![Gemidjii arrest thessaloniki](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Gemidjii_arrest_thessaloniki.jpg)
The Boatmen of Thessaloniki ( bg, Гемиджиите; mk, Гемиџиите) or the Assassins of Salonica, was a
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
anarchist
Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that is skeptical of all justifications for authority and seeks to abolish the institutions it claims maintain unnecessary coercion and hierarchy, typically including, though not neces ...
group, active in the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
in the years between 1898 and 1903. The members of the Group were predominantly from
Veles and most of them − young graduates from the
Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki
The Sts. Cyril and Methodius Bulgarian Men's High School of Thessaloniki ( bg, Солунска българска мъжка гимназия „Св. св. Кирил и Методий“, ''Solunska balgarska mazhka gimnazia „Sv. sv. Kiril i ...
. The group was radicalized by the
Bulgarian anarchist Slavi Merdzhanov
Svetoslav Chanev Merdzanov (1876–1901) was Bulgarian anarchist and revolutionary. He was better known as Slave or Slavi Merdzhanov. Merdzhanov was founder of the group called the Gemidzii, which organized the Thessaloniki bombings of 1903.
Bi ...
, whose initial target was the capital Constantinople, and subsequently
Adrianople
Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
, but after his execution by the Ottomans in 1901, the group's attention shifted to Thessaloniki. From 28 April until 1 May 1903 the group launched a campaign of terror bombing in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
. Their aim was to attract the attention of the Great Powers to Ottoman oppression in Macedonia and Thrace. The group's roots can be traced to 1898 in Geneva, and nearly all its founders were natives from Bulgaria. It was associated with the
, but had also close ties with the
Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee
Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee (SMAC), ( bg, Върховен македоно - одрински комитет, (ВМОК)), also known as Supreme Macedonian Committee was a Bulgarian paramilitary and political organization, active i ...
. The result of the bombings was disastrous for the Bulgarian community in Thessaloniki. According to the post-WWII
Macedonian historiography
Historiography in North Macedonia is the methodology of historical studies used by the historians of that country. It has been developed since 1945 when SR Macedonia became part of Yugoslavia. According to the German historian it has preserve ...
, the group consisted of
ethnic Macedonians
Macedonians ( mk, Македонци, Makedonci) are a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group native to the region of Macedonia in Southeast Europe. They speak Macedonian, a South Slavic language. The large majority of Macedonians identif ...
.
Origins and etymology
![V_Makedonia_pod_robstvo_Pavel_Shatev](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/V_Makedonia_pod_robstvo_Pavel_Shatev.jpeg)
The Group draws its roots from the
Bulgarian anarchist movement which grew in the 1890s, and the territory of
Principality of Bulgaria
The Principality of Bulgaria ( bg, Княжество България, Knyazhestvo Balgariya) was a vassal state under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire. It was established by the Treaty of Berlin in 1878.
After the Russo-Turkish War ende ...
became a staging-point for anarchist activities against the Ottomans, particularly in support of Macedonian and Thracian liberation movements. The Boatmen of Thessaloniki were a descendant of a group founded in 1895 in
Plovdiv
Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...
and called "''
Macedonian Secret Revolutionary Committee
The Macedonian Secret Revolutionary Committee (MSRC) ( bg, Македонски Таен Революционен Комитет (МТРК) Macedonian: Македонски Таен Револуционерен Комитет(МТРК)) was founde ...
''", which was developed in 1898 in
Geneva
Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...
in a secret, anarchistic, brotherhood called "''Geneva group''". Its activists were the students
Michail Gerdjikov
}
Mihail Gerdzhikov ( bg, Михаил Герджиков; 1877–1947) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and anarchist.
Biography
He was born in Plovdiv, then in the Ottoman Empire, in 1877. He studied at the French College in Plovdiv, where ...
