Dobri Popov Voynikov ( bg, Добри Попов Войников; 10 November 1833 – 27 March 1878) was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

n teacher, playwright and journalist of the

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian National Revival ( bg, Българско национално възраждане, ''Balgarsko natsionalno vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and tr, Bulgar ulus canlanması) sometimes called the Bu ...

. He is regarded as the father of modern Bulgarian

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and the first Bulgarian producer. Voynikov was among the founders of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. Voynikov was born in the city of Şumnu,

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) ...

(now Shumen, Bulgaria) in 1833 and studied at Sava Filaterov, Ivan Bogorov and Sava Dobropolodni's schools. He graduated from the Galatasaray High School in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

in 1858 and became a teacher in Shumen, where he remained until 1864. In Shumen, he was an active public figure and took an active part in the Bulgarian Church struggle and the establishment of secular Bulgarian education. In 1864, he was forced to emigrate to the autonomous Romanian Principalities, settling first in Brăila and then moving to Giurgiu in 1873. In 1866, he was for a while part of the Secret Central Bulgarian Committee. He authored brochures in French, revealing the atrocities committed by the Ottoman authorities in the Bulgarian lands and enlightened the goals of the Bulgarian revolutionary movement. As an

émigré An ''émigré'' () is a person who has emigrated, often with a connotation of political or social self-exile. The word is the past participle of the French ''émigrer'', "to emigrate". French Huguenots Many French Huguenots fled France followin ...

in Romania Voynikov came to be involved in theatre: he founded a Bulgarian amateur theatrical company in Brăila in 1865 and headed it until 1870. For the first time in the history of Bulgarian theatre, women took part as actresses. He continued his involvement in theatre in Giurgiu,

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

and Shumen. Voynikov authored several plays, both dramas and comedies: ''Princess Rayna'' (1866), ''Baptism of the

Preslav The modern Veliki Preslav or Great Preslav ( bg, Велики Преслав, ), former Preslav ( bg, link=no, Преслав; until 1993), is a city and the seat of government of the Veliki Preslav Municipality (Great Preslav Municipality, new ...

Court'' (1868), ''Velislava, Bulgarian Princess'' (1870), ''The Enthronement of

Krum Krum ( bg, Крум, el, Κροῦμος/Kroumos), often referred to as Krum the Fearsome ( bg, Крум Страшни) was the Khan of Bulgaria from sometime between 796 and 803 until his death in 814. During his reign the Bulgarian territory ...

the Fearsome'' (1871), the famous '' The Misunderstood Civilization'' (1873), ''The Chorbadzhia'' (1881), ''A Physician in Spite of Himself'' (1884) and the unpublished ''Dimanka or True First Love''. His plays constitute the main repertoire of Bulgarian National Revival theatre and set some trends that were continued by the next generations of playwrights, such as Vasil Drumev and

Ivan Vazov Ivan Minchov Vazov ( bg, Иван Минчов Вазов; – 22 September 1921) was a Bulgarian poet, novelist and playwright, often referred to as "the Patriarch of Bulgarian literature". He was born in Sopot, a town in the Rose Valley ...

. In the early 1870s Voynikov was close to the right-wing Band of Virtues group who assisted him in obtaining Russian citizenship; thus, Voynikov could return to Bulgaria in 1874. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, he was the director of an orphanage in

Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

, where he died of

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposure. ...

References

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External links

''The Misunderstood Civilization''
by Dobri Voynikov {{DEFAULTSORT:Voynikov, Dobri Bulgarian writers Bulgarian educators Bulgarian dramatists and playwrights Bulgarian male writers Male dramatists and playwrights Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences 1833 births 1878 deaths Deaths from typhus People from Shumen Galatasaray High School alumni 19th-century Bulgarian people 19th-century dramatists and playwrights 19th-century male writers