Stoyan Stoyanov Zaimov (Bulgarian:Стоян Стоянов Заимов; 1853-1932) was a Bulgarian educator, writer and revolutionary; closely associated with the

April Uprising The April Uprising ( bg, Априлско въстание, Aprilsko vastanie) was an insurrection organised by the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire from April to May 1876. The regular Ottoman Army and irregular bashi-bazouk units brutally su ...

Biography

In the late 1860s, while studying at a school in

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora ( bg, Стара Загора, ) is the sixth-largest city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of the homonymous Stara Zagora Province. Name The name comes from the Slavic root ''star'' ("old") and the name of the medieva ...

, he met the future revolutionary martyr,

Vasil Levski Vasil Levski ( bg, Васил Левски, spelled in old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed th ...

, and became a member of the (TTBK). For the next two years, he attended a teacher's college 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 ...

, then taught at a boys' school in

Haskovo Haskovo ( bg, Хасково ) is a city in the region of Northern Thrace in southern Bulgaria and the administrative centre of the Haskovo Province, not far from the borders with Greece and Turkey. According to Operative Program Regional Develo ...

. While there, he participated in founding the local revolutionary committee. In 1873, he assisted in his attempt to assassinate Hadji Stavri Primo, a local chorbaji who was planning to report them. He was captured and sentenced to exile in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

. About a year later, he managed to escape, and made his way to Romania, where he befriended other revolutionary emigrants. In 1875, the

Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee The Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee ( bg, Български революционен централен комитет, ''Balgarski revolyutsionen tsentralen komitet'') or BRCC was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded in 186 ...

commissioned him to set fires 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, ...

, to facilitate a planned uprising in Stara Zagora, but the plans were never carried out. He was a major participant in the , which planned the April Uprising, and was appointed chief of the revolutionary district in

Vratsa Vratsa ( bg, Враца ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is located about 112 km north of Sofia, 40 km southeast of Montana. ...

. After the uprising was suppressed, he was captured and sentenced to death. Following appeals, his sentence was commuted to life in prison. He was kept at the

Hospitaller commandery of Saint-Jean-d'Acre The Hospitaller commandery of Saint-Jean-d'Acre is a monumental complex founded by the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, also known as the Knights Hospitallers. It is located in the city of Saint-Jean-d'Acre (now Acre in Israel). In the 13th century ...

, in the

Acre Prison Acre Prison also known as Akko Prison is a former prison and current museum in Acre, Israel. The citadel was built during the Ottoman period over the ruins of a 12th-century Crusader fortress. The Ottomans used it at various times as a govern ...

, until the

Treaty of San Stefano The 1878 Treaty of San Stefano (russian: Сан-Стефанский мир; Peace of San-Stefano, ; Peace treaty of San-Stefano, or ) was a treaty between the Russian and Ottoman empires at the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-18 ...

was signed in 1878. It included a general amnesty, so he was released and returned to Bulgaria. After attending another teacher's college, in Moscow (1882), he devoted his time to teaching; beginning in

Shumen Shumen ( bg, Шумен, also romanized as ''Shoumen'' or ''Šumen'', ) is the tenth largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province. Etymology The city was first mentioned as ''Šimeonis'' in 1153 by t ...

, then

Kyustendil Kyustendil ( bg, Кюстендил ) is a town in the far west of Bulgaria, the capital of the Kyustendil Province, a former bishopric and present Latin Catholic titular see. The town is situated in the southern part of the Kyustendil Valley, ...

(1888–1895), and ending in Sofia (1898–1901). During this time, he also headed a committee raising funds to build a home for veterans, and a monument to Tsar Alexander II, which was built from 1903 to 1907, and is known as the "

Monument to the Tsar Liberator The Monument to the Tsar Liberator ( bg, Паметник на Цар Освободител, ''Pametnik na Tsar Osvoboditel'') is an equestrian monument in the centre of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. It was erected in honour of Russian Emperor ...

". From 1895, he worked with the Ministry of Public Education; compiling textbooks and manuals. In 1896, he founded a magazine, ''Училищен преглед'' (School Review), which was published until 1949. He was the Director of the

National Library A national library is a library established by a government as a country's preeminent repository of information. Unlike public library, public libraries, these rarely allow citizens to borrow books. Often, they include numerous rare, valuable, o ...

from 1903 to 1908. He moved to Pleven in 1908, and lived there until his death. For a time, he served as Director of the "Department of Military History Museums and Monuments". His home is now a museum, named after him and his son,

Vladimir Vladimir may refer to: Names * Vladimir (name) for the Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Macedonian, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak and Slovenian spellings of a Slavic name * Uladzimir for the Belarusian version of the name * Volodymyr for the Ukr ...

; a prominent General.

Sources

Biography of Zaimov
@ ОБЩИНА ПЛЕВЕН (Municipality of Pleven website)
Biography of Zaimov
archived from the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Biography of Zaimov
@ ''Литературен свят'' (Literary World)

External links

"Stoyan Zaimov and the general popular struggle for freedom"
A Biography and appreciation @ ''Bulgarka'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Zaimov, Stoyan 1853 births 1932 deaths People from Chirpan Bulgarian writers Bulgarian librarians Bulgarian revolutionaries Thracian Bulgarians April Uprising of 1876 Bulgarian memoirists