Yane Ivanov Sandanski (, ) (originally spelled in
older Bulgarian orthography ) (18 May 1872 – 22 April 1915), was a
Macedonian Bulgarian revolutionary.
[Per Julian Allan Brooks' thesis the term ‘Macedo-Bulgarian’ refers to the Exarchist population in Macedonia which is alternatively called ‘Bulgarian’ and ‘Macedonian’ in the documents. For more see: Managing Macedonia: British Statecraft, Intervention and 'Proto-peacekeeping' in Ottoman Macedonia, 1902-1905. Department of History, Simon Fraser University, 2013, p. 18. The designation ‘Macedo-Bulgarian’ is used also by M. Şükrü Hanioğlu and Ryan Gingeras. See: M. Şükrü Hanioğlu, Preparation for a Revolution: The Young Turks, 1902-1908 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001), 244; Ryan Gingeras, “A Break in the Storm: Reconsidering Sectarian, Violence in Ottoman Macedonia During the Young Turk Revolution” The MIT Electronic Journal of Middle East Studies 3 (Spring 2003): 1. Gingeras notes he uses the hyphenated term to refer to those who “professed an allegiance to the Bulgarian Exarch.” Mehmet Hacısalihoğlu has used in his study "Yane Sandanski as a political leader in Macedonia in the era of the Young Turks" the terms Bulgarians-Macedonians and Bulgarian Macedonians; (Cahiers balkaniques ]n ligne
N, or n, is the fourteenth letter in the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''en'' (pronounced ), plural ''ens''.
History
...
40, 2012, Jeunes-Turcs en Macédoine et en Ionie).[Per ]Loring Danforth
Loring M. Danforth (born 1949) is an American professor of anthropology and an author working at Bates College. His research has focused on the interpretation of a wide variety of symbolic or expressive forms in a range of cultures.
Education and ...
's article about the IMRO in Encyclopedia Britannica Online
An encyclopedia (American English) or encyclopædia (British English) is a reference work or compendium providing summaries of knowledge either general or special to a particular field or discipline. Encyclopedias are divided into articles ...
, its leaders, including Sandanski, had a dual identity - ''Macedonian regional'' and ''Bulgarian national''. According to Paul Robert Magocsi
Paul Robert Magocsi (born January 26, 1945 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American professor of history, political science, and Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto. He has been with the university since 1980, and became a F ...
in many circumstances this might seem a normal phenomenon, such as by the residents of the pre–World War II Macedonia, who identified as a ''Macedonian and Bulgarian (or "Macedono-Bulgarian")''. Per Bernard Lory there were tho different kinds of Bulgarian identity at the early 20th century: the first kind was a vague form that grew up during the 19th century 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 ...
and united most of the Macedonian and other Slavs in the Ottoman Empire. The second kind Bulgarian identity was the more concrete and strong and promoted by the authorities in Sofia among the Bulgarian population. Per Julian Allan Brooks' thesis there were some indications to suggest the existence of inchoate Macedonian national identity then, however the evidence is rather fleeting. For more see: Paul Robert Magocsi, Carpathian Rus': Interethnic Coexistence without Violence, p. 453, in Shatterzone of Empires: Coexistence and Violence in the German, Habsburg, Russian, and Ottoman Borderlands with editors, Omer Bartov, Eric D. Weitz, Indiana University Press, 2013, , pp. 449-462.[Per ]John Van Antwerp Fine
John V. A. Fine Jr. (born 1939) is an American historian and author. He is professor of Balkan and Byzantine history at the University of Michigan and has written several books on the subject.
