Petar Pop-Arsov
Encyclopedia
Petar Poparsov was a revolutionary from Macedonia, one of the founders of "The Committee for Obtaining the Political Rights Given to Macedonia by the Congress of Berlin
" from which, as Petar Poparsov says in his writings, later developed the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), known prior to 1902 as Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees (BMARC). His last name is sometimes rendered 'Poparsov' or 'Pop Arsov'. Scholars consider him a Bulgarian
while in the Republic of Macedonia
he is regarded as an ethnic Macedonian.
, in a priest family. He was one of the leaders of the student protest in the Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki
in 1887/1888 where the main objective was to replace the East Bulgarian dialect with a Macedonian dialect in the lecturing. As a consequence, he was expelled along with 38 other students. He managed to enroll in the philology studies program at Belgrade University in 1888, but because his resistance to Serbianisation
, he was once more evicted in 1890.
in Sofia and its magazine Loza (The Vine). The purpose of the society was twofold: the official one was primarily scholarly and literary. One of the purposes of the magazine of Young Macedonian Literary Society was to defend the idea the dialects from Macedonia to be more represented in Bulgarian literature language. The articles where historical, cultural and ethnographic. The authors of this magazine clearly considered them as Macedonian Bulgarians, but the Bulgarian government suspected them of the lack of loyalty and some separatism and the magazine was promptly banned by the Bulgarian authorities after several issues.
of 1903. However, after the failure of the uprising, he was admitted to the Central Committee of IMARO. At the Rila Congress in November 1905, he was elected in the representative body of IMARO. He championed the idea of Macedonian autonomy. During the First Balkan War
he and Dimitrija Čupovski
organized an all-Macedonian congress that authorized them to represent the Macedonian Question in the Peace Conference. After the Balkan Wars
he moved to Bulgaria. In 1920 he described the serbianization of Macedonian Bulgarians as one of tee most powerful factors for the creation of IMRO. In 1920 he fully withdrew from politics and worked as teacher of Bulgarian language in Kostenets
. He died after brief illness in Sofia
in 1941.
Congress of Berlin
The Congress of Berlin was a meeting of the European Great Powers' and the Ottoman Empire's leading statesmen in Berlin in 1878. In the wake of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, the meeting's aim was to reorganize the countries of the Balkans...
" from which, as Petar Poparsov says in his writings, later developed the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO), known prior to 1902 as Bulgarian Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Committees (BMARC). His last name is sometimes rendered 'Poparsov' or 'Pop Arsov'. Scholars consider him a Bulgarian
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:...
while in the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
he is regarded as an ethnic Macedonian.
Early life
He was born in 1868 in the village Bogomila, near VelesVeles (city)
Veles is a city in the center of the Republic of Macedonia on the Vardar river. The city of Veles is the seat of Veles Municipality.-Name:The city's name was Vylosa in Ancient Greek and before the Balkan Wars, it was a township with the name Köprülü in the Üsküp sandjak, Ottoman empire for 600...
, in a priest family. He was one of the leaders of the student protest in the Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki
Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki
The Sts. Cyril and Methodius Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki was the first Bulgarian high school in Macedonia. One of the most influential Bulgarian educational centres in Macedonia and Southern Thrace, it was founded in autumn 1880 in Ottoman Thessaloniki and existed until...
in 1887/1888 where the main objective was to replace the East Bulgarian dialect with a Macedonian dialect in the lecturing. As a consequence, he was expelled along with 38 other students. He managed to enroll in the philology studies program at Belgrade University in 1888, but because his resistance to Serbianisation
Serbianisation
Serbianisation or Serbification or Serbisation is the spread of Serbian culture, people, or politics, either by integration or assimilation.-Serbianisation:...
, he was once more evicted in 1890.
Young Macedonian Literary Society
In 1891 he is one of the founders of Young Macedonian Literary SocietyYoung Macedonian Literary Society
The Young Macedonian Literary Society was founded in 1891 in Sofia together with its magazine Loza. The purpose of the society was twofold: the official one was primarily scholarly and literary. One of the purposes of the magazine of Young Macedonian Literary Society was to defend the idea the...
in Sofia and its magazine Loza (The Vine). The purpose of the society was twofold: the official one was primarily scholarly and literary. One of the purposes of the magazine of Young Macedonian Literary Society was to defend the idea the dialects from Macedonia to be more represented in Bulgarian literature language. The articles where historical, cultural and ethnographic. The authors of this magazine clearly considered them as Macedonian Bulgarians, but the Bulgarian government suspected them of the lack of loyalty and some separatism and the magazine was promptly banned by the Bulgarian authorities after several issues.
IMARO
The best proof of the aims and tasks of the Young Macedonian Literary Society was provided during the following year when its members became either founders of or active participants in "The Committee for Obtaining the Political Rights Given to Macedonia by the Congress of Berlin" from which, as Petar Poparsov says, there later developed IMARO. These were the Macedonian intellectuals who were "the witnesses to the hellish condition of Macedonia and took account of the geographical, ethnographic, economic and other characteristics of the country". From 1896-7 he works in Shtip as a Bulgarian teacher and president of regional IMARO section. In 1897 he was arrested by Ottoman authorities on charges of inciting rebellion, and sentenced to 101 years in prison. He was pardoned in August 1902. After his release he encountered changed political climate in Macedonia. He remained passive during the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie UprisingIlinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising
The Ilinden–Preobrazhenie Uprising or simply the Ilinden Uprising of August 1903 |Macedonia]] affected most of the central and southwestern parts of the Monastir Vilayet receiving the support mainly of the local Bulgarian peasants and to some extent of the Aromanian population of the region...
of 1903. However, after the failure of the uprising, he was admitted to the Central Committee of IMARO. At the Rila Congress in November 1905, he was elected in the representative body of IMARO. He championed the idea of Macedonian autonomy. During the First Balkan War
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
he and Dimitrija Čupovski
Dimitrija Cupovski
Dimitrija Čupovski was a Macedonian textbook writer and lexicographer.-Early years:...
organized an all-Macedonian congress that authorized them to represent the Macedonian Question in the Peace Conference. After the Balkan Wars
Balkan Wars
The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...
he moved to Bulgaria. In 1920 he described the serbianization of Macedonian Bulgarians as one of tee most powerful factors for the creation of IMRO. In 1920 he fully withdrew from politics and worked as teacher of Bulgarian language in Kostenets
Kostenets
Kostenets is a village in the Sofia Province southwestern Bulgaria, located in the Kostenets Municipality . As of the 2000 census, the village had a total population of 4,201...
. He died after brief illness 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...
in 1941.
Books
- Стамболовщината въ Македония и нейнитѣ прѣдставители - Петъръ Попъ Арсовъ