, Petar Mandjukov and Slavi Merdjanov. They were influenced from the anarcho-nationalism, which emerged in Europe, following the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, going back at least to
Mikhail Bakunin
Mikhail Alexandrovich Bakunin (; 1814–1876) was a Russian revolutionary anarchist, socialist and founder of collectivist anarchism. He is considered among the most influential figures of anarchism and a major founder of the revolutionary ...
and his involvement with the
Pan-Slavic
Pan-Slavism, a movement which crystallized in the mid-19th century, is the political ideology concerned with the advancement of integrity and unity for the Slavic people. Its main impact occurred in the Balkans, where non-Slavic empires had rule ...
movement. The anarchists in the so-called "Geneva group" of students played key roles in the anti-Ottoman struggles. Nearly all the members who founded the Committee in Geneva were natives from Bulgaria and not from Macedonia. Despite of non-Macedonian descent, they espoused ''Macedonian identity'', emancipated from the ''
pan-Bulgarian national project''. Their motto was:
No gods, no masters
Anarchists have employed certain symbols for their cause, including most prominently the circle-A and the black flag. Anarchist cultural symbols have been prevalent in popular culture since around the turn of the 21st century, concurrent wit ...
.
In 1899 Merdjanov moved to the Bulgarian school in Salonika, where he worked as teacher and sparked some of the graduates with this ideas. In 1900
Petar Mandzhukov also resided in Thessaloniki, where had a contact with the Gemidzii and they were influenced by his anarchist ideas, especially those relating to methods of terrorist struggle. The first meetings of the group took part in 1899 with the purpose of forming a revolutionary terrorist group with aim of changing international public opinion in the matter of the freedom of
Macedonia and
Adrianople Thrace through urging the social conscience of the oppressed. The group is found in published works with several names: "The boatmen of Thessaloniki", the "Crew", or the "Gemitzides", form of the
Ottoman word for "boatman". At their start, they had a different name, the "Troublemakers", ''gürültücü''. The name "boatmen" was due to "leaving behind the everyday life and the limits of law and sail with a boat in the free and wild seas of lawlessness." Their new slogan became "''we will spend ourselves''", i.e. we will die in the name of the freedom of the people.
Attack plans and actions in Istanbul
At first the anarchists started to make plans for a bomb attack in
Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
. In the summer of 1899, under the leadership of
Slavi Merdjanov the group planned the assassination of the Sultan. Merdzjanov,
Petar Sokolov and their friend, the anarchist
Petar Mandjukov, approached
Boris Sarafov
Boris Petrov Sarafov (Bulgarian and mk, Борис Петров Сарафов) (12 June 1872 in Libyahovo, Salonica Vilayet, Ottoman Empire, present-day Bulgaria – 28 November 1907 in Sofia, Bulgaria) was a Bulgarian Army officer an ...
, the leader of
Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee
Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee (SMAC), ( bg, Върховен македоно - одрински комитет, (ВМОК)), also known as Supreme Macedonian Committee was a Bulgarian paramilitary and political organization, active i ...
, and asked him for funds to finance large-scale terrorist activities in the main towns of Ottoman Empire. He promised to provide money, and the three left for Istanbul, where after much discussion, they decided to assassinate the Sultan. In December of the same year Merdjanov was connected by the secretary of
Bulgarian Exarchate
The Bulgarian Exarchate ( bg, Българска екзархия, Balgarska ekzarhiya; tr, Bulgar Eksarhlığı) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and th ...
Dimitar Lyapov with local Armenian revolutionaries. Here they established that even with the help of the Armenians it was impossible to do it. Quite early on, they decided that the effect of the explosion would be greater if there were parallel actions in other towns, and they consulted with
Jordan Popjordanov, a member of a small terrorist group in Salonika, who agreed to blow up the Salonika branch of the Ottoman Bank. He enlisted the aid of a number of close friends. Salonika terrorists were very young men, mostly from
Veles, pupils in the Bulgarian High School. The Salonika terrorist group called itself "the Gemidzhi". They planned to begin by blowing up the central offices of the
Ottoman Bank
The Ottoman Bank ( tr, Osmanlı Bankası), known from 1863 to 1925 as the Imperial Ottoman Bank (french: Banque Impériale Ottomane, ota, بانق عثمانی شاهانه) and correspondingly referred to by its French acronym BIO, was a bank ...
in Salonika and Istanbul. During 1900 Merdjanov arrived again in Istanbul to discuss the plan with the Armenians, and afterward the terrorists started to work, digging tunnels in both places. On 18 September 1900 the Ottoman police apprehended a member of a group, who was carrying the explosives and later the whole group was arrested, including Merdjanov, Sokolov and
Pavel Shatev
Pavel Potsev Shatev ( Bulgarian and mk, Павел Поцев Шатев) (July 15, 1882 – January 30, 1951) was a Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the left wing of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization ...
