final exams in Kalofer, the young teacher returned to Sopot to help in his father's grocery. The next year his father send him to Plovdiv to Naiden Gerov's school. There Vazov made his first steps as a poet.
He returned to Sopot and then went to Olteniţa
in Romania
to study trade despite his lack of interest in it. He was immersed in literature. Soon he left Olteniţa and went to Brăila
where he met Hristo Botev
, a Bulgarian revolutionary
and poet. From Brăila he went to Galaţi
to his uncle where he met Botev again.
In 1874 he joined the struggle for his country's independence
from the Ottoman Empire
. He returned to Sopot in 1875 where he became a member of the local revolutionary committee. After the failure of the April Uprising
of 1876, he had to flee the country, going back to Galaţi, where most of the surviving revolutionaries were exiled. There he was appointed a secretary of the committee.
Vazov was probably heavily influenced by Hristo Botev
, who was the ideological leader of the Bulgarian revolutionary movement. He started writing his famous poems with Botev and some other Bulgarian emigrants in Romania. In 1876 he published his first work, Priaporetz and Gusla , followed by "Bulgaria's Sorrows" in 1877.
Bulgaria regained its independence in 1878 as a result of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878 and Vazov wrote the famous Epic of the Forgotten
. He became the editor of the political reviews "Science" and "Dawn." He was, however, forced into exile once again, this time to Odessa
, because of the persecution of the russophile political faction. Returning to Bulgaria with the help of his mother Suba Vazova, he started teaching. Vazov's next stay was in Svishtov
, where he became a civil servant.
He moved to Sofia
in 1889 where he started publishing the review Dennitsa.
Vazov's 1893 novel Under the Yoke
, which depicts the Ottoman oppression of Bulgaria
, is the most famous piece of classic Bulgarian literature and has been translated into over 30 languages.
Later in his life Vazov was a prominent and widely respected figure in the social and cultural life of newly independent Bulgaria.
has been turned into a museum, containing a restoration of his residence with period furnishings, as well as Vazov's taxidermically preserved dog. Although the museum is ostensibly open Tuesday through Saturday, it is in practice not always staffed, so visitors are advised to call in advance. The museum is located at the corner of Ivan Vazov Street and Georgi S. Rakovski
Street in Sofia.
in Sofia is named after him. The Ivan Vazov National Library
in Plovdiv is also named after Vazov. A park near St. Sofia Church in Sofia features the city's best-known monument to Vazov.
Vazovova Street in Bratislava
, Slovakia
, and Vazov Point
and Vazov Rock
on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands
, Antarctica are also named after Ivan Vazov.
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 poet
Poet
A poet is a person who writes poetry. A poet's work can be literal, meaning that his work is derived from a specific event, or metaphorical, meaning that his work can take on many meanings and forms. Poets have existed since antiquity, in nearly all languages, and have produced works that vary...
, novelist and playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
, often referred to as "the Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley
Rose Valley, Bulgaria
The Rose Valley is a region in Bulgaria located just south of the Balkan Mountains and the eastern part of the lower Sredna Gora chain to the south...
of Bulgaria (then part of the Ottoman Empire
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...
).
Biography
The exact date of Vazov's birth is disputed. His parents, Saba and Mincho Vazov, both had a lot of influence on the young poet.After finishing primary school in Sopot, Mincho send his son to Kalofer
Kalofer
Kalofer is a town in central Bulgaria, located on the banks of the Tundzha between the Balkan Mountains to the north and the Sredna Gora to the south. Kalofer is part of Plovdiv Province and the Karlovo municipality...
, appointing him assistant teacher. Having done his final exams in Kalofer, the young teacher returned to Sopot to help in his father's grocery. The next year his father send him to Plovdiv to Naiden Gerov's school. There Vazov made his first steps as a poet.
He returned to Sopot and then went to Olteniţa
Oltenita
Olteniţa is a city in Romania in the Călăraşi County on the left bank of the Argeş River where its waters reach the Danube through a network of streams and marshes.Oltenita stands just across the Danube from the Bulgarian city of Tutrakan.-History:...
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...
to study trade despite his lack of interest in it. He was immersed in literature. Soon he left Olteniţa and went to Brăila
Braila
Brăila is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County, in the close vicinity of Galaţi.According to the 2002 Romanian census there were 216,292 people living within the city of Brăila, making it the 10th most populous city in Romania.-History:A...
where he met 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:...
, a Bulgarian 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 poet. From Brăila he went to Galaţi
Galati
Galați is a city and municipality in Romania, the capital of Galați County. Located in the historical region of Moldavia, in the close vicinity of Brăila, Galați is the largest port and sea port on the Danube River and the second largest Romanian port....
to his uncle where he met Botev again.
In 1874 he joined the struggle for his country's independence
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 the Ottoman Empire
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...