Early life and education
He was born in 1939 and grew ...
until the late 19th century both outside observers and those Macedonian Bulgarians who had an ethnic consciousness believed that their group, which is now two separate nationalities, comprised a single people, the Bulgarians. According to Loring M. Danforth at the end of the World War I there were very few historians or ethnographers, who claimed that a separate Macedonian nation existed. It seems most likely that at this time many of the Slavs of Macedonia in rural areas, had not yet developed a firm sense of national identity at all. Of those who had developed then some sense of national identity, the majority considered themselves to be Bulgarians... The question as of whether a Macedonian nation actually existed in the 1940s when a Communist Yugoslavia decided to recognize one is difficult to answer. Some observers argue that even at this time it was doubtful whether the Slavs from Macedonia considered themselves to be a nationality separate from the Bulgarians. Per Stefan Troebst Macedonian nation, language, literature, history and church were not available in 1944, but since the creation of the Yugoslav Macedonia they were accomplished in a short time. For more, see: "The Early Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Sixth to the Late Twelfth Century," University of Michigan Press, 1991, , pp. 36–37; One Macedonia With Three Faces: Domestic Debates and Nation Concepts, in Intermarium; Columbia University; Volume 4, No. 3 (2000–2001), pp. 7-8; The Macedonian conflict: ethnic nationalism in a transnational world, Princeton University Press, 1997, , pp. 65-66. He is recognized as a national hero in both
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 ...
and
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 Yugoslavia. It ...
.
In his youth Sandanski was interested in Bulgarian politics and had a career as head of the local prison in
Dupnitsa
Dupnitsa, or Dupnica ( bg, Дупница (previously ), ), is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is at the foot of the highest mountains in the Balkan Peninsula – the Rila Mountains, and about south of the capital Sofia. Dupnitsa is the second l ...
. Then he was involved in the anti-Ottoman struggle, joining initially the
Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee (SMAC), but later switched to the
(IMARO). Sandanski became one of the leaders of the IMARO in the
Serres revolutionary district and head of the left wing of the organisation. He supported the idea of a
Balkan Federation
The Balkan Federation project was a left-wing political movement to create a country in the Balkans by combining Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
The concept of a Balkan federation emerged in the late 19th century ...
, and
Macedonia as
an autonomous state within its framework, as an ultimate solution of the national problems in the area. During the
Second Constitutional Era
The Second Constitutional Era ( ota, ایكنجی مشروطیت دورى; tr, İkinci Meşrutiyet Devri) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 dissolution of the ...
he became an Ottoman politician and entrepreneur, collaborating with the
Young Turks and founded the
Bulgarian People's Federative Party. Sandanski took up arms on the side of Bulgaria during the
Balkan Wars (1912–13). Finally he was involved in Bulgarian public life again, but was eventually killed by the rivalling IMARO right-wing faction activists.
Sandanski's legacy remains disputed among Bulgarian and
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 ...
today. Macedonian historians refer to him in an attempt to demonstrate the existence of
Macedonian nationalism
Macedonian nationalism (, ) is a general grouping of nationalist ideas and concepts among ethnic Macedonians that were first formed in the late 19th century among separatists seeking the autonomy of the region of Macedonia from the Ottoman Emp ...
or at least ''proto-nationalism'' within a part of the local revolutionary movement at his time. Despite the allegedly "anti-Bulgarian" ''autonomism'' and ''
federalism'' of Sandanski, it is unlikely he had developed Macedonian national identity in a narrow sensе, or he regarded the
Bulgarian Exarchists in Ottoman Macedonia as a separate nation from Bulgarians. Contrary to the assertions of Skopje, his "separatism" represented a
supranational project, not national. More, the compatriots, who convinced Sandanski to accept
such leftist ideas, were
Bulgarian socialists
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 ...
, most of whom were non-Macedonian in origin. The designation
''Macedonian'' then was an umbrella term covering different nationalities in the area and when applied to the
Slavic speakers in Ottoman Macedonia
Slavic-speakers inhabiting the Ottoman-ruled region of Macedonia had settled in the area since the Slavic migrations during the Middle Ages and formed a distinct ethnolinguistic group. While Greek was spoken in the urban centers and in a coastal ...
, it denoted mainly the then
Bulgarian ethnic community there. However, contrary to Bulgarian assertions, his ideas of a separate Macedonian political entity, have stimulated the subsequent development of Macedonian nationalism.
