site.btaStefan Stambolov's 170th Birth Anniversary Marked in Sofia

Wreaths were laid at the monument to Stefan Stambolov (1854-1895) in Sofia on Tuesday to mark the 170th birth anniversary of the prominent Bulgarian revolutionary, politician, statesman, journalist and poet.

Addressing the ceremony, Prof. Stoyan Dechev, former rector of the University of Library Studies and Information Technologies (ULSIT), said that "Stambolov left his unmistakable imprint on the shaping and consolidation of Bulgarian statehood." Dechev described Stambolov as "a controversial figure, indisputably without an analogue".  

"In international relations, Stambolov looked westward, refusing to make the country's foreign policy subservient to the demands of imperial Russia, which ultimately let to the severing of bilateral diplomatic relations. To make up for it, Bulgaria established a friendly relationship with the Ottoman Empire, seeking every possible way to achieve its great irredentist objective," the speaker pointed out.

He described Stambolov as "Bulgaria's most influential person of the late 19th century who overhauled the country domestically and internationally, and this risky endeavour cost him his life." 

Dechev commented further that Stambolov himself gave the most accurate assessment of his governance, saying: "I will grasp the devil's tail if only to pull the country out of the swamp".

The wreath-laying ceremony was attended, among others, by Vice President Iliana Iotova, the Deputy Chief of Defence, Lieutenant General Mihail Popov, Bishop Tihon, Deputy Culture Minister Amelia Gesheva, Sofia Deputy Mayor Ivan Vasilev, ULSIT Rector Irena Peteva, IMRO Honorary Chairman Krasimir Karakachanov, and former prosecutor general Ivan Geshev.

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Stefan Stambolov is among the most prominent and most popular "builders of modern Bulgaria", called "the Bulgarian Bismarck". Born in Tarnovo (North Central Bulgaria) on January 31, 1854, he became actively involved in the fight against the five-century Ottoman rule in the 1870s. After the restoration of Bulgaria's statehood in 1878, he served as Chairman of the National Assembly (1884-1886), Regent (1886-1887), and Prime Minister (1887-1894). He contributed substantially to the country's modernization. During his tenure, the Bulgarian Principality reunified with the Ottoman Province of Eastern Rumelia on September 6, 1885.

"Stambulov's rule was despotic. He ruthlessly stamped out recurrent plots and armed risings engineered by equally ruthless political opponents with close support from influential Panslavist quarters in Russia. There was no clear distinction between party strife and sedition; Stambulov used his police, and sometimes the army, to deal with either," Irish journalist James David Bourchier wrote in the entry about Stambolov in Encyclopaedia Britannica (1911).

"The arrogant way in which Stambulov used his practically unlimited power, and the growing violence of the opposition throughout the country, became intolerable to Prince Ferdinand who, moreover, wanted an accommodation with Russia. He contrived to get his unmanageable premier to resign, and accepted his resignation in May 1894," Bourchier noted. "He was now exposed to the vengeance of his enemies, and subjected to various indignities lid persecutions; he was refused permission to leave the country, and his property was confiscated." 

During a cab ride back home on July 3/15, 1895, Stambolov was attacked with scimitars and barbarously mutilated by a band of three Macedonian assassins in a street in central Sofia and succumbed to his injuries three days later. His funeral on July 8/20 was interrupted by disgraceful riots, and an effort was made to perpetrate an outrage on his remains.