. The core was hastily disbanded for security and only Pingov stayed in Thessaloniki to prepare future activity. In 1901 the prisoners were deported το Bulgaria, after pressure from the Bulgarian government.
Attack plans and actions in Adrianople
Merdzjanov and Sokolov went to Sofia and began to think up new ideas, one of which was to hold up the
Orient Express
The ''Orient Express'' was a long-distance passenger train service created in 1883 by the Belgian company ''Compagnie Internationale des Wagons-Lits'' (CIWL) that operated until 2009. The train traveled the length of continental Europe and int ...
on Ottoman territory near
Adrianople
Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
, and to gain possession of the mail in order to finance future actions. In pursuit of this plan, they went to the Adrianople area in July 1901, with a cheta consisting of ten men, equipped with the help of
Pavel Genadiev, the
Supreme Macedonian Committee's representative in
Plovdiv
Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...
. The cheta managed to place a large quantity of dynamite on the railway line, but something went wrong, and the train passed undamaged. They learned then that the Persian
Shah
Shah (; fa, شاه, , ) is a royal title that was historically used by the leading figures of Iranian monarchies.Yarshater, EhsaPersia or Iran, Persian or Farsi, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII no. 1 (1989) It was also used by a variety of ...
would pass through Adrianople by train, preparing to take him on the station at
Lule Burgas Lule may refer to:
* Lule people, an indigenous people of northern Argentina
* Lule language, a possibly extinct language of Argentina
* Lule Sami language, a language spoken in Sweden and Norway
* Luleå, also known as Lule, a town in Sweden
* Lu ...
, but failed. From there they headed to Adrianople with the intention of capturing the governor, who was the son-in-law of the Sultan, but failed again. After this failure, they kidnapped the son of a rich local
Turkish landowner, but they were soon discovered and surrounded by large
Turkish forces. In a battle which lasted several hours, most of the chetnitsi were killed or seriously wounded. Sokolov was among the dead, and Merdzjanov was captured alive, together with a Bulgarian from
Lozengrad, and two Armenians. The captives were taken to Adrianople, where, in November 1901, all four were publicly hanged. The Gemidzhii were ready for action again in 1902, but the seizure in
Dedeagach of dynamite, arranged by
Supreme Macedonian Committee's leader
Boris Sarafov
Boris Petrov Sarafov (Bulgarian and mk, Борис Петров Сарафов) (12 June 1872 in Libyahovo, Salonica Vilayet, Ottoman Empire, present-day Bulgaria – 28 November 1907 in Sofia, Bulgaria) was a Bulgarian Army officer an ...
, forced the group to abandon planned attacks of
Austrian post office in
Adrianople
Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
, and to restrict its activity. Afterwards the members of the group went to Thessaloniki and continued to plan their new bombings.
Bombings in Thessaloniki
On the 28 April 1903, a member of the group,
Pavel Shatev
Pavel Potsev Shatev ( Bulgarian and mk, Павел Поцев Шатев) (July 15, 1882 – January 30, 1951) was a Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the left wing of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization ...
, used dynamite to blow up the French ship "Guadalquivir" which was leaving the Thessaloniki harbour. The bomber left the ship together with the other passengers, but was caught later by the
Turkish police
The General Directorate of Security ( tr, Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü) or Turkish Police Service ( tr, Türk Polis Teşkilatı) is the national civilian police force responsible for law enforcement of the Republic of Turkey, which is affiliated w ...
at the Skopje train station. The same night, other group bombers: Dimitar Mechev, Iliya Trachkov, and Milan Arsov, struck the railway between Thessaloniki and Istanbul, causing damage to the locomotive and some of the cars of a passing train without wounding any passengers.
