Trayko Kitanchev
Encyclopedia
Trayko Tsvetkov Kitanchev was a Bulgarian
teacher, social figure, poet and revolutionary. In 1895, he was the first chairman of the Supreme Macedonian–Adrianopolitan Committee, a Sofia
-based organization seeking the autonomy of Macedonia
and southern Thrace
.
Kitanchev was born in the village of Podmochani near Resen (then in Ottoman
Macedonia, today in the Republic of Macedonia
). In 1869, he was sent to the imperial capital Istanbul
to study at the Bulgarian school in Phanar
with the aid of Nathanael of Ohrid
; in Phanar, his classmate was future Bulgarian socialist leader Dimitar Blagoev
and his teacher was Petko Slaveykov
.
From 1874 to 1879, Kitanchev studied at the Kiev
seminary
in the Russian Empire
. After his graduation he briefly studied law
in Moscow
until 1880. In that year, he returned to the Balkans
to work as a teacher at the Saints Peter and Paul Seminary in Lyaskovets
and the Bulgarian Men's High School
in Thessaloniki
. In 1884, Trayko Kitanchev moved to Plovdiv
, at the time still the capital of Eastern Rumelia
; shortly afterwards he settled in Sofia
, capital of the Principality of Bulgaria
. In the same year, he became a full member of the Bulgarian Literary Society (today's Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
).
During the Serbo-Bulgarian War
of 1885, Kitanchev fought as a volunteer in the Bulgarian Army. In Sofia, Kitanchev befriended Stefan Stambolov
, with whom he even shared a room for some time. During the August 1886 coup attempt aimed at overthrowing Prince Alexander Battenberg
, Kitanchev accompanied Stambolov in Tarnovo
and wrote the proclamation declaring the takeover illegal to Stambolov's dictation. During Stambolov's term as Prime Minister of Bulgaria (1887–1894), however, their relations worsened. After the assassination of Minister of Finance Hristo Belchev in 1891, Kitanchev was imprisoned as a potential accomplice.
After his release from prison, Kitanchev was once again teacher at the Bulgarian high school in Thessaloniki and then school inspector in Tarnovo. He became close friends with liberal leader Petko Karavelov
and was elected member of parliament from the Democratic Party
.
When the Supreme Macedonian–Adrianopolitan Committee was established in March 1895, Kitanchev was elected its first chairman during the organization's constituent congress. However, the failure of the committee's armed infiltration of Ottoman Macedonia in the same year was a fatal blow to Kitanchev's health. He died in Sofia in August 1895.
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:...
teacher, social figure, poet and revolutionary. In 1895, he was the first chairman of the Supreme Macedonian–Adrianopolitan Committee, a 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...
-based organization seeking the autonomy of 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 southern Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
.
Kitanchev was born in the village of Podmochani near Resen (then in Ottoman
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...
Macedonia, today 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...
). In 1869, he was sent to the imperial capital Istanbul
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...
to study at the Bulgarian school in Phanar
Fener
Fener is a neighborhood midway up the Golden Horn within the district of Fatih in Istanbul , Turkey. The streets in the area are full of historic wooden houses, churches, and synagogues dating from Byzantine and Ottoman eras. The area's name is a Turkish transliteration of the original Greek φανάρι...
with the aid of Nathanael of Ohrid
Nathanael Ohridski
Nathanael of Ohrid , Nathanael of Plovdiv or Nathanael Zografski, born Nesho Stanov Boykikev; was a Bulgarian cleric, writer and revolutionary from Macedonia, one of the first supporters of literature in modern Bulgarian and one of the early...
; in Phanar, his classmate was future Bulgarian socialist leader Dimitar Blagoev
Dimitar Blagoev
Dimitar Blagoev Nikolov ; was a Bulgarian political leader, the founder of Bulgarian socialism and of the first social democratic party in the Balkans.-Biography:...
and his teacher was Petko Slaveykov
Petko Slaveykov
Petko Rachov Slaveykov was a noted nineteenth-century Bulgarian poet, publicist, public figure and folklorist.-Early years and educational activity:...
.
