Trayko Tsvetkov Kitanchev ( bg, Трайко Цветков Китанчев; 1 September 1858 – 13 August 1895) was a Bulgarian teacher, social figure, poet and revolutionary. In 1895, he was the first chairman of the Supreme Macedonian–Adrianopolitan Committee, a

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 ...

-based organization seeking the autonomy of Macedonia and southern

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 ...

. Kitanchev was born in the village of Podmochani near Resen (then in Ottoman Macedonia, today in

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 1869, he was sent to the imperial capital

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 ...

to study at the Bulgarian school in

Phanar Fener (; Greek: Φανάρι, ''Phanári''; in English also: Phanar) is a quarter midway up the Golden Horn in the district of Fatih in Istanbul, Turkey. Its name is a Turkish transliteration of the word "phanarion" (Medieval Greek: Φανάρι� ...

with the aid of Nathanael of Ohrid; in Phanar, his classmate was future Bulgarian socialist leader Dimitar Blagoev and his teacher was Petko Slaveykov. From 1874 to 1879, Kitanchev studied at the Kiev

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy ...

in the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. After his graduation he briefly studied

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...

until 1880. In that year, he returned to the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

to work as a teacher at the Saints Peter and Paul Seminary in Lyaskovets and the Bulgarian Men's High School 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 ...

. In 1884, Trayko Kitanchev moved to Plovdiv, at the time still the capital of

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia ( bg, Източна Румелия, Iztochna Rumeliya; ota, , Rumeli-i Şarkî; el, Ανατολική Ρωμυλία, Anatoliki Romylia) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, '' vilayet'' in Turkish) in the Ott ...

; shortly afterwards he settled in Sofia, capital of the Principality of Bulgaria. In the same year, he became a full member of the Bulgarian Literary Society (today's Bulgarian Academy of Sciences). During the

Serbo-Bulgarian War The Serbo-Bulgarian War or the Serbian–Bulgarian War ( bg, Сръбско-българска война, ''Srăbsko-bălgarska voyna'', sr, Српско-бугарски рат, ''Srpsko-bugarski rat'') was a war between the Kingdom of Ser ...

of 1885, Kitanchev fought as a volunteer 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 ...

. In Sofia, Kitanchev befriended

Stefan Stambolov Stefan Nikolov Stambolov ( bg, Стефан Николов Стамболов) (31 January 1854 OS– 19 July 1895 OS) was a Bulgarian politician, journalist, revolutionary, and poet who served as Prime Minister and regent. He is consider ...

, with whom he even shared a room for some time. During the August 1886 coup attempt aimed at overthrowing Prince Alexander Battenberg, Kitanchev accompanied Stambolov 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 ...

and wrote the proclamation declaring the takeover illegal to Stambolov's dictation. During Stambolov's term as Prime Minister of Bulgaria (1887–1894), however, their relations worsened. After the assassination of Minister of Finance Hristo Belchev in 1891, Kitanchev was imprisoned as a potential accomplice. After his release from prison, Kitanchev was once again teacher at the Bulgarian high school in Thessaloniki and then school inspector in Tarnovo. He became close friends with liberal leader

Petko Karavelov Petko Stoichev KaravelovFrederick B. Chary, ''The History of Bulgaria'', ABC-CLIO, 2011, p. 181 ( bg, Петко Стойчев Каравелов; 24 March 1843 – 24 January 1903) was a leading Bulgarian liberal politician who served as Prime M ...

and was elected member of parliament 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 ...

. When the Supreme Macedonian-Adrianople Committee was established in March 1895, Kitanchev was elected its first chairman during the organization's constituent congress. However, the failure of the committee's armed infiltration of Ottoman Macedonia in the same year was a fatal blow to Kitanchev's health. He died in Sofia in August 1895.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kitanchev, Trayko 1858 births 1895 deaths People from Resen Municipality Democratic Party (Bulgaria) politicians Bulgarian educators Bulgarian revolutionaries 19th-century Bulgarian poets Bulgarian male poets Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria) People of the Serbo-Bulgarian War Macedonian Bulgarians 19th-century Bulgarian educators Burials at Central Sofia Cemetery 19th-century male writers