As initial member of the SMAC, which served directly the Bulgarian governmental interests, and then of the left wing of the IMRO, which advocated the creation of a Balkan Federation, Yane Sandanski remains one of the most controversial
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 ...
revolutionaries. While the
Bulgarian communist authorities mostly liked him for his leftist sympathies, after the
fall of communism
The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Nat ...
he is described by some nationalist historians as a betrayer of the Bulgarian national interests in Macedonia. Sandanski is portrayed by them as an
Ottomanist, and collaborationist of the Young Turks, seen as Bulgarian enemies, and as the man who started the
fratricidal war into the IMRO. He has been accused also of being transformed himself from a revolutionary into a businessperson whose political motivation became only the money earning. On the contrary, in North Macedonia, the positive connotation of him, created in the times of
Communist Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as SFR Yugoslavia or simply as Yugoslavia, was a country in Central and Southeast Europe. It emerged in 1945, following World War II, and lasted until 1992, with the breakup of Yugo ...
is still alive. Since then the Macedonian historiography has emphasized the particularity of the IMRO's left wing, while in fact
Yugoslav communism and
Macedonian nationalism
Macedonian nationalism (, ) is a general grouping of nationalist ideas and concepts among ethnic Macedonians that were first formed in the late 19th century among separatists seeking the autonomy of the region of Macedonia from the Ottoman Emp ...
are closely related. Thus, he is portrayed by the Macedonian historians as a freedom fighter against the “
Greater Bulgarian chauvinism” and the “Turkish yoke”. Sandanski has been also claimed recently by some
Aromanians
The Aromanians ( rup, Armãnji, Rrãmãnji) are an ethnic group native to the southern Balkans who speak Aromanian, an Eastern Romance language. They traditionally live in central and southern Albania, south-western Bulgaria, northern and ...
as an alleged compatriot, who sought only a limited autonomy for Macedonia in a business deal with the Ottoman Turks.
Biography
Sandanski was born on 18 May 1872 in the village of
Vlahi, near
Kresna
Kresna ( bg, Кресна ) is a town and the seat of Kresna Municipality in Blagoevgrad Province in Bulgaria.
It is located in the southwestern part of Bulgaria.
Geography
The town of Kresna lies in Sandanski–Petrich Valley at the north en ...
, then 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) ...
. His father Ivan participated in the
Kresna–Razlog Uprising
The Kresna–Razlog Uprising ( bg, Кресненско-Разложко въстание, ''Kresnensko-Razlozhko vastanie''; mk, Кресненско востание, ''Kresnensko vоstanie'', Kresna Uprising) named by the insurgents the Maced ...
as a
standard-bearer
A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...
. In 1879, after the crush of the uprising, his family moved to
Dupnitsa
Dupnitsa, or Dupnica ( bg, Дупница (previously ), ), is a town in Western Bulgaria. It is at the foot of the highest mountains in the Balkan Peninsula – the Rila Mountains, and about south of the capital Sofia. Dupnitsa is the second l ...
, in the recently established
Principality of Bulgaria, where Sandanski received his elementary education. From 1892 to 1894 he was a soldier in the
Bulgarian Army
The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establishe ...
. Sandanski was an active supporter of
Radoslavov's wing of the Liberal Party and shortly after it came to power in February 1899, he was appointed head of the Dupnitsa prison. Because of that, his name "''Sandanski''" distorted from "''Zindanski''" that comes from
Turkish "''Zindancı''" (lit. ''Dungeon Keeper'' or ''Jailer'').
![Sandanski v bg armia](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Sandanski_v_bg_armia.jpg)
Yane Sandanski was involved in the Revolutionary Movement in Macedonia and Thrace and became one of its leaders. He joined initially the
Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee (SMAC) in 1895 during the
Committee's cheta action into the
Pomaks-inhabited regions of the Western
Rhodopes
The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...