. He returned to Sopot in 1875 where he became a member of the local revolutionary committee. After the failure 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, he had to flee the country, going back to Galaţi, where most of the surviving revolutionaries were exiled. There he was appointed a secretary of the committee.
Vazov was probably heavily influenced by 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:...
, who was the ideological leader of the Bulgarian revolutionary movement. He started writing his famous poems with Botev and some other Bulgarian emigrants in Romania. In 1876 he published his first work, Priaporetz and Gusla , followed by "Bulgaria's Sorrows" in 1877.
Bulgaria regained its independence in 1878 as a result of the Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878 and Vazov wrote the famous 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...
. He became the editor of the political reviews "Science" and "Dawn." He was, however, forced into exile once again, this time to Odessa
Odessa
Odessa or Odesa is the administrative center of the Odessa Oblast located in southern Ukraine. The city is a major seaport located on the northwest shore of the Black Sea and the fourth largest city in Ukraine with a population of 1,029,000 .The predecessor of Odessa, a small Tatar settlement,...
, because of the persecution of the russophile political faction. Returning to Bulgaria with the help of his mother Suba Vazova, he started teaching. Vazov's next stay was in Svishtov
Svishtov
Svishtov is a town in northern Bulgaria, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province on the right bank of the Danube river opposite the Romanian town of Zimnicea. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Svishtov Municipality...
, where he became a civil servant.
He moved 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...
in 1889 where he started publishing the review Dennitsa.
Vazov's 1893 novel Under the Yoke
Under the Yoke
Under the Yoke is a novel by Ivan Vazov, written in 1888. It depicts the Ottoman oppression of Bulgaria and is the most famous piece of classic Bulgarian literature. Under the Yoke has been translated into more than 30 languages.-Plot:...
, which depicts the Ottoman oppression 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...
, is the most famous piece of classic Bulgarian literature and has been translated into over 30 languages.
Later in his life Vazov was a prominent and widely respected figure in the social and cultural life of newly independent Bulgaria.
Other famous works
Some of the other famous works by Vazov include the novels New Country (1894), Under Our Heaven (1900), The Empress of Kazalar (1902), Songs of Macedonia (1914), It Will Not Perish (1920) and the plays Vagabonds (1894), Borislav (1909) and Ivaylo (1911).Historical site
Vazov's home in SofiaSofia
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...
has been turned into a museum, containing a restoration of his residence with period furnishings, as well as Vazov's taxidermically preserved dog. Although the museum is ostensibly open Tuesday through Saturday, it is in practice not always staffed, so visitors are advised to call in advance. The museum is located at the corner of Ivan Vazov Street and Georgi S. Rakovski
Georgi 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...
Street in Sofia.
Honours
The Bulgarian Ivan Vazov National TheatreIvan Vazov National Theatre
The Ivan Vazov National Theatre is Bulgaria's national theatre, as well as the oldest and most authoritative theatre in the country and one of the important landmarks of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria...
in Sofia is named after him. The Ivan Vazov National Library
Ivan Vazov National Library
The Ivan Vazov National Library is a library situated in Bulgaria's second largest city, Plovdiv. It is named after the famous Bulgarian writer and poet Ivan Vazov....
in Plovdiv is also named after Vazov. A park near St. Sofia Church in Sofia features the city's best-known monument to Vazov.
Vazovova Street in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
, Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
, and Vazov Point
Vazov Point
Vazov Point is a point on the coast of Bransfield Strait forming the northeast side of the entrance to Brunow Bay on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. This landmark is surmounted by Vazov Rock.-Location:...
and Vazov Rock
Vazov Rock
Vazov Rock is a rocky peak of elevation of in the south extremity of Peshev Ridge in Tangra Mountains, eastern Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica...
on Livingston Island in 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...
, Antarctica are also named after Ivan Vazov.
See also
- Bulgarian literatureBulgarian literatureBulgarian literature is literature written by Bulgarians or residents of Bulgaria, or written in the Bulgarian language; usually the latter is the defining feature...
- Zahari StoyanovZahari StoyanovZahari Stoyanov , born Dzhendo Stoyanov Dzhedev , was a Bulgarian revolutionary, writer, and historian. A participant in the April Uprising of 1876, he became its first historiographer with his book Memoirs of the Bulgarian Uprisings...
- Pencho SlaveykovPencho SlaveykovPencho Petkov Slaveykov was a noted Bulgarian poet and one of the participants in the Misal circle. He was the youngest son of the writer Petko Slaveykov....
- Peyo Yavorov
- National awakening of BulgariaNational awakening of BulgariaBulgarian nationalism emerged in the early 19th century under the influence of western ideas such as liberalism and nationalism, which trickled into the country after the French revolution, mostly via Greece, although there were stirrings in the 18th century. Russia, as fellow Orthodox Slavs, could...