Hitherto intellectual Bulgaria has created but little, and that little is quite out of proportion to the achievements of some other much smaller Slav nations. Bulgarian art and literature are merely poor reproductions of foreign originals and by no means express the strength and vitality of the people. Of all their poets Ivan Vasoff, Hristoff, and Aleko Konstantinoff alone have understood anything of the soul of the people, and only their work will live. In art we seek in vain for anything purely Bulgarian. But there is one thing of the greatest value that the educated Bulgarians have done for their nation, and for this they deserve a true crown of laurels. I am referring to the organization of the Macedonian bands during the last half-century. Their perseverance and heroism call for the greatest admiration.
The country owned by the Bulgarians is one of the most beautiful inhabited by Slavs. Only Dalmatia and Bosnia can compare with it, and whoever has once been there will never forget it. It is the land of the great Balkans in all their wild beauty—the land of the Kazanlik Valley with its vast glorious rose-fields; the Vratza Gorge with its romantic cliffs, dark primeval forests, and hills covered with lilac; the Black Sea, and the beautiful shores of Varna and Burgas, and above all tower the snow-capped summits of the Vitosha. Everywhere, and in everything, dwells a throbbing life, full of variety and contrast, beautiful as the men of Bulgaria and rugged as their women.
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Bulgaria was freed from the Turkish yoke in 1878. The work of emancipation was carried out by Russia with the help of Bulgarian bands and many volunteers from all the Slav countries. By the peace of San Stefano Bulgaria was de jure declared mistress of the entire territories from the Black Sea to Silistria, and along the Danube as far as Vidin in the north, from Vidin along the Morava via Ochrida as far as Yanina in the west, from Yanina via Salonika to Kavala in the south, and in a straight line from Kavala to Varna in the east. De facto she was only given independent jurisdiction over such territories as she possessed up to the first Balkan war. The complete liberation of Bulgaria was by no means achieved by the emancipation, and she continued to remain under Turkish suzerainty.
The first task after the emancipation was to reconstruct the country on the lines of a modern European state, and to infuse new life into it after so many centuries of Turkish misrule. Education was represented solely by the priests and the schoolmasters, who had laboured for the enlightenment of the people even before the emancipation. Of course, there were a few Bulgarians who possessed a European education, and had graduated at European universities, and upon these devolved the task of solving the problems of the newly-created state. There were however so few of them that, at the beginning, many men of culture were imported from other Slav countries, chiefly from Russia, Croatia and Bohemia. The military administration was entrusted to Russia, who established garrisons of her own in Bulgaria and undertook to create the Bulgarian army. Considering the transitionary stage of the country at the time, it was inevitable that the Russian military authorities should obtain considerable influence over the civil administration also, and that Bulgarian affairs fell under Russian influence from the very beginning.
Prince Alexander of Battenberg, the first Bulgarian ruler, came to the throne under similar conditions as King Carol to the throne of Roumania. He was confronted with a super-human task, and Bulgarian history can never deny the great service he rendered the country. He came with a definite mission and set to work with the greatest possible zeal. He devoted his attention chiefly to the education of the people and to the army, and he found his most energetic ally in the people themselves. The prompt efficiency of the school system would have done credit to many a more modern state. The Bulgarians are intelligent, persevering, and fond of learning, and popular education made immense strides. At the present day the percentage of adult Bulgarians who cannot read and write is exceedingly small compared to most other countries—it is 2-1/2 per cent. of the adult population. The national system of compulsory education affected the very poorest peasants as well as the better classes. Before the foundation of secondary schools in the country large numbers of young men were sent to foreign secondary schools and universities, and every year yielded its quota of well-equipped youths capable of providing the motive power for the machinery of the State. Similar purposeful energy characterized the military organization, with the intention of forming an independent, purely Bulgarian army. For, in spite of his great admiration for Russia and the Tsar Liberator, Prince Alexander felt that dependence upon Russia—more especially a military dependence—would render his country a vassal de facto of Russia, no less than it was de jure already the vassal of Turkey. He therefore strove to render the Russian military administration superfluous in Bulgaria by building up an efficient home army.
As soon as this was accomplished he sent a letter of thanks to the Tsar, made a public manifesto, gave a big dinner to the Russian generals, and gratefully dismissed the Russian co-operation. Then the Russian generals had to leave Bulgaria. No one can deny that Prince Alexander showed himself manly and self-reliant in taking this decision, which was prompted by a very proper ambition. But he gave mortal offence in Russia, and from that moment he fell completely from Russian favour. The Court circles in St. Petersburg, which had been hostile to him from the beginning, now began to intrigue against him in Bulgaria, their efforts finding a ready response in the pro-Russian party. The first Serbian War in 1885 afforded splendid proof of Alexander’s military organization, but his influence was too far undermined, and even his victories failed to save him. The tide of adverse circumstances was too strong and led to the inevitable but, fortunately, bloodless coup d’état in 1886. Prince Alexander was taken from his palace by night, transported over the frontier and formally deposed.
