The Turk and his lost provinces

by William Eleroy Curtis

When Alexander abdicated it was necessary for the Bulgarians to choose another king, and they selected Prince Waldemar of Denmark, a brother of the Queen of Great Britain, the dowager Czarina of Russia and the King of Greece; but, rather than risk a quarrel with his big brother-in-law at St. Petersburg, who had compelled Alexander to throw down the crown, Waldemar declined the honor, and a committee was sent from Sofia to the various capitals of Europe to find a proper man. In the meantime Stambouloff, president of the Sobranje, or parliament, ruled the country as regent, and his policy was openly and defiantly anti-Russian. The Czar sent down two commissioners to take the state in hand. Stambouloff treated them respectfully, but declined to obey their orders. Two Russian men-of-war soon after appeared in the harbor of Varna, the principal seaport of Bulgaria, but even that did not intimidate Stambouloff, and the Russians, becoming disgusted, recalled all of their countrymen who were holding official and military positions, and even their minister and consuls, leaving Bulgaria to its fate. What Alexander III. expected to happen it is difficult to determine. He probably believed that anarchy would follow and furnish him an excuse for occupying Bulgaria with an army, but the country remained at peace. Stambouloff proved to be not only an able but a satisfactory ruler, and he carried out the policy of the deposed Alexander of Battenberg in an able and enlightened manner.

HOUSE OF THE SOBRANJE (BULGARIAN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY), SOFIA

Stepan Stambouloff was undoubtedly the ablest man that has appeared upon the Balkan Peninsula for several centuries, and one of the most extraordinary characters of his generation. Although his faults were conspicuous, his patriotism was never questioned. His integrity of purpose shines out like a planet among the vacillating and cowardly politicians who surrounded him. He was born at the little town of Tirnovo, the son of a humble innkeeper, and was educated at an ordinary country school. He came into prominence during the revolution against Turkish authority previous to the Russo-Turkish war, and, although barely of age, emerged from that struggle one of the most conspicuous and influential of the Bulgarian patriots. Although the new constitution required a man to be thirty years old to be eligible to the Sobranje, he was an active member of that body before he was twenty-three, and its president before he was twenty-five, and he occupied that position continuously until he became prime minister in 1887 at the age of thirty-three years. He was remarkable for his courage, firmness and determination; he was a natural ruler of men and always exercised a remarkable influence over every person who came in contact with him. It used to be said that his enemies were always his friends so long as they remained in his presence. He was gifted with the highest degree of skill as a politician, and would have been a political dictator if he had lived in a republic. Among the ignorant and inexperienced population of Bulgaria he was able to exercise an influence that was absolute, and the Sobranje was almost unanimous in his support. No doubt Stambouloff’s methods were often questionable. He believed that the end justified the means, and never hesitated to employ any measures he thought necessary to accomplish a purpose. He was arbitrary, cruel and vindictive. The savage nature of the Bulgarian mountaineers, from whom he came, frequently appeared in his manners and disposition. He lacked polish and was indifferent to suffering; but his entire career is an example of unselfish integrity. He devoted his life and his talents to promoting the welfare of his fellow countrymen, and never asked an advantage for himself. He died poorer than he was born, although for seven years he was in absolute control of the Bulgarian finances and for ten years previous was able to command anything in the way of remuneration that he desired.

Recognizing that public sentiment in Europe would not approve an empty throne in Bulgaria, Stambouloff dispatched a deputation to find a king. They made advances to several cadets of the royal houses, but found it very difficult to select a man of proper qualifications who was not so involved by ties of relationship as to excite jealousy among the great Powers. The story goes that they were on their way back to Bulgaria when they met an acquaintance in a beer garden at Vienna. Learning their business, he remarked:

“That young officer sitting at the table yonder is just the man you want. He is Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, grandson of Louis Philippe of France, and a cousin of every crowned head in Europe. He is a favorite of the Emperor of Austria and the Emperor of Russia and a man of great wealth.”

At that time Ferdinand held a commission in the Austrian army and was stationed in Vienna. The committee accepted the suggestion eagerly, conferred with the prime minister of Austria the next morning, communicated with Stambouloff at Sofia by telegraph, and within forty-eight hours offered the throne of Bulgaria to the young prince, who was not yet twenty-four years of age. The selection was approved by all the European Powers except Russia. Czar Alexander III. had no personal objection to the prince, but his policy was to boycott Bulgaria as long as Stambouloff and the Liberal party, then in power, continued to defy him.

The regents resigned, Prince Ferdinand ascended the throne, and appointed Stambouloff to the post of prime minister, which he occupied continuously until May, 1894. During that time he absolutely controlled the policy of the government and the opinions of the prince. For the first three or four years the two got on without friction, and Ferdinand was a willing agent of his minister; but as he grew older, particularly after his marriage in 1893, he became restless under the yoke, showed signs of independence, and, probably through the influence of his wife, began to yearn for the social and official recognition of Russia, which up to that time had absolutely ignored him. If Stambouloff had shown more tact in dealing with his sovereign and more deference towards the bride the latter had brought to Bulgaria, he might have continued at the head of the government indefinitely, but he made no effort to conceal, either from the public or the court, the fact that the prince was merely his puppet, and when the latter showed signs of self-assertion drew the curb even more firmly upon him. The Princess Marie Louise of Bourbon, daughter of the Duke of Parma, whom Ferdinand married in 1893, first aroused his pride and stimulated his independence, and finally acquired sufficient influence over her husband to persuade him to resist Stambouloff.

Both she and Ferdinand were ambitious to advance their position and power. Instead of being registered in the almanacs as “princes” they wanted to be called king and queen, and actually had crowns made at Munich in anticipation of a favorable vote in the Sobranje. But Stambouloff, who despised pomp and pretensions like the true democrat that he was, and looked forward to a time when Bulgaria should have a republican form of government, opposed the aspirations of his sovereigns, and a quarrel occurred which ended with his retirement from the ministry and the selection of Mr. Stoiloff, his bitterest enemy, as his successor. Stambouloff might have weathered the storm but for his own arrogance and a domestic scandal in which his most trusted subordinate was involved. In a moment of pique and anger he wrote a hasty letter, resigning the office of prime minister, which the prince, under the influence of his wife, was only too glad to receive and promptly accept.

Immediately after, following the example of his great prototype, the Bulgarian Bismarck unbosomed himself to a sympathetic friend who happened to be correspondent of a German newspaper, and in most sarcastic and disrespectful terms discussed the weaknesses of his sovereign and the Princess Marie, and grossly violated confidence by relating several amusing and rather humiliating incidents that had occurred during his experience with them. This indiscretion was the ruin of Stambouloff. The interview was republished with unfavorable comments in every city of Europe and in all the Bulgarian papers; even those that had formerly given him a cordial support. The public was disgusted and the indignation of the royal household knew no bounds. Prince Ferdinand actually went into court with a suit for defamation of character against his former prime minister; he discharged from office every man who was suspected of being a sympathizer of Stambouloff; ordered the arrest of several of the ex-minister’s confidential associates for malfeasance; revoked pensions that he had granted to those who had served their country faithfully under Stambouloff’s direction; confiscated the property of several of his supporters and by other means terrified almost every man in Bulgaria who had been loyal to Stambouloff. The Bulgarians are a fickle people, and within a few weeks were ready to stone their former idol. His fall was complete. Even the parliament, which he had absolutely controlled so long, passed a law confiscating his property, although it was almost worthless. Stambouloff attempted to escape from the storm, but, by order of the prince, the police forbade him to leave the country.