. In 1897 in Dupnitsa, a new detachment of the Supreme Committee was formed, under the leadership of Krastyo Zahariev, where Sandanski joined too. After the detachment entered Pirin Mountains, it encountered Ottoman troops. In one of the battles Sandanski was wounded and his older brother Todor, who was also in this detachment, returned him to Bulgaria for treatment. In the next years, Sandanski was a SMAC activist in the
Pirin
, photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg
, photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter
, country= Bulgaria,
, parent=
, geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone
, area_km2=2585
, range_coordinates =
, length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...
region, but in 1900 returned to become a director of the local prison in Dupnitsa. In 1901, Sandanski switched to the Internal Macedono-Adrianopolitan Revolutionary Organization (IMARO). He built up the organization’s network of committees in the districts of Serres and Gorna Dzhumaja in the
Pirin
, photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg
, photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter
, country= Bulgaria,
, parent=
, geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone
, area_km2=2585
, range_coordinates =
, length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...
region, and that is why the people gave him the nickname "
Pirin
, photo=Pirin-mountains-Bansko.jpg
, photo_caption=Pirin scenery in winter
, country= Bulgaria,
, parent=
, geology= granite, gneiss, marble, limestone
, area_km2=2585
, range_coordinates =
, length_km=80 , length_orientation= north-s ...
Tsar
Tsar ( or ), also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar'', is a title used by East and South Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word ''caesar'', which was intended to mean "emperor" in the European medieval sense of the ter ...
" (Pirinski Tsar). He was also one from the organizers of the
Miss Stone Affair - America's first modern hostage crisis. On September 3, 1901, a Protestant missionary named Ellen Stone set out on horseback across the mountainous hinterlands of Macedonia and was ambushed by a band of armed revolutionaries. Sandanski was also active in the anti-
Ottoman Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising. The Militias active in the region of
Serres
Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki.
Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...
, led by Yane Sandanski and an insurgent detachment of the ''Macedonian Supreme Committee'', held down a large Turkish force. These actions began on the day of the
Feast of the Cross
In the Christian liturgical calendar, there are several different Feasts of the Cross, all of which commemorate the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus. Unlike Good Friday, which is dedicated to the passion of Christ and the crucifixion, th ...
and did not involve the local population as much as in other regions, but were well to the east of
Monastir and to the west of
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...
.
The failure of the Ilinden insurrection resulted in the eventual split of the IMARO into a left (federalist) faction in the Seres and Strumica districts and a right-wing faction (centralists) in the
Bitola, Salonica and
Uskub districts. The left-wing faction opposed Bulgarian nationalism and advocated the creation of a
Balkan Socialist Federation
The Balkan Federation project was a left-wing political movement to create a country in the Balkans by combining Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
The concept of a Balkan federation emerged in the late 19th century from ...
with equality for all subjects and nationalities. The centralist faction of IMARO, moved towards Bulgarian nationalism as its regions became incursed of Serb and Greek armed bands, which started infiltrating Macedonia after 1903. The years 1905–1907 saw the split between the two factions, when in 1907 Todor Panitsa killed the right-wing activists
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 ...
and
Ivan Garvanov in order of Sandanski. The
Kjustendil congress of the right faction of the
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization
The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр ...
(IMRO) in 1908, sentenced Sandanski to death, and led to a final disintegration of the organization.
![Sandanski, Dimo Hadzhi Dimov, Todor Panitsa with Young Turks](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Sandanski%2C_Dimo_Hadzhi_Dimov%2C_Todor_Panitsa_with_Young_Turks.jpg)
After 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 Consti ...
in 1908 and during the
Second Constitutional Era
The Second Constitutional Era ( ota, ایكنجی مشروطیت دورى; tr, İkinci Meşrutiyet Devri) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 dissolution of the ...
Sandanski (in association with
Hristo Chernopeev
Hristo Chernopeev ( bg, Христо Чернопеев) (1868, Dermantsi – 6 November 1915, Krivolak) was a Bulgarian Army officer and member of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia. He was among the leaders of the Bulgarian People's Mace ...