The next day, the signal to begin the large raid in Thessaloniki was given by Kostadin Kirkov who used explosives to shut off the electricity and water supply systems of the city. Jordan Popjordanov (Orceto) blew up the building of an Ottoman Bank office, under which the "gemidzhii" had previously dug a tunnel. Milan Arsov threw bombs in the "Alhambra" Café. The same night, Kostadin Kirkov, Iliya Bogdanov and Vladimir Pingov detonated bombs in different parts of the city. Dimitar Mechev and Iliya Truchkov failed to blast the reservoir of a gas-producing plant. They were later killed in their quarters during a shoot-out with army and gendarmerie forces, against which Mechev and Trachkov used more than 60 bombs.
Jordan Popjordanov was killed on April 30. In May, Kostadin Kirkov was killed while trying to blow up a postal office. Right before being caught, Cvetko Traikov, whose mission was to kill the local governor, killed himself by setting off a bomb and then sitting on it.
Related attacks in Burgas and Kuleliburgaz
Continuation of the Thessaloniki bombings were the bombing in the same year of the passenger train near the railway station
Kuleliburgaz led by
Mihail Gerdzhikov
}
Mihail Gerdzhikov ( bg, Михаил Герджиков; 1877–1947) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and anarchist.
Biography
He was born in Plovdiv, then in the Ottoman Empire, in 1877. He studied at the French College in Plovdiv, where ...
and the bombing campaign of the passenger ship "
Vaskapu" in the
Burgas Bay
Gulf of Burgas or Burgas Bay ( bg, Бургаски залив, ''Burgaski zaliv'') between the coastline and the straight line joining Cape Emine and Cape Maslen nos is the largest bay of the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and one of the largest in th ...
led by Anton Prudkin, both organized by anarchists close to the
(IMARO). The daily express from Budapest to Istanbul was blown up near Kuleliburgaz on August 28. The explosion was intended to destroy a bridge and cut off the communication between Adrianople and Thessaloniki. Seven persons were killed and fifteen were injured. Two cars were smashed. The second terrorist act on the board of the
Austro-Hungarian
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
river- and sea- steamer Vaskapu occurred on 2 Sept. The detonating of the ship, dates back to the time when the passenger traffic with ships between Danube river and the Black Sea ports was busy all the way to Istanbul. It killed the captain, two officers, six of the crew, and 15 passengers, and set fire to the vessel. The assailants - Ivan Stoyanov and Stefan Dimitrov, both close relatives of
Zahari Stoyanov
Zahariy Stoyanov ( bg, Захарий Стоянов; archaic: ) (1850 – 2 September 1889), born Dzhendo Stoyanov Dzhedev ( bg, Джендо Стоянов Джедев), was a Bulgarian revolutionary, writer, and historian.
A participant ...
, also died by the explosion. It was planned to attack the port of Istanbul, with four ships being exploded there on 9 September: besides "Vaskapu", these were the Austro-Hungarian "Apollo", the German "Tenedos" and the French "Felix Fressinet". Due to the premature explosion of "Vaskapu", the plan failed.
Aftermath
In the wake of the attacks,
martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
was declared in the city. As a response the Turkish Army and "
bashibozouks"
massacre
A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...
d many innocent
Bulgarian
Bulgarian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria
* Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group
* Bulgarian language, a Slavic language
* Bulgarian alphabet
* A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria
* Bul ...
citizens in Thessaloniki to purge the province of the Bulgarian "threat", and later in
Bitola
Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...
. Pavel Shatev, Marko Boshnakov, Georgi Bogdanov and Milan Arsov were arrested and sentenced by a court martial to a penal colony in
Fezzan
Fezzan ( , ; ber, ⴼⵣⵣⴰⵏ, Fezzan; ar, فزان, Fizzān; la, Phazania) is the southwestern region of modern Libya. It is largely desert, but broken by mountains, uplands, and dry river valleys (wadis) in the north, where oases enable ...
. Also members of the Central Committee of
IMORO
The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр ...
, including
Ivan Garvanov, D. Mirchev, and J. Kondov were incarcerated.
In Libya, Boshnakov died from
malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...
on February 14, 1908 and Arsov from exhaustion on June 8, the same year. After July 30, 1908, because of the victory of the movement of the
Young Turks, Ottoman amnesty was given to the two remaining "Boatmen". They cut the heads of their dead comrades and arrived in Thessaloniki on October 18, where they gave the heads to the parents of the deceased.