Prince Alexander left Bulgaria a well-organized State, only disturbed by internal party hatreds. The new ruler, Prince Ferdinand of Coburg, was received with divided sympathies. Already in many ways his path had been smoothed for him, but he met with far more opposition from his own people than his predecessor, whom Russia had installed. In spite of all this, the machinery of State continued in the path of progress, the constitution of the country was established on a broad liberal basis, and the army increased in importance from year to year. With iron perseverance Bulgaria steadily advanced to take her place among modern states, and even succeeded in taking the lead in the Balkan question. The proclamation of Ferdinand as King of Bulgaria put an end once and for all to the shadow of Turkish suzerainty, and since then Bulgaria has been frankly acknowledged as a strong, free and independent State.
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In the course of years Bulgarian relations with Russia have passed through many phases, especially during the reign of King Ferdinand. As a rule the will of Russia was decisive, but her general influence always depended on home politics and varied with the party in power. Enthusiasm for Russia and antagonism against Russian influence were alternately the order of the day. Only the people of Bulgaria remained constant in their confidence and affection for Russia; they could never forget whose hand had set them free, and even political changes could not shake them. Certain political circles took the emancipation from Russia as their party cry and hoped to make the country great outside the Russian protectorate. They desired to translate their motto “Bulgaria for the Bulgarians” into an absolute fact. This party was founded by the notorious Stambuloff, and whenever they came into power they insisted on regarding not only Russia as the national enemy, but also the Bulgarian people who were in sympathy with Russia, and they did their utmost to tyrannize the people out of this “disease.” In fighting for this idea they coined the party catchword—“Greater Bulgaria” in the hope of bribing the people by promises of Macedonia, Serbia, Greece, and even Constantinople as future tit-bits. This particular party knew very well that Russia would never allow the Slav equilibrium in the Balkans to be upset, and, as it was not over Slavonic in its sympathies, it waged a bitter opposition against the Russian protectorate, under which all the Balkan Slav nations stand to benefit equally. In opposition to Stambuloff’s party there arose another, founded by Karaveloff, the greatest of Bulgarian patriots, who fought with all the enthusiasm of which grateful hearts are capable. Karaveloff saw clearly that Bulgaria would be too weak to stand alone for a very long time to come, and that the Russian protectorate was a strong guarantee against foreign hostile influence. After Karaveloff’s death his ideas found enthusiastic partisans in Czankoff, Radoslavoff and Daneff in spite of minor tactical party differences. Stambuloff’s violent death—he was assassinated in the open street—put an end to the régime of his party for many years, and brought the moderate pro-Russian parties into power. But Bulgaria was deeply injured by his policy. He bequeathed a legacy of discord and hatred at home and provoked Russia’s displeasure abroad. The new pro-Russian Government did its utmost to heal the breach, and succeeded in improving relations with Russia, but Stambuloff’s partisans agitated in every possible way for the re-instatement of the radical anti-Russian party. In Dushan Petkoff and Evlogij Genadieff they had energetic leaders, who pursued their goal with all the characteristic Bulgarian tenacity and a ruthless persistence that was positively Asiatic. After Ferdinand had established a personal régime in Bulgaria, they realized that the turn of fortune’s wheel no longer depended on the temper of the nation or the strength of a party, but on the will of the ruler, and they were content to bide their time. Among the people they had no following whatsoever. But whichever party is in power by the will of the ruler is assured of a majority in the Parliament. Elections are invariably manipulated by terroristic pressure from the authorities. There is no difference except that, whereas the pro-Russian parties are content to employ demagogic means, the Stambulovists have had recourse to bloodshed. At last the Stambulovists were successful; they came into power in 1902—(in accordance with the wish of the highest power in the land)—and established a reign of terror equal to that of Stambuloff himself in its cruelty, but breaking all previous records as regards corruption. The Stambulovists commanded a crushing majority in the Sobranye (Parliament) and pursued a policy of secret provocations against Russia and the nation. General Ratsho Petroff, a personal favourite of King Ferdinand and an absolute nonentity, was the Premier; but the actual dictator and leader of the Stambulovist party was Dushan Petkoff, Minister of the Interior. Once more the policy of the Government took an anti-Russian trend, but in the meantime the nation had developed and steadfastly pursued a different policy. To be sure, under compulsion they had given the Government a majority but not their heart, and this heart now belonged to Russia more than ever. This sentiment found expression in various violent demonstrations; it culminated in the assassination of Petkoff (likewise in the open street) and in the abuse showered upon King Ferdinand as he drove to the opening of the National Theatre at Sofia. From that point Bulgarian policy took a totally new turn, and for a time it seemed as if the Slav renaissance had really taken root and Bulgaria had at last found herself. The Balkan Alliance before the war certainly seemed strong evidence of it.