,
Chudomir Kantardziev,
Aleksandar Buynov
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
and others) contacted the
Young Turks and started legal operation. After the disintegration of IMARO, they tried to set up the Macedonian-Adrianople Revolutionary Organization (MORO). Later, the congress for MORO's official inauguration failed and Sandanski and Chernopeev started to work towards a creation of one of the left political parties in the Ottoman Empire –
People's Federative Party (Bulgarian Section), whose headquarters was in
Solun. This federalist project was supposed to include different ethnic sections in itself, but this idea failed and the only section that was created was the faction of Sandanski, called ''Bulgarian section''. In this way its activists only "revived" their Bulgarian national identification, as Sandanski's faction advocated the particular interests of the "Bulgarian nationality" in the Empire. In 1909 the group around Sandanski and Chernopeev participated in the rally of the
Young Turks to
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 ...
that led to the deposition of sultan
Abdul Hamid II from the throne. Sandanski dreamed about the creation of a
Balkan Federative Republic
The Balkan Federation project was a left-wing political movement to create a country in the Balkans by combining Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
The concept of a Balkan federation emerged in the late 19th century from ...
according to the plans of the
Balkan Socialist Federation
The Balkan Federation project was a left-wing political movement to create a country in the Balkans by combining Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
The concept of a Balkan federation emerged in the late 19th century from ...
and Macedonia as a part of that Federation. He demanded that the IMARO should embrace all
nationalities
Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...
in the region, not only Bulgarians.
In this way it would be possible to create a healthy system aimed at the organisation of a mass uprising. Later Sandanski and his faction actively supported the
Bulgarian army
The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establishe ...
in the
Balkan wars of 1912–1913, initially with the idea, that their duty is to fight for autonomous Macedonia, but later fighting for Bulgaria. Οbserving the atrocity of
Serbs
The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language.
The majority of Serbs live in their na ...
over the local population, former
IMRO
The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO; bg, Вътрешна Македонска Революционна Организация (ВМРО), translit=Vatrešna Makedonska Revoljucionna Organizacija (VMRO); mk, Внатр ...
members began restoration of the organizational network. In the same period a group around
Petar Chaulev
Petar Chaulev ( bg, Петър Чаулев; 1882 – December 23, 1924) was a Bulgarian revolutionary in Ottoman Macedonia. He was a local Bulgarian leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO).
Born into an Orthodox ...
began negotiations with the
Albanian revolutionaries. The temporary Albanian government proposed to them a common revolt to be organized and risen. The negotiations from the part of the Organization had to be carried by
Petar Chaulev
Petar Chaulev ( bg, Петър Чаулев; 1882 – December 23, 1924) was a Bulgarian revolutionary in Ottoman Macedonia. He was a local Bulgarian leader of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization (IMRO).
Born into an Orthodox ...
. The Bulgarian government believed however, that it would not come to a new war with
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
, so it did not attend the negotiations. However, later, in June 1913 the Bulgarian government sent in
Tirana
Tirana ( , ; aln, Tirona) is the capital and largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest overlooking the Adriatic Sea ...
Yane Sandanski for new negotiations. He gave an interview for the Italian newspaper "''Il Secolo''", where he said that he came to agreement with the Albanians and that from the Bulgarian side there would be organized bands and assaults. So he helped the preparation of the
Ohrid-Debar Uprising, organised jointly by IMRO and the Albanians of Western Macedonia. After the
wars
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular ...
,
Pirin Macedonia
Pirin Macedonia or Bulgarian Macedonia ( bg, Пиринска Македония; Българска Македония) (''Pirinska Makedoniya or Bulgarska Makedoniya'') is the third-biggest part of the geographical region Macedonia located on t ...
was ceded in 1913 to Bulgaria and Sandanski resettled again in the
Kingdom
Kingdom commonly refers to:
* A monarchy ruled by a king or queen
* Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy
Kingdom may also refer to:
Arts and media Television
* ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...
where he was killed in 1915 by his political opponents.
Controversy
The Macedonian liberation movement consisted of three major factions. Led by his excessive ambitions, Sandanski came into conflict with the majority — the ''Centralists'' in IMARO and the ''Varhovists''. Although initially a member of the Bulgarian
nationalistic
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: T ...
''Varhovists'' band, later Yane Sandanski and his
Serres
Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki.
Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...
group (the ''Federalists'') proclaimed a fight for an
autonomous
In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ow ...
Macedonia which was to be included in a
Balkan Socialist Federation
The Balkan Federation project was a left-wing political movement to create a country in the Balkans by combining Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
The concept of a Balkan federation emerged in the late 19th century from ...