Members
![Spomenik na Gemidžiite vo Veles 04](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Spomenik_na_Gemid%C5%BEiite_vo_Veles_04.jpg)
The members of the boatmen were as follows:
*''
Yordan Popyordanov'', called Ortzeto was born 1881 in
Veles, considered the leader of the Group from a bourgeois family and mixed with radical-revolutionary organizations after he entered the Salonika Bulgarian School in 1894. He is thought to be the mastermind of the Boatmen. He was killed during the bombings and he is the only one of the boatmen from whom no picture is saved.
*''
Kostadin Kirkov'', born 1882 in
Veles, was bonded with Ortzeto from early age. They entered the Bulgarian School at the same age. He was known for his great memory and his sarcastic humour.
*''
Milan Arsov'', born 1886 in Oraovetz near
Veles, was the youngest of the team and still at the 4th grade of school when the attacks were made. He died in exile.
*''
Dimitar Mechev'', born 1870 in
Veles tried to kill a man from the local authority with an axe in 1898. When he failed, he left for the mountains to join with armed guerrilla groups. He died during the events.
*''
Georgi Bogdanov'', born 1882 in
Veles, originate from a wealthy family. In 1901 his father sent him in Thessaloniki to work in a real estate office. As a part of the Gemidzii he threw a bomb on the restaurant "Noja". Bogdanov was arrested and sent into exile in Libiya. Following the
Young Turk Revolution
The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II to restore the Ottoman Constit ...
he was pardoned. Bogdanov died on June 12, 1939 in Sofia.
*''
Iliya Trachkov'', born 1885
Veles worked in Thessaloniki as a shoemaker. He died during the bombings.
*''
Vladimir Pingov'', born 1885 in
Veles, was a "daredevil" and always took the most dangerous missions. He was the first of the group who died.
*''
Marko Boshnakov'' born 1878 from
Ohrid
Ohrid ( mk, Охрид ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the List of cities in North Macedonia, eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording ...
, it is said that he was an officer in the Bulgarian army and he was the one that made the plans for the tunnel under the Bank. He was the only one who did not take part in the bombings. He was caught 14 days after the bombings, exiled in 1908 and died in Fezan, Libya, in the same year.
*''
Tsvetko Traykov'', born in 1878 was from
Resen and lived several years in
Salonika
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
. He was an active member of the Bulgarian community. He was the last of the team killed during the events.
*''
Pavel Shatev
Pavel Potsev Shatev ( Bulgarian and mk, Павел Поцев Шатев) (July 15, 1882 – January 30, 1951) was a Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the left wing of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization ...
'', born in
Kratovo in 1882. His father was a trader. He got in the Bulgarian School in 1896. From 1910 until 1913 he returned to Salonika and worked as a teacher in the Bulgarian Mercantile College. He died in home custody in
Bitola
Bitola (; mk, Битола ) is a city in the southwestern part of North Macedonia. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba, Nidže, and Kajmakčalan mountain ranges, north of the Medžitlija-Níki ...
in 1951.
Modern references
![Gemidzii - Skopje](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Gemidzii_-_Skopje.jpg)
Despite the Bulgarian identification of its members, and the fact, the only survivor from the group —
Pavel Shatev
Pavel Potsev Shatev ( Bulgarian and mk, Павел Поцев Шатев) (July 15, 1882 – January 30, 1951) was a Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the left wing of the Internal Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization ...
, was jailed in
SR Macedonia
The Socialist Republic of Macedonia ( mk, Социјалистичка Република Македонија, Socijalistička Republika Makedonija), or SR Macedonia, commonly referred to as Socialist Macedonia or Yugoslav Macedonia, was ...
for his pro-Bulgarian and anti-Yugoslav sympathies, all members of the group are considered today part of the national pantheon of North Macedonia. Historians from Bulgaria emphasize the undoubted Bulgarian ethnic identification of the anarchists, but tend to downplay the moves for political autonomy, that were a part of the group's ideology.
Reproduction in art and literature
"Thessalonica bombings and the exiles in Fezzan", based on the memoires of Pavel Shatev, was published in 1927 in Sofia by the
Macedonian Scientific Institute
The Macedonian Scientific Institute (MSI; bg, Македонски научен институт) is a Bulgarian scientific organization, which studies the region of Macedonia and mostly the Macedonian Bulgarians.