From 1874 to 1879, Kitanchev studied at the Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
seminary
Seminary
A seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
in the Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
. After his graduation he briefly studied law
Law
Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...
in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
until 1880. In that year, he returned to the Balkans
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
to work as a teacher at the Saints Peter and Paul Seminary in Lyaskovets
Lyaskovets
Lyaskovets is a town in central northern Bulgaria, located in Veliko Tarnovo Province, 10 km northeast of Veliko Tarnovo, 2 km southeast of Gorna Oryahovitsa and 5 km south of the Yantra River, north of the Balkan Mountains. Its name comes from the word leska or leshnik , because...
and the Bulgarian Men's High School
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 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...
. In 1884, Trayko Kitanchev moved to Plovdiv
Plovdiv
Plovdiv is the second-largest city in Bulgaria after Sofia with a population of 338,153 inhabitants according to Census 2011. Plovdiv's history spans some 6,000 years, with traces of a Neolithic settlement dating to roughly 4000 BC; it is one of the oldest cities in Europe...
, at the time still the capital of Eastern Rumelia
Eastern Rumelia
Eastern Rumelia or Eastern Roumelia was an administratively autonomous province in the Ottoman Empire and Principality of Bulgaria from 1878 to 1908. It was under full Bulgarian control from 1885 on, when it willingly united with the tributary Principality of Bulgaria after a bloodless revolution...
; shortly afterwards he settled 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...
, capital of the Principality of Bulgaria
Principality of Bulgaria
The Principality of Bulgaria was a self-governing entity created as a vassal of the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878. The preliminary treaty of San Stefano between the Russian Empire and the Porte , on March 3, had originally proposed a significantly larger Bulgarian territory: its...
. In the same year, he became a full member of the Bulgarian Literary Society (today's Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869. The Academy is autonomous and has a Society of Academicians, Correspondent Members and Foreign Members...
).
During the Serbo-Bulgarian War
Serbo-Bulgarian War
The Serbo-Bulgarian War was a war between Serbia and Bulgaria that erupted on 14 November 1885 and lasted until 28 November the same year. Final peace was signed on 19 February 1886 in Bucharest...
of 1885, Kitanchev fought as a volunteer in the Bulgarian Army. In Sofia, Kitanchev befriended Stefan Stambolov
Stefan Stambolov
Stefan Nikolov Stambolov was a Bulgarian politician, who served as Prime Minister and regent. He is considered one of the most important and popular "Founders of Modern Bulgaria", and is sometimes referred to as "the Bulgarian Bismarck".- Early years :Stambolov was born in Veliko Tarnovo...
, with whom he even shared a room for some time. During the August 1886 coup attempt aimed at overthrowing Prince Alexander Battenberg
Alexander, Prince of Bulgaria
Alexander Joseph, Prince of Bulgaria GCB , known as Alexander of Battenberg, was the first prince of modern Bulgaria, reigning from 29 April 1879 to 7 September 1886.-Early life:...
, Kitanchev accompanied Stambolov in Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo
Veliko Tarnovo is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred to as the "City of the Tsars", Veliko Tarnovo is located on the Yantra River and is famous as the historical capital of the Second Bulgarian Empire, attracting many tourists...
and wrote the proclamation declaring the takeover illegal to Stambolov's dictation. During Stambolov's term as Prime Minister of Bulgaria (1887–1894), however, their relations worsened. After the assassination of Minister of Finance Hristo Belchev in 1891, Kitanchev was imprisoned as a potential accomplice.
After his release from prison, Kitanchev was once again teacher at the Bulgarian high school in Thessaloniki and then school inspector in Tarnovo. He became close friends with liberal leader Petko Karavelov
Petko Karavelov
Petko Karavelov was a leading Bulgarian liberal politician who served as Prime Minister on four occasions....
and was elected member of parliament from the Democratic Party
Democratic Party (Bulgaria)
The Democratic Party is a center-right party in Bulgaria led by Alexander Pramatarski. It is part of the United Democratic Forces. The United Democratic Forces won in the 2001 elections 18.2 % of the popular vote and 51 out of 240 seats...
.
When the Supreme Macedonian–Adrianopolitan Committee was established in March 1895, Kitanchev was elected its first chairman during the organization's constituent congress. However, the failure of the committee's armed infiltration of Ottoman Macedonia in the same year was a fatal blow to Kitanchev's health. He died in Sofia in August 1895.