. In this manner, the policy of
Sofia
Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
was completely identified to the adversary character of
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
and
Belgrade. The activists of Serres nonetheless stipulated that the
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 ...
could not be resolved if it is formulated as a part of 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
national question
''National question'' is a term used for a variety of issues related to nationalism. It is seen especially often in socialist thought and doctrine.
In socialism
* ''Social Democracy and the National Question'' by Vladimir Medem in 1904
* ''So ...
. After the Ilinden Uprising, this Group insisted on cooperation with all ethnic and religious groups in the Ottoman Empire and envisioned the inclusion of Macedonia and the district of Adrianople in a Balkan Federation. However the idea of Macedonian autonomy was strictly
political
Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...
and did not imply a secession from Bulgarian ethnicity, even as it was seen at a later stage of the struggle by the group around Sandanski, that espoused a number of classical liberal ideas intermingled with socialism, imported from Bulgaria.
On the other hand, the bigger fraction (the Centralists), as well as that of the other revolutionary organization - ''
Macedonian Supreme 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 ...
'' - ''Varhovists'', (most of which followers joined the "''Centralists''", after its dissolution in 1903) aimed also at autonomy. But they did not expected inclusion in a
Balkan Socialist Federation
The Balkan Federation project was a left-wing political movement to create a country in the Balkans by combining Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
The concept of a Balkan federation emerged in the late 19th century from ...
and had not so extreme policy by their relation to Sofia. These political differences led to sharp conflict between them.
Arguably Sandanski's greatest sin in the context of the whole movement were the assassinations of the
vojvod Michail Daev and later of
Ivan Garvanov and
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 ...
, both members of the IMARO's Central Committee. He came to regret these and other murders later. Because of that he was even sentenced to death by the ''Centralists''. The Bulgarian authorities investigated the assassinations and suspected Sandanski was the main force behind them. On the other hand, he was
amnestied by the
Bulgarian Parliament
The National Assembly ( bg, Народно събрание, Narodno sabranie) is the unicameral parliament and legislative body of the Republic of Bulgaria.
The National Assembly was established in 1879 with the Tarnovo Constitution.
Ordi ...
after the support he gave to the
Bulgarian Army
The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establishe ...
during the
Balkan wars.
![Jane Sandanski Manifest 1908](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/55/Jane_Sandanski_Manifest_1908.jpg)
There was, a long history of friction between the
Bulgarian Exarchate and the Organization, since those more closely connected with the Exarchate were moderates rather than revolutionaries. Thus the two bodies had never been able to see eye to eye on a number of important issues touching the population in Thrace and Macedonia. In his regular reports to the Exarch, the Bulgarian bishop in Melnik usually referred to Yane as ''the wild beast'' and deliberately spelt his name without capital letters. Despite being an
extreme leftist, he had never rejected the Bulgarian Exarchate as an institution, or denied that it had a role to play in the life of the
Macedonian Bulgarians
Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians ( bg, македонци or македонски българи), sometimes also referred to as Macedono-Bulgarians, Macedo-Bulgarians, or Bulgaro-Macedonians are a regional, ethnographic group of et ...
. Sandanski also
collaborated
Collaboration (from Latin ''com-'' "with" + ''laborare'' "to labor", "to work") is the process of two or more people, entities or organizations working together to complete a task or achieve a goal. Collaboration is similar to cooperation. Most ...
later with the
Young Turks, opposing other factions of IMARO, which fought against the
Ottoman authorities in this period.
During the first days of
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 Consti ...
, the collaboration of the Macedonian leftists with the Ottoman activists was stated in a special ''Manifesto to all the nationalities of the Empire''. The loyalty to the Empire declared by Sandanski deliberately blurred the distinction between Macedonian and Ottoman political agenda. This ideological transition was quite smooth as long as the rhetoric of Macedonian autonomist supra-nationalism was already quite close to the Ottomanist idea of the so-called ''unity of the elements''. During the honeymoon of Serres revolutionaries and Ottoman authorities, it was the internationalist ideas of Bulgarian
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
activists that left their stamp on Sandanski's agenda: what was seen as
national interests
The national interest is a sovereign state's goals and ambitions (economic, military, cultural, or otherwise), taken to be the aim of government.