Establishment and activity
It w ...
. Following the story of the Group it was fictionalized in the 1930 novel "Robi" (Slaves) by the Bulgarian writer
Anton Strashimirov, who was a former member of the IMARO. "In Macedonia under slavery. The Thessalonica conspiracy (1903)", a recollections of Pavel Shatev, was published in 1934 in Sofia by the IMRO-revolutionary Peter Glushkov. In 1961 a
Yugoslav production movie called
The Salonika Terrorists
''The Salonika Terrorists'' (Macedonian language, Macedonian: Солунските Атентатори, literally "The Salonika Assassins"), also known as ''The Assassins from Salonika'' is a 1961 in film, 1961 SFRY, Yugoslav film. It follows the ...
was filmed, focusing on the struggle for independent Macedonia. In 1983, the writer
Georgi Danailov (1936-2017) created the play "The Thessalonica conspirators", that is popular in the theaters in Bulgaria till today.
Kosta Tsarnushanov (1903-1996), an activist of the
MYSRO
The Macedonian Youth Secret Revolutionary Organization or MYSRO ( bg, Македонска младежка тайна революционна организация, mk, Македонска младинска тајна револуционер ...
, wrote a documentary novel "Thessaloniki Assassins" published in Sofia in 1997. The
Municipality of Veles
Veles ( mk, Велес ) is a municipality in central part of North Macedonia. ''Veles, North Macedonia, Veles'' is also the name of the city where the municipal seat is found. Veles Municipality is part of the Vardar Statistical Region.
Geograp ...
constructed a monument by a recently built iron bridge.
Veles.gov.mk: Споменици
accessed on 10-01-2012 As part of the project Skopje 2014
Skopje 2014 ( mk, Скопје 2014) was a project financed by the Macedonian government of the then-ruling nationalist party VMRO-DPMNE, with the official purpose of giving the capital Skopje a more classical appeal. The project, officially anno ...
, a monument was also erected in the centre of Skopje
Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre.
The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; r ...
, North Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...
, in honour of the ''Гемиџии''.
See also
*Macedonian Question
The region of Macedonia is known to have been inhabited since Paleolithic times.
Еarliest historical inhabitants
The earliest historical inhabitants of the region were the Pelasgians, the Bryges and the Thracians. The Pelasgians occupied E ...
*List of anarchist communities
This is a list of anarchist communities representing any society or portion thereof founded by anarchists that functions according to anarchist philosophy and principles. Anarchists have created and been involved in a plethora of community expe ...
*Boatmen of Thessaloniki (film)
''The Salonika Terrorists'' (Macedonian: Солунските Атентатори, literally "The Salonika Assassins"), also known as ''The Assassins from Salonika'' is a 1961 Yugoslav film. It follows the story of the Boatmen of Thessaloniki
...
* Occupation of the Ottoman Bank (1896)
Notes
Sources
Благов, Крум "50-те най-големи атентата в българската история"
Издателство Репортер, 2000 г. , № 2. Солунските атентати. (Bulgarian)
* ttp://www.kroraina.com/knigi/ps/ Павел Шатев, В Македония под робство. Изд. на Отеч. фронт, София, 1983 г. (Bulgarian)
Солунският атентат и заточениците във Фезан. По спомени на Павел Шатев. (Bulgarian)
* [http://www.sitebulgarizaedno.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=414:2012-05-03-08-02-41&catid=29:2010-04-24-09-14-13&Itemid=61 Ползите и вредите от солунските атентати. Цочо В. Билярски. (Bulgarian)]
Предвестници на бурята, Петър Манджуков. Федерацията на анархистите в България, София, 2013. (Bulgarian)
*James Sotros ''The Greek Speaking Anarchist and Revolutionary Movement (1830–1940) Writings for a History'', No God-No Masters, December 2004.
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boatmen of Thessaloniki
Anarchist organizations in Greece
Anarchist organizations in Bulgaria
Ottoman Thessalonica
Defunct anarchist militant groups
1903 in the Ottoman Empire
Salonica vilayet
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization
Left-wing militant groups in Greece
Macedonian Question