Etymology
The Italian phrase ''ragione degli stati'' was first used by Giovanni della Casa around t ...
had to be subdued to the pan-Ottoman ones in order to achieve a ''supra-national union'' of all the nationalities within a reformed Empire. After Bulgaria lost the
Balkan Wars and as result most of Macedonia was ceded to Greece and Serbia, Sandanski attempted to organize the assassination of Bulgarian
Tsar Ferdinand I, but it failed. He and his wing officially supported then the
Russophiles
Russophilia (literally love of Russia or Russians) is admiration and fondness of Russia (including the era of the Soviet Union and/or the Russian Empire), Russian history and Russian culture. The antonym is Russophobia. In the 19th Century, ...
from the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
.
The ''Centralists'' organised several unsuccessful assassination attempts against Sandanski. They came closest to achieving their goal 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 metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, where
Tane Nikolov
Tane Nikolov ( bg, Тане Николов) (9 March 1873 – 19 January 1947) was a Bulgarian revolutionary and member of the revolutionary movement in Macedonia, Thrace and Pomoravlje. He was among the leading members of the Secret Macedonia ...
managed to kill two other ''Federalists'' and heavily wounded Sandanski. Eventually, Sandanski was killed near the
Rozhen Monastery on April 22, 1915, while travelling from
Melnik to
Nevrokop
Gotse Delchev ( bg, Гоце Делчев ), is a town in Gotse Delchev Municipality in Blagoevgrad Province of Bulgaria.
In 1951, the town was renamed after the Bulgarian revolutionary hero Gotse Delchev. It had hitherto been called Nevrok ...
, by local IMARO activists.
Legacy
![Yane Sandanski, Chernyo Peev,Sava Mihaylov, Hristo Kuslev, Ivan Anastasov Garcheto, Petar Yurukov and Nikola Pushkarov's Memoirs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5a/Yane_Sandanski%2C_Chernyo_Peev%2CSava_Mihaylov%2C_Hristo_Kuslev%2C_Ivan_Anastasov_Garcheto%2C_Petar_Yurukov_and_Nikola_Pushkarov%27s_Memoirs.jpg)
While Sandanski's legacy remains disputed among Bulgarian and Macedonian historiography, there have been attempts among international scholars to reconcile his conflicting and controversial activity. According to the Turkish professor of history Mehmet Hacısalihoğlu, who is interested in nation-building in the late Ottoman Empire, it is very difficult to find a definitive answers to some ticklish questions related to Sandanski's biography. Hacısalihoğlu's opinion is that Sandanski was de facto a betrayer of the national Bulgarian interests in Macedonia, collaborating with the Young Turks, supporting the idea of the autonomy of the region into the Ottoman Empire, and opposing its incorporation into Bulgaria. That would allow him to maintain his political role, as one of the native leaders in the region. However, this does not mean, he regarded the
Bulgarian Macedonian population as a separate ''
Macedonian nation''. Also, all the main ideologists, who indoctrinated Sandanski with these leftist ideas, were socialists from Bulgaria proper.
Mercia MacDermott
Mercia MacDermott (; bg, Мерсия Макдермот; born 7 April 1927) is an English writer and historian. MacDermott is known for her books on Bulgarian history.
Early life
Mercia was born on 7 April 1927 in Plymouth, Devon, United ...
who is author of a biographical book on Sandanski, has admitted she has had a ''real battle'' over such controversial figure. Nevertheless, she has described him as Bulgarian revolutionary, who under the influence of leftist ideas, tried to solve the
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 ...
by uniting all the Balkan peoples.
As a whole, during the early 20th century the idea of a separate Macedonian identity was promoted only by small circles of intellectuals, but the majority of the Slavic people in Macedonia considered themselves to be Bulgarians. The turn-of-the-century Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization, was in fact a largely pro-Bulgarian oriented and its members had ethnic Bulgarian identity, including Sandaski.
The IMRO right-wing publicist
Hristo Silyanov
Hristo Silyanov (1880 in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire – 1939 in Sofia, Bulgaria) ( bg, Христо Силянов) was a Bulgarian revolutionary,Ivan Katardžiev
Ivan Katardžiev ( bg, Иван Катарджиев; mk, Иван Катарџиев) (January 6, 1926 – December 1, 2018) was a Macedonian historian. He was regarded as the country's most important expert on the Internal Macedonian Revolutio ...
and PhD.
Zoran Todorovski, argue that the political separatism of Sandanski represented a form of early
Macedonian nationalism
Macedonian nationalism (, ) is a general grouping of nationalist ideas and concepts among ethnic Macedonians that were first formed in the late 19th century among separatists seeking the autonomy of the region of Macedonia from the Ottoman Emp ...
, asserting that at that time it was only a political phenomenon, without ethnic character. Both define all Macedonian revolutionaries from that period as
Bulgarians
Bulgarians ( bg, българи, Bǎlgari, ) are a nation and South Slavic ethnic group native to Bulgaria and the rest of Southeast Europe.
Etymology
Bulgarians derive their ethnonym from the Bulgars. Their name is not completely unders ...
, as products of the
Bulgarian educational system,
Bulgarian Army
The Bulgarian Land Forces ( bg, Сухопътни войски на България, Sukhopŭtni voĭski na Bŭlgariya, lit=Ground Forces of Bulgaria) are the ground warfare branch of the Bulgarian Armed Forces. The Land Forces were establishe ...
military training and
Bulgarian Church spiritual impact, which had a policy of producing “Bulgarian national consciousness”. According to them Macedonian identity arose mostly after the First World War and Sandanski identified himself as Bulgarian too.
Dimitrija Čupovski under the
pseudonym
A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...
Strezo writes that Sandanski was a Bulgarian agent, bodyguard of the Bulgarian prince and an ordinary criminal.
![Yane Sandanski dead place](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Yane_Sandanski_dead_place.JPG)
The IMRO right-wing publicist Stoyan Boyadziev has described Sandanski as extremely controversial Bulgarian revolutionary, whose separatist асtivitу however, produced as a whole Macedonian nationalism. Today, Sandanski is one of the names mentioned in the National anthem of North Macedonia. In Bulgaria the communist regime appreciated Sandanski because of his socialist ideas and honoured him by renaming the town Sveti Vrach to
Sandanski
Sandanski ( bg, Сандански ; el, Σαντάνσκι, formerly known as Sveti Vrach, bg, Свети Врач, until 1947) is a town and a recreation centre in south-western Bulgaria, part of Blagoevgrad Province. Named after the Bulga ...
, in 1949. In the years after the
Fall of Communism
The Revolutions of 1989, also known as the Fall of Communism, was a revolutionary wave that resulted in the end of most communist states in the world. Sometimes this revolutionary wave is also called the Fall of Nations or the Autumn of Nat ...
some right-wing Bulgarian historians have been keen to discredit his reputation.
Bulgaria, Jonathan Bousfield, Rough Guides, Dan Richardson, Richard Watkins, Edition: 4, Rough Guides, 2002
, p. 160. Sandanski Point on the E coast of Ioannes Paulus II Peninsula, Livingston Island
Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of Antarctic islands north of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was the first land discovered south of 60 ...
, Antarctica was named after him by the Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition.
Notes
References
Further reading
* Mercia MacDermott. ''For Freedom and Perfection. The Life of Yane Sandansky'', 1988, Published by Journeyman, London, , , OCLC 1646555
Memoirs of Yane Sandanski
(original edition in Bulgarian)
* Pavel Deliradev
Jane Sandanski
(Biography, 1946)
* Hristo Konstantinov
The Chieftain (Jane Sandanski)
(Biography, 1939)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandanski, Yane
1872 births
1915 deaths
People from Kresna
Members of the Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization
Bulgarian revolutionaries
Bulgarian people of the Balkan Wars
Macedonian Bulgarians
Assassinated Bulgarian people
People murdered in Bulgaria
Deaths by firearm